The convertible has been announced already for the Camaro.

How much time must pass before we stop calling it "pent-up" demand? I remember during the summer months the Camaro was predicted to be a 6 month hit by a few on here. Yet the Camaro seems to be getting more and more awards and covers of magazines. Heres a new one where it beat out cars like the GTR and Mustang GT:

http://www.automobilemag.com/feature...et_camaro.html

 

Camaro > Mustang + Coyote

 

Are the V6 cars outselling the V8 cars (60/40 - 65/35 - 70/30 split)?

I'd say give it a year, if the F5 is selling strong in its 2nd year and the mix is predominantly V6 then I'd say its not pent up demand or the new kid on the block.

 

Right. Maybe pent-up isn't the best term, but it is benefiting from the enthusiasts who waited PLUS the fact that it is, as you mentioned, the new kid on the block. Most hot and/or trendy new designs will sell fairly strongly at first, but once the novelty wears off, sales will decrease to a more "normal" level. I'm sure the Camaro will see some of this, to one degree or another.

 

That sounds fair.

 

Doesn't this happen with every car ever in existence?

It feels like classic denial. "well the car is only selling well because no one knows how heavy it is" or " the car only outsells the mustang because *insert any excuse you can think of*. Its just hard for people that are not a fan of the car to admit that just because it doesn't appeal to YOU, doesn't mean Chevy didn't score with it.

 

Maybe to one degree or another, but seems to happen moreso with "hot" cars (New Beetle, PT Cruiser, HHR, etc. etc.) than to, say, your average Malibu / Camry / Accord bread and butter stuff.

I don't think big trucks tend to feel it too much either.

 

I just can't see new powerplants making such a swing in sales. The redesign did nothing, sales have continually gone down. Mustang has rebates, convertibles and GT500 models and its nots even coming close to getting the job done.

Meanwhile the Camaro is all new so it has to contend with less models, 1st year bad stigma and most people paying sticker. Nevermind the negative attitude towards GM as a whole with the whole bankruptcy thing.

 

Coupes typically fall off fairly quickly after the first year. I recall reading, for example, that Celica sales would be good when a new model first debuted, but by the end, no one was buying. This happened with the Supra too. I expect to see discounts on the Camaro some time in 2010, much like the other cars in the Chevy lineup. But when in 2010?

What I think will be interesting is to see how much of a bump the new power trains bring to the Mustang, as the 2011 model looks much like the 2010, so there is no novelty factor there.

I remember that the LS1 and (in my opinion) cleaned-up styling did not help the Camaro in 1998.

 

Votes and awards don't aren't the same as sales.

I can see someone wanting to buy a family or commuter car who might be swayed because a car was judged "best quality" or gains a "Car Of The Year" award. However, when you are talking sports and performance cars, when you step outside the enthuisasts community, it's all about looks and value.

There is no escaping that A LOT of Camaro's early sales was in fact the result of "pent up demand" of eager Camaro enthusiasts, and those with money wanting the latest automotive fashion. That's what kept dealer markups and no deals on sticker prices along with the volume Camaro was moving initially.

Once the pent up demand dies down, Camaros become a bit more common place, and it becomes a regular stylish car, it's going to have to sell more on value and what you get for the price.

That's when we'll know the true value of Camaro's success.

The exact same thing happened with the 2004 Mustang. It came out, the public went crazy, it sold insane numbers (compared with recent years), and after the excitement faded (a year or 2 later, NOT 6 months), it settled down into a steady and fairly constant (but much lower) sales figures.

Camaro will do the same.

Keep in mind, the Ford Mustang still will outsell the Chevrolet Camaro this calender year.

Next year, when all the excitement dies down and the pent up demand is over, will tell the real story of how both Camaro and Mustang (and even an increased production Dodge Challenger) will settle in the market place.

 

All that said, I think GM is probably pretty happy with the way Camaro has sold this year.

And personally, I don't think the new powerplant will increase Mustang sales by large margin.

 

I'm sure GM is very happy with Camaro's sales volume. Their goal is 80K and they are well over halfway there.

As far as the Mustang, I don't know, cruising the Mustang sites, it seems people have delayed their purchase for the past year or two waiting for these powertrains. We'll see...

And BTW, anyone who thinks that the pent up demand for the Camaro didn't/doesn't exist is not fully tethered to reality. How many sight unseen pre-orders were there for the 2010 Camaro last October? 12,000?

 

But your own choice of wording indicates uncertainty as to whether the pent-up demand has been sated as of now.

Perusing the classifieds, I see discounts for Chargers, but not Challengers. Mustangs, but not Camaros. Oh, and I see discounts for Genesis coupes.

Ironically, given your musings on the topic, the bigger, heavier coupes are not discounted, while the smaller coupes that are their direct competition are being discounted. I think the SUV phenomenon shows that large size is not necessarily a disadvantage in America.

 

Just like anyone else, I can only guess when this demand will be satisfied. The question though, was IF this car even had pent up demand. And of course it did.

The only one I've seen discounted are Mustangs, that is, until the '11's get here. But nice try on framing Camaro's excess avoirdupois as a marketing advantage. That one......took *****.

 

That's not what I was trying to do. I merely noted the irony. The Genesis coupe is exactly the size you want, yet it's already discounted, and clearly has not been on fire, though I don't think it's a failure, either.

It's also interesting that it's too small for a V8, though I'm sure a tuner could shoehorn an LS3 in just as was done with the Solstice.

To your point, I would not (and did not) say that the size is an advantage. I would say that it appears not to be a disadvantage. Given how well large vehicles have sold in the past, I don't find this surprising. In a country where personal use trucks have been the largest selling 2 seaters (more recently 2+2s), it should not be surprising that people aren't too concerned about large size.