Quote:
Originally Posted by arpad_m
This is a very insightful comment. I am one of those people who typically come back with advice to adjust mirrors (and get the SBZA/LCA/RCTA) to address the visibility concern and I tend to downplay it as it's inconsequential to me, but that doesn't mean I don't understand what people probably feel. It indeed is a cockpit-like experience overall.
However.
#1
The Camaro is a sports car, and its high beltline, slit-like windows and low riding position are some of its trademark attributes that give it an absolutely amazing, unique exterior look and feel. Compromises were obviously made to achieve this.
I would be glad if Chevy lowered the beltline by 1" and raised the roof by 1" in gen 7, a larger trunk opening would also be very helpful... but I think giving the majority what they expect in terms of getting into and out of the car, visibility, back seats, trunk capacity is either impossible or would dilute the Camaro into a family sedan-like offering, nearly indistinguishable from the rest. I mean, which of you, apart from total geeks, could even tell one generic SUV from the other with all badging removed?
So my first point is that a balance is difficult to find, and shifting it would likely render the car un-Camaro.
#2
The Camaro is a sports car, and I don't think anybody really needs it. We do try to shoehorn it into other roles, I have 3 kids who love filling the rest of the space while I drive, I can get groceries if needed, but at the end of the day, it is not what this car is for. Being a sports car, it comes with compromises in these 4 very areas, and that's okay with some and less okay with an increasing number of people.
The Charger or the Accord or even the Kia Stinger is a much better fit for those that value or require these things but still want to have a bit of exhilaration time to time, and I'm not sure this could or even should be resolved.
#3
The Camaro is a sports car, while the market appears to be shifting away from the muscle and sports car and towards SUV's on the one hand and generic, autonomous hybrid/electric vehicles on the other. My hope is that the vast majority of younger people who don't want to drive in the first place would be served by autonomous cars and there remains a niche for car enthusiasts to enjoy. Heck, giving people who can't drive get a self-driving vehicle seems to be a win-win---they get to sip their lattes and swipe away on their phones all the time, and we get to enjoy much more predictable traffic patterns and less congestion.
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Very well thought out post here. Just going to expand a bit on your comments.
1. It is very clear they put style over function in this car. I am pretty sure GM even said that the focus groups didn't want them to get rid of that. Now to me that is them listening a bit to much to the focus groups instead of the general public. Every single review of the Camaro at one points mentions the visibility. It IS an issue, it is one that is out there and when people hear about poor visibility, they go into a test drive/looking at the car with that preconceived notion. If they already have it in their head from every review they are going to believe it when they see it for themselves.
2. Yes a car like the Camaro/Mustang/Challenger is not needed. But people like me and others would try and shoehorn it into other roles. We know it won't be the easiest thing to live doing daily driver duties and we don;t expect it to excel at those things. My issue, is the car's primary competition, the Mustang does a much better job of it. the trunk is much larger, the visibility is better and there is more storage and in the right trim(for those of you who like specifics lol) offers the same/better performance. And even if its not optioned up, offers plenty of performance for most people. And what we all seem to forget is that the low end trims make up the majority of sales. The cars that are sold on style/look more than total performance.
3. Nothing to add.
4. Camaro is not a sports car but that's an argument for a different day hahah