The Z28 had lots of advantages over the SS. And it did in fact beat some SS 396's of the time.

 

I'm surprised that there have been few comments on this also.

I'm still trying to digest it still..........

 

Probably because the Camaro and the word musclecar = RWD.

 

My favorite is the CAMARO, whether it says SS, RS, Z-28, ZL-1 etc. etc. Chevrolet gave us lots of choices in the early years and obviously it was a good idea. Look at all the differing opinions.
We like seeing those same names on our Camaros now, because it's nostalgic, but really that's all it is.
There is no longer a 302 in the Z-28 and there's no big block option for the SS. The engine choices of the past are gone and SCCA, NHRA and NASCAR no longer race modified factory built cars. I seriously doubt the old "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" saying still applies either. I never had the burning desire for a Monte Carlo because it dominated NASCAR for so long. It's so far removed from the car on the track, I don't even consider it.
Times have changed (allot), maybe the Camaro will to.
Just make it the top dog of muscle cars and keep Ford nervous.

 

I'm beginning to lean the same way on this.

I think I'd prefer it if there was no visible difference between the base Camaro and the "Top Dogg Cobra Killer" Camaro except for what's under the hood. At least it would make sneaking up on people more fun.

 

You make alot of great points. But is it so wrong to focus different Camaro models at different niches? Camaro has a history. Camaro has lots of equity in it's various models.

If used properly....this equity can become a powerful sales and image tool for Camaro. If used improperly, I too would rather just have "CAMARO"as the only model.

But what a crying shame if it had to come down to that.

 

Part of the problem w/ the 4th Gen Z28 (IMHO) was that nothing was done to help differentiate it from the V6 models.

Yeah, it had the badging and dual exhausts, but visually speaking it looked the same as it's slower brethren.


That's one of the things that made the SS more appealing in my eyes.

Remember the 2nd gens ?

W/ the spoilers & (in later models) fender vents & hood scoops, there was no question that it was not a base model.

Now, I will also mention that I bought my SS USED - I did not attempt to try to afford one new.

Come on - 32K plus for a Camaro is getting outtasight !

RE: AWD Version

Bring it on !!

Trick is - what kind of $'s would be associated w/ it ?


My .02.

Britt

 

ATTENTION RED PLANET:

This is a good idea.

 

While part of me agree's with you, the sales numbers didn't reflect it. That's why we don't have a Camaro now.
If it's the right car at the right time, people will come out of the wood work to get one.
I'm not saying "Z-28" or "SS" should be dropped, they just don't carry the same meaning as once before and I don't think it's going to be the critical ingredient in the future.

 

According to a GMHTP article on the demise of the F-body, the car wasn't killed because of low sales numbers, per se. (After all, many models sell even fewer vehicles. The F-body was a specialty vehicle, though perhaps the beancounters at GM didn't agree.) The article said that the sales numbers didn't meet GM's expectations, expectations which GM relied on when it invested in plant upgrades. In other words, the sales numbers didn't justify GM's investment—something I don't understand, given that the '98-'02 F-body couldn't have cost GM too much (much was carried over from '97, and the LS1 had already been developed by the Corvette team).

 

The names might not mean much to some of you but they mean alot to alot of people. If they are all placed correctly even more success will follow.

 

Another idea: keep the Camaro name (of course), but develop new trim levels, leaving SS and Z28 to history. There's no reason why Camaro has to be anchored to the past in all these ways.

 

Hmmmmm.....and I wonder where the decision to make the 4th gen V6 look like the V8?

How 'bout from owners??? I gotta dig that stuff up, but when we showed vehicles to owners of Camaros and Mustangs and Firebirds, the consensus was that we should make the cars look similar. ( I don't agree with that, by the way).... Couple that with the success of the California Camaro (from, I believe 1988) and that's how it happened......

But I mention it because several people on this site say "YOU (GM) should listen to US!"

Well........you can see that in retrospect, perhaps we should not have.

 

I say, "dam the focus group approach" and let the stylists and engineers do their thing. Too much emphasis on public opinion leads to watered down, generic vehicles (compared to trusting the artists and designers). (cf. the direction Hollywood has taken: too many non-artists involved; most films are aimed at lowest common denominator and suffer accordingly.)

 

I suspect people who can only afford, only want to spend "base model" money or truly want a V-6, want it to look as cool as the top level model.
The guys buying the Z-28's and SS's either don't care, or think it should be less sporty. There'll always be a difference of opinion.
How do you select a focus group? How do you know a broad range of customers is represented and there's no way all the people in a focus group agree (if the range is accurate).