The question has come up over and over again, why doesn't a company (ie: GM) simply come out and say they are making a car (ie: Camaro). There's tons of reasons why, and there's also reasons why some cars they have no problem talking about.

1st of all is competition. There are certain classes of vehicles that are faced with intense competition. The 2 seat high performance sports car market is one area. Both the C5 & C6 Corvette were under a vault of secrecy till they were introduced. The Ford GT came to market at such blistering speed that it didn't matter who saw it and when. But Ford did still keep a lid on actual power output. They advertized 500 horses..... the car puts out more than that at the wheels!

The next reason is that product planning in the auto business is extremely fluid. Things can change in an instant unless the orders have gone out for tooling or components. Take the North American Zeta line. It was about as sure a thing as anything can be 2 years out. But just when it came time to start the process of producing the line, it was cancelled. Although this was due to final cost estimates by most accounts, it can also happen due to sudden market changes of a company's priorities or financial health changes. No one wants mud on their faces. Announcing a car that hasn't even had it's tooling ordered yet is actually asking for trouble.

There's also impact.
Lets say Company X unveils a competitor to something Company Y has been selling successfully at Detroit. No one would come out and say there will be a (whatever) at the Detroit show. They would hint to some of the enthusiasts, but a early revelation would lessen the impact of the car.

There are exceptions to the rule. The Solstice has been the most publicly developed car in memory. But Solstice was really never in doubt once it became a vehicle to streamline GM's development process. Ford's GT was also a demostration as to how quickly a maker could get a car to market. We all knew Impala was getting a reskin, or that Taurus was going to be replaced. But we still didn't know what the thing would look like.

Had some free time, and this subject came up on another thread.

 

Hmmm...

 

Guy, I "have faith" that your hypothetical situation has some basis in reality. Though I admit, I am equally excited aboout the rumors of the new GTO.
The current one is really growing on me. I could easily see myself buying an '08 or a used '06-'07 INSTEAD of the Camaro, if it is not what I am hoping for. The fact that Dodge is supposed to have a Challenger "design concept" at Detroit also means the pressure is definitely on GM if they are not going to completely cede that market segment to the other two domestic brands(well 1.5 domestic brands). I hope that January 2006 is the start of many dreams for the Muscle Car/Pony Car faithful.

 

That's a good explanation Guy...far too many people get frustrated because they don't understand why a company wouldn't or couldn't announce.

 

Great explanation.

But I can't help being 'troubled' that some of here needed an explanation.

 

Ooooookay Guy, time to get out of my head............

I was pondering this VERY issue at lunch today....................

[Ralph] I'm scared [/Ralph]

 

I understand all of this and was actually listen to autoline (or whatever its called) talk about this subject this morning. They didnt mention this, but it got me thinking. How long is it effective to be secret. Is their too long? I think yes and that is when people go to the competitor that has the product out and then then dont buy the car kept in the shadows bc they already bought a car.

I kinda think that GM is walking an extremely close line with the Camaro and this. If they dont say something by laias or naias (hopefully both) itll be too late for many.

 

BWWWAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Streamline = 43 months to date since being shown at NAIAS

 

I am not sure that competition is as big a deal as you make it with the Camaro. In the performance coupe market there are two things a car is mainly marketed on...style and performance. If we have a retro Camaro...I really don't think letting the competition in on the the styling is gonna hurt GM. It's not like some car maker is going to rush a car to the market that looks like a retro Camaro to combat it.

As for performance/HP we all know that GM has the hardware to match anyone in the market. The LSx series will obviously fit in Camaro and have performance to match anyone. If the Corvette glass ceiling still exisits for Camaro this is much more a worry IMO than letting the competition in on how much power you will have.


This is a valid point. But on the other hand why not make a statement along the lines of "We are working very hard to bring Camaro back". Something like Dodge did with the Challenger.

[quote']
There's also impact.
Lets say Company X unveils a competitor to something Company Y has been selling successfully at Detroit. No one would come out and say there will be a (whatever) at the Detroit show. They would hint to some of the enthusiasts, but a early revelation would lessen the impact of the car.

There are exceptions to the rule. The Solstice has been the most publicly developed car in memory. But Solstice was really never in doubt once it became a vehicle to streamline GM's development process. Ford's GT was also a demostration as to how quickly a maker could get a car to market. We all knew Impala was getting a reskin, or that Taurus was going to be replaced. But we still didn't know what the thing would look like.

Had some free time, and this subject came up on another thread.[/QUOTE]

I don't think this is true. If you release a statement saying that there will be a "design study" for a possible Camaro at NAIAS to show GM's progress and commitment to resurrecting the Camaro. Don't even bother with a sketch or details. Release it six months out I don't see the harm. You will get a pop in every auto magazine, plus likely the mainstream media. That will be followed by 6 months of buzz all over the place wondering what the car will be like. Then when the car is finally released...if the styling is there it will also get a huge pop. I think the sum of all of the above is much better route and provides more exposure than releasing the car with no forewarning at NAIAS. It will get a pop...but it will be drowned out somewhat by all the other automakers IMPACT cars...like the Challenger.

I do understand though the the CAW is still not squared away, and GM is a very conservative company. By not announcing the Camaro concept or any commitment to bringing Camaro back, they are making it so they can't be blamed in a doomesday scenerio where the Camaro did not come back due to market conditions, etc.

 

I agree with 0toinsane... there is definitly "too long" period. People tend to get hyped up about something and IMO will burn themselves out after awhile and settle for something less. I'm really bankin on GM to get this one right!

 

Exactly, How long since the Solstice was prominently featured on The Apprentice and the pre-orders were taken?

How many people are driving around in them?

 

two around here.

 

I think this is the best explanation I've seen yet of what might be going on. GM is getting a lot of bad press. Every new miss-step just makes them look even worse in the eye of public opinion. I can see why they don't want to take chances. Maybe the whole business case isn't sealed yet or there's some doubt about getting final approval.

So how does Dodge get away with announcing a possible return of the Challenger? Could it be because they've got some serious stuff already on the market? Or, maybe they're trying to appease all those folks that got upset over the way they reused the Charger name?

I'm one of the faithful though and I'm going on with life until the car arrives or I find something else that gets me excited enough to buy.

 

One thing about the Challenger, has anyone from DCX ACTUALLY confirmed it yet? I have seen the autoweek releases, the Road and Track article, but I am not aware of anyone from the Company actually saying that it will be there. Personally, I believe we will see the GTO, Challenger, Camaro (or Camaro-like if they are still in negotiatons with the CAW) and possibly a new Mustang variation (no rumor, just a hunch).

 

Yeah, but everybody knew they were working on a new Corvette, even if they didn't know specific details about it.