well that makes me feel beter

 

$32K is the magic number at this house.

 

what you mean by that

 

I would most certainly think so. Scott has said for as long as I can remember that the Camaro would have a model within 200 dollars of every Mustang model...me thinks you will get your V8 for under 32

 

I mean that I can probably get away with spending 32,000 on a new Camaro. Any more than that and it will become exponentially harder to convince my family that we really need this car. Especially if I want to retain my existing Trans Am. If I have to sell it, I will. However I've had it for sixteen years and it's so modified now that there's literally none like it anywhere else in the world. Only a mechanic gear head would want to service or maintain it. Nothing is stock anymore except the tail lights and steering wheel.

 

oh yah i have my 95 im keeping that for my daily driver. im buying the 5thgen for a toy.im really happy if i can get a v8 for around 32

 

I think the prices here are a little off. I voted for the 40-45K because a special edition in my eyes will be get very close to, if not overlay, Vette slightly in a few categories. By the time the '09's hit Vette will most likely be closer to $50K starting. Think about everything that will be needed in '09: aibags-all over, Onstar, leather, XM, power this and that, most likely a big 'ol engine-either large dis. or supercharged. I keep using the LS7 as a measuring stick in terms of cost. Even if they can lop off 5K from the price of the LS7 for a something similar by that time, we are still looking at a 10K engine, coupling that with mid-30's base V-8's gets us in that neighborhood holding interior and a few extras in check. It's all speculation, but I just can't see a top-dog Camaro for less than $40K fully loaded. My basis is if GM has stated it will be close to Mustang, look at the MSRP's of the Shelby GT500: Base Coupe $42,975, Base Covertible $47,800-right off the SVT website under specs. How can we realistically expect GM to bring us something like this, only lighter dear God, for way less than that?

 

You expect a Vette to jump a 1/5 in price from now til 2009?

 

I think the main thing here we have to remember that while an LS7 is a measuring tool it is a bit extreme of an example. You figured a 10K motor in the car, well that is most definately what one would pay for the motor if they were to buy it from a distributor but you have to remember that it will not cost GM the same ammount to produce it or put it in a car. Most of the time GM can build an engine for less than a 1/4 of the price of what we pay for it but that is when production numbers are high.

The next thing to consider here is that GT-500 is hyped even by Ford, their profit margins on that car are excellent, and they had to be to make up for the Ford GT which is attributed to the demise of SVT as we knew it. They marketed the car only because they knew they could recoup some damages that they lost on the GT project. The prices are higher because a Shelby is an ace in the hole and would sell no matter what they wanted to charge.

Non Shelby products are going to be cheaper, as Ford knows that 45K for a Mustang is way out of reach for their target buyer. They also know that no other car be it Boss, Bullit, Mach 1 or Cobra would fetch such a high price as the Shelby has and thus after the Shelby's there will be more affordable specialty cars.

Expect to see prices around the mid to high 30's for future performance models over at Ford.

That being said GM is going to want to compete, and thus they will want to offer as much if not more for the same price or less. They will be very close in price because they don't want it to appear that they are cheaply made by under cutting the Mustang a great deal. This is a very thin line for GM to walk, and lets wish them the best of luck because it may be rocky the first few months after launch, but I am sure once this bird is off the ground she will soar.



Yet again I have written way too much...

basicly the purpose of the poll was to find out just how much people were willing to spend on a Special Edition car, or a Camaro in general. If all you have to spend is low 30's don't get scared off...we know absolutely nothing of what is going to happen to prices at this point for all we know they could be much lower than anticipated. All we want to do now is determine a medium price ceiling so we can get an idea of what will be feasible to do and not do on this car. This is in no way supposed to discourage people away from the idea of being able to afford a special car.

 

When I said $50K, I mean closer to $50K, not dead on. We are already at $45K, so $47-$49 is only 4-8% over the next two model years. Not doing complex interest, the average GM price incereases are between 1-5%. So, I'm trying to be realistic on what we may see. I'm no soothsayer, but this is what I have seen in my own experience. I'm not saying the Camaro is a direct correlation to Mustang, but GM is using it to guide itself. If Ford will go for a top model w/high margins, I can't see GM doing anything contrary. If you can make the cash you will. I guess we'll just need to wait and see, but that is where my money is if we want and get something close to LS7 output for the top of the line.

 

Are we talking about the Z28 or the CZ28.com SE?

Two very different cars.

 

There you go! I think that sums it up greatly. I think I can shake loose $32K for a car, and perhaps another $3600 to make it a special edition. That's the $30K to $38K category.

Rather than debate what we FORECAST the cost to be, we should FORECAST what we can afford. That'll help those folks that work on a design to plan accordingly.

Excellent clarification.