Not true according to a pal that works at FOMOCO.. but what does he know?

People at Coletti's level don't steer a corporate ship... some may listen, but the pull isn't that large.

 

Red you should show these to anyone who still needs convincing:

Cobra Eaterz
F-body Wild Times
F-body Wild Times 2: LT1 - LS1
F-body Havoc

They will take probably 30-35 minutes to watch them all. I just think that if someone (or group) is so loyal to a car that they are willing to put their butts on the line all for one car and making it look as bad *** as possible. I think that GM needs to give something back to them (as well as us) in the form of a 5th gen Camaro

and this week i PROMISE to get my stuff sent to you. I finally have some time off.

 

Guys, in case anyone needs additional inspiration, here's the text of my letter, going out today:

Dear Mr. Settlemire:

I am taking the time to write you regarding GM’s future plans for the Camaro name.

I am the Executive Director of a Nashville based Camaro & Firebird club. We have 36 members from all walks of life. We have a lot of young people, and some older folks. We have Camaro owners and Firebird owners. Many of us, including me, have owned both models and consider ourselves enthusiasts of the combined F-Body heritage of the two cars together.

You might say this letter is being written on behalf of my members. To a degree, it is. We all want to see another Camaro that embraces the best of the Camaros of the past while pushing the envelope with best-in-class performance and utility. Yet, this letter is also personal, as I have emotional attachment to these cars and want to see at least one of them live again.

I got my first Camaro in 1991 at age 17. It was a red ’85 LG4 Sport Coupe with T-tops. I had a lot of fun times in that car, cruising the streets of my hometown with my buddies, lots of dates, my Junior and Senior Proms, etc. Most importantly, the first date with the woman who later became my wife was in that car. The ’85 got me through 4 years of college as well, and after a lot of care and attention I traded it away for a 1988 IROC-Z. Didn’t keep the IROC as long, but it was a big part of my life as well. It got me through Grad School and into my first “real” job. I’m on my 5th year with the ’96 Trans Am WS6, and it has been a blast.

These cars are more than just transportation to me. My dad has never been a “car guy.” He always said to me cars are just to get you from point A to point B. And more importantly, he said that cars are just cars, “wherever that car came from there’s always another.” For me, that could not be more untrue.

You see, there’s not always another car out there. When you go car shopping and you’re only looking at one kind of car, you have to be picky. When you know what you want, there isn’t always a second chance when you let one slip through your fingers. To a Camaro enthusiast, each car is unique and special. The ultimate manifestation of this is when the F-Body was put on “hiatus” in 2002. Now, there certainly isn’t always another one wherever the last one came from. Perhaps we enthusiasts took the cars for granted, but one thing is for certain: we all want them back.

We in the F-Body community have pretty much resigned ourselves to the fate of Firebird. But we know there is hope for Camaro and there is internal support in GM for a return appearance.

Ultimately, for me, it comes down to the state of the world today. There is so much “wrong” today in terms of political uncertainly, the threat of global terrorism, etc. It is not a stretch to suggest our American way of life is under assault. The loss of the F-Body cars was, in a way, a hit below the belt to those of us who embrace the cars as part of our own Americana. With everything else going on these days, how could they take away something we are so passionate about?

There’s one way GM can make it up to us. Bring the Camaro back and restore it to its rightful place as the class leader in the pony car market. The car MUST be rear-wheel-drive, and MUST have available V8 power. It MUST also have searing acceleration yet have braking and handling that catches euro-centric enthusiasts by surprise. It must also be ergonomically competent so as to broaden the potential customer base. Perhaps most importantly but also the most difficult, the Camaro must do all of this at a reasonable price. I know that’s a tall order, but I also know GM has the skills and resources to make it happen. The larger unknown is if GM has the will to pull it off.

Thanks for the opportunity to write. I consider this simply doing my part to make sure the voices of the enthusiasts are being heard. I look forward to seeing you in Atlanta for the 8th Annual F-Body Gathering.

Sincerely,



Chris Renner
“Chris 96 WS6”

 

Scott (and Paul),

You gentlemen know already how I feel about it all. I have yet to write my letter and send it with many of my pics, but opening the shop has taken pretty much all of my time. (Paul has been here and seen the shop... still waiting for Scott's appearance. )
But for the thousands out there that don't know me, or how I feel, let me say that I'm on my 6th Fbody (67, 79, 88, 96, 00, 02) and I am working on picking up another 02, right now. (It's a silver SS, Scott. ) I not only own a speed shop, but I back a domestic rwd car club, and I'm labelled as an Fbody Freak. The Viper guys and Mustang guys always busting my chops because "the General dumped on us, yet I'm always standing behind our Fbodies", blah, blah, blah. I have Fbody oil running through my vains... I am at every Gathering in ATL, and plan on hitting the one up in BG as well, now that my Marine Corps career is completed, and I will be able to make it.
My kids wear Fbody shirts, my wife wears cute little Fbody tops... my whole family loves my cars. They all seem to get the impression that I love my cars more than anything else, but I don't know where they get that idea from.

Anyways, I will stand behind our cars forever, and I will back up Mr. Scott Settlemire and have his back, no matter what anyone else says.

 

Scott, I apologize for not submitting anything as you requested. I have no excuse. I was under the impression that being involved as part of the crew on one of the first 67 Z28 track cars as well as owning a 79, 86, 94, 97, and the new 02, might make a difference. Additionally my wife still has her first car, a 69 v8 convertible. We are all pulling for the return, but we also believed what you told us on numerous ocassions when we were able to see you in person. Gm is a business, they must make money. I did my part, I bought from them. Having kept up with most of the public info, I believe when the platform design meets the new side impact standard, the new plant is finished, and the contractual "no use of the name for five years if you cancel production" requirement is met, then, there will be a new f body.

Dino and I are with you in spirit at least.

http://www.revxtreme.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7559

Long live the f body,

PJ

 

Good enough man. Just give 'em you heartfelt desire to own another one, and the great memories you have summer cruising in your f-body.

You are a potential buyer. All it's going to take is a good job and a downpayment. Let them know.

 

A very nice shop it is too Dino! It was a pleasure to come out and support the grand opening. I realize there's not much excitement I can add with my little red car. I do respect car folks that wear the bowtie over their heart.

I know Scottie is genuine. He has earned his rep as the f-bod father.

As for me? I have owned a few Camaros starting in 1969. All were Z/28's. I'm genuine and do what I can for enthusiasts.

Thanx again for the tour of the new place.

 

I'm literally logging off AOL right now to write my letter, and will be taking specific pics of mine with my dad's Sunset Orange 2002 Formula this weekend (no it isn't a Camaro, but he WISHES it was...and its a generational thing too!)...

You will have mine Scott in the next 10 days, I promise. How many have you received so far?

 

Well, here is mine...unedited and probably too damn long. It'll be mailed to Scott by Monday so that I can take some pics on the 4th...thought I'd share with everyone. It'll probably take up more than one post...I can't shut up when it comes to Camaro

Dear Scott,

This letter is long overdue, but entirely necessary. I feel it is very important to tell you and others within General Motors who may read this about my own Camaro experiences, as they literally have molded the passion I have for the automobile in general, and General Motors’ products specifically.

My first Camaro memory is still vivid in my mind, occurring nearly 20 years ago when I was 5 years old. My parents and I took a day trip to Newport, RI and were visiting the Coast Guard Academy in Newport. The only thing I remember about that day was one thing…the first time I ever saw an IROC. A Coast Guard officer drove through the parking lot in a black IROC-Z with silver IROC logos and the t-tops off. He must have seen me staring, awe-struck at the beautiful sight before me. He came to a stop, saluted me, and drove away. My parents got a good laugh, but all I remember was that car…and ever since I have coveted an IROC-Z.

I have owned cars for only 6 years now, but have always had a Camaro. As my 18th birthday and High School Graduation present, I received from my parents a 1989 Camaro RS in Medium Grey Metallic my mother purchased brand new in September, 1989. I still remember the day they bought it, and remember sitting in it while my parents signed the paperwork. It was hotter than hell that day, but I was sitting in it grinning from ear to ear. When it became mine in May, 1998 with 56,000 miles on the clock, my long-lived car obsession came full circle. The car served me well for 4 years, bringing me back and forth to UMass while completing my undergrad work there. I kept the car impeccable, and it got A LOT of compliments…how many clean third gens were still around by then? I regretfully sold it on March 9, 2002 with 96,000 miles on it. Other than a propensity to eat any alternator I put in it (4 in its 13 years with us) and t-tops that leaked from 1994 on (throwing towels on the seats during downpours became a routine with the stupid thing…) the car served me faithfully, and was a fantastic car. I fully regret the day I sold it. Were it not for the lowly 2.8 MPFI V6 under the hood, I’d have it now. But the novelty of being able to change a serpentine belt in 30 seconds because of all the underhood clearance became old quick…V8s are what Camaros are all about, right? I regret selling the car, but have no idea what I’d do with it if I still had it. So now I’m left with thousands of miles of memories, and a whole bunch of pictures…

All is not sad however. Before I sold the RS, I was lucky enough on March 20, 2001 to take delivery of my beloved ’97 Camaro Z28, replete with the 30th anniversary package, a 6 speed and t-tops. Originally I planned to buy a low-mileage ’91 Z28 from a co-worker when my father convinced me I should look for a newer car “for a change.” As the former owner of a ’69 327 base Camaro in red and a ’73 350 base Camaro in brown (along with the aforementioned ’89 RS), he shares my Camaro enthusiasm. When I visited the local Chevy dealer, I had no clue what I was looking for…they had about 15 used Camaros in stock in my price range. I remember walking down the row checking them all out, passing mine and mentioning to my dad “hey, that’s a 30th! I’ve never seen one…” 3 days later it was mine. Once I climbed in it and found it was the 6 speed with t-tops I knew I would enjoy, the 30th package was merely a bonus. Over 3 years but only 13,000 miles later (55,000 total on the car) the car sits in my garage. It has never seen a snowflake, has not seen rain since the drive to Bowling Green, KY for the F Body Gathering last September (a 2,200 mile trip for me from Springfield, MA averaging 27 MPG!), and is so pampered it will not see rain until the next Gathering I plan to attend this September. Which brings me to another point…

The heart and soul of Camaro is what made me love cars, GM cars specifically. The shape, the style, the performance of the car has lured me to it since long before I could drive. But the love for Camaro made me love Chevrolet as well, along with other GM products. Camaro had a halo affect for me. It made me love other GM products by default. Corvettes have never done it for me…too expensive, too showy, too arrogant. Camaro has always been “just right” to me. Camaro brought me into the GM fold, of which I have been both a used and a new car buyer. An ’87 Buick Skyhawk was a winter beater one winter I owned the RS. A ’95 Grand Am SE was another. After selling the RS and quickly regretting it, I had a brief fling restoring an ’89 Formula with a 305 tuned port in pretty rough shape…graduate school was on the horizon, so I sold it and the ’95 Grand Am to purchase my first new car, a 2002 Grand Am GT Coupe. As I said, the Z never even sees rain…I need 2 cars. Being a fan of mid-size GM style and performance, I found the Grand Am a little small and not powerful enough for my extensive highway driving…a year and a half later I traded in the Grand Am for a used 2001 Grand Prix GT coupe, which I have owned since October 2003. I have put 15,000 miles on it since purchase, (more than I have put on the Z in over 3 years) and it is without question the most all-around enjoyable car I have owned. To sum all this up, Camaro made me love GM by default. Even though there is no Camaro now, I am still a GM fan. I started with used Camaros, and have become a new GM buyer (well, used at the moment…). There is one thing I believe bean counters don’t always follow, and that is a model’s street presence. The kid that grows up and buys that ratty used Z28 or IROC, as they become adults and wealthier becomes a strong candidate for a new Chevrolet or GM product. All those used 4th gens out there right now are proving grounds for a flood of potential future GM buyers. Had there never been a Camaro, I’d probably have been raised on Mustangs and be driving a Mustang GT now. Sure, 4th gens may not have set the sales charts on fire, but as they are passed down to subsequent used car buyers, they are rolling advocates of General Motors and its products.

For almost 3 years (from October 2000 through July 2003) I had the joy of selling Oldsmobiles and Pontiacs for a local GM dealer. 2002 was a sad year, as obviously it was to be the F body’s final year. The dealer I worked for never stocked Firebirds, as

 

“they didn’t sell.” After much beating into his head, I informed my sales manager a buyer cannot buy a car they can’t even test drive. So after much debate he let me order 5 2002 Firebirds after they had sold only 2 in 2 years! I selected one of each model, and ordered them myself…a 5 speed 3800 base Firebird, a 6 speed Formula, a 6 speed Trans Am, an automatic WS6 and a 6 speed Firehawk. Well, a funny thing happened…

For once, a MA dealer had some ‘Birds kicking around. People came to look…and they bought them. All 5 were gone within 30 days of each unit hitting the ground. So I ordered more, and more, and more…even though I was still a part-time salesman and a full-time college student, my sales manager granted me sole permission to order Firebirds. He figured as a Camaro owner, I must know the product, right?

34 more Firebirds later, Firebird was our best selling 2002 car, beating out even the Grand Prix, which always carried the sales lead. The numbers are even more amazing, seeing as how once other dealers in the area caught on to what we were doing, they all ordered nothing but black WS6s…

- 6 V6s
- 10 Formulas (note, only 901 were made in all of 2002!!!)
- 4 Trans Ams
- 3 WS6s
- 10 Firehawks

The one everyone but the collectors seemed to want was the cheap V8, a nice $27,500 Formula. I pray Scott you are paying attention to this. I am a firm advocate that any 5th generation model NEEDS an inexpensive V8…a base coupe with a 5.3 is the ticket. When the Mustang GT offered a V8 for over $4,000 less with the same equipment aside from t-tops, I lost a lot of Formula sales. However, I was lucky enough to sell my father one, as he entered the F body camp again after not owning one since giving me my RS in 1998…a beautiful Sunset Orange 6 speed Formula with a Hurst shifter and chrome wheels. I ordered it for myself, and chickened out on selling my 30th. He took one look at it, one ride in it, and bought it on the spot…he didn’t even need it. It proudly sits in the garage at my parents house, destined to become my car someday. At 49 years old, my father has as much love for the F body as he did when he was 18 driving his ’69 Camaro…the only thing he regrets is that it is not, alas, a Camaro.

Which brings me to the real purpose of the “homework assignment…” What does Camaro mean to me? All of what I have written about and more. To me and many other people, Camaro is not merely a car. It is more than an icon…more than an important piece of American culture. A Camaro, I have always felt, is a way of life. A Camaro defines who you are. Camaro is carefree, Camaro is fun, Camaro is performance, Camaro is stylish, Camaro is strong, proud, and American. Call a potential 5th generation Camaro something else…say, Chevelle…and I will kindly put my wallet back in my pocket and begin a quest to find the car that started my love affair with Camaros almost 20 years ago…a 1985 IROC. It will look great next to the Z28, a car I will never, ever part with.

Make a 5th generation Camaro. In a marketplace of WRXs, EVOs, SRT-4s and yes, ’05 Mustangs, Chevrolet needs a statement. Corvette is again, too expensive. Chevrolet = Camaro to many enthusiasts. Calling it anything but is sacreligious. People have complained about the negative image Camaros and Firebirds have with the public, that it represents something inferior, or “redneck.” I’ll tell you what…tell that to my 49 year old Vice President/CFO father when he’s rowing through the gears of his Formula on a Sunday afternoon with his son right behind him doing the same damn thing. I sold Firehawks to Systems Engineers and Attorneys. There is nothing wrong with the name “Camaro” a fresh design and a new ad campaign can’t fix…and the brand loyalty that goes with the name for hundreds of thousands of old Camaro owners is already in place.

Make a Camaro…make a real, genuine Camaro. Make it combine the curb appeal, style and impact a new 3rd gen had with the power of a 4th gen. Make it low and sleek, but make it comfortable. Give it a big V8 and great transmissions that allow for better gas mileage than that pumped up turbo Neon. And for the love of God, give the base model a $1,000 V8 upgrade, and make t-tops available on all models. A lot of the fun of my Z28 is the damn t-top.

I am 24 now, employed as a Credit Analyst for Banknorth Massachusetts. I will be returning to the same dealership I used to work for on weekends again for extra income, having recently purchased my own home. I wouldn’t need the extra job if I sold the Z28, but I’ll live in the car before I sell it. That’s what Camaro means to me. My Grand Prix will be paid off by October, 2006. Why is that relevant? There have been rumors a new Camaro is on the horizon. If its there, I’ll be ready…and keeping my Grand Prix for a winter car. I can’t have all that New England salt getting all over my new baby, can I?

What’s my dream right now, at age 24? I hope that by age 27, I can visit my local Chevy dealer once again, and order a Sunset or Hugger Orange 2007 Camaro RS (or equivalent) with a 300hp 5.3 V8, a 5 or 6 speed stick, t-tops and PW and PL…that’s it. I don’t need a Z28, but I need the sound and feel of a V8. Price it around $26,000 in today’s dollars (about the same as a 2005 Mustang GT I hear), and just show me the dotted line to sign on. I am that serious. I will send you pictures Scott of the day I take delivery. I will drive it to Bowling Green and show it to you. The 30th will be back there this year, but what I want more than anything is to have my very own, brand new Camaro. I have never had one.

Scott (and anyone else who is listening), make that happen. Call it a Chevelle though and, uh, show me something in an ’85-’90 IROC-Z.

Sincerely,

Jason E. Emmett
A/k/a “Jason E” on CamaroZ28.com and thirdgen.org

 

Granted, with the news on here that PHR and/or other rags are reporting already a new Camaro is "confirmed," maybe my letter is a day late and a dollar short...but hell, I want to make sure I at least help the effort to ensure a new Camaro...I'd be pretty mad at myself if I never wrote this, and the new Camaro became a Chevelle or something...

 

It appears now that there will be another Camaro but no Firebird. The work now has to be to influence just how the car will look and perform. I prefer a RWD LS2 2+2 car that is about 300lbs lighter than the 2002 F-body and at least 18" shorter and 6" more narrow.

I want it to look muscular and in-your-face in full trim. I don't want it to look like mom's grocery-getter. It will need a trunk that can carry a couple of golf bags (my '68 does that very well). I love my t-tops and think of them as almost an F-body signature.

I know what you're talking about saleswise. The dealer I bought from knew there would be no more Firebirds, so he ordered a few anniversary models and sold them all. Then he ordered more and sold them too. Then he made a mad scramble to get all he could from every other dealership because he could only get a certain quota from the factory. He sold them all, WS6s at a premium price.

I can only say thank God I got mine. It looks like the Firebird is gone for a very, very long time.