hmmmm.i did mention this (4 cylinder) in one of my very few posts..might really be interested in the camaro now for my daughter...with college kids gas mileage is vital to save a buck

 

i agree. 4 cyl. engine do not belong in muscle cars. . . good thing the camaro is a pony car tho.

 

Camaros aren't muscle cars. They are pony cars. If at least half aren't V8s, then Camaro is going to flop just as surely as the last one did.

This isn't 1980. A 4 cylinder Camaro today would in all likelihood outrun 3rd gen Z28 Camaros made before '85 (let alone probally every 2nd gen made after 1974) and every 6 cylinder Camaro up to '96's 3800.

A 4 banger Camaro (even without a turbo) wouldn't exactly be a dog.

Ditto.

I'd say that's the likely price of the V8 Camaro.

If you expected the top Camaro to sell for that price, I have a bridge I'm selling.


Price isn't all important. I can come up with a long list of cheap cars that were outsold by other cars in their class that cost more.

Cobalt isn't RWD.

Same perforomance, better fuel economy, lower price, IRS, better interior (at least till the mid year 2010 Mustang arrives), 50/50 weight distribution basically meaning some facinating handling?

Doesn't sound like a losing proposition to me.

 

The "premium" interior is great news in my book.

The big problem with the Mustang GT is that you're looking at $27K car with with an interior designed for the $17K stripper. It makes more sense to design the car around the price that it will realistically sell at. Also this makes the Camaro a credible competitor to the Accord and Altima coupes.

Also the Chevy Traverse has ~280HP, I'm skeptical the Camaro will have a lesser V6 than Chevy's glorified minivan.

 

It will be a grave mistake to have a 4 cyl Camaro. You'd think there'd be a hybrid version before GM ever consider a turbo 4.

Camaro is traditionally a V8 performance car. It must honour its V8 heritage. A turbo 4 will only confuse prospective buyers.

 

Well, I wanted this as a toy, as I've already got a 2007 DD. The V-6, even at 304hp, isn't what I'm interested in. A TT V-6 in a Mustang GT rated around 330 horsepower, hell yeah. But that car would weigh about 3450-3500 pounds (going by the weight difference between ford's 6 and modV-8, and adding a bit for the turbo). All signs point to the Camaro being heavier than the mustang, probably by around 150 pounds (so, 3700-ish with the 8, I think that's fair), so that'd be significantly less attractive to me.

But premium priced? The camaro was always right around the mustang's price. I know the platform is more expensive, and it's higher-tech, but being a direct competitor in price was always the camaro's thing. If "premium" means ~30,000-31,000 entry price for the base V-8 then I'm out.

I'm sure it'll be a good car and I really just wanted a stripper anyways but for my personal needs, it's looking less and less attractive (while it continues to PHYSICALLY look more and more...I think the production version looks better than the concept). I will, of course, wait and see, as I'm not going to be making a new-car purchase for around 2 years (and wouldn't want a first-year anyways...), but I do not want significantly heavier and costlier than a Mustang GT.

This news does not make me happy. GM did, luckily, announce something I AM very interested in recently though. Finally, the Solstice Coupe. If it's around 27,000 for the GXP, like the convertible, I think that might be a better fit for me. I don't need vestigial rear seats in a toy, and a 3000lb 260hp turbo RWD coupe appeals to me a lot more than a 3700lb 400+hp RWD coupe.

Like I said, I will wait and see. I'm not one to get super worked up about this stuff. And I do love Camaro, so please don't take this as some kind of bashing. If it ends up not being what I'm after, I'd still smile and wave and congratulate guys driving by in theirs, because it'll still be a great vehicle. Just maybe not the one for me.

 

I agree with what someone else said on here...if the V6 Camaro and V8 Mustang are the same money, and provide similar performance, the Mustang will win by default.

This "premium pricing" thing is a crock of ****. We had premium priced 4th gens compared to Mustangs, and we see how that went. When I was selling $27,500 Formulas in 2002 with t-tops, versus $24,000 Mustang GTs without t-tops and 50 less hp, I lost every time.

In an uncertain economy, people seeking fun are going to look at the bottom dollar. If this car is priced like a G8, we all lose. The G8 is a larger midzied car. The Camaro is SUPPOSED to be a smaller, cheaper sporty car.

I guess we all need to wait and see what the revealed pricing and specs are. But, if I waited 6 years to get a 300hp, $27,000 V6 car with a dash from 2001: A Space Odyssey?????? Do I even have to finish my thoughts here?? I swear, if the last sentence is correct, its almost like this buildup was for nothing. I don't want a V6 car. I don't want a 4 cylinder car. I know A LOT of people want V6s, but A LOT of people also want V8s, especially in a sports car!!!!!!!!

As someone else mentioned, indeed, Mustang SVOs were cool. But look how they faired against the 5.0s when gas prices were high, and inevitably went down. I don't think prices will go down very much, but people will tend to adjust...

 

I'd consider buying a Turbo DI 4cyl. Camaro. Probably more performance tuning potential than the V6.

 

I came THIS close to buying a Saturn Sky Redline a few months back. What kept me? The thought of having only a 2 liter turbo 4 as opposed to a snorting V8. While the Sky was peppy, I wouldn't call it a muscle car. Beautiful, but weak. I felt that I would regret it (coming out of a LS1 Trans Am too) especially as soon as a new Camaro rolled up next to me. So I decided to wait for the Camaro after all. (which was my original plan, but I really wanted a convertible NOW.)

 

I don't think this necessarily means the V8s are going to be way up in price. Just that Chevy isn't going to try to sell a $20,000 stripper model with a 200HP engine like Ford does.

 

I get the high emotions in this thread, I really do.......but I think we all need to chill a little bit. Too many people are taking Lutz's comments to indicate that GM is going to blunder on the Camaro - why would anyone assume this? Most of the conclusions that people are coming to isn't rocket science - can you REALLY think that GM hasn't considered these things?

I mean really, you think GM doesn't know how tough it would be to market a 4-cylinder Camaro that has the same horsepower as a v6? I'm sure GM knows this and I'm sure they're not going to fall back on just saying "But it's RWD"......I refuse to believe they're that stupid until they actually DO something that stupid with this car.

THIS car is critical for GM - it's too popular to crash and burn because if it does, people will notice and turn away from GM.....again. The simple fact is GM needs the Camaro in their lineup - if they didn't, they wouldn't build one.

Something else I don't understand.......so what if there's a 4 cylinder Camaro? I mean, I'm driving a G5 and I miss my v8 TA WS6 - to me it can't be a Camaro without a smoking, asphalt eating, grumbling v8. However, for the entire life of the car it is clear that most people don't share that view......so why should I care? If selling Ecotech Camaros mean that I get my v8 and the car doesn't die again, fine.....as long as they don't diminish the performance standard of the car (as in "it better blow the doors off the competiton") - what difference does it make?

Lastly - how can we complain about a "premium" for price when we don't know how much it's going to be? I know everyone wants a v8 Camaro in the 25k-32k range, but c'mon!!!! That was the price range almost a DECADE ago!! Do you pay the same for groceries? Nope. What about gas? Nope. Why expect to pay the same for a performance car???? And if we're realistic about price....well, if it's 30k-35k for a v8, we're going to do very well, and still be able to beat Mustang.

Let's chill out folks - the world isn't ending yet..........

 

You also have to consider the cost of ownership. Here in SC gas was about a $1.10 a gallon in 2000. Assuming a conservative 12,000 miles per year for a true DD camaro, assuming an avg of 18 mpg (for some that will be low, for some that will be high, depending on how you drive), that was $733 in fuel per year. With the same camaro in 2009, assuming fuel even stays near the $3.10/gallon it is now that's $2,066 per year. Insurance rates have been steadily climbing as well. Over a 6 year period (again assuming gas is still only 3.10 per gallon, which we know it won't be) it will cost $8,000 MORE dollars in fuel than a 2000 model Z28 would have. Toss in the extra insurance costs, and the "new" Camaro's will be pretty pricey.

I don't want to be "spending" $800+/month on this car. Why should I buy a base V-8 camaro for let's say 32K when I can "wheel and deal" with a Ford dealer and get a GT for let's say $25K or 26,500 with zero percent. I'm sure it will be at least a year or so before Camaro is offered with zero percent financing. Remember, Mustang sales are strong, but have gone down a good bit.

I'm holding out, and will "keep the faith" but just some things to think about...

And yes, I'll be pretty pissed if the V8's starting price is more than 29K when a G8GT starts at 30K, is a larger family sedan, and is imported.

 

I really don't see anything wrong with a 4 Cylinder base motor if it offers 3800 4th Gen. performance with better mileage.

As has been noted, the Camaro is not a musclecar, it's a Pony Car and the whole idea behind a Pony Car is to offer style and performance to meet every taste and budget.

Remember, when Lee Iacocca asked Caroll Shelby to work some magic on the Mustang, Caroll was originally not interested because he didn't know what he could do with a "Secretaries Car" like the Mustang. But the performance of the original Pony just kept growing and growing while still offering a 1 barrel straight six with a 3 speed for those who just wanted style, but didn't need or couldn't afford the top performance model.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to see a Camaro that goes 0-60 in 11 seconds, but I think that there are a lot of potential buyers who would consider a peppy, fun to drive and stylish Camaro that got good mileage even if it wasn't a firebreather.

There should absolutely be a firebreathing performance version that will rip the heads off of all comers, but there's room for a lesser base model as well. Like GuionM said, a turbo 4 Cylinder Camaro would probably equal the performance of most early 3rd Gen. V8s.

Heck, the 2.4 Ecotec offers more horsepower than the early 4th Gen. 3.4 6 cylinder did.

I have confidence that no matter what, Chevy will offer a range of Camaros that do the name justice.

 

The Turbo Ecotec runs on premium fuel. The DI V6 does not need to. Which is going to be cheaper to operate in the long run?

This isn't to say I don't think the Turbo Ecotec is a great motor. I'd by a TE Malibu in a heartbeat if GM offered one.

 

Originally Posted by Fbodfather
CALM DOWN..........................

Until you've been inundated with the media (which isn't a bad thing....) you can't understand what happens during an 'interview'

.......a lot of what was said today was taken out of context.

We aren't completely stupid....the new Camaro MUST be priced competitively............


A premium could be as little as $50..................

4 cylinder?

Well........here's an interesting fact: The Federal government passed a LAW...but they have NOT written the rules...........so we know that we have to hit 35mpg as an average by 2020.........BUT --- no one knows the route -- or what the rules are...........

You can BET that EVERYONE in the industry is looking at alternative powertrains..........


Meanwhile........the 4 cylinder isn't in the 'official' plan at this point in time....so CALM DOWN....................


I was glad to read this. I have no problem with them putting a 4 in a Camaro. It's a different world nowadays. I was confused about the 260hp V6 mentioned but I'm sure now that is a mistake and it will be 300+hp.
Good to hear that "premium" will not mean a huge increase over Mustangs MSRP's.
I'm still waiting to see what the V8 specs will be before I make a final decision.