The most important model ever was the IROC. Period. People were profoundly impacted by the IROC. Hell, people look at my 30th and say "nice IROC." No bull.

The car has been dead for 13 years, and still, everyone knows IROC. I'm a big fan of the idea of bringing some third gen back for the 5th gen. Its the model so many people can relate to.

 

I agree and have seen similar things but it was popular because it was an ultimate Camaro Z28 lookswise and performancewise with a cool sounding name. IMO, it should stay with the Third Gen as COPO and other names stayed with other Gens.

 

You could get a Hurst Shifter as an option on a Z28. It was a couple hundred bucks.

I agree the 17" wheels should have been available on Z28. I won't argue that.

 

That sounds like my kid. He wants to make his Rustang louder. I'm like, "its already loud enough with the X-pipe and flowmasters... don't you want it to sound stock especially with the supercharger?"
Nope, needs to be real loud, to draw attention.

Kind of goes with the stripes & scoops mentality doesn't it?

I want a sleeper, so give me performance without the useless sideshow goodies.

I guess I'm just sneaky.

 

Unfortunately "sleeper" doesn't sell to the masses. The "masses" want an in your face bad *** car. Which of course, only the SS moniker can deliver at this time. Outside the muscle car faithful and fans, what does Z28 mean to the regular Joe? Ricers probably think mullet (ala 3rd gen). SS has strong recognition in the industry. And with the way Chevy is using SS on every model now, there is no doubt Camaro SS will be the top model as a 5th gen.

Im not saying this to bad mouth the Z28, Im just taking a step back and looking at it from a customer's standpoint. Chevy really watered down the Z28 too much over the past 2 decades to a point it really is only a fraction of its former self. We can't live in the 60's and early 70's. This is 2003. The SS still holds prominence. It will sell more units than a Z28 model will as top dog.

I bought an SS because I wanted the "tacky hood and spoiler" and 17 inch wheels. I even went further and bought a 35th anniversary edition. Today's youth want to be seen. Sleeper will sell to niche market, not enough to sustain a model line. An SS will help the bottom line with premium pricing on the "tacky crap." With that said, there is still room for a mid level model: the Z28.

I await the flaming....

-Rich

 

INTENSS, it's hard to argue with your post. In fact, I may agree with most of it.

But I can't help but thinking that if the 4th gen Z/28 wasn't sooooo devoid of any "Z/28-ness" (ie base wheels), that more people would have bought Z/28's and fewer SS's.

Just judging by these polls, the Z/28 faithful will accept no substitute. The rest don't care.

 

But ... why wouldn't Chevy want more people to buy the SS? They made more profit by having that option package ordered...

Trying to blame the demise of the 4th gen on the SS is hard to do. The SS held it's own while the other models declined.

Look at an ancient platform, and build quality that, while better than previous Camaros, was not on par with other offerings (except Mustang, which is equally as sub-par), and you'll find the real reasons.

 

BINGO, WE HAVE WINNER!!!!!!


Of course that is the case. But as most things in life....there is no free lunch.

They put quick, easy, short term profits first....(and in the final analysis, we are really only talking chump change)..........and in return damaged the Camaro brand.

I don't know how you put a price on that.

 

Well... I don't see how it damaged the brand... if SS held it's own (sales-wise) while the base car (and to a lesser degree the Z28) did not... isn't the SS giving the buyer what it wants, at a price he/she is willing to pay?

 

Yes

 

Intenss, I find your post and reasoning ridiculous. Have you not seen that EVERY single poll here has resulted in the want to have the Z28 returned back to where it should be?? People do not care about a Camaro SS, it is not neccesary. Ask some1 on the street, any random person, what they think the top Camaro is. I guarantee the Z28 will be your answer, and any1 who knows Camaros usually have more admiration for it than any other model. And any "stereotype" that you'll get about the Z28 name will be 1 of a kick *** Camaro, the most popular model. Not the expenSSive Camaro, which most in the Camaro community didn't pay any attention to anyway by default because it was a 4th Gen. The most unpopular Chryslers........I mean Camaros ever. The Corvette has no SS but a Z car at the top and thats the way it should be for the Camaro. The SS name should stay as a way to bring something extra to the regular cars, not already super sporty cars.

 

I submit to you that it held it's own at the expense of the rest of the lineup. Those who wanted SS's bought them----absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Just imagine however, if there were more people that wanted more Z/28s and more base Sport Coupes. There weren't more buyers ...because these models were not desirable.

But of course...the strategy was to devalue the rest of the line-up, so people would want to spring for the higher profit SS.

The strategy worked as planned.

 

Isn't the stratagy of any upgrade to any car line to make the top model the most desirable?

If there were no SS, you could say the Z28 devalued the base car...

 

That's not what he's trying to get across, thats a base car. To devalue the Z28 name like that was wrong and it was revisionist. The 67-72 Camaro SS's didn't do that and neither should have the 4th's. The SS was never a upgraded Z28 or a flashier car, they were 2 different things and should have stayed that way.

 

Yes. More desirable to some. But not at the expense of the rest of the line.

If, for example, they used the same strategy on the Silverado.....in that they completely devalued the whole Silverado line-up (NO SILVERADO IS DESIRABLE TO THE CONSUMER OTHER THAN SILVERADO SS) in order to squeeze out , say 5,000 more Silverado SS sales....I believe heads would be rolling at "The Tubes".