Ok, I'm sure this has been answered in other posts, but I couldn't find a definitive answer on it.

From what I'm hearing, the actual (not concept) new Mustang will debut next year and will go on sale to the public next year, right?

Now I also hear that 06 or 07 is looking like the timeframe for the Camaro's return if it is to make one. When you say that, are you saying model year 06 or 07? Meaning possibly coming out in 05?

If it's not going to come out until 2006 as an 07 model, that gives the new Mustang a pretty good head start (about what it had when it originally came out).

Do you think in the current market the Camaro could afford to yet again give the Mustang a 2 year head start?

(Sorry if you guys are sick of these questions )

 

2006 is a bit optomistic...I think it will be among the last RWD GM cars we see debut. As for giving a head start...just lets GM make a better product..which won't behard since GM won't skimp on things like an IRS and SLA suspension to be better than the Mustang. One thing I am told that GM will not let happen is the Mustang outperdoem the Camaro at each price point....period.I still can't belive they wattered down the DEW98 to have a solid rear and McPherson stuts...why not just keep the Fox chassis and find a way to make it stiffer?

 

Yup, it should be at the North American Auto show next year and go on sale with in months. Right on time for the 2005 model year.

Now I also hear that 06 or 07 is looking like the timeframe for the Camaro's return if it is to make one. When you say that, are you saying model year 06 or 07? Meaning possibly coming out in 05? [/QUOTE]

From what I hear it cant come back until the CAW contract dies. I’ve heard that it goes out in the fall of 2005. So my guess is we see a Camaro concept in '05 and the actual car a year or two later. Just my guess though. I did have a GM employee tell me 2006 or 2007 and that is definite. So it will be on the road with the new Stang about a year later. Hopefully!

If it's not going to come out until 2006 as an 07 model, that gives the new Mustang a pretty good head start (about what it had when it originally came out).

Do you think in the current market the Camaro could afford to yet again give the Mustang a 2 year head start? [/QUOTE]

If the Camaro is done right and marketed right I don’t see any problems. The Camaro and Mustang need each other anyway.

(Sorry if you guys are sick of these questions ) [/QUOTE]

Its all good, I love spreading the word that the Camaro is coming back!

 

Well, my concerns with giving the new Mustang a 2 year head start are these:

1. With the reception the new Mustang has had so far, it will sell really really well. With all the other performance cars coming out in/by that time frame, it will be a VERY hotly contested market.

2. I think the market is very different now than it was when the 2 originally debuted. The reason hondas/other rice rockets sell so well is the insane ammount of custom parts you can get for them (and their cheap price). If the Mustang has a 2 year head start, it will probably have a huge aftermarket by the time the Camaro launches. That could influence a lot of people's buying decisions.

Thoughts?

 

I second what Branden said. 2006 is optimistic.

When we talk about years, we are talking model years, which run January to December, the previous year now a days. For instance, a car comming out now would be called a 2004, and one comming out next January (2004) would be a 2005.

To answer your question about Mustang's head start, that's GM's own fault. Ironically, the situations that created this gap occured at least 3 years ago. There are entirely different people at key positions in GM today, but they are the ones that have to deal with our frustration (it typically takes 4 years to develop a car from scratch). It doesn't help that GM doesn't have an economical RWD chassis (Cadillac's sigma would need alot of costly changes).

As for watering down the DEW chassis, I strongly disagree. Besides the solid rear axle and a modified strut system (which BMW also has!!) in place of the expensive and complex alumunum pieces, there has been no "watering down" of the extremely rigid chassis DEW structure whatsoever. Since Mustangs will still base in the low 20s, and hot rodders (which team Mustang has more than it's share of) favor live axles anyway.

Cobra and possibly the GT and one other model (not the Mach1) will still have the IRS.

 

Well when you really think about it, the current Mustang is already in production, so rather than a two year head start, its going to have more than that when the Camaro comes back after a 5+ year hiatus.

It doesn't really matter though, because for the most part Camaro owners and Mustang owners are not the same people.

(Yeah, I know, I know, looking at my signature I can't really say that... I will tell you this though... even though my kid currently has two Rustangs I did catch him looking at a sweat '68 Z/28 clone for sale last night on the internet. )

 

I've been thinking the same thing for years, especially since the 4th gen came out.

One is basically a 4 passenger Corvette, while the other is a quick 4 passenger sports coupe, each appealing to 2 mostly different groups. The only thing in common besides powertrains & history, are enthusiastic fans.

If you switch between the cars, you give up alot each direction:

Mustang to Camaro: Comfort, seating position, a trunk, massive aftermarket & enthusiast magazine support, tossable size and handling, and since 1997 the ability to turn on your own headlights !

Camaro to Mustang: Bragging rights (since 1993 only), that sitting-in-a-tank feeling, available t-tops, and the comfort in knowing that the people who engineered your car haven't been penny-pinched into making safety & durability compromises !