this is from what i read in the Fall issue of the Camaro Permorance 2002, (still on newstands till december) anyways.. close to the last page.. it has a little article about the reason gm stoped making the camaro.. i laughed when i read it.. GM KILLED THE CAMARO!!!!!!!!! INSURANCE COMPAINES.. AND the GAYSTANG!! *gaystangs = 4.6 liter stangs . in the artilce it says that GM didn't want to lower the price cause of the younger kids (like me) that would want a f-body, which made it more of a harder car to get... (limiting there sales of the f-body). The insurance compaines on purposly put camaros on expensive insurance rates to scare the younger 1st time buyers.. (there we go agian.. thats just ignorant) the mustang with the same amount of options was dromatically more lower then the camaro.. same year .. differ motor.. still v8's though. Ford was smart in this case.. they helped kids roll of the lot with stangs.. and kept stangs at a much lower price then these late model f-body's. Now i think there is some bull**** here. I love the F-body... y can't insurance peeps make it so its affordable for younger adults.. and y can't gm make camaro a smaller motor.. like the 305 for the younger adults that can't afford the damn car, has GM gone stupid... i think so.. I know tons of teens that would love to have a camaro but go to stangs cause of the **** they go threw for paying for them.. i'm one of the luckier ones that found a cheap 4th gen camaro.

 

I truely hope you don't believe half of that for a second...and also...they are not offering a 305, cause the LS1/T1 is one of the key features or heart of the Z28's......They aren't made to be cheap

 

They did make a smaller motor for all those too young to be able to spell and use proper grammar. It's called a V6. They enjoy lower insurance rates too. And for what it's worth, the Z28 and Trans Am were a huge bargain! They have performance close to that of a Corvette and a price tag close to that of a Honda Accord. Here comes my opinion.

GM doomed the F-Body by not advertising them. Some people didn't even know they could still buy a new Z28. Also, there were no new styling changes since 1992 except for a headlight change in 1997. That's 10 years with no major change. Mustangs got 2 new body styles in that time frame. Buyers lost interest. Sales dropped. So GM decided to focus on truck and SUV sales. The rest is history. We'll see where the future takes us.

 

Yeah, and G.M. may as well "hang it up" when the vette comes out on a FWD platform...

 

Uh...I'll pretend you didn't say that...

 

This is only my opinion, and I do support union workers, but
I don't think it is a coincidence that production stopped
the same time the CAW contract expired.

 

There are a lot of reasons the for the f-bodies demise. One of the main factors was that the f-body would no longer hold up in federal safety standards and that several things would have to change in order for the new regulations to be met. In that case GM would have had to totally redesign the f-bod (spending hundreds of millions on R&D) and with the lower sales because of lack of advertising that just wouldn't add up. Insurance rates were high yes, but for that kind of performance it was worth it.

 

Personally, I think that the "image" of the f-bodies vs. the Mustang is part of what killed the car's sales.

When the average person thinks of a Mustang, they think of an all-American icon of muscle car history. When they think of a Camaro or Trans Am, most people imagine guido boy-racer, or mullet-donned white trash.

*sigh*

 

I have thought about it for a long time and listened to reasons for years know. This decision was not just made in the last year ( or even two), the camaro has been on the choping block for at least the past 4 years. There is only one reason GM discontinued the camaro - SALES!!!! Look at the official sales figures. The Mustang has outsold the Camaro by like ten times (OK maybe not that many but something close to that. I mean it is a HUUUUUGGGE amount) So then the question is WHY. Well I've got two ideas (and I think its most of the first with a little of the second).

1. The Mustang is an "icon" for lack of a better word. It was the first one out and its what laypeople (i.e. the common "off the street" people who aren't really car people) think about when they hear "muscle car" or even "sports car". People think of that 65 mustang that has been burned into the back of everbodies brain since they were a kid. And they carried that name/image forward to todays mustang. So for what I will call the "uneducated mass" (as far as cars go) when they go to buy their first "COOL" car they think of the mustang. ASK ANY TEENAGE GIRL (AND A LOT OF THE BOYS) WHAT THEY WANT FOR A FIRST CAR AND THEY SAY "I WANT A MUSTANG". Ask them why and they'll tell you "THEY ARE SO COOL" and thats about all they know. But look around today IMAGE SELLS and that is what is selling here. All of the numbers and facts point to the F-Body but people are looking at the Mustang.

2. Now my sencond theory that goes with the first. I here people say GM didn't market the car. I think when the 4TH Gen came out in 93, and for the next couple of years, they did market the car (as much as Ford marketed the mustang anyway). I think we all remeber the adds about 275 horsepower, yadda yadda yadda and a cup holder big enough for a slurpie and the one about the camaro and rock and rool and america. Anyway, as sales slipped or never picked up, they did dump the advertising and the last few years it was almost nill. So that did'nt help.

Just my thoughts.

 

You beat me to it. I posted mine and then saw yours so obviously i'm not the only one that feels that way. And the one about the Guido or Mullet guy I think is true as well, just didn't want anybody to think I thought that. But that is a common misperception.

 

GM, like most other manufacturers, is so caught up in the SUV craze that it left the f-body to die. Chevrolet sees itself as a truck manufacturer first, and a passenger car manufacturer second.

When is the last time you saw any sort of television advertisement for the camaro. I can't remember seeing one since the mid 90s when the 4th Gen LT1 powered camaro was new. Even the late "0% financing" commercials that have run in the past year: They mange to show just about every other car and truck GM makes except the F-body. In fact, the only time I have seen a camaro in commercial recently was for a rental car company. They show a late model red convertable V-6. I know most of you have seen it, especially if you watch football.

Another reason mentioned, is the price. I was also looking at a Mustang GT in 1999 when I bought my Z. If it wasn't for the neck-snapping power and the t-top option, I would have bought the mustang. The mustang was almost $4,000 cheaper and Ford was offering a 4.9% financing for new college grads. Chevy basically said "f*** you", "you will take 7.9% and like it."

GM didn't sell the F-Body because it didn't want to sell the F-Body.

If the GM company philosophy doesn't change, this will be the last GM car that I own. I have no problem driving a car with a blue oval on it, especially if I know that company is still pasionate about its sports cars.

 

i agree 100%. when your product is better than the competitions in every respect and your getting outsold........ the blame can only be placed in one area.

for those of you who think that camaros were marketed enough but it didn't help. you sell a product by ramming it down peoples throats. gm didn't do that. the people of this country will buy what you tell them to buy. gm didn't tell people to buy the camaro. so noone bought it. simple as that. gm failed the camaro. not the other way around.

i seriously doubt i will ever own another gm product .

 

I read an article that stated the Camaro and Firebird rated the highest in the number of fatal accidents for several years. Actually the Mustang was not far behind. I forget where I found it but something like "accident ratings" or whatever. I feel sure that is also why insurance is higher also. It also supposedly would cost too much to redesign the whole car to make it safer. I wonder if they considered high speed and driver error were the main causes for fatalities.

 

Price? Mustangs cost less?

Ok, I'll be honest and tell you that I never priced a GT, but when I bought my '01 Z28, I paid $23,000 ... FULLY LOADED and T-Tops.

Now, tell me where I can buy a GT for that price. Oh, and it has to be a drop top since mine was open air.

 

Guys ... it's not complicated ... it's simply ROI ... Return On Investment.

GM and thier investers could care less about the F-bod, Mustang sales, the Corvette or SUV ... nor should they. GM has a ton of cash to invest ... the management of GM is expected to maximize the return on that investment ... the F-bod, in it's present incarnation, couldn't compete with other investment opportunities ... simple!