More 7th gen Camaro news: GM Hinted At Muscle Car Rebirth During Dealer Meeting

[Mr_Draco]

And what in the world would be different about a "Camaro" SUV and a Blazer?

Absolutely nothing besides the name plate

 

[DeuceCam]

If it's a 4 door only, call it an SS, impala, etc.
If they can pull off a 2 door and 4 door with the same chassis (like the new charger), might be able to live with it being a camaro.

 

[bishopts]

And what in the world would be different about a "Camaro" SUV and a Blazer? More power because of the V8? The Blazer already has a Camaro-inspired interior with even a few similar exterior touches... plus these small and midsize SUVs all look and drive very similar, except for the worst ones. Pretty boring inside and outside.

Rwd longitudinal mounted engine.
I really wish GM would read the crowd better. The current blazer is basically an equinox sport, it should have been a big boxy 4x4 with big fenders and removable top so that it would be a direct competitor to wrangler and bronco.

 

[Number 3]

“If” GM pushes out a 4 door version, IMO, that would kill the Camaro. 4 doors is a family car. Not a muscle car. Don’t Do It…

Remember Reuss called the SS a 4 door Camaro

 

[Number 3]

Ok, to be clear there are several ways to look at this.

First camp. Camaro IS a coupe and screw GM REGARDLESS of how awesome the car is I won’t buy one because coupe.

Second camp. SS sedan was nice. back then it would have been nicer with more than 6 speeds in the automatic and some current electronics/infotainment and I’d have liked one that wasn’t loaded. Call it what you want.

Third camp. I‘d Certainly consider a car with V Series performance at a Chevy price and you can call it Fred or Camaro, I don’t care. (Btw, this is the Camaros biggest fear. GM won’t allow this car to just be a cheap V Series)

Fourth camp. What’s a Camaro. Never heard of it. Wow, this a great car, I want a Camaro.

probably a few variations, but the biggest issue is what GM is forced to do to keep the cars sufficiently differentiated. Example: Impala, La Cross:and XTS were all of lambda (as was Malibu and Regal). The Cadillac had a 400 HP TT engine with hyper strut front suspension and linked H arm rear suspension. The Buick had a 3.6L NA engine and that awesome suspension was optional on only the highest trim level and AWD was available. The Impala? Base suspension only. Now if they had built a Regal (which was a hatchback or station wagon) with AWD AND the 400 hp TT V6? I would have been all in. All the parts were there to do it.

 

[mlee]

It will be interesting to see how this shakes out. Would love to be a fly on the wall as tabletop discussions are no doubt continuing. New players (most), new team, new chief. It will change,,, and every change from front end to taillights has come with big push back.

Just don't lose the cool factor

 

[Hack]

I liked the size of the 6 Gen Camaro. However, I do think the market is there for it to be either slightly larger or redesigned in a way where the front two seats provide more room. The rear is a package tray and should not be set up to be functional as seats except for young and flexible people for short distances.

The 4 door Chevy sedans died years ago. If there was a larger market for 4 door vehicles, the sedans would be selling and not defunct. There is more of a market for a 2 door sporty vehicle than there is for 4 doors, just based on what Chevy has been making. The 4 door sedan people mostly decided to buy SUVs or they went to Cadillac.

 

[Stonehauler]

Ok, to be clear there are several ways to look at this.

First camp. Camaro IS a coupe and screw GM REGARDLESS of how awesome the car is I won’t buy one because coupe.

Second camp. SS sedan was nice. back then it would have been nicer with more than 6 speeds in the automatic and some current electronics/infotainment and I’d have liked one that wasn’t loaded. Call it what you want.

Third camp. I‘d Certainly consider a car with V Series performance at a Chevy price and you can call it Fred or Camaro, I don’t care. (Btw, this is the Camaros biggest fear. GM won’t allow this car to just be a cheap V Series)

Fourth camp. What’s a Camaro. Never heard of it. Wow, this a great car, I want a Camaro.

probably a few variations, but the biggest issue is what GM is forced to do to keep the cars sufficiently differentiated. Example: Impala, La Cross:and XTS were all of lambda (as was Malibu and Regal). The Cadillac had a 400 HP TT engine with hyper strut front suspension and linked H arm rear suspension. The Buick had a 3.6L NA engine and that awesome suspension was optional on only the highest trim level and AWD was available. The Impala? Base suspension only. Now if they had built a Regal (which was a hatchback or station wagon) with AWD AND the 400 hp TT V6? I would have been all in. All the parts were there to do it.

In Reference to the "Third camp". The V Blackwing needs to remain a halo performance luxury car on the level of the M5. Something that blows most non-supercars/hyper cars out of water, while retaining a "civilized" ride. Trackable, but no owner would ever do so. The Camaro halo car will probably end up being much more of a track focused car, way too punishing to be a daily driver.

While some could say we are entering the last phases of the HP wars, I 've heard people saying that for decades. When Ford came out with a 300 hp halo type Mustang (97 mustang cobra) and Chevy had a 330 hp LT4 beast, most people thought that was it. Today, the BASE model mustang ecoboost makes 10 more hp than that halo cobra, and 50 ft-lbs more torque. Electric vehicles are producing sub 2 second 0-60 cars. Even a non halo BMW i5 M60 is producing M5 like times without the M5 price tag.

That means that 475-525 hp engines (probably 500+) in the non-halo cars are a must. Sure, they are top end versions and should have the suspension to handle that power, plus provide a ride expected by that brand (Chevy...rough and not very refined, Buick more refined, Caddy, range from plush to performance, but never punishing)

 

[Stonehauler]

The 4 door Chevy sedans died years ago. If there was a larger market for 4 door vehicles, the sedans would be selling and not defunct. There is more of a market for a 2 door sporty vehicle than there is for 4 doors, just based on what Chevy has been making. The 4 door sedan people mostly decided to buy SUVs or they went to Cadillac.

Sedans are making a comeback... Probably just the fuel prices, but take a look at the numbers. Sedans are not dead, stupid boring sedans area, and that is what Ford and GM produced...

 

[Hack]

Sedans are making a comeback... Probably just the fuel prices, but take a look at the numbers. Sedans are not dead, stupid boring sedans area, and that is what Ford and GM produced...

I don't agree. The top 3 selling sedans in the US are Camry, Corolla, and Civic. I would contend that those sedans are both stupid and boring.

The highest selling sedan that is actually interesting I would say is the BMW 3 series. They are sporty and sell a significant quantity, but 10X less than the Camry. The last good year of Camaro sales was about 23,000 and BMW sells about 31,000. Mustang sold about 45,000 last year. I think the market is there for a 2 door sporty coupe.

 

[Stonehauler]

Ok, to be clear there are several ways to look at this.

First camp. Camaro IS a coupe and screw GM REGARDLESS of how awesome the car is I won’t buy one because coupe.

Second camp. SS sedan was nice. back then it would have been nicer with more than 6 speeds in the automatic and some current electronics/infotainment and I’d have liked one that wasn’t loaded. Call it what you want.

Third camp. I‘d Certainly consider a car with V Series performance at a Chevy price and you can call it Fred or Camaro, I don’t care. (Btw, this is the Camaros biggest fear. GM won’t allow this car to just be a cheap V Series)

Fourth camp. What’s a Camaro. Never heard of it. Wow, this a great car, I want a Camaro.

probably a few variations, but the biggest issue is what GM is forced to do to keep the cars sufficiently differentiated. Example: Impala, La Cross:and XTS were all of lambda (as was Malibu and Regal). The Cadillac had a 400 HP TT engine with hyper strut front suspension and linked H arm rear suspension. The Buick had a 3.6L NA engine and that awesome suspension was optional on only the highest trim level and AWD was available. The Impala? Base suspension only. Now if they had built a Regal (which was a hatchback or station wagon) with AWD AND the 400 hp TT V6? I would have been all in. All the parts were there to do it.

In Reference to the "Third camp". The V Blackwing needs to remain a halo performance luxury car on the level of the M5. Something that blows most non-supercars/hyper cars out of water, while retaining a "civilized" ride. Trackable, but no owner would ever do so. The Camaro halo car will probably end up being much more of a track focused car, way too punishing to be a daily driver.

While some could say we are entering the last phases of the HP wars, I 've heard people saying that for decades. When Ford came out with a 300 hp halo type Mustang (97 mustang cobra) and Chevy had a 330 hp LT4 beast, most people thought that was it. Today, the BASE model mustang ecoboost makes 10 more hp than that halo cobra, and 50 ft-lbs more torque. Electric vehicles are producing sub 2 second 0-60 cars. Even a non halo BMW i5 M60 is producing M5 like times without the M5 price tag.

That means that 475-525 hp engines (probably 500+) in the non-halo cars are a must. Sure, they are top end versions and should have the suspension to handle that power, plus provide a ride expected by that brand (Chevy...rough and not very refined, Buick more refined, Caddy, range from plush to performance, but never punishing)