5th Gen Camaro in the news!!

[Joe K. 99 Zeee!!]

Hello from Kuwait!!

So I'm over here catching up on car news and I find this!!

Three industry sources said the auto maker is considering Oshawa for a rear-wheel-drive platform called Zeta that will provide the base for the next generation of the Pontiac GTO sedan, and a return of the Chevrolet Camaro sports car in 2008.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...tory/Business/

You can't say I didn't tell ya!

[Dave M]

There have been several posts on the forum so far pointing to a return of the Camaro in the 07-08 time frame, on the Zeta platform.

[Fastbird93]

How about the Firebird/Trans Am?? Hmmph!

[TraceZ]

Originally posted by Fastbird93
How about the Firebird/Trans Am?? Hmmph!

I believe the firebird is gone.

It looks to me like the Camaro and GTO will be sister cars. I wonder what the price of the Camaro with V8 will be in 2008?

[Joe 1320]

It sure seems to me that every time there was a redesign, the talk was of the new Camaro. Everybody focused on that while the new Firebird was introduced shortly afterward. The only exception that I can remember is the the debut of the 3rd gen was showcased by the Pontiac rather than the Chevy. My guess is that the hype will be around the new Camaro, the firebird debuting soon after. There was talk of only one variant, but that doesn't appear to make sense in the profitabilty end. The platform can support two different styling cues to capture perhaps as much as double the volume of a single design with only a fraction of the R&D that would be put into visual differences and not powertrain or configuration.

[TraceZ]

Originally posted by Joe 1320
It sure seems to me that every time there was a redesign, the talk was of the new Camaro. Everybody focused on that while the new Firebird was introduced shortly afterward. The only exception that I can remember is the the debut of the 3rd gen was showcased by the Pontiac rather than the Chevy. My guess is that the hype will be around the new Camaro, the firebird debuting soon after. There was talk of only one variant, but that doesn't appear to make sense in the profitabilty end. The platform can support two different styling cues to capture perhaps as much as double the volume of a single design with only a fraction of the R&D that would be put into visual differences and not powertrain or configuration.

This is true... It always frustrated me how the media compared Mustang sales to just the Camaro, instead of combining total f-body sales to make the comparison more fair.

[Dave M]

Since pontiac now has the GTO which is in line performance-wise with the TA/SS, my geuss would be that we won't see a pontiac version of the camaro, unless they move the GTO up to be a direct competitor of the corvette.

[TruckMuddr]

Originally posted by TraceZ
It looks to me like the Camaro and GTO will be sister cars.

I really hope not. I hate the way the GTO looks and I'd hate to see the camaro look like it. Just my thoughts on it.

[Christopherrr]

not stepping on the toes of my fellow camaro guys...but I WANT A FIREBIRD!!!

[TraceZ]

Originally posted by TruckMuddr
I really hope not. I hate the way the GTO looks and I'd hate to see the camaro look like it. Just my thoughts on it.

I agree. The Camaro should be a lower profile hatchback.

[Fastbird93]

Originally posted by LimTeng99TransAm
not stepping on the toes of my fellow camaro guys...but I WANT A FIREBIRD!!!

That's what I'm talking about!

[Dave M]

I don't think the GTO will look like it does now for very long. Pontiac wanted to get something on the market quickly, and they only changed the front and rear fascias from what Holden had. I really doubt we'll see another firebird... it doesn't have the same name recognition as the camaro and I doubt GM would want to split sales between 3 RWD 2+2's. The only way I think you'd ever see it is if they moved the GTO a little more upscale, pricing just higher than what a heavily optioned firebird/camaro would run.

I just know GM better do something soon, because I have a feeling the new '05 mustang is going to be a strong seller, and the camaro will come rolling onto the scene a few years too late, just like in 67.

[Fastbird93]

Well, if GM brings a new camaro on line looking anything remotely like the 68 concepts I've seen all the hype about, throws in an LS2 or whatever it is when this happens, I have a feeling they're going to sell like mad. I know I'd be hard pressed not to buy, and I'm a die hard Firebird guy.

I really hope that GM has something up it's sleeves though because even though the Camaro and Firebird were same platform, each car had it's own hugely devoted fan base. It would almost be an injustice and a slap in the face of the Firebird fans.

[PhantomZ28]

oh it brought a tear to my eye! i'm still keepin my 97 z28 but mabey i'll get a newcamaro (when i get into my career) and make the 97 a "project" car but i duno its just a great feeling to know that i own one of the last f-bodys ever made ^^ my first car an 84 camaro and now a 97 camaro! WOOOt

[thomas]

new camaro

I KNOW ITS JUST MY OPINION BUT FROM A MARKETING VIEW THEY SHOULD PROBABLY GO BACK TO THE ROOTS LIKE THE 69 TYPE OF STYLING. THIS NEW MUSTANG IS GOING TO SELL ALOT CARS. I HAVE A CAR DEALERSHIP AND THATS WHAT EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT. AND MOST OF THEM ARE WOMEN. IF THEY COME OUT WITH SOMETHING LIKE THE GTO IT WILL NOT BE A GOOD SELLER. UNFORTUNATLY IT HAS TO COMPETE WITH THE MUSKRAT.