[Whitten]

Lately this board has been on fire, and rightfully so since we are all so excited about finally seeing new 5th gens on the road and in our drive ways.

But some of these fires or panics de jour that someone else so eloquently put it have been completly out of control and honestly down right ridiculous /very destructive to us a community and to the very car that we love.

I have had some time to look back on the past couple of months and reflect on the similarities that we over here in the Camaro community have faced that have been just the same on many other forums.

The first issues have seemed to be focused on the price of the cars and dealer mark ups. Although many of you might think this is unique to us and that GM is the only company that does this but you would be greatly mistaken.
I am a member on many other forums some of which would make you shudder such as SVT Performance, but also Ferrai Chat, and Corvette Forum just to name a few.
Every single car release from the 2003 Cobra, the new 2005 Mustang, the 2007 GT-500, the 2005 F-430, 599, 2003 Z06, 2006 Z06, 2008 Challenger, Nissan GTR....yadda yadda yadda...the list goes on forever in a day. Every single new car gets dealer mark ups and that is a fact of life in a free market economy.
This does not mean that you have to pay them, but it does not mean that the Chevy dealers are not the only greedy dealers out there...they are going to ask what ever they can get for the car and you would too if sales was your life.

We live a great country that allows us choices, and when a dealer decides to mark a car up that much you can choose to put them on a gouge list, not purchase from them or even voice your concern to the dealership manager.

But....

And this is a biggie...When I hear of folks threatening dealerships with bomb threats, considering property damage over something as petty as a mark up that crosses the line.

Which brings me to my next point and this one is very simple,

if you have a written contract with fair market value as your agreed upon price DO NOT get pissed at the dealer when you get adjusted dealer mark up tacked onto your price...before you pulled your pen out to sign that contract initially you should have known better than to trust a dealer not put mark up on a new car.

If you have a contract that clearly states MSRP or Sticker and not a cent over then you are in the clear. If the dealership wants a mark up over that MSRP you have a binding contract that states what the terms are and if the dealership refuses to honor it then you have grounds for a breach of contract law suit in almost any state if not every. Instead of getting a bunch of people to call with angry messages for the dealership make one phone call to an attorney and be done with it.

It is not GM's fault if your dealership screws with you, they are privately owned businesses that represent GM's products and while they may be ambassadors they are not doing mark ups at GM's behest so lets drop that blame game from GM.

If you are purchasing a car from a dealership and you are #24 on the list but are still considered an R6P order...guess what...you are still #24 on the list and that dealer was only given a certain allotment that they are guaranteed to get. That dealership can not give a car that they have not yet received, and furthermore cannot push others out of line because you want yours now. R6P does not mean you get to go to the front of the line it just means you are an early order action and most of you know this already.

Threatening to cancel your order because you can't have it now only shows that you can throw pathetic temper tantrum. I honestly can not stand hearing a story more than hearing the "screw you GM for not getting my car to me right now" Especially when I find out that you ordered your car two months ago, and you were the 120th person on the list of 120 people. Take a chill, and if you don't think you can....the door is at the top right of your browser window and it is called log out...we don't need your unnecessary negativity.


To those of you that have ordered and your cars are sitting in QC hold I am truly sorry for you the most. You have been very patient and I can not imagine your frustration, but please hold on. I can assure that GM wants you to have your car more than you do.


The panics and the quality arguments have gotten old, but more than old we need to make sure they die for good. We all must realize that every time "we" bad mouth our cars that the rest of the car community is using our testimony to further show the Camaro or worse GM as a failure. Everytime this board errupts in another "up in arms moment" every other single car board all over the place especially your counter parts in the mustang community roll with delight as links are made to their respective boards showing our discontent over something which usually turns out to be nothing ( i.e. mismatched paint, cracks in the nose)

Lastly, the next person that calls Scott Settlemire out and blames him for wrong doing, demands his help "or else", or otherwise treats him with blatent disrespect I am out of here...That doesn't mean anything to ya'll but to be honest I have known Scott for several years now.

and...

I will not be associated with a group that can not reasonably voice concerns, ask questions without demanding, and or just be respectful when making comments. This is a man that selflessly devotes his time to you as the enthusiasts and is your direct line to not just Camaro team but to GM. He has worked crazy hours, gone to cars shows, shaken hands, and talked with thousands of us all for the love of our Camaro. To get in a pissing match or be otherwise disrespectful to him will be enough to run him off from here...and trust me he will do just that if this place continues to get out of hand...it has happened before in the past from other sites.
I can tell you that if that happens most sites typically never really recover with regards to quality.

All of this being said, I am prepared for flames towards me...I invite them in fact, but I will ask that you keep them directed to me and only me.
I don't want you all rabidly trying to tear each other apart with "he said she said", furthermore I will ask that you try your best to be realize that I am nothing more than a fellow enthusiast that just wants to see this place continue to grow and get better.


Respectfully,

Michael Whitten
Friend and Huge Camaro Enthusiast