New Chevelle instead of a 2016 Camaro?

[ShnOmac]

Originally Posted by Q'smuscle

That's why I said that it's not the name that made the Camaro a success rather the 5th Gen. design is the reason!

We are gonna have to agree to disagree on this one... Did they knock the 5th gen design out of the park? Heck yeah! Buuuuut I'm sure they would have sold plenty of CAMAROS no matter the design. (unless they completely butchered it)

[Bhobbs]

Originally Posted by Q'smuscle

Sweet! Don't see that combo on chevelles

Yeah, that's why I went with it. I love the red/black combo but so many cars have it, I just reversed it and it's one of my favorites now. Looks more evil haha.

[rocket403]

In the past GM had a lot of overlapping models that hurt them not because of a Chevelle and Camaro competition, the issue was Chevelle, Skylark/Regal, Grand Prix, Cutlass, Monte Carlo. GM needs a 2 door model like a Chevelle little bigger than the Camaro is. If GM built it I would have picked it up, Camaro is a bit small for what I need right now as I had to get the family car.

[Q'smuscle]

Originally Posted by ShnOmac

We are gonna have to agree to disagree on this one... Did they knock the 5th gen design out of the park? Heck yeah! Buuuuut I'm sure they would have sold plenty of CAMAROS no matter the design. (unless they completely butchered it)

I guess you forgot about why the Camaro was discontinued?

[Q'smuscle]

Originally Posted by Bhobbs

Yeah, that's why I went with it. I love the red/black combo but so many cars have it, I just reversed it and it's one of my favorites now. Looks more evil haha.

Nice! I. want a red with white stripes.

Originally Posted by rocket403

In the past GM had a lot of overlapping models that hurt them not because of a Chevelle and Camaro competition, the issue was Chevelle, Skylark/Regal, Grand Prix, Cutlass, Monte Carlo. GM needs a 2 door model like a Chevelle little bigger than the Camaro is. If GM built it I would have picked it up, Camaro is a bit small for what I need right now as I had to get the family car.

True! Way too many of the same cars!

[Bhobbs]

Originally Posted by Q'smuscle

I guess you forgot about why the Camaro was discontinued?

All I know is GM dropped the ball with the Camaro. They should have put the LS6 in the car and stomped the Mustang even harder. I can't imagine the LS6 being all that much more expensive than the LS1. They should have added IRS way before the 5th gen and stiffened up the chassis. It's like they didn't really give a shit about the car.

[EETSMine]

Originally Posted by Bhobbs

No, the Malibu was a trim level of the Chevelle. For some reason, people refer to Chevelles as Malibus and that has always bugged me.

Thank you , thank you, thank you! A Chevelle Malibu was the mid level option on them.

[Q'smuscle]

Originally Posted by Bhobbs

All I know is GM dropped the ball with the Camaro. They should have put the LS6 in the car and stomped the Mustang even harder. I can't imagine the LS6 being all that much more expensive than the LS1. They should have added IRS way before the 5th gen and stiffened up the chassis. It's like they didn't really give a shit about the car.

Yea, I agree! Everyone in my family almost had a 90's camaro! The Camaro back then wasn't a slouch and I liked them and still do! But Yea, they didn't focus as much. as to making every unique to the trim level. That could be another reason why they had to stop production!

[Bhobbs]

Originally Posted by Q'smuscle

Yea, I agree! Everyone in my family almost had a 90's camaro! The Camaro back then wasn't a slouch and I liked them and still do! But Yea, they didn't focus as much. as to making every unique to the trim level. That could be another reason why they had to stop production!

I drive a 98 Z28 and love the car. The power train more than makes up for the build quality. If Chevy put the effort into the 4th gen that they did with the 5th gen, it would be a classic car.

[ShnOmac]

Originally Posted by Q'smuscle

I guess you forgot about why the Camaro was discontinued?

I do not know the ACTUAL reasons they stopped producing the Camaro.... Probably only a handful of people actually know.



"Much speculation, finger-pointing, and blame has been placed and assigned as to WHY they went out of production. That said, there are many reasons why these very special nameplates were put on hiatus….some evident – yet I submit to you that there were many other reasons completely foreign to those who are not intimately involved within the auto industry. Suffice it to say that many people – both enthusiasts within the public domain – as well as many of us within the GM Family – were devastated when production of the 4th Generation cars came to an end in August of 2002"

Scott Settlemire

http://history.gmheritagecenter.com/...Camaro_History

[ShnOmac]

Another good read....

http://www.popularhotrodding.com/fea...vrolet_camaro/

[Bhobbs]

Originally Posted by ShnOmac

I do not know the ACTUAL reasons they stopped producing the Camaro.... Probably only a handful of people actually know.



"Much speculation, finger-pointing, and blame has been placed and assigned as to WHY they went out of production. That said, there are many reasons why these very special nameplates were put on hiatus….some evident – yet I submit to you that there were many other reasons completely foreign to those who are not intimately involved within the auto industry. Suffice it to say that many people – both enthusiasts within the public domain – as well as many of us within the GM Family – were devastated when production of the 4th Generation cars came to an end in August of 2002"

Scott Settlemire

http://history.gmheritagecenter.com/...Camaro_History

Originally Posted by ShnOmac

Another good read....

http://www.popularhotrodding.com/fea...vrolet_camaro/

From both those articles, it seems GM was far more interested in trucks, SUVs and the Corvette which led them to leave the F Body to wither away. Looking back, they really didn't do much to help the car succeed. It's almost like the sabotaged it to close the St Theresa plant.

[DGthe3]

First question is: why? What would you get with a Chevelle that wouldn't be accomplished better with a Camaro? Don't just say it would look different, because every car looks different. And you can't say it would look better because a) looks are generally subjective and b) we have no clue what either car would look like anyways. If its going to be larger, it would therefore be more expensive, heavier, and slower than an otherwise similar Camaro. Not exactly a selling point, IMO.

So again: why?

If you're replacing the Camaro with the Chevelle, it would have to out-sell it (or at least, profit x sales would need to be bigger), otherwise it would never have the slightest hope of happening. But given the challenges I mentioned above, what are the advantages it would have? More room in the back? So what. Its still going to be cramped, uncomfortable & awkward in the back by virtue of it being a 2 door. Are there a couple hundred thousand people out there who absolutely refuse to buy a Camaro but are more than willing to plunk down 40 grand on a Chevelle? I'm don't believe so.


The best way I can see of getting a larger RWD coupe would be to revive the Monte Carlo. That doesn't eliminate all the issues associated with the Chevelle, but it at least opens up different avenues of approach which would help to distinguish it from the Camaros it would be sold along side. First would be to remain faithful to its 'personal luxury coupe' niche. Give it all the little niceties that people complained that they couldn't get with the Camaro. That also gives GM the excuse to charge a larger premium for it.

Secondly, I think it would be easier to rework a Monte Carlo as a Buick (say Riviera or Grand National). Since the name plate has been around in various forms over the last ~40 years, it is less clearly defined as to how it should look. But with Chevelle, it must look like the cars from the late 60s/early 70s otherwise most of the people who might have bought one would be up in arms (see 2004 GTO) and the car declared a failure.

Now, in my opinion its a stonger case for a new Monte ... but its still pretty weak overall. Fact is, there just isn't much of a market for coupes or performance. Most of what there is is taken up by the Camaro & Mustang. With either the Chevelle or Monte Carlo, even if they were sold along side the Camaro, most of their sales would come from the Camaro. Anything thats left would be just a small incremental gain & probably not worth the billion dollar investment required to make it a reality.

Originally Posted by PYROLYSIS

No. Replacing the Camaro with a Chevelle? That's just crazy talk. How about replacing the Malibu which already has a history with Chevelle instead? Nobody would miss that car. The sixth gen will be a fine car worthy of the Camaro name.

You do understand that the Malibu outsells the Camaro by around 2.5 : 1, right? And exiting the midsize family sedan market would be insane. Besides, killing the Malibu in favour of the Chevelle would severely mess with GM's CAFE scores.

[Diode Dynamics]

I wish they would bring back a Retro-pro touring-ish 1970 Chevelle

I'd be all over that lol

Nick C.