took the words right out of my mouth. Even the Ford Exec's dont call the Mustang "retro" in fear of catching the retro backlash. Not saying that I dont trust a certain someone from a distant world, but these pictures arent exactly making me feel good inside. All Im saying is that the 2nd, Third, and 4th gen never looked like a past generation. GM should stick with that.

 

Couldn't have said it any better. The trick is to make a Camaro that will appeal to the widest audience of Camaro enthusiasts possible, and let ergonomics bring in the rest of the car-buying population. Chevy can't be worried about a handful of guys who want a replica 3rd Gen or nothing.

 

While I admit that I do like alot of this car, there are still things that need to be addressed with a design like this. Th stupid bar and no middle crease like the other guys' at C&G. While the Camarp never really went back to get its designs, there were always things that let you know that it was a Camaro. I think that GM needs to remember that the average person out there doesn't think 1st Gen when they hear the word Camaro. It's more like they think IROC-Z which was the last really popular and is most well-know "recent" Camaro among the general public. (and the survey proved this, but I don't wanna see a "retro" Third Gen or any Gen, it's more like I don't wanna see just the 1st Gen in the car) Although, more and more people are getting into musclecars newer and from way back, but still.

I don't understand how the 5th Gen is trying to be a M*stang. I bet it will still be wider, longer, lower, (even though dimensions will be reduced from the 4th Gen) and perform better in all categories just like always. (that would include looking better too!)

 

True enough, there's much more to being a Camaro - and a properly executed Camaro at that - than the exterior sheetmetal. Things like performance, safety, useability, affordability, durability and quality. Don't get me wrong, style is very important. Whether it's more or less retro, does it really matter, as long as it says Camaro I can be happy with the result. If the problem areas of the previous generations are dealt with and the package as a whole moves forward into the 21st century at a high level of quality to boot, than what else can we ask of GM?

 

What more can we ask? To style it better!

 

Our likes and dislikes aside, the styling does matter, as in order to survive, the car has to sell. Not to just gearheads (which most of us are), but to a much larger car-buying audience.

This: http://www.helixstudio.com/ssmd/cama..._ss_final.jpeg

Looks awesome, IMHO.

 

But appreciation of styling is subjective. Assuming the car is an attractive, reasonably aggressive 2+2 coupe in the pony car mold (this has to be a given as a starting point, as far as most people ie: the buying public are concerned before you can start the debate) who is to say what really constitutes better styling? You? Me? GM? Someone else?

My point is that not everyone is going to be happy, in much the same vein you project a preference for 3rd gen cars; despite the fact that there was a follow-on 4th gen car that moved the performace bar forward. For every person who loves 3rd gen cars (for example) there is likely someone who prefers one of the other generations, or flat out hates said 3rd gen cars. I like each of the four generations of Camaro, but I do have favourite model year iterations from each gen. I truly don't like the execution of every model year since 67 and beyond that I certainly prefer TA models for some years.

 

All very true...

Which is why it was soooooooo nice to have Firebird offered as a 'styling alternative' if nothing else... don't like Camaro? Check out a Firebird...

 

Too bad GM couldn't give Firebirds away and they diluted the car that the Camaro could have been.

 

I think I am going to have to put my industrial design skills to use and design my own rendition of a 5th gen. It's time for me to shut up and show what I think the 5th gen should look like. I was going to save this for my senior design studio but it might be nice to get a head start.

 

Ya, that's the other side of the coin...

All the money that was spend of Firebird's styling components could have been used on making a better Camaro. And perhaps a more frequently freshened Camaro....

But that all assumes that the money would have been used in that direction, which is not a given.

 

True, in some sense, though Camaro didn't sell all that significantly well either. It obviously outsold Firebird, but considering Chevy has an enormous advantage in sheer number of dealerships compared to Pontiac, that could have played a role as well.

I don't want to get into a pissing match or hijack the thread, but as had been stated before lack of advertisements for BOTH cars played a role in the lack of sales.

 

Ironicly the new Mustang is wider and sits quite a bit better than the older ones. The 2007 Camaro will be very similar to the new Mustang And while the top Mustang outperforms the top Camaro, I digress as that is a topic for another thread and lounge.

 

http://www.helixstudio.com/ssmd/cam...t_ss_final.jpeg

This car looks sweet. It has design cues from different generations and its instantly recognizable as a Camaro. Now if they can squeeze T-tops into the equation, that would be even more bada$$.

One more time to the retro-haters. Its been stated that the look of the car "isnt retro" by someone whos seen it. These pictures are most of the puzzle but they still aren't photos of the ACTUAL car. Before we start bashing it into the ground, lets wait for more info and see what turns up.

 

Isn't this statement really only true because the top Camaro went out of production before the top Mustang could out-perform it? Not to say that the SS would have been tweaked to match the Cobra in any event as that SC car came to market. Still it took a power adder to top the NA LS-1 powered car.