Z284ever

Here is something I've been thinking about.

With the GTO on the way and rumors of a Chevy version of GTO (Chevelle? Lower cost?), the Solstice and of course the Corvette.....does GM think that their is no need for Camaro?

Official statements from GM (press releases, etc.), indicate that their story is, there is NO market for Camaro (as if they gave Camaro their best shot to be a winner over the past few years).....200,000 Mustangs and others not withstanding.

I wonder if people whithin GM really realise that the reason the Camaro died, is because they slowly killed it with neglect, until it was no longer desirable.

I wonder if anyone within GM realises that there are so many people who can't wait to buy a really modern, updated, well put together,NEW CAMARO?


MAYBE WE NEED TO REMIND BOB LUTZ.

96Z28man

well put. GM really did the Camaro in and they knew what they were doing the whole time.

guionM

GM still has their killjoys. According to All Corvettes are Red, even after business cases were made, there were still no shortage of people who tried hard to kill the C5, despite the support C5 had of some in upper management.

The C5 seemingly made it to life because it had a 40 year history, it was GM's showcase car, and it still was top seller in it's market segment, despite being virtually the same for well over 10 years.

Camaro on the other hand has none of those points going for it, so I can only imagine what it's like trying to make a case for a 5th gen. It also doesn't help that there are no parts available to make a 5th gen yet.

Meccadeth

I beleive that GM could have priced it less and made much more money from it. I think the design of the f-body chassis caused the bulge in price. If they would have designed it better and kept it modernized, and keep the price in the low $20K's - $30K for a top notch F-bod, then I think it would have sold right up there with Mustangs. Camaro's are just as trendy as Mustangs among late teens and early adults, if only GM could have figured out how to package it differently then we'd still have a Camaro today.

Z284ever

Camaro needs a friend at the top. Jim Perkins really pushed the C5 through (and he probably lost his job over it.....what a shame).

I don't believe Camaro has such "higher up" friends to fight for it today.

Like I said, maybe we should let them know how we feel in some organized way..........

stars1010

Speaking of guys in the higher up of GM. Does anyone have a clue to how Mr. Lutz feels about the Camaro? Has he made any statements about it over the past year?

redzed

GM feels that alot of vehicles are unneccessary. They must feel a decent minivan is "unneccessary" because the Venture/Transport feel like the worst vans in the industry. In general, other than the Cadillacs, Corvettes, and trucks/suvs, they pretty much seem like they don't really care about much at all.

If you've driven a Buick Century, the current paragon of "automotive quality," you really wonder if an executive has ever spent more than five minutes behind the wheel of one of these cars. There's a corporate culture of "building the cars we like" among automotive executives. If the car isn't anything that appeals to a stuffed shirt, the best you can hope for is decent reliability and nothing more.

BlackRocketZ

I still think the Corvette helped kill the Camaro. Why have two sports cars in the line up? Ford doesnt. The thirty thousand dollar difference in price was not reflected in the difference in performance. Mid 13s in a z28 and low 13s to high 12s in the Vette. I'd love to see the Camaro come back pretty much like it left, but I'am not holding my breath. In my opinion the writing was on the wall of the direction Chevy was taking when they killed the Impala SS in '96. If I dont redo the motor in my Z and trade it. It probably wont be for another Camaro. Maybe a Silverado SS.

guionM

Lutz said something to the effect that he's interested in bringing Camaro back, but other cars must be done first. He's in Camaro's corner, but he's the product guy for the whole corperation.

The man has to prioritize.

IZ28

Yeah but the Camaro and the Corvette are kinda different cars if you take out certain things in the drivetrain.

The Corvette needs to move away from the Camaro more, it has to compete with other supercars. The Camaro is supposed to be competing with the M*****g. Which BTW, even the top M*****g is getting close to the Z06. It seems waiting for GM to get something right still takes a good while these days.

redzed

So you want the Corvette to become ever more expensive. I never had much admiration for overprice "supercars," which are normally to expensive and impractical to be anything other than "garage ornaments." The beauty of the Corvette is that its the best "sports car" for the money anywhere in the world. It should stay that way.

The Camaro was the best "musclecar" for the money in the entire world. It was fine if it played second fiddle to the Corvette on the track, because the performance gap was narrow in the real world. If they bring the name back, that's the exact role it should play. Forget FOMOCO vs. GM: the Camaro needs to continue to evolve away from the Mustang.

BlackRocketZ

Well if 35 years isnt long enough to get right, what is? Every other time the Camaro changed body sytles it didnt miss a year. The Vette sat out a year but was a total redesign. I'am just still pissed that they killed the Camaro.

BlackRocketZ

I disagree. The Thunderbird evolved away from the Vette and look at the joke it became. Personally I dont see the Camaro as a "Musclecar"any more. To many bells and whistles. Power mirrors,seats,cruise,heated seats,tilt wheel,leather etc,etc. Make it a little more stripped down and ballsey. There is probably 300lbs they could lose. Just my opinion. Dont really want to argue about something that aint gonna' happen.

redzed

Just to disagree, the T-bird evolved into an excellent car in the 1958 "Squarebird." Other than the Corvette, these 4-seaters were the lowest slung cars on the highway. In 1959 they even became some of the first massmarket cars with true "big block" displacement - 430 cu.in. It was during the late '60s when the
T-bird developed suicide doors, and later when it developed an actual "beak," that it became a joke.

As far as the bells and whistles, there isn't a car available without them in this day and age. GMs even coming out with a factory remote car starter.

Sixer-Bird

The Corvette needs to stay right were its at. It coexisted with the Camaro for 35 years. The main reason for the f-body's demise was the lack of a fresh platform update.

The Corvette is about offering exotic sports car performance at a fraction of the price. Its the epitome of American performance cars.