I was just thinking about the Camaro/Firebird being gone and wondered if maybe this was a pre-conceived decision made to help boost sales of the next F-body (with GM already knowing that they would build it). We are all aware that sales started to slip in/around 96'. When the new freshening and power increase did little to help raise lagging sales, what if the higher ups decided that just a new F5 design would not help to bring back the glory days. Right now, the general consensus is that GM does not know what they are going to do: leave it dead or revive it later. Maybe the line of thinking was to make us believe that there would no longer be a Camaro/Firebird to speak of. Then, when there is enough buzz about the possibility of a revival, they miraculously release a pre-production car after only a 5 month design (this would mean that GM had really been designing and building the car for the previous 24 months). I mean look at all of the success that revived nameplates have received with the Beetle, Thunderbird, and Z car. By giving us little to no information and just relying on pure speculation, we are continueing the name of Camaro/Firebird and helping to build a frenzy among ourselves for when the new car is released. This way, we are so excited about just having our favored cars back, that we run out and buy one right then. Just my .02,

Kyle

 

That would be nice, in respect that we get the new car faster...

Evil, in the fact that they were purposely decieving their customers....

and, finally, unlikely, because I think Zarellaism was too real for something like that to have happened.

 

That's a pretty desparate reach don't ya think?

New cars that GM (or anyone else for that matter) are showing today are still 18 months away from production (2005 model year) unless it's just cosmetics on a current model. And that's giving one hell of a benefit of the doubt...look how long it's taken the limited production SSR to get to market!

Besides, cancelling a car then keeping quiet about a replacement would have the opposite effect. First of all, you have people like me that came in mid-way through f-body production that refused to buy a new one because it was too much like our own, and who will be in the market to buy a new car in a year or 2. All those people who would turn & buy it's competitor's cars are out of commission while they are paying on those cars.

It would be an insurmontable "catch-up" job, and even in GM's world of non-logic, it wouldn't make any sense.

 

Nice try!
Ain't gonna happen!
Too bad GM is by the CAW! I really believe if it weren't for the CAW, we would have a newly designed F5 sitting in our showrooms this spring. Of course, you can't really blame the CAW for doing a better job at negotiating the contract than GM did. Whoever the genius was that negotiated that for GM should be fired and forced to drive a Geo Metro the rest of his life!!!