First off, let me state that I am 40, and I have loved camaros (even 3rd gens) since I first saw one. It was a 70 1/2 that my cousin drove.

The PHR article may not have helped anyone in regards to bringing out a new generation of Camaro, but as a loyal fan of the car for over 30 years, I do think that I deserved a serious look at why it was killed off. The post '98 F-Body was arguably the best f-body ever built, and it made no sense to me why it should die a sudden and secret death.

As far as the C word goes, very few names in any industry are as universally recognized as Camaro. GM is sitting on a marketing gold mine with that name, and they have a choice to make if all the legal issues are cleared up. They can cash in quick with a watered down version, or they can live up to the hype that will surround this car. Either way, it will be an important moment for the GM performance division if they realease a 5th gen.

 

Congrats on your new ride!

Sincere thanks for choosing GM!

 

Thanks! So far, I have nothing but praise for this car. Only problem is that I wish that the dealer orderd some LS's with XM.

 

If I wanted a 1969 camaro or mustang I would go buy one. How well does retro normally work? Not well at all.

 

What the heck kind of "hype" can we really live up to with a new car?

With the exception of the '05 Mustang (which i think will be a huge hit with ford lovers) this whole retro (and the bring back the name plate) thing is overrated.

People think Chevelle, they think big car, lots of HP, bench seat, and chrome bumper. With the exception of the big HP, I doubt much else CAN come back in the form of a new car.

Lets face it, Most nameplates are best left resting in peace. Most served their purpose and quite well and therefore are remembered as such.

Remember "NEW" Coke back in the 80's? People had been drinking pretty much original Coke, since when, like 1930, and when "New" coke was introduced, people immediately let Coke know about it and it wasn't long before you didn't see it anymore. America has a fond memory of a lot of muscle cars and I don't think resurrecting the name is the right thing to do. Lets get a NEW name plate, something with the Camaro awe about it and then see what it'll do - And then in 30 years, people will be saying, "Man, I wish I'd kept my '06 [blank]."

GM as well as the a lot of the American public seems to be caught in this sense of nostalgia right now. Not just in cars, but even in music - Look at all the old music snippits that are making their way into new songs.

Ugh is all I can say. Everyone is so stuck in the past and it seems like no one wants to really move forward. That takes a lot for me to say, because I'm usually an extremely nostalgic person.

Import car companies aren't trying to bring back their old cars for the most part. I doubt we'll see the likes of this car in anything new... http://memimage.cardomain.com/member...248_4_full.jpg


My $.02.

 

When my wife and I got the 2004 GTP, we looked at Malibu LT's... there was a lot of content and features for the money, but the deals on the Grand Prix's destroyed the deals on the Malibu's at that point... this was just when the new Malibu's were coming out.

If you want a modestly priced, feature packed family-type car... I think you HAVE to at least consider Malibu.

 

When they look like this:

http://www.razzi.com/vehicles/chevro...4dr_2199_1.jpg

...I think not. Chevy fan or not, I can't believe they'd offer a car that SO many people are SO opinionated about. You either love it or hate it. Around town here, I've seen maybe 3-4 of them and thats in a 6 month period or so.

 

Those tacked on GFX look terrible. The stock car looks cleaner.

Malibu sales have really picked up, as it seems with any car after dealers finally get stocked... not unlike the 2004 Grand Prix.

http://www.gm.com/company/investor_i...eries_0604.xls

 

Razzi always makes the worse body kits. They seem to be tied to GM somehow, as they've got a horrible one for each car.

 

Agreed. Although stock doesn't look MUCH better.

http://www.chevrolet.com/malibu/imag..._gallery09.jpg

This Maxx model looks like a station wagon that JUUUST couldn't make the cut and was thrown to the reject bin... then given to Chevy for sale.

 

The Delphi Roady is a pretty neat alternative in that it's FM modulated output let's you move it from car to car. I think they are around $120.00 and maybe less at discount houses.

Not sure if you are aware of this site:

https://www.mygmlink.com/main/US/en/gm/home

Maybe take a minute or two to sign up. Pretty cool features within.

 

No, I am not SERIOUSLY asking that question...I thought the sarcasm was a little more obvious than that

The point is, the Japanese typically have new cutting edge designs that tend to gain them more and more market share. Now it feels like in order to get new design all too often the Americans look at former glory for new glory.

And as someone else mentioned, there is NOTHING wrong with derivative. I think the 300C's Bently-derivative style is gorgeous. But a '70 1/2 Camaro didn't rip off a 1950s Ferrari. The 300C didn't rip off a '60s Bently. Derivative contemporary is different than derivative RETRO!

And hey, I am as big a GM supporter as you'll find. I drive them, I love them, I sell them and I will argue their greatness to the bitter end. I don't care that they earned $1.3 billion last quarter. When you have how many car lines and you have less than 30% of your domestic market share? That's a problem.

I also did not say GM's head is in the past now...I said it used to be and that's why they are where they are now...declining market share and having to climb their way back. Retro to me is a step back...not forward.

 

All very well said RP. I was a little worried about that article and how much harm it would do. I just hope that whatever damage was done, it wasnt enough to really play against GM in this whole thing. On a side note, thanks for continually stopping in to keep all our heads on straight around here. Without you're encouraging posts to "keep the faith" I think alot of people would've given up hope by now....

Also congrats on the new Maxx Big Al. I agree on the black color thing. Malibus really look decent in black.

 

red planet, you complete me. thanks for the input.

 

Case in point: upcoming RX7 (even using RX8 as the name also falls into similar category)

Toyota was considering bringing back the Supra. All of these cars have been on hiatus for some time now.

Why bring these cars back under those name and not new ones? Because those names have history and those names have followers.