guionM

Been on vacation the past week, and I figured I'd drop by and see what's been going on.

I didn't plan on posting anything, but after reading a coupe of threads through (all the way through), I see I need to suit up and dive in to deal with a trend I see developing (plus I'm not one to run away from something I did).

There are 2 separate threads & polls regarding the possible loss of the Camaro name for the next Chevy "sports coupe" and one dealing with an article I did for Popular Hot Rodding.

In the PHR thread, 2 posts sum up very well where I see our herd heading:


1st of all, anyone who actually thinks that PHR article is going to prevent GM from using the Camaro name in a future Chevy sports car quite frankly needs to have their head examined or seek therapy. As much as I would like to, I do not influence policy at the General Motors Corperation. Also, if Motor Trend & Car & Driver can't get GM to do things, Popular Hot Rodding has even less influence. I suspect they would like to have even C&Ds or MT's influence.

2nd, if you recall months ago, it was made very clear that the Camaro name was in jepordy in the 1st place. This was what prompted me to search news archives to see what exactly the h*ll was going on, and how much truth was behind the "name" agreement. I found this out, & posted it here and at another GM site where this question bounced around for years. I was later asked to turn it into an article with news article references to protect the magazine & guarantee accuracy (you DON'T print an article like that without references).

Point: The name was in trouble a long time BEFORE the article or even my posts appeared.

3rd, no bridges were burnt in the making of that article. The article was a compilation of news articles & stories from a variety of newspapers, magazines, and (gasp! ) news releases of General Motors own press people.

4th, as far as bridges burned meaning that PHR article upset some management people at GM, all I can say is it would be a great world if we could go through life without upsetting anyone. Unfortunately, we can't.

GM management is covered by a "NON-disclosure Agreement". What this in effect does is gag them from talking about anything that isn't cleared by GM. Unless you are a Chairman, talking about any future product can get you canned. This agreement also creates screamish middle management, that not only refuses (correctly and understandably) to reveal information, but it tends to create outrage when someone else does, even if it isn't sensitive.

It's human nature that if you are forced to keep a secret, you are upset when someone else brings it out instead.

5th, GM is going to do what GM is going to do. If GM is going to use the Camaro name, they will. If GM isn't going to, they won't. GM will do whatever is economically feasible, practical, and won't generate bad press. Period.

In the early 90s, GM was seriously considering killing the Corvette. It was brought up that an announcement like that would end up on the front page of Time & Newsweek, and it wouldn't be flattering (read "All Corvettes Are Red" for more). It was enough to get the project somewhat on track.

The PHR article will no doubt be referenced by another press writer IF Chevrolet's new sports car returns without the Camaro nameplate, as a starting point for researching his own article. There's a small chance it will end up as it's own story in the business section of a magazine like Time and Newsweek, in that event, which will serve as an example of how a short sighted business decision brought down a historic name.

However, don't forget:
*Currently, you have a Product Chairman who has no quams about renaming every redesigned car done under his watch.
*You have a less than thrilling response to Red Planet's efforts to show how crazy Camaro owners are about the "Camaro" name.
*You have a car that sold so poorly during it's last few years, that Chevrolet dealers on average sold less than 10 Camaros per dealer during any entire year!
*You have a car that in the public's mind is stuck in a bygone era, and was soundly beaten by the Mustang.

That's what the Camaro name's up against. Not a Popular Hot Rodding article put together by raiding public news archives. There are people who would like you to believe that this article helped kill the Camaro name, if it doesn't come back. There are also people who want you to believe that Ralph Nader can win the election this fall too. Both are delusionally wrong.




Any information that doesn't compromise the people passing the info or risk their jobs, or any information that's given on a personal (or confidence) level, or is asked not to be posted or passed around is fair game. If the information is already in the press, then don't you think it's pretty ingenious to show shock simply because that info is put together? But when "hints" are thrown around, and you put them together, there is no shock?

This PHR 4th gen/Ste Therese story isn't a completely flattering story, therefore, it may be mildly embarssing to some involved. But is it going to help or hurt the chances of Chevrolet's next car being called Camaro?

The Canadian Autoworkers Union, the Provenience of Quebec, & the government of Canada, didn't learn anything new from the article. Every related internet site knows that a Camaro is returning within the next 3 years. GM is going to base their decision to name the next car based on So, exactly what is the issue in all this?

It's easy to say "...the article did no one any favors". But not said was "... the article did no one a disservice" either.

Why?

1. It would require an explanation.
2. It didn't effect anything one way or another.

This method's used in politics to throw peoples opinions by careful choice of words.

You can influence your audience your direction without actually lying to them.

falchulk

I dont mean to be a jerk, but I wish this response was written better. Its kind of irratating and repetative. I really got nothing out of it. I personally found nothing wrong with the PHR article but your response here seems to contradict what the article says. You keep stating that the name is in jeopardy but in he article (and the end of this post), you say that its coming back with an almost certianty. All the intrest is being generated because of the camaro name. If you had stated that there was a rwd v8 sports/pony car coming from GM, it would not have been a problem.

91_z28_4me

Maybe you are new around here and don't know who GuionM is but he is Guy McCoy one of the authors of the PHR story and a GREAT person to have on the board. Guion will tell us what he can if he finds it a) somewhere else 1st or b) confirmed through multiple sources which cannot be traced back to a single leak.

IZ28

I'm glad it came out. It's about time the public knew.

Chris 96 WS6

I think in the spirit of openness, we would like to know (or I would at least) if you were paid for your contributions to the article. I assume so. I'm not suggesting that dollar signs motivated you in putting together the article with Hunkins, but it would be disingenuous IMO not to disclose that there was a financial benefit for you.

Like I said I don't think that's the prime motivator, and I know from all your efforts here that you do sincerely care about the Camaro and its fate. However, we should all understand the totality of the context within which the article was generated and published.

falchulk

I know who he is and enjoy the mag and his posts. I just dont get a lot out of the above. Maybe its sat night and Ihave been drinking but I just could not get what was saying. Regardless, i dont hink his article was wrong to begin with.

91_z28_4me

What I caught from the article is why should someone be upset at a person for writing an article using publicly available stuff? All he did was follow the bread crumbs as we have done for quite a while now and put them together so that people don't have to go finding it for themselves.

BTW I have not read the article yet. I have a hard time finding places in Louisville, KY that carry the mag.

Guion this seems like two sentences that got stuck together. What is GM going to base their decision to name the next car based on?

That part threw me a little.

Meccadeth

I cried, I laughed. I felt happy, I felt sad and mad.

And thats just from the Response to the article. I gotta go get the article. Now.

I hope your vacation is going well, Guy.

EDIT: Wow, just read through the article. Great work! Its good to see that some of that info from that thread that had to be be deleted is in actual publication now. And I to Kris's work on that concept. I couldn't help but get an ear to ear smile everytime I looked over at it. I really hope thats what our future baby looks like.

Doug Harden

Guy,

My comment was directed at more "personal" bridges than those with GM as a whole. Someone's toes were stepped on here...

FWIW, I thought your article was well written and even softened as to opinions on why things happened. Good Job.

However, the characterizations of the 35th Anniversary Models was down right rude to a certian person we rely on around here...I suspect this wasn't your doing....but to lambast them as just a sticker job, without giving credit to those who busted their @$$ to make something happen with almost no budget altogether seems to me to be just a cheap shot. We were damned lucky to get anything to commemorate this milestone.....hell we were damned lucky that certian people put themselves on the line to make the car last long enough to even get to this milestone. Has ANYONE written about this point? Does anyone really know why they were optioned the way they were? (I do, you do too)...but all we hear is GM blew it again.

While I won't divuldge private conversations I've had with certian parties since the article broke, I'll just say that there was a certian level of disappointment and even anger over it.

It was made clear to me that some damage had been done to the Camaro's situation...but what that meant, I don't know....not yet anyway.

There is still a HUGE piece of the puzzle that is missing as to what happened with the f-body....but we will not be able to even discuss this until after it returns....IF it returns....(a car by another name is not the Camaro's "return").

In your defense, GM's own actions has put themselves in the position as to not even being able to defend themselves on this issue and many who don't know the dirty little details simply choose to bash GM without knowing the truth.

To that point, again, I thank you for your efforts......but it seems that someone felt that without ALL the reasons why, it was (in his words, not mine) irresponsible to put it out there knowing there is more to the story.

Bottom line is that your article tells most of the story, but not all of it....damned if you do, damned if you don't.

I'm sure this will all blow over....but I wouldn't expect a Christmas card from GM.

95 Z/28 LT1

Frankly, this whole thing makes me sick.

R377

I don't understand how that's relevant. It's not like he stands to personally benefit from anything that might result from the article. He spent a lot of time and effort to write the article so he deserves compensation. I'd be very surprised if he didn't get paid.

PacerX

Jeebus...

I've completely missed the boat here.

Somebody please email me the text of the article. I'm in Canada and I promise I'll buy the damned thing as soon as I get back to civilization... err... the United States.

Finding that magazine around here is next to impossible.

Ok, it's actually impossible.

prsce22@hotmail.com

Chris 96 WS6

I don't understand how its not relevant. You don't see that if an article isn't exactly a great idea, but its not really clear and it comes down to a judgement call, and a paycheck is involved, it might alter the decision? NOT saying that is what happened, but I think its important to disclose.

cook_dw

I agree 100% with guionM. Everything said in the article in my eyes is correct and is nothing new to anyone that has actually followed the "Trail of Tears" of the Camaro. I see nothing wrong with it and I appauld Guy McCoy & Johnny Hunkins for trying to let everyone else understand the situation. GM is going to do what they want to do regardless of what is said or done. Just my $0.02.

Evil Turbo SS

"1st of all, anyone who actually thinks that PHR article is going to prevent GM from using the Camaro name in a future Chevy sports car quite frankly needs to have their head examined or seek therapy. As much as I would like to, I do not influence policy at the General Motors Corperation. Also, if Motor Trend & Car & Driver can't get GM to do things, Popular Hot Rodding has even less influence. I suspect they would like to have even C&Ds or MT's influence."

---- For some reason this didnt quote....


This is what I said. But no one flames him when he says it.