[Martinjlm]

Originally Posted by hotlap

or ...maybe they should have offered a 1LT from the start.

After a life time of buying cars that immediately needed their weaknesses shored up, I’m enjoying a car that needs nothing.

.........

Originally Posted by BlaqWhole

I think that was the best option...to offer the 1LT from the start. But I think GM most likely really didn't want to go that route. It seems like they really wanted to make every version of the car a capable triple threat without cutting corners.


........

At the point in time that Camaro was being developed and at least the first couple years from launch (ie - when yours truly occupied square footage at the Warren Tech Center) the focus for GM was to focus on vehicle line profitability and average transaction price (ATP). The idea was (and may still be) to maintain the vehicle ATP at a level where the company could still make a profit in the product line, even with reduced volume. With many vehicles, Camaro included, the ATP could be kept high be offering content that competitors couldn’t match. So the transaction price of the base car would always be higher than the competitors, but once you equipped the competitor’s vehicle similarly, Camaro would hold a price advantage and still command a better ATP.

That’s why GM didn’t panic when sales dropped in 18 and 19. When I first joined M6G, there were tons of posts where people said “the dealer won’t move on a Camaro equipped the way I want it so I bought a Mustang because the dealers will work with you.” So now the mantra is “Chevy dealers are throwing money at you because they can’t give away ZL1s”.

Fact of the matter is, GM has already more than likely realized their profit expectations for the Camaro product line. So now, in it’s 5th year with only cosmetic changes plus a 10AT, GM realizes that the normal cycle of product means you have to discount the unchanged product in order to keep sales at an acceptable level.

The ATP strategy worked except for the early recognition that a “base V8” model would probably be a good idea. I actually thought that would see the light of day in 2018, but I am not at all surprised that it wasn’t there at launch.