Z284ever

That's impressive.

Hylton

Don't be an *** - I didn't read in any of the posts about this weekends activities anything about them actually sitting down and discussing our concerns.

Mushasi

Was the fourth one a Hugger Orange with black stripes, 1LE option, and my name on the headrest? :-)

Thanks for sharing the experience guys, even the with lack of details (it's absolutely expected). Just knowing so much enthusiasm is given into this project is amazing. When this Camaro comes out it's going to feel like we've really had some inputs in it.

Bob Cosby

Ah. Cool. Tks.

Bob

Primus

I'm very interested in what the disciples have to say about the V6.

CamaroRick

We have seen pictures of a yellow Camaro. There was also talk by a GM employee @ camaro5 that they have a yellow one on display, so chances are........

Mr. Lutz = He is da man !!!

Capn Pete

I wasn't being an *** ... sorry you took it wrong?

If they DON'T take the time to sit and discuss some of the concerns with the Camaro team, then I don't understand what the point of asking for our ideas/opinions/thoughts/concerns (specifically to bring to the Focus Group) was in the first place?!

Unfortunately, we are SO vocal around here, I don't expect EVERY single point to get mentioned, but for the most part, it seems there are common "issues" that many/most of us agree on, so hopefully the big items get discussed and taken into serious consideration by the Camaro (GM) team?

Hylton

I think the idea to gather members concerns came from Jason, not GM. It was a thoughtful gesture on his part to include us in the activity to some degree but I am not sure GM gave him the opportunity to convey our ideas.

JasonD

We'd love to, but we are under a very strict non-disclosure agreement. We don't want to lose our chance to go back and help out more.

Yeah, for real.

We don't have an answer for that one. I do know that even if they don't right away, they are looking far ahead with development. They made sure they covered that. This isn't a painting that is done once and for all and that's it. The refinement is going a long way beyond what will be arrive in the showrooms next spring.

As I said in the first post, I didn't have the time (or the permission in most cases) to get into great details. I will have more time in the next couple of days to cover what I can. However, there is more information in the first post than you might have took the time to notice.

The funny thing...we didn't have to NEAR as much as last year's focus group. You will probably see this re-posted in a larger synopsis, but I took the most relevant comments from this year (the big "provide your input" thread) and condensed them down to the ones that could actually be used. Interestingly enough, they had many of the topics already put into production or addressed them before they could be presented this time. This could be because a lot of the comments you guys posted this year echoed last year's. That shows you right there that they listened and took what people said seriously.

Think of it like a huge Christmas list. You don't always get what you write down on your list, but you do get some things that still make you happy and what you don't get has a reason behind why.

What we will get made all of us very happy.

Heh...glad you mentioned...

(again, you may see something like this later in a larger entry.)

Yeah, you all know the drill, can't give specific details...but...

What we can ALL say about that V6...

It won't sacrifice performance for economy, and it will surprise the hell out of you. In fact, of all things that we saw yesterday, it was the V6 Camaro that left just as much of an impression as anything else.

Fbodfather

Unfortunate that we didn't have a week to spend with our Disciples -- because we get a lot of great feedback.

A couple of things:

>You can be assured that the disciples are not 'bashful' about making their - and YOUR - thoughts known. There was one issue that became somewhat heated -- heated may not be the word -- but the disciples...several of them....made it clear as to what their -- and YOUR expectations are.

>a lot of what you've asked for was either already incorporated into the car (remember -- a lot of the ones working on the car are Camaro enthusiasts ...) or changes were made based on our previous conversations with them (and you in various different forms - club meets -- emails -- sites such as these...)

>If it were possible to steal the show -- I think the V6 manual did that -- that was the third car everyone drove -- and I have to say it's one sweet ride and a lot of fun to drive and the performance will surprise many.

>Maximum Bob doing the flyover was a great addition. (he's apt to do that whenever he's anywhere near Milford...)

I am humbled to be able to sit and talk with a group of 15 enthusiasts from around the United States and Canada - and have both a great time and learn a lot.......I wish we could do this more often with several groups of disciples -- perhaps one day................


Thank YOU -- all of you -- for "keeping the faith" --- I think 99% of you are gonna love this car.

Fbodfather

I should also say that this meeting was more along the lines of "lifecycle" stuff (a little bit) and a lot about how we go to market with this car......

More about that later..........

guionM

Thanks for posting some comments, Scott.

This Camaro has had alot of input from enthusiasts. To be honest, as someone who came here after being a rabid Mustang enthusiast, the input and feedback GM has solicited and listened to regarding Camaro is quite on par with, and maybe even more than what Ford did regarding the last Mustang. Most certainly more than the SN95 version.

The new Camaro has been developed under the most transparent new car development program I think has ever existed. This program has been even far easier to track and developed more openly than the Pontiac Solstice, which was the previous champ. There's the occasional whiny guy that comes in demanding full disclosure or has some demented view that as a "potential" customer, GM should tell him everything he wants to know. Some folks know no better. Camaro is as exposed as any vehicle program can get without doing the competitions work for them.

Finally, the future of the Camaro (at the risk of heresy) IS in the V6 model. Many here with opinions without the assistance of sales figures often mistake V6 sports cars as "girls cars". Truth is, more men brought V6 Mustangs in 2002 than GM sold Camaros that year.... yes, I'm talking the entire 30K+ Camaros sold that year (despite F-bodies having a longer production year than Mustang did in 2002). Today, we have the added encouragement of $4 and $5 per gallon gas. Having a V6 model as a second thought, or developing a V6 with the mistaken mentality of appealing to secretaries is a sure path to failure.

The new Camaro isn't going to make everyone happy... and it shouldn't. But the new Camaro should pull in enough new customers who wouldn't have been caught dead in the last version, enough single people who were ready to buy a Toyota, Honda, or Nissan sedan as well as other coupes, to expand Camaro's sales volume to be competitive and have broad appeal.

I think this Camaro is right on the money.

4THGEN Z

looking forward to hearing more about the activites =) ....now about that V6, I'm having Grand National flash-backs.

poSSum

Once I get home I'm going to try to pull together my synopsis of the weekend. 20 hours of driving home gives me a lot of time to reflect on what we saw, heard and discussed.

I had the privilege of sitting beside Tom Peters during supper on Saturday. One of the interesting comments he made was that the debate within GM on topics like SS vs. Z28 & Z28 vs. Z/28 was just as passion filled as the discussions that take place here.

Ray86IROC

Can you guys drop any hints about the "base" V8 cars? I mean everyone assumes it'll be a LS3 based setup. Can you confirm if it is indeed over 6.0l, at least 400hp, etc? Anything at all other than "you'll be happy"??

The V6 sounds exciting as well. This sure is excruciating what w/ the no details... LOL, I want to know what was exciting about it.