I say keep the look more in the image of the 3rd and 4th Gen. To be honest most of the younger coupe buying crowd would be much quicker to recognize a Camaro based on those gens than a 1st gen. That is just my perspective since most kids my age think IROC Z before SS/RS and hidden headlights. If a new Camaro is hoping to sell it needs to real in younger buyers...not older ones...again just my opinion..

Personally I don't want anything retro really i would rather an evolution of teh current styling. I also belive that the car coould retain it's swoopy looks if it had a better designed chassis. Who knows..maybe we will see two front ends for the car...one retro and one designed for speed

 

To be completely honest the whole 3rd generation lost me. Yeah its a cool car, but I just don't see a smooth transition from 2nd to 3rd. But then, there wasn't a smooth transition from 1st to 2nd either. I see a lot more 2nd gen in the 4th generation than I do 3rd gen... except for that damn hatchback.

So I guess if we look back historically, the 5th generation is going to be a complete departure from the last generation. Heck it might even end up looking more like the 1st generation.

Ok... enough of that. My head is starting to hurt!

 

How can you not see the transition...they were all eveolotions of one another IMO.

 

Third Gen mostly and some 1st Gen.

That link DH gave us and 90Z28SS's design were more 1st and Third Gen based and to me that's the way to go.

 

Interesting idea!!! Two front ends, one retro and one for speed! That's exactly what I have been working on for the Camaro contest at the GMI website. When I get them set up today I will post a link so you can view them.

 

That IS a super idea. What if the next Camaro has 2 front ends like, for example the way the 1997-2002 Grand Prix's had 2 front ends. One that was ok, on the SE, and one that was cooler, on the GTP/GT.
That would be sweet to see what the differences of the two would be on the Camaro.

Sort of like back in the First Gen, you could get different front end treatment between say, an RS or SS.

 

sharpen out the 4th gen look, with a little less front overhang.. I'm still split on the hatchback or notchback with a real trunk.. but thats what they should have done about 5 years ago.

anyways, lets forge on to the future.. keep the "heritage" by staying with an affordable V8 RWD peformance car that kicks ***.. Give factory support in roadracing for the Camaro..

 

Maybe because I'm a lot older than you.

When I was younger, 1st gen and early second gens were all the rage. Only adults or rich kids could afford the late second gens (78-81).

When they unvield the 3rd gen it was a complete departure from the previous generation. That was their selling point! First it had a hatchback (never offered prior); second it offered a convertible for the first time since 1969 (with a few exceptions); thirdly it was much more squared off along the body lines; and fourth... quad headlamps, never offered before either! Other than being a 2+2, RWD Coupe with T-tops, there's no comparison between a 1981 model and 1982 model other than the name!

The fourth generation returned to the stylish curvy lines of the second generation, yet maintained the quad-lamp nose, and hatchback of the third gen.

Evolution? Yes. Transition? Not in the least... which is why we should expect anything and everything for Gen-V.

Also the argument of "kids" remembering the 3rd and 4th gens doesn't hold water. They'll mostly be minivan and SUV customers by the time the "next" Camaro is available. The majority of enthusiast buyers will be old farts like me that prefer a little 1st and 2nd gen nostalgia.

 

1st gen style - I still think the Muscle tone hot wheels would be a perfect 5th Gen, it's NOT RETRO, but still definatly a Camaro. give it a trunk like the mustang too.

my second choice would be an evolution of the 4th gen with hatch and maybe quad head lights.

 

....1st gens not withstanding.....it seems to me the Camaro's design has been more of a sense of proportion and element placement than actual design elements.....i.e. the Mustang has triple vertical taillamps, side coves, Horse emblem, etc....

IOW, the 2nd gen to present Camaros had:

* Headlamps above the belt line
* Grille below the beltline
* Grille narrower than headlights
* Prominent fog lamps...usually below the headlamps
* Long hood
* Short rear deck
* Nearly vertical B-pillar
* No rear side windows
* Sloping rear window....w/ & w/o hatch
* Various front & rear spoiler designs
* Tail lamp shape usually was tear drop shaped, wrapping the rear corners
* Sides have been fairly un-adorned...beltline crease, minor wheel opening flares...some 2nd gen Z's had vents in fenders.

Personally, I never associated a particular design element, like the Mustang's side coves...with the Camaro's design. Even the world acclaimed and much copied cowl hood was a one year (1969) offering.

That being said...the link I provided to McBride's concept (you can see his work in major magazines) has picked one of the more memorable design elements, the upper wheel body lines, from argueably one of most revered Camaro designs, the 1969. He also uses some of the same proportional design elements I mentioned above...tweek the nose a little and I'm ready to buy one!

In today's world of dozen's of sports sedan choices, I think it would be a good move to re-adopt an actual design element as something to identify the car with...something the McBride concept did extremely well.

 

Otherwise see this post for more insighthttp://web.camaross.com/forums/showt...threadid=66133

 

IMO the closest transition btwn gens is 3rd to 4th. Those 2 cars were VERY close to each other. Other than that nobody can say that the changes were minor. There were always major changes between gens.

What was similar? Well, with the possible exception of 1st gen I'd say the dimensions. Proportions for sure!

Long hood and short rear deck should be a must. After that I'd like to see a complete restyling. Something forward thinking. Too much retro won't cut it. Camaro has always looked forward not backwards.

Cues that I like? The wrap around tail lights. The transition of headlights to hood from the late '70's and the split grill from late 70's. The "swoosh" over the wheels from the 1st gens.

 

I may be able to relate to that. I think the early gen 2s were the best looking Camaros, far better than the me-too-Mustang look of the 1st gen.

The 3rd gens were dramatic when they 1st came out. They were painfully slow, but they were headturners.

 

The early Thirds weren't as slow as later 2nd's. And that was with 305's.

To me Thirds and 4ths look almost like 2 cars that are not even of the same line, besides minor things. Thirds being alot better looking of course. The 4th's are the farthest from "Camaro" styling and cues ever, thats not good IMO. 1st-2nd Gen is also a big difference in style, looking almost nothing alike.

 

Personally, I like the early 2nd gen Camaros (and Firebirds) a lot. I based my 5th gen design proposal (see thread) on the '70 Camaro. I am not a fan of edgy,angular styling. I prefer more organic, flowing forms (absolutely LOVE my 4th gen'Bird!).

Whatever the next gen Camaro looks like, I do hope it incorporates at least a few design elements from a previous generation Camaro (not the dorky corporate crossbar Chevy is currently putting on everything).

So I guess if I had a choice, I would hope the 5th gen Camaro has styling cues from the 2nd or 4th gen F-body designs

-Bradster