I think we might both be off on this one. I always thought that was the point of a flex line....

it's not just the liberals...I believe "stupid gov't as a whole" would apply better. Because this issue is spreading like a plague throughout the whole system...If they would just drop the 'global warming', or more recently, 'climate change', and just put it out there:
Oil is bad for our economy, and our security...so we need to reduce our oil consumption...

...but alas, "global climate warmcooling changing" is easier to use for fearmongering, which is the only way to get people to accept changes (i.e. if the alternative to said change 'could be' worse).
But this isn't a political thread, and I have no intentions of turning it into one. so don't reply

 

Watch the "liberal vs conservative" BS. You haven't been here long enough, and evidently don't know enough.

 

If Camaro is the only NA Zeta then lets call it F-body again!

To clarify my point I don’t see GM making a business plan to export the Camaro different than other Zeta’s. The export and sales of those vehicles is very much part of the business plan, outside of Camaro. So this will be very interesting and a bit scary for the Camaro as now its platform costs are no longer shared.
But now that the CAFÉ is out there and GM must plan for it since the Camaro has not even started it’s production run the car can run for 6-7 years w/o update if needed and that will give GM time to develop the next gen platform that should allow for FWD, RWD or AWD capability and thus the Camaro and other future vehicles could again share in it.
No more Zeta’s is a setback for sure but in business that’s part of the game. If the Camaro is successful, and I feel it will, there should be a place for it.

 

I think that's pretty long time. IMHO, Camaro will have 2-3 really good sales years before needing a bunch of money for a freshening. By the time they sell job 1, people will have already seen it for 3 years. And retro interiors typically have a very short shelf life with consumers.

Do you spend that couple of hundred or so million on a dying platform, or do you fold it into the next gen car, (if there even is one)? Man, I'd love to be a fly on the wall.....

 

GM is a global company that is acting more and more like a single global comapany. This is only the start.

I also ponder where the Chevy brand is going as we now have Chevy in the Middle east Brazil, and now in Europe [mostly Daewoo]. Are we seeing Chevy becoming a Global name plate and will serve needed product based on what market it is in?

I just see it as if they do export the Camaro in greater numbers it is a positive to the Camaro.

Now here is the reality of all the new bad news. This could and I am only saying could lead to a sixth Gen on the Alpha RWD [if it is approved]. It would be a smaller car lighter and brace yourself ...a V6 and 4 cylinder. We all are going to have to deal with the fact that the V8 is at a end accept for some trucks, Cadillac and the Corvette. Even Ford is backing away form the V8 in most models and embracing turbo Sixes to the tune of 340 HP.

Unless the goverment backs off the line up for most GM cars will be V6 or 4 cylinder. Now that is not to say we will not have fun cars to drive. You may very well see 400+ HP out of 3.6 turbo's and the like. Performance will not die it just will come in new packages.

We just need to see how GM is going to handel the exports and how strong of a brand it becomes. If it takes off world wide it can be a very postive thing out of a tough time for GM product panners. There is a lot that is going to happen and I can say GM is just now trying to sort it out. We all need to understand what they have to face and support some tough disssions.

All I can say is learn all you can, read and stay informed.

 

Agreed it's not optimal but IF necessary could be done. The C6 will be out 6yrs before new model run and the Mustang will be at 5. This as opposed to dropping the car until a new platform is developed and going over this again. Won't happen.

History would say GM spends the money on the dying platform as they have in the past, '98 F-body. How much of that was internal heroics and how much was GM trying to add some excitement and turn the sales slide around... I think a lot of this will have to do with the Camaro's sales.

 

I think a lot of folks are acting like the new CAFE law is cast in stone. It's not. It will be a major function of geopolitical trends, and politics at home. Americans are just now starting to realize the long-term impacts of failing to invest in refineries, in nuclear power plants, and in domestic oil drilling. Once the real impacts of this absurd and unrealistic new CAFE starts hitting home, I'll bet there will be a lot of pressure on Congress to repeal or heavily revise it.

I'll also go out on a limb and predict, within 5-10 years, we will have a new oil-rich Mideastern ally, and the man-made global warming hoax will be fully revealed.

 

CAFE has nothing to do with global warming, it is for national security reasons.

Also, there's a high probablity that high gas prices will make it moot anyway.

 

God I hope so. I'm sick of hearing about it. The FRIGGIN NOBEL PEACE PRIZE????? What a joke.

 

Anyone else think that there's a problem a la Ste. Therese if Camaro is the only car produced in Oshawa?

That plant has the capacity to build more than half a million cars per year. Producing the Camaro, which at most is going to hit 250,000 (if they're lucky) represents a SEVERE amount of underproduction going on at that plant.