New Camaro

Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by evilevets, Jan 11, 2006.

  1. evilevets

    evilevets Sergeant Major

    What do you think of the new Camaro?

    http://autoshow.msn.com/as/article.aspx?xml=GM3&shw=autoshow2006&GT1=7648

    I know it's just a concept, but I beleive they are seriously considering it. I was not really a fan of the later style Camaros, but I love the early ones, and this one definitely does remind me of the '67-69. Plus it was sort of a sad day when they discontinued them a few years back. It had me wondering if this was the death of affordable American sports cars. At least Ford still held onto the Mustang, but there was no more Ford/Chevy arguments. GM was talking-up the new GTO as if it were going to be the sucsessor, but I don't even think that had RWD, did it?

    Anyway, I hope they do decide to start making them. We need affordable American V8/RWD sports cars.

    Plus 400 HP:eek:


    -Steve
     
  2. evilevets

    evilevets Sergeant Major

    Yeah, but I think they pulled it off pretty good. Unlike some other failed attempts at the classic look cough-Thunderbird-cough.:rolleyes:


    -Steve
     
  3. eclayton

    eclayton Sgt. Shorts-cough

    Wow! I like it. Then again, it seems the car makers finally realized that some people DO like to have nice looking cars. The new Mustang is very nice, I like the retro pickup (does Dodge make that thing?) the PT cruiser, the Dodge Magnau Station wagon is nice. I like the MiniCoopers we have now here in the US, and those Audi sport cars are nice too. The new VW Bug is nice. I just like the direction things are going, and I hope it continues.
     
  4. eclayton

    eclayton Sgt. Shorts-cough

    I forgot to mention the Thunderbird. I like it too. What don't you like about it?
     
  5. evilevets

    evilevets Sergeant Major

    I'm glad you didn't say PT Cruiser. Oh wait, you did:(


    -Steve
     
  6. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest

    I don't like it to be honest. I do like the new Mustangs though.

    What do you consider affordable 400hp, by the way?

    IMHO, I'm really thinking they won't do that, because a 'cheap' 400hp Camaro would encroach upon Vette territory, for less. It doesn't make business sense, to me anyway.
     
  7. evilevets

    evilevets Sergeant Major

    Well heres the thing. I LOVE old cars. I'm only thirty, but I've owned a '61 Buick, a '50 Chevy, a 63 Galaxie and just recently picked up a '52 Chevy. I just love classic american iron.

    That said, I HATE new cars. Honestly I think they're ugly as hell and suck to work on. I'm far from a professional mechanic, but I love working on my own cars. Old cars are just so easy. I guess also working in the tech field, and computers being such a major part of my life, it's so relaxing to work on and drive something that is so low-tech.

    Anyway, to answer your question, the Thunderbird just was a miserable failure. To make things worse, they offered it in "retro" pastel colors. The wide variety of color chioces on cars in the '50s was amazing. On a 56 Chevy, you had a choice of 26 different colors! But the beautiful lines and the amount of chrome is what made those colors cool.Those cars had so much style, even sea foam green looked cool. Now take a brand new car and paint it pastel-blue...ugh.

    Plus it was such a half-hearted attempt. Chrome-plated plastic door handles and mirrors...wow, thats so retro! They were just trying to sell a peice of crap with a good name. It would have been alright if they'd just called it something else.

    All of the automakers are jumping on the bandwagon, taking soemthing totally new and just calling it a Charger or a Montego. Ford was actually going to start calling the Crown Vic a Galaxie! Instead they settled on 500. Then they just went ahead and came out with a Mercury Montego. It's all marketing.


    -Steve
     
  8. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest

  9. evilevets

    evilevets Sergeant Major

    Now THAT is cool!

    Thats about the closest I've seen a restyled muscle car come to looking like the original. That thing actually looks like a freakin Challenger!


    -Steve
     
  10. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest


    I know it. IMO, its a thing of beauty. By the time it is(if) released, I'll be ready with open arms too :D
     
  11. evilevets

    evilevets Sergeant Major

    Well most of the allure with the Vette is it's name and heritage. They were putting Vette motors in Firebird/TA's for a while. A lot of people can't ever afford a Vette, and will never buy one, so it just makes sense for the same company to build something cheaper but still comparable. To them, they're just selling cars, doesn't matter if it's a 400 HP Vette or a 400 HP TA for $12K less.

    If the only RWD/V8 sports car was a Vette, they would loose a huge market. In fact, thats what happeing! Folks our age are still buying cars based on performance, and availabilty of aftermarket performance parts. Whats happening now is, the import aftermarket is growing, while American companies are still priced way too high. Nowadays, it's actually cheaper to get 300+ HP out of say, an Eclipse than to buy a Mustang GT or Cobra. So it only makes sense for GM to offer a "mini-Vette", if you will. They're never going to get that market back if the only RWD they're offering is the Vette.

    My guess though is that by the time it goes to production, it will be more like 300 HP, and the 400 HP will be like $10K more. That would be a bad move on their part, but oh well.


    -Steve
     
  12. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest

    I hear ya. I'm thinking that in the event they do something like that, they'll tone down the horsepower some to justify it. Isn't that what they did to the Firebirds and TA's for a while? Seems to me I remember then running with 20-30 or so less horsepower than the Vette.

    Interesting comments about the Ford Tbird. I wonder if it accounts for any of the marketshare loss Ford is experiencing, along with QA issues ;)
     
  13. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest

    You are probably right on that one. GM probably can't afford not to.
     
  14. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest

    Yeah, I'm pretty stoked about it. It could afford to lose weight though. I think 4100 pounds is a bit much these days.
     
  15. Major Attitude

    Major Attitude Co-Owner MajorGeeks.Com Staff Member

  16. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest

    LOL!

    I'd prefer black myself :)
     
  17. Lev

    Lev MajorGeek

    First car I had was a Mini...and I mean a real mini...not the stuff that comes off the production line today that we can now see coming into the US. I loved that car! Mini Coopers are great cars, but I much prefer the original. I have a mini on my key chain....a model one you understand ;)

    I really don't like PT cruisers at all. They came to the UK for a while and a few innovative car freaks bought them, but they didn't really take off.

    The new Camaro looks classy, but as Adryn says, better in black IMHO :) Doesn't everything look great in black?
     
  18. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest

    We call PT Cruisers hearses around here.
     
  19. Lev

    Lev MajorGeek

    In England, as a biker, we call the hatchback Volvos that......
     
  20. evilevets

    evilevets Sergeant Major


    Yup! Mostly old people driving those. I always think it's funny when I'm at a car show and I'll see some guy with his "customized" PT cruiser. By customized, I mean cheesy bolt-on accessories from Pep-boys (think dice valve stem caps, or flame floor mats).

    Also, the guys that show up with their brand new bone-stock Vettes or Vipers are corny too. It's like dude, I can go down to the dealership and see a completely stock car!


    -Steve
     
  21. Lev

    Lev MajorGeek

    Haha! Can't wait to forward this thread to my sis-in-law *giggles*
     
  22. fleppen

    fleppen Gumshoe

    Doesn't have to make sense in a business way.
    Porsche just released the Cayman which is actually a tad better than the 911 (because the Cayman is a mid-engine car and the 911 a rear-engine car) at the circuit. In all the reviews I've read the 911 has won purely because it's got more HP and a more advanced suspension system.
    Still, the Cayman actually is the better car, looking at the weight distribution which is better than the 911's.
    So I'd not be surprised if they actually went ahead an produce the Camaro the way it is... well ok, perhaps not with 400bhp ;)
     
  23. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest


    GM can't afford to not make business sense. I'm guessing Porsche isn't in the same way, financially.
     
  24. eclayton

    eclayton Sgt. Shorts-cough

    I just think that the styling and the attempt at something with a few lines and curves is to be commended. What we had for a few decades ALL looked the same: Boxy, lack of color, etc. I hate the cars of the 90s. I hate the cars of the 80s. At least these new cars look different from eachother.

    Go to this page. I'm not sure what the years are of these cars, but you'll see how they all look the same. I can see differences when I open one picture and then immediatly open the next picture, but if I walked away, I'd never be able to tell you which is which out on the street.

    http://chamonix.as.utexas.edu/HTML/jpg/cars/models.html

    I just think the trend is getting away from all the same-same manufacturing, and I like it, and will take it for what it's worth.
     
  25. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest

    I agree, although I really, really like both of those Acura models :)
     
  26. fleppen

    fleppen Gumshoe

    So buy a Renault, they're different from the other cars out there ;)
     
  27. Lev

    Lev MajorGeek

    Bwahahaha...you think they let Renaults into the US? ;)
     
  28. evilevets

    evilevets Sergeant Major

    The author keeps referring to cars of the forties. I wonder if he's aware that there were no cars being made from 1940 to 1946. Production was halted so that the automakers could focus on military vehicles and airplanes during WWII. Essentially, a 1940 Chevy is only one year off from a 46, with almost no change in body style, save for maybe a slightly different grill.

    Yeah, the war.



    -Steve
     
  29. BoredOutOfMyMind

    BoredOutOfMyMind Picabo, ICU


    They tried it once before when Chrysler owned AMC

    The first Dodge Intrepid had the running gear from an Audi Quattro and the body was designed by Renault. It went downhill from there...
     
  30. Lev

    Lev MajorGeek

    IMO it's the only way to get a Renault to go........downhill ;)
     
  31. Major Attitude

    Major Attitude Co-Owner MajorGeeks.Com Staff Member

    Black? Blasphemy. Orange. Classic. Should be ugly, but somehow so beautiful.
     
  32. Major Attitude

    Major Attitude Co-Owner MajorGeeks.Com Staff Member

    Maybe ill meet him someday, were coming to Charlotte to consider moving there in a month or two. I guess meeting you might be ok, too ;)
     
  33. eclayton

    eclayton Sgt. Shorts-cough

    Agreed. I just posted that site to make a point about the sameness of modern cars. I wish I could find more examples from the 80s as well. I think the 90s were even worse.
     
  34. Jerkyking

    Jerkyking Sergeant Major

    Ditto, I saw it on the cover of a magazine today and found the same link. My Dad retired from GM and I have been waiting for them to get on the Retro Band waggon. I liked the earlier Concept Camero's that I saw but this Dodge is sweet.
     

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  35. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest


    I knew someone who retired from Chrysler, and every two years, he got a new car. We are talking nice cars too. Wonder if GM does the same?
     
  36. Jerkyking

    Jerkyking Sergeant Major

    Employees and Retirees (and eligible family) get discounts, average is 5% of (wholesale) from dealer stock or 10% if you order one. I can look up a dealers inventory online and find out what my cost is without going thru the dealer. That's real nice but some dealers really hate that, they just beome middle-men.

    I came out 5 Grand below sticker on my truck so it kind of negates the depreciation. So if I could mangage to pay a vehicle off I could easliy affort to have a new one every two years and break even.
     

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