I was just wondering this today... Who is the Camaros target audience? I assume it was origionally young adults, low 20s-mid30s who wanted a fast car. I would think it stayed that way atleast through the 80s. Then with the 4th gen, it seems a lot of older people bought the car.

Theres lots of talk on the board about the next Camaro being +400hp. I was just thinking that when the power achieves those levels, you will have people who are buying Corvettes now (probably around 50 years old) lookin at Camaros.

I just dont know where it would put the car. Ofcourse theres the V6 model for younger buyers, but what age is/should the Camaro be marketed to?

 

It may not be market to a specific age group at all. (at one time it may have been)

The Mustang isn't tied to a age group per se, but more of a state of mind (old people that want to feel young and of course young people ect)

I read that in my Markteing text book

 

The average demographic for the Z28/SS buyer was a 40+ year old male. Oddly enough, those are the people who are interested in muscle cars - and can afford them. I'd say forget marketing V6 models to 20 year old kids. It just isn't happening anymore.

As far as the idea of stealing Corvette buyers, I don't think it would work even if GM suddenly embraced the idea. A Corvette's got "prestige," something you could never say about a Camaro. If anybody's ever bothered to look outside a hospital, there are alot of 'Vettes with M.D. plates - not many Z28s though.

I'd say the best policy would be to sell a future Z28/SS type lineup to the its natural demographic.

 

I think the reason Camaro buyers are older than Mustang buyers is because Ford pushes V6 and affordable GT Mustangs while GM neglected the V6 and Z28 models (they didn't even try to make them visually appealing) and tried to push the $uper$port models, which younger buyers could not afford.

 

Maybe Camaro needs to appeal to a broader spectrum of consumers. There need to be exciting Camaro models within the reach of entry level buyers......yet at the same time, more sophisticated versions which appeal to older enthusiasts with more money to spend and more discriminating tastes.

I think calls for a fully loaded 5th gen Z/28 coming in at $20 -$22k are completely unrealistic. Watering down such a car to bring it at that price would be self-destructive. Personally....I'd expect to pay much more for a properly equipped Z/28.....and would refuse to buy a cheaper, (which would mean less refined, less sophisticated...and generally undesirable ), version if it didn't have what I wanted.

Sooo....what about entry level. There is alot of talk of entry level Ecotec Camaros. I think that they have their purpose....and have the potential to bring in a whole new crowd to the Camaro fold.

An affordable V8, available on the base car, would be ideal however.

 

You can sell a young man's car to an old man, but you can't sell an old man's car to a young man. Camaro needs to be more appealing to a younger audience.

To be "affordable" the car doesn't need to be watered down. The biggest differences between a 24K Z28 and a 30K SS were wheels a hood and a spoiler. The only thing watered down was the Z28 styling. They could easily have a stylin' Z28 with 17" wheels for 24-26K. They just didn't.

Also, this is a true performance car - it does not need expensive costly options (such as navigation, seat heaters, HUD, steering wheel buttons, automatic climate control, etc.) that just add weight and take away from the driving experience.

I think by "affordable" people mean a Z28 similar in price to the last model (24-27k) that is desirable and visually appealing and stands on its own in the line up. Not "the car you bought because you couldn't afford an SS".

 

The options you mention are exactly the ones that I DON'T WANT on a future Z/28. My concern is this: If Chevy feels too pressured to manufacture a cheap (as opposed to affordable), Z/28.......we'll get a half baked chassis, ugly/ loser wheels, chintzy interior, and shockingly poor panel gaps.........and ZERO desirability (sound familiar). I wouldn't want those things to be the price for low cost.

Don't get me wrong.....I'm not advocating a super pricey Z/28, I just don't want so much cost being cut out of it.....that it ends up being unappealing.

We've been there, done that.


If a Z/28 can have the things we want and be appealing for mid to high 20's......then I'm all for it. But if it doesn't have what I want....I don't care how cheap it is, I won't buy it.

 

Just do about everything completly opposite of the 4th Gen and we should be OK.

"and tried to push the $uper$port models, which younger buyers could not afford."

LOL, the SS emblem should have looked like this: $$

It has to be affordable for younger buyers, which are the people that really want them.

 

i don't think that they should be marketed to kids at all, i am saying this with me being one, i believe the age should be 20 and up for marketing, kids with fast cars don't go together well, i don't have a camaro, but i am happy that i don't do to the fact that every one that said "you'd kill your self" was probably right, i also don't agree with the v6 model, but if they need the sell of the v6 to keep the v8 model going, then i guess it needs to be done...anyways, as a seperate note, i believe that most kids should look at the corvette as a legendary car, not camaro (no offense indended)

 

I agree that cars like Z/28 shouldn't necessarily be marketed to 18 year olds....but some performance version needs to be marketed to young enthusiasts. Maybe the base model needs some re-imaging.

In the mid 80's the 3rd gen base model went thru a metamorphosis. It lost it's base 4 banger, got a beefier standard V6, standard F41 suspension, bigger wheels, swoopier looks....and availablility with a V8 and 5 speed. All for thousands less than the top performance models.

Guess what! It Sold! And to young people too!

Maybe that's a formula worth looking at.

 

Camaros should always be marketed to people in their younger 20's. To me, a Corvette is a refined, super styled, aerodynamic, beautiful, high performance, luxorious but high priced sports car. A Camaro on the other hand is a bare bones, high horsepower, muscle car built to see action on the drag strip as well as daily driving. This is how I see things now. There's nothing refined about 60's Vettes though, those are horsepower cars and they look it. Oh, and if there is a 5th Gen, PLEASE lose the displacement in litres and lets start making some cubic inch displacement badges again!

 

Well, ler's see... from the last 2 TV commercials I actually remember seeing about Camaros, they are marketed to:


1) 8 year old boys in their bedrooms who guess the car by the exhaust note... cute commercial, but what demographic are you hitting here?

2) Women in their late 30's to mid 40's who want the freedom to be able to drive with bikers...

 

You have a good point.....but of course it shouldn't be marketed exclusively to 20 y.o.

While, I agree with the old adage stated by WERM, "you can sell a young man's car to an old man but you can't sell an old mans' car to a young man". I'll ad my own observation: You can only sell a kid's car to kids.

 

I'd say you just hit the nail on the head!!!


As for who Camaros are marketed to, it has always been to those who perhaps are starting on a career or just got their 1st real promotion and finally have extra money to spend, ready to get rid of that Nova, Cavalier, or other economy car, and get something a bit more sporty.

The major flaw here that seems to come up over and over again is that young people were the ones who bought the fastest most powerful versions, which is totally ridiciulous. The performance models of the line have always tended towards the upper end of age spectrum of the line.

SSs, WS6s, Irocs, 89 Turbo Trans Ams & GTAs, and original Z28s owners were always older than the buyers of the sports coupes, RSs, LTs, Formulas, and the other lower performance end F-bodies. Mustangs, Barracudas, & Challengers were all the same way.

Fast cars cost more to buy & insure. Always have, always will.

 

The Camaro was marketed???