2010 Camaro is ON!!

[Mark B]

Hey everyone,
Just saw the new Chevy High Performance on the newsstand. Front cover:

ITS OFFICAL: CHEVY CAMARO IS ON!!!

Its going to start production in 09 and be a 2010 model. No word on what changes have been made from the concept.... But Im happy. I actually got goosebumps when I read the first paragraph of the story. PICK IT UP!!

[TraceZ]

Yeah, that is great news.... but 2010?? Isnt that a little far away?

[Johnyd2]

thats PERFECT!!! a couple years outta college....... some money saved up... and that car will be mine, guilt free!

[Gary94Formula]

I agree... Good news, but like TraceZ said 2010 is way out. The whole market could be different by then.

[Injuneer]

GM High-Tech Performance magazine has a pretty weak track record on predictions and "official" news. They've been wrong many times in the past.

And we've asked that discussions of the 5th Gen be posted on the "off-topic" forum.

[Mark B]

Oops... Sorry. Thanks for moving it.

Im also glad I have a few years to save up.

[Dave-S]

It will never be "official" until GM issues a press release saying it's going to happen or someone at GM publically declares it. In the meantime, you will notice that all these articles use words like "we have learned" and "our sources" etc. I just take everything like that for what it is....speculation. That's my 2 cents.

[Joe K. 99 Zeee!!]

They may be off in their prediction. Camaro isn't being worked on using the usual design/approval process. They've already stated that they're not going to use any more clinics on the design, so what you see is pretty close to the actual 5th gen. Lutz himself compared the process to the one they used with Solstice. That took about 3 years from concept to production model...and that concept wasn't even on a production platform yet! The Zeta platform is already under the Camaro concept. Solstice had a modified J-body under it originally. Point being that a lot more work has been done on this car than most folks realize. We could be looking at an '08 or '09 model year. That means it's only 1-2 years away.

[wolfdogs]

It will never be "official" until GM issues a press release saying it's going to happen or someone at GM publically declares it. In the meantime, you will notice that all these articles use words like "we have learned" and "our sources" etc. I just take everything like that for what it is....speculation. That's my 2 cents.

correct. and if thats the case on the camaro, that means the gto will be dead from 2007 till 2010... hmmmmmmmmm

[Joe K. 99 Zeee!!]

Here's a list of quotes from Lutz concerning the new Camaro. I cut and pasted it so I can't take credit for the comments, but it's pretty spot on:

In his exact words:

On Camaro:
"All of us are hoping (the Camaro) will be a production-approved program in the very near future. We're all working on it as if it were an approved program.

We're not wasting any time....There is no reason to assume they would turn it down.... (We're) confident it will be" approved."
(meaning: it's in full swing)


On Firebird (to all Firebird zelots who keep asking the same thing repeatedly):
"No, that’s not something we are planning. We are not going to do that car”
(meaning: it was looked at and rejected. It's dead. End of story.)

On a Chevy El Camino:
"The kids in the company, myself included, would love to do another El Camino, but the grown-ups amongst us don’t share that way of thinking...

It would be fairly simple. We’d only have to put a Chevrolet face on the Holden Ute... the building blocks are there.”
(meaning: it would be nothing to make & Bob's in favor of it. But getting the board to pay for it is another story.)


On GTO (and indirectly saying that it will be tied to the Camaro or rather vice versa):
" (GTO) was only ever off for two months, but that break has enabled us to get a more feasible program up (Zeta)...

Holden is responsible for the large rear-drive architecture that these cars are based on. If it happens, Holden will do the development on the Camaro as well as the GTO.

Whether the GTO will be built in Australia will largely depend on the exchange rate at the time. With the current strength of the Australian dollar and the recent Free Trade Agreement between Australia and the U.S., it would be more feasible to build the GTO in North America. ”
(meaning: GTO is no doubt on, and Holden is going to sell a version of it)


On what happened to the Zeta RWD program:
"The reason we said it was canceled is because that way our people would put their pencils down. In GM if you say something is deferred, then people keep working on it. We really needed to get that message through to everybody.

...the program was getting out of control. It was my fault that it got out of control in the first place. It was going to be the world’s greatest car and apparently cost nothing to make. So we’ve started over now. The program is back on and it’s going full tilt.”
(meaning: Full tilt=top priority. The project is moving at full throttle. Funds are being diverted to this project from everywhere else.)


On the new Zeta program:
"We have developed different dash-to-front-axle lengths for various models. It (Zeta) is a really flexible platform.”
(meaning: Camaro does not indicate the size of Impala, and thinking Monte Carlo won't happen or that GTO will be a rebodied Camaro is probally a mistake.)


Also worth noting is that he refers to the Buick Zeta as the Statesman (a Holden luxury model). The next CTS will be exported to Australia, so one can draw their own conclusions.

He also says that Zeta will also be the basis of the replacement of the Impala and Monte Carlo. Being that the GTO will not be a rebadged Camaro, and apparently the new GTO's case is based on just 15-20K cars per year, one can also speculate on the Monte Carlo "replacement" as well.

[Mark B]

Even if GM High Tech Performance is jumping the gun... Im almost sure it will be made. There is too much hype for it not to be. If they dont make it... that will be the last straw... & they may loose me as a customer for a while.

[Joshu]

thats PERFECT!!! a couple years outta college....... some money saved up... and that car will be mine, guilt free!

I hear that!

[Injuneer]

I really don't have to worry about it.... not sure how much parking they will have at the old age home, anyway.

[TraceZ]

I really don't have to worry about it.... not sure how much parking they will have at the old age home, anyway.

Plenty of wheel chair parking, old man!!
I've seen motorized barstool racing, maybe you'll be the innovator of motorized wheelchair racing? I can already see your 8 second LT1 powerd wheelchair. LOL.




D&R!!
You are awsome Fred, I hope I'm as young as you when I get older.