(Sigh) Here we go again.

It would have sold better had GM actually marketed it.

 

I guess the question I have is this - What market will Chevy's V8 RWD 2+2 coupe be aimed at? The reason I ask is because from what I remember reading on the board the new RWD chevy will share a chassis with Buick's new RWD V8 car. It makes me wonder if Buick and ultimately their intended market would want to be associated with the "Camaro market"? I can see Buick's new RWD car more associated with say a Chevelle, just the same as it was in the 60s with the Chevelle and the Skylark and its wicked version the GSX. Same chassis just different sheet metal and perhaps some different options. Now before all of the flames come my way let me say that I want to see the Camaro come back along with its Firebird companion just like the rest of you do. It's just that I don't see a Buick performance car and an F-body on the same chassis. Maybe I'm wrong and that is the intent of the global chassis concept, but from a marketing concept would it work? Just my 2 cents worth. Any thoughts/comments?


P.S. for what it is worth, I was nine when I saw my first Camaro. It was my cousin's brand new 1979 Z28.

 

I love my Camaro..... But to most of the people in my age group, the name just doesnt matter and sadly many people still think of the Camaro as white trash. I think it will sell the same rgardless of name. I would rather have it Called Camaro.

 

I don't know what your age group is, but the Camaro is being marketted towards people in my age/ income group....NOT teens / 20's....people seem to forget that important fact......and we DO give a damn about it's name...

 

Actually, I think the Camaro name falls into 3 distinct catgories..

You either know everything about the Camaro.. So you either love it, like it, or hate it, from an informed enthusiast standpoint.

You know nothing about the Camaro - and generally the 4th gens usally get compiments, at least from the outside.

You have the stereotype of Camaro = white trash.. most likely, you won't be buying a Camaro.. or perhaps even a domestic car anyways.


I think the Camaro will be successful, if they can make the fit/finish/quality/feel of the car up to par/"worth" a $20'sk car... excluding the fact that it'll have a kickass engine/driveline/suspension... AKA, I don't want to hear, "you can tell the bulk of your money is going to the engine and drivetrain"

I'm hoping the hiatus was long enough to shake off the consumer perception of Camaro's as unrefined rattle traps.... I think it is..

 

The "Chevy Coupe" (nee Camaro) is aimed at 30-50+ year olds that want Corvette performance in a 2+2 package... AND 25-50+ year olds that want a sporty 2+2 coupe (or convertible) but with the economy of a V6. (There are two versions remember.)

The Zeta based GTO will be more of a sedan just as it is today, but not limited by the Corvette Rule.

The Zeta based Buick will be the luxury version and be packaged with a V6 (turbo?). It will be more sister to the GTO than the "Chevy Coupe".

The younger crowd (18-30) gets the Cobalt.

.... and yet another thread gets hijacked!

 

I think some serious bridges were burnt with this article.....

We need to 'be careful what we ask for...we might just get it'.....

 

Would someone mind telling us the median sex/age/income of Camaro, Z28 and SS buyers?

I would be curious to see the overlap with Corvette and where it really falls.

 

I grew up in Chicago's North Shore. Its a upper middle class to Upper, Upper class area.When I was In high school until my early 20s I would see plenty of kids and early 20 kids driving Camaro SS and and Z28s. They were all bought by or financed in there parents name. I wonder how much of a spin this puts on the demographics. They were Camaros bought by 40 somthing people for there Kids. Look at this site and others like it. Plenty of youngt Camaro owners Im sure plenty of them pay for them out of there own pockets its just the ca isnt in there name.

 

Indeed, and its also a way to create a huge, massive fad followed by a prolonged YAWN...

The Japanese have completely eroded the Big 3's (or should I say 2.5????) share of the market, and never ONCE have I seen a "retro" Japanese design. Has anyone here?

I have kept my mouth shut on this whole stupid retro thing for the most part...but this is somewhere where I think people are tending to use GM old school think instead of new school. I don't know how old you are...I'm 24. I plan to purchase a new Camaro as soon as I can get my hands on one...I fall somewhere between jg's explanation of a 20 something V6 buyer and a 30+ Z28/SS buyer...I personally want the V8 base coupe I have screamed about on here since 2001...

I want a car new, relevant and a CAMARO. I want a 2007 Camaro...not a 1967 model with an LS2 and some sleeker lines. I can make one of those with the right amount of $$. I want a Camaro for the 21st century. You want a Camaro like what you dreamed about when you were a kid? Great...but the mass market out there loves whats new and different...don't they???? In 2001, did anyone here predict an IMPREZA and a LANCER would turn the American performance car scene on its ear???????

No other Camaro has ever taken straight design elements from one gen to another, except for the 3rd and 4th gen front ends. Every one was a knock out for ITS RESPECTIVE TIME...not harkening back to a time before...

I'm 24, I'm a junior exec with a crap-load of future buying power. I will give GM more money throughout my life than any 50 year old at this point, should they make a product I want. Speaking for people like me and whom I have talked to at the car dealer (being a junior banker means I still need 2 jobs ), let me tell you...I want a car for my time. Most people do. I agree about it being a great idea to be able to buy what you wanted when you were a kid now that you can afford to...but is that good business sense???

Wasn't keeping their head in the past what got GM in its current predicament in the first place???????????

 

What predicament?

They made $1,300,000,000 last quarter.

The doom and gloom stuff really needs to stop. It's not even going slowly anymore, GM has terrific momentum right now. An STS just smacked down a 5 series pretty hard in a magazine comparo, Nissan's truck is a turd, the new Malibu is a good car, Cadillac is kicking a$$, the qulaity rating show consistent improvements with Buick and Cadillac perrenially at the top and the C6 is ready to take the world by storm.

IF it's a Camaro in everything including name, people will buy it. If it says "Chevelle" on the side, they'll still buy it.

 

Yep. You said much in few words.

 

I just want to be pleasantly supprised when I see the new Camaro. I dont want to say "Oh that looks like a first gen, pretty cool" or "That looks like the SS concept, it's ok but I've been looking at it for two years." I want to say "Damn, that is hot, I have to have it."

 

GM's head is not in the past.

Japan is still derivative in their design or off the chart to , IMO, wierdville. Derivative has been the "datsun" deal for sports coupe, from the 240 Ferrari/Jag XK reminiscent 240 through the 350 Audi approach.

Derivative isn't, by necessity, a bad thing. The 1970 1/2 Camaro was clearly Ferrari 250 SWB and 250 Berlinetta Lusso inspired. The 1970 1/2 was, to me, as classic and universally appealing a design as any Camaro. We all can have our favorites, but the 1970 1/2 was a close as Camaro ever came to world appeal from an exterior design standpoint.

GM is far more on their game than many on this section understand or get. The average vehicle transaction is $27K and charging to $28K. The action in the car market is at the high end. GM will not ignore the car for a working stiff, believe me, but first things are best done first.

IMO Camaro customers have always been harder to please than "other" brands. Retro looks are not the answer, but RWD and handling and power are in the context of VALUE.

I hope GM can continue to earn your business Jason. I'm confident that will take place. There's still many folks at GM that understand what a performance coupe should have.

 

What momentum? GM's market share continues to decline, in spite of record rebates and a rash of new products.

The more GM's market share declines, the more pressure there is to reduce capacity (i.e. close plants) which is not a cheap proposition by any means. Previous management regimes have followed your philosophy of ignoring market share as long as the bottom line looks acceptable, but you can only lose share for so long. GM has by far the highest fixed costs of any automaker and they need volume to cover those costs.

BTW, $1.3 billion in profits is nothing to brag about when you consider their revenues were $50 billion. That's a meagre 2.5% return on sales. GM is paddling furiously and barely treading water.