Bob Lutz made a blog pit stop yesterday to call attention to the Camaro concept car unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show.
Looks pretty cool, and the GM Fastlane fans seem pretty impressed in the post's comments.
The news on the GM front recently has been guardedly optimistic, and this bauble can't do anything but help.
It's not anything that will be built soon and certainly nothing that will materially help the company's recovery. Psychologically beneficial; financially meaningless. But, hey, psychology's important in turnarounds.
One little quibble: the online webcast doesn't support Firefox. C'mon guys (this means you, Tonja!) give us geeks a break, will ya!
Tags: Chevy Camaro GM Fastlane Blog
I would Love to see the new concept Camaro hit the open market. I for one would be a buyer. I was sorry to see the camaro go away. I have owned 3 camaros so far, would love to make it 4.
Posted by: Don Huson | January 10, 2006 at 04:01 PM
The Camaro concept is exceedingly well done. As the owner of a 2006 Z06, I would welcome the opportunity to also own this vehicle. It is gorgeous. Hopefully it will be offerd in a version commensurate the Z28 or ZL1 of old.
Posted by: charley black | January 10, 2006 at 10:51 PM
I am excited to see GM take another look at re-creating a new Camaro. I have grown up dreaming of owning Camaros/ Firebirds soon to find out they are no longer available to buy new. In order for this new Camaro to sell the following needs to happen. (This is info gathered from MANY well established message boards.
1. T-tops must be an option
2. z/28 & SS trim packages at some point (make them both w/ slightly different purposes.
Example. Make the Z28 more for casual cruising, good looks, and still pack a big bang. Make the SS model more for street/strip use. Beefier powertrain, no junk 10 bolts, possibly a forced induction setup (turbo), or higher flowing head,cam over the Z28 etc. There NEEDS to be a significant difference between the two.
3. Bringing back the Camaro has HUGE shoes to fill. The mustang 500 is a huge threat, along w/ Challenger & possibly even the BMW M3. This car better perform at least equal to these cars, or better, or I think your goal of selling 165,000 of these a year is a mere dream.
4. Offer authentic retro paint colors again like in 1999. I love my 1999 Hugger Orange Camaro SS. A Hugger orange car, with optional stripes would bring a sales explosion! :D Seriously, a stripe package w/ hugger orange would be a huge hit!
5. Change the grille a little! The orange re-creation from Josh Horton, almost everyone agrees looks just awesome! The front needs something different. Look at the Horton pics of the orange camaro, and adjust something! Offer a Billet Grille!
So far, I like the car, but wish it had these changes/ things available at the time of release. Please dont make us wait till 2009! That is only going to hurt this attempt!
I hope Mr. Lutz really looks at this!
Posted by: Marcus | January 11, 2006 at 03:02 AM
Hi Tom,
We hear you. We use Firefox, too. We now have it zipped and have a link to the GMTV feed.
Thanks,
Tonja
Posted by: Tonja Deegan | January 11, 2006 at 03:58 PM
Way to go, Tonja. I assume you have noted the other comments here meant for Fastlane.
Posted by: Tom | January 11, 2006 at 04:27 PM
I want this car! I love it the the way it is! I would like to see an SS though. An automatic option might be nice. I want it either way but I would seriously consider an automatic only because I drive the Los Angeles rush hour daily.
I WANT THIS CAR! (I have wanted a '67 Camaro for years) I hope this one comes out within the next couple of years as I will need a new car by then.
PLEASE put it into production.
Sincerely and anxious,
Ann-Marie Tidwell
Posted by: Ann-Marie Tidwell | January 17, 2006 at 05:46 PM
Bob, glad to see you are seeking the opinions of the enthusiast community, afterall we will be the ones buying (or not) this new Camaro!
My opinion is that your design staff has missed the mark; the new Camaro, while a nice looking coupe in it's own right, is not RETRO enough to spark the PASSION necessary as the reborn CAMARO. As a comparison, I absolutely LOVE the new Challenger prototype; it stirs my passion, and it is very close to the original design cues and proportions. The Camaro you propose is more "forward-thinking", but I don't want a futuristic Camaro! I want a new Camaro with modern technology, safety features, performance efficiency, and "THE LOOK" of its predecessors.
The new front view is weird with the obstructed view of the headlights; the rear also is strange and one would not immediately think "oh the new Camaro" when viewing proto pics.
It needs to be an unmistakeable CAMARO first and foremost and sadly the present proto does not meet this criteria. Back to the drawing boards PLEASE! I would suggest cloning the '69 Camaro look and proportions since it was wider, roomier, more stable than earlier models.
Feel free to contact me directly Bob for more opinions, insight, ideas!
Best Regards, John
Posted by: johnnystage1 | January 22, 2006 at 05:31 PM
This model is a work of art, to put it simply. The classic coke bottle shape is back, and simply gorgeous. Chevrolet has been on a roll with the last few models IMO (Colorado, Impala, Vette, and now Camaro) and this is the coup de gracie (spelling?). I only pray that Chevrolet becomes committed to this model and stick's with it. I would also like to thank Chevrolet for finally listening to the people who are the enthusiests. Keep up the magnificent work.
Posted by: Scott Vines | February 25, 2006 at 06:41 PM