You have some good points, I think there are enough loyalists that will stand by the Camaro, as long is it doesn't change too much from the concept. As far as the 'retro' goes, IMHO it has enough new styling cues to make a lasting impression.

 

That is what I said and felt about the Solstice. It was 46 months from the day it showed at the NAIAS until it was in dealerships.

It had been so hyped and shown for all those years, that it was kind of worn with me by the time it actually came out.

 

I think that GM should do like Ford did with the GT40. Hand build a limited number (40 would be a novel number) for '07 to commemorate the nameplates 40th anniversary. Then in '08 start full production.

Any thoughts?

 

you do realize that you're posting in a forum with thousands of members, each of whom have maintained a ravenous desire for the Camaro nameplate-- a nameplate that has been out of production for years!!!

I *absolutely* believe that there is a huge, waiting market for these cars that would flood dealerships if it were produced-- assuming the end-product escaped GM's trademarked ham-handedness/institutional defiance of common-sense.

Hopefully, the numbers that the Solstice and Sky (the Saturn variant) will prove that market saturation + fast concept-to-production = success--
justifying the same expedited treatment for the next generation Camaro...


I keep the faith...but I sure don't hold it blindly-- I never underestimate GM's capacity to fist-f*@k a perfectly good idea and reduce it to a bland, money-losing disaster. I WANT them to succeed with this, because we'll all win if they do...



cheers--

 

That's an awesome idea-- talk about having the cake and eating it too---

 

I like Cake

 

With all due respect, are you out of your mind?

Lutz has said that the Camaro needs to move numbers like 160,000 units per year. I don't think that's possible, but that's not the point.

Combined, Solstice and Sky are only targeted for 30,000 built a year. Of course they will have good sales numbers. They will sell every one they build when they are only building 30,000.

As for speed of concept to production, all we heard about was how the Solstice was going to show just how fast GM could do it. Did you notice as the years(not months) ticked by that you no longer heard this boast?

What part of 43 months from concept to dealership don't you get in reference to speed of the process for the "fast tracked Solstice? I'll break it down for you. 43 months is 5 months short of 4 years.

 

how bout they make 602 for the limited run.......
















some of you might be scratching your heads right now, and some of you are smiling from ear to ear

 

My worry as well, I hope they can maintain the level of enthusiasm for 2-3 years more. Especially with the short attention spans today. It's good for now, but won't it need to evolve for '09??
And if they hype it too much over the next couple of years, they run a risk of "numbing" Joe consumer to the Camaro....bottom line...'09 is a LONG way off, today.

 

I don't know about that. I mean look at this board. A lot of us have been waiting and waiting since 2002 when they stopped production. In late 2005 we get a spark, by the concept, fires us up again. If the car comes out in 2009 there will be another spark I think. Actually if it's sitting in dealers, it's gonna be a full fledged fire.

I just hope the Camaro is a competitor to what's out there now in all levels. Not just performance. Chrysler has really set a new bar in interior and comfort levels for the muscle/pony car, and I really hope GM is up to the task to meet it.

 

I completely agree with what you are saying, the only hope that I personally cling to is that Camaro could be done much faster because the engineering work is already done, hopefully...or just about done....the stolen CAD images of the Camaro platform give some confirmation of that...whereas the Kappa platform was completely developed after the Solstice was shown to the public (it was shown on a completely hacked up Delta platform and no one at GM thought it had a chance of being produced, outside of maybe Lutz...)

 

Kinda curious...what was the time from concept to production approval and then again from approval to actual dealer showrooms?

 

You are forgetting...no work was done on Solstice untill after that autoshow. They didn't even have an idea what they were gonna build it on and had to develop a whole new platform. Work on the Camaro on the otherhand has been going on for years, and is likely now at the point where all they need to do is give the okay to order the tooling. Camaro is also built on a high volume sedan platform, and much of the engineering work undoubtedly has been piggybacked there.

Serveral people who were introduced as working on the car were leaving immediatly for Austrailia....and some were not even at the show because they were buy "working in Austrailia". Austrailia is home to GM's RWD homeroom and Zeta program. The Camaro will take 46 months....I would be shocked if it took half that

 

People whine about the Solstice taking forever...

I'm a car nut, but don't religously follow car shows so I'm guessing I'm closer to your average everyday joe...

I never saw the Solstice until I ran upon it at Pontiacs website. There goes the logic there... Your average person could care less about Auto Shows and most will probably forget there was a Camaro there until one hits the streets. THATS when the public will take notice, not at an enthusiasts Auto Show. IMO

 

Look at the SSR...Although pricing was a huge variable, by the time it hit the market it was yesterday's news.

If it is going to take THAT long (which does seem inevitable) let's hope that the 5th gen will appear like a breath of fresh air market-wise just as the current Mustang's popularity is starting to wane. Perhaps that is a major part of GM's internal business case for Camaro.