How could I put it....

Camaro is not a necessity to GM....it's kinda like the big screen TV you really really want because the neighbors have....but you have other needs before you consider it. Right now with war, economy, and low consumer confidence GM is not going to be as liberal in development spending. Also what development they do have is going to go to products that bring GM immediate good press or income. The RWD cars right now are top priority...but they can't build a Camaro before they get the mass models (Inmpala, new Grand Prix) online. Thats like buying the above big screen TV while putting off fixing a leaky roof.

Also Kurt Ritter got Promoted away from Chevy which was a huger blow than many think. In short There will eb a new Camaro at some point...but for it to happen buy the time we want alot of good things and a small miricle have to happen. The war and all will just make GM indecisive.

 

Flashback to 1967....

The Chevrolet auto-line includes:

Corvair, Corvette, Chevy II (a.k.a Nova), Chevrolet Full-size, Impala, Chevelle and the new kid on the clock... Camaro.


If they had that many choices way back in 1967, why can't they have just as many in 2007?

 

Because it is 30 years later.And there were'nt a billion SUV's on the market either.

 

But the SUV for the most part has replaced the station wagon.

So the argument that SUVs control the market shouldn't be used to settle any argument of "market-desirability".

The mini-van killed the station wagon, the SUV has killed the mini-van.

What's next?

Who cares. It has nothing to do with the sports sedan segment of the market.

...but then I never suspected I'd ever see Porsche and Mercedes are building SUVs....

 

For the most part your right,This is/can be a debatable subject.
But back 30 years ago there werent "AS" many wagons as there are SUV's.
And with so many people buying the damned things it "DOES" effect the sport market.
Im not saying SUV's are bad,To each their own but when the cards are put down on the table they do effect the sport market due to the WIDE selection of them.

 

There are a couple of places where both Form & myself get the same information, but I think I also rely more on unconventional ways to try to get a clearer picture, and I take what is said in context to how the industry tends to work. It's served me right so far (even when some "insiders" said the opposite) so I'll stick with it.

That being said, I'll offer my angle along with Branden's.

Camaro comming back is a relative certainty. What I mean by this is that yes, it will be back, and it's definately not going to take till late decade before it returns. That's good news. If GM suffers a Ford-esque financial meltdown, then it's likely Camaro would be one of the 1st casualities. On one hand Branden is right on whhich would be one of the 1st casualities in a crunch. That's the bad news. However, the even better news is that Branden's yardstick for pulling money out of programs is far more liberal, and more of a hair trigger, than what actually takes place in the industry. That's SUPER news!

The auto industry is on a very different timeframe than we are. Today, the industry is planning the cars due for 2008, they are well into developing the 2007s, are doing the final developing of 2006's cars, the final testing of the 2005s. Planning is done on forecasts of those timeframes, not the whims of today that send stocks in all directions by the hour. Imagine if the economy's slight dip today, a minor dip in consumer confidence yesterday, or a war that's likely to last only a few months affected a car company's product development decisions! We'd never have new designs!

On the flip side of that, say the market gets saturated because of 0% financing (not exactly a reach), or the SUV tide reverses back to cars, or the unsustainability of current record breaking vehicle sales, you had better have some really spectacular cars comming out to counter this prospect.... Oh wait! That's EXACTLY what the industry is doing! Good thing they didn't cut the product development budget!

Now going back to Camaro, if one is going to come out before 2007, it would be a safe bet that it's either already approved, or at least at the "act NOW" stage. As long as GM doesn't have a Ford-esque financial meltdown (which turned a DEW chassis Mustang into a DEW with solid axle & struts & sent the FortyNiner & RWD Fairlane to the back shelf), I don't think we have to worry about Camaro's return.

GM is now the world's low cost car producer. That means it can still make money selling fewer cars than just a few years ago.

 

There weren't? How old are you? Back in the late 60's and early 70's (just before the gas crisis) station wagons were everywhere.

The gas crisis of the mid seventies created the small car/fuel economy craze.
I'm sorry but I strongly disagree. While I bought a SUV last year; it was for my wife. She hates my Camaros. Won't go near them. Won't drive them. Demands me to take the SUV when we go out together.

Along time ago she had a Datsun 210 wagon. She migrated to a Chevy 2-door Blazer, then 4-door Blazer when the kids got bigger and now a Tahoe... for the extra room and comfort.

30 years ago she would have been my mom driving a 1970 Chevy Kingswood Estate wagon. My mom never drove Camaros either.

My point in all this? SUV's are primarily the car of suburban housewives. 30 years ago, they were driving station wagons. Today, its Tahoes, Escalades, Expeditions, Suburbans, etc. Any "guy" that buys a luxury SUV and says its "for him" is kidding himself into thinking he got what he wanted, and is refusing to admit to himself that his wife won.

Today's 2+2 RWD V8 sports sedan buyer is not affected by SUV sales, just as they weren't affected by station wagon sales 30 years ago.

 

Yup, a musclecar buyer or fan could care less about SUV's. Unless they want 1 for a daily driver.

 

I suspect everything you said is dead on the money!

 

OK,Ill try and end this waving a white flag.

I cannot,For the life of me,Recall in any way that in the 60's 70's that there were 55+ different wagons in various (by various I mean small/med./large) sizes?

I know this will be called minority,But when me and my wife went out shopping for her new vehicle what did she want?A 2002 Mustang vert..What did we end up (almost) getting a Explorer.Why didnt we get that 2002 Explorer,I HATE SUV's and said this FX4 F150 Super crew fits the bill.
We went that route due to the baby (soon-VERY soon babies)
where any 2+2 would not work.(even though I still have a 2+2 )
I guess all in all Im looking at it from my perspective,It isnt god sent or anything but it was my experience.

 

That’s so true. That’s my mom. She absolutely hates riding in my Camaro, We always have to take the Expedition.

 

Someone really needs to write an "All Camaro's are Red". I swear it sounds like the same type battle for an F5 is going on just like the C5 had back in the early 90's. After the 5th gen comes out I'd really like to hear the entire story.

 

[South Park] Blame Canada, Blame Canada! [/South Park]

 

Me too! It would be interesting to look back at what we all thought was going on and what really was going on. Wonder how close we are?

 

I am re-reading All Corvettes Are Red right now.... I am on Chapter 21.

I few chapters ago, someone said that Stingray III was quickly slapped down as a new Corvette because "Corvette's don't have fixed headlamps."

Hmmm... too bad that thinking is apparently gone.

(Sorry... I am really really disgruntled about the non-hidden headlamp on C6 thing... )



I still feels that Stingray III's front end and general styling would make a fantastic starting point for an F5 Camaro...


http://www.corvette.nl/pictures/sting3_5.jpg