no joke..

seems like 1st - 3rd gen's were targeted at the youth of the day, with considerable "bonus" mature spillover sales being pretty much unintended but welcome. and when I say youth I'm speaking relatively. I don't mean teens and early 20 somethings, I mean anywhere from 22 to 40, but mostly upper 20s to upper 30s. Seems like those are the people who bought up all those cars, with a good number of relatively older people, maybe 45-65, getting in on it like "what are these young crazy kids up to? I gotta get in on the act." and getting one themselves and falling in love with it just the same.

Seems like 4th gen was pretty much the opposite.. cars that appealed to older people looking for something, anything sporty and domestic to keep for a long time, but at the same time way too huge and bloated to appeal to most young people, at least those with functional eyes and common sense and a sense of taste. there are certainly 20-somethings that bought a 4th gen new, plenty of them on this board, but as a percentage of all 4th gen buyers, they are VERY FEW and far between. And I'm under no illusion about the high numbers of 2nd-hand 4th gen young people out there. Most of the time it's daddy's car they're borrowing or buying cheap. they're there in high numbers, but like I said, 2nd-hand owners. The rest of 'em all bought rice instead.. Scion generation, type-R generation. gotta love modern times; all image with no humility/sincerity and no content to back it up. total GWB generation.

 

Camaro should be marketed more or less to types of people, with age in mind. Basically the the base v-8 is for the people who just want to go insanely fast, kill mustangs, ect. Top of the line V-8 for people who want to still blow the doors off 99% of the competition, but want a nicer interior and all of related goodies. Camaro must, must must be marketed to the younger market. That is when people fall in love with cars, and become a loyalist for life. Younger people like myself, who don't want something that sounds like a bumble bee, and love domestics, and want a camaro just can't afford a Z, still want a camaro. Give them a V-6 performance package, with performance parts backed by GM. (Kind of like the quad four supercharger gm made) I'm not saying anything that'll kill a V-8, but atleast the RSX's, and pocket rockets. Just my 2 cents.

 

I agree with CamaroRSguy, kids want speed and cant afford it. I've been in love with Camaros and Vettes my whole life and raised to despise anything with a blue oval and anything affiliated with ford. Not everyone is like that. Some day I'll be able to buy myself a 25k car but I got my 96 Z28 because I couldnt afford a 23K 02 Z28 plus they look like *** and I love the way my LT1 looks. If GM can keep the price range the same as the current 4th gens with LS1s were then that is the price range to shoot for. All the performance was there but not looks. I hate the LS1 front end and so do so many other people. Mostly, thats what I think hindered the sales of that car even more than previous 4th gens. Plus the SS is ridiculously overpriced as stated previously. I cant justify it being anymore than 29K fully loaded. Its a Z28 with suspension, exhaust and SS badges!!! Fix the appearance, add some options for base models, but leave high end performance where its at because 310 rwhp out of the factory is more than enough for having fun.

 

4thgens period were a little overpriced,not much,but just enough that a lot of people were paying notes and not buying them outright.

 

I got my brand new 99 Z28, loaded except for leather for a sticker of $25,xxx , and paid like $22,400 or so...

I hardly think it was overpriced.


I would agree that the V6 model was about $1000 overpriced to stay with V6 Mustangs in price, and the SS option was a $4000 appearance package... but you don't need the SS package to go fast.

 

Don't believe the overpriced excuse for a minute!

Check out the price of Mustang, Celica, and some of the other "youth" cars.

If anything, Camaro was a steal.

 

I don't see any reason a 5th gen Camaro would not fare well if marketed to 20-30yr old audience. Being a V6 certailny doesn't automatically disqualify it. A new, well built product should be able to compete with the other sporty coupes. You can't expect a 10 yr old car with 15 yr old quality and features to compete. Of any of the buyer segments, this is probablyi the one that craves something new and fresh over any other.

 

You know reading this thread its occurred to me...
While 3rd gen Camaros, especially the Z/28's and IROC-Z's were primarily driven by and geared to a younger male audience... I see a lot more young women driving 4th gen Camaros. While I haven't seen many women driving SS's, Almost every Z/28 I've passed recently has been driven by a woman.

My wife calls my '95 Z/28 my "chick-*ick" car. (Another name for "Richard" that rhymes with "chick".) Meaning, its driven by women and guys with with small "members". Maybe she's on to something?

 

The answer to the question in the subject heading of the post, and thewhole damned problem with what happened to the Camaro WAS THAT IT WASN'T MARKETED TO ANYBODY.

I've got a Camaro poster... 2 of them actually... but you NEVER saw a TV commercial, and you NEVER saw GM lift ONE finger to tell the world on broad basis that they had the fastest car you could buy for less than $40,000. Hell, they featured a FIRST GENERATION CAR doing a burnout in a TV ad instead of showing the 4th generation car THAT THEY WERE CURRENTLY SELLING.

Don't want to emphasize speed? Then how about a commercial with a Camaro convertible winding through a costal mountain road with a young lady at the helm???

 

I think that all new vehicles are overpriced for what materials they are made of..My Z was $16K when I bought it new,which was about right considering its' build quality and the materials used.They were geared at the younger people whereas 4thgens were geared at 27-30+year olds. They just don't justify their escalating prices IMO.As for what I think,they should have been priced about $3k less.

 

Keep in mind inflation, though...

While a well equiped 2002 Z28 is around $26,500 or so compared to 1991... a well equipped Cavalier today stickers for $17,000!!!!!! A 1991 Cavalier was around $10,000 -$11,000 or so MSRP.

It's all relative.

 

Sit in a $20K japanese car...then sit in the Camaro that $20K will get you....suddenly the Camaro looks mor eliek a $15K car.

You need to check Chevy's website a base hardtop roll up window V6 cost $19,100 MSRP....hardly cheap..A Z28 is $24K base...

Now consider in 93 esentially the same base V6 could be had in the $12K range MSRP and a Z28 for $21K MSRP for esentially the same car...though both have different engines. V6 car goes nearly $7K and the Z28 goes up $3-4K...I understand inflation but something doesn't add up when your budget car sees twice the increase in price your performance model does. Though I don't have the numbers it seems there are alot more pre-99 V6's on the road than post 99.

I think a new car needs the same price point or lower to sell in volume. The 92 T/A GTA cost $24,500 and the all new 93 T/A cost $22K and sold well as prices went up....sales went down.

 

Your first sentence says it all, Branden! THAT'S where the problem is!! Not the price of the car & youth not being able to afford it, but as I said elsewhere, the quality of what you are getting.

I have to go back and check (too lazy at the moment), but if you check out the Hondas & Toyotas some youth buy, those are overpriced strippers as well. The thing is, they are (by fact or fiction) good quality cars, with alot of aftermarket stuff to add as they can afford it, and lower insurence!

Mustangs, though they have the same material quality as Camaros, have no fewer than 5 magazines devoted to it, an aftermarket that seemingly has no end, attentive Team Mustang reps at almost every major event taking thoughts & ideas, and...most important of all: You aren't forced to buy expensive "value" groups, and can pretty much get the car optioned the way you want!

That's not including the fact that you are spending money on a car that's at least been redesigned a couple of times in a decade by a company that actually springs to market the car.

 

I discovered that when my kid got interested in Mustangs. That and cheaper insurance, its no wonder why younger guys like them so much.

However, I have noticed one thing about "kids" who drive them... they definitely have "attitudes". That doesn't mean that adults cant drive them and be mature responsible drivers. Its just that I think a few bad apples have given modern-Mustang owners a bad rap. I don't see that as much with modern-Camaro owners.

But then that might be because I am one myself.