jeffsager

Hello Camaro enthusiasts:

Perhaps you can reassure me. It appears that GM is going into a panic mode. As its reliance on pickup trucks for the past few years has put it into a noncompetitive position, I am afraid the firm will surrender to politicians and develop a Camaro reminiscent of the famed 'Mustang II'. That vehicle was a bad joke.

However, perhaps some of you can offer me solace. For example, is GM really considering a four cylinder Camaro? What happened to the supposed 30 mpg V8 engine? I certainly understand that teens, college kids, and rental companies will jump for a six cylinder Camaro. However, the profit is in the old people who want something that will perform and is not a Corvette techno-mess.

Thank you all for providing this service.

Best regards,


Jeff Sager

BitchinCamaro

Just read through the other treads in here and the Automotive News area and you will get the idea. Mostly media hype and people trolling the boards. Listen to the latest couple of podcasts too, they sum it up pretty well.
https://www.camaroz28.com/podcast/podcast148.mp3
https://www.camaroz28.com/podcast/podcast149.mp3

5thgen69camaro

Jeff,

If a 4cyl makes it into the line up that will not be the one you have to choose. Also it most likely would be the 4cyl from the Solstice GXP

Dont hold me to this but Im thinking something like this, or at least this is how I would do it.

$22,000 V6 300HP
$30,000 SS LS3 V8 400hp
$33,000 SS 1LE LS3 V8 400hp performance package susp
$40,000 Z28 LS8 500 hp Supercharged
$50,000 ZL1 LS9 600 hp Supercharged <<<<unlikely but would be neat exhibition wise

jg95z28

There won't be that many V8s I'm afraid. My thought is at least one V6 (DI) and the LS3 in year one, then if the Z28 gets the green light the LSA will be added. (The LS8 is currently a marine crate engine.) I can see a "tuner" version being added if fuel mileage becomes a concern and the brass at GM panics, however four cylinder Camaros have never sold very well and I doubt they will in this car, even if its a 2.2L turbocharged version. Camaro buyers, while somewhat concerned with fuel mileage, are more concerned that they have a "spirited" ride.

Let's face it; if fuel mileage is your primary concern, you're not the typical Camaro target buyer.

radz282003

I agree with this. I hadn't considered a tuner package though, that's a good thought. I think GM could do a little better job and keep it cheaper if they produced a higher performance model (than a "regular" 400-horse LS3) but there are always aftermarket companies out there. Shoot, they're already stabbing SCs on G8s so if GM can't do it, we should be able to.

Vette Pro

I do not think that you will see a 4 cyl Camaro...the car is going to weigh considerably more than the Soltice/Sky and will not have the power to weight ratio favoring a 4 cyl engine...the fuel economy has to be favorable for that 4 cyl to be offered .... other wise why do it...the Camaro is probably going to weigh 3800-3900 lbs were the Soltice/Sky are about 2900 pounds..I think you will see a couple of 6 cly engines offered along with a V8 for the first year of production and maybe a HO V8 down the road...big brother and the CAFE law is going to be an influence for sure.. so the HO may not happen..I could care less one way or the other on the HO V8 ... it is very EZ to add HP/TQ to the LS3 and I would rather do it my way than GMs way...it will suit me better to do it myself...we don't need no stinking super charged engine like phuchin furd to make muscle..

99SilverSS

Nice!

If your looking at GM and their announcement today and all of the changes in the market and gas prices are all very current. The Camaro will arrive and be the same Camaro it was to be last year or the year before. It's been well known that the Camaro made it far enough to outlive it's Zeta based planned plant mates. So GM is moving on this car because they have already spent the money and now they want to get all they can back on that investment.
SO for the 5th Gen things should flow as they were planned. I'd say the Z/28 could face some changes and maybe a 4 cyl Camaro will undergo some development. But the bread and butter v6's and v8 will go ahead as planned. So if you wanted an SS with a v8 it will be there or a v6 convert it will also be available.

Car companies like GM especially move like the Titanic and this gas price iceburg that they are running into right now will cause them to close down the watertight bulkheads but the band in 1st Class will be playing for quite some time before they are even aware of what happened... Camaro goes on!

guionM

1. Camaro is a done deal. Even if GM goes bankrupt, Camaro is as guaranteed as any other vehicle in Chevrolet's showroom.

2. There was nothing wrong with Mustang IIs besides following the aggressive 71-73 Mustangs. The Fox Mustang that followed was a far more crappy car till the early 80s when Ford got a handle on quality and started giving annual performance injections.

3. What politicians is GM going to surrender to?

4. Yes, GM is considering a 4 cylinder Camaro. They wouldn't be doing it if they didn't think it would sell.

5. There never was a 30mpg V8 engine. You simply are not going to get 400 plus horsepower and 30 mpg out of 8 cylinders. Corvette gets close because it's a featherweight. But it also has construction material and methods that isn't practical or cheap on high volum vehicles (Balsa wood sandwiched in plastic floorpans, anyone?).

6. Teens don't buy new cars. Rental companies buy whatever they want.

7. If Camaro couldn't make a profit selling base and midlevel models, there would be no 5th gen Camaro.

8. Although you are somewhat correct that top performance models have a higher median age of buyer (mid 40s and up for Camaro SS, Mustang Cobras and GT500, most SRT8 models), that "techno-mess" Corvette has a higher concentration of older buyers than the Camaro does. The average Corvette buyer is either a male empty nester or a professionally successful female.

9. GM's problems are self generated. It's also being made worse because they seem incapable of changing at the speed Chrysler and especially Ford seem to be able to change. Politicians didn't regulate that GM had to put all their eggs in trucks and drag their feet developing new cars.... or make cars they create in other countries non compatable with US standards.

10. Today, GM just announced drastic steps to at least generate money to get them through 2010... so they aren't going anywhere just yet.