Article: "Fans call for Camaro's revival "
06-24-2005, 04:21 PM
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Article: "Fans call for Camaro's revival " After reading this article please post at the following link to show your support for GM to bring back the Camaro.
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Link to Article
Some excerpts:
Mustang's success fuels hope for return
June 23, 2005
BY SARAH A. WEBSTER
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
Could the Camaro make a comeback?
The success of the new retro-inspired Ford Mustang has fans of the famed Chevrolet sports coupe fuming mad and fantasizing about a revival of their own.
The Camaro, and its sister Pontiac Firebird, came to market in 1966, two years after the Mustang, and developed a cult following that largely pitted the cars against the Mustang.
When GM discontinued the Camaro in 2002, it essentially handed that market to Ford. The new Mustang now has an estimated 41% of the shrinking market for midsize coupes, and its sales are up 24.9% this year through May, reports Autodata Corp. of Woodcliff Lake, N.J.
Camaro fans say this is proof Chevy should have kept the Camaro in the game and that it should get back in as soon as possible....
...Like experts who closely watch the industry, Scheffy says the success of the Mustang has GM and other automakers considering jumping back into a specific part of the market considered dead more than a decade ago.
That is the market for an affordable rear-wheel drive, V8-powered, four-seat, midsize two-door coupe. Some people call this type of vehicle a muscle car, while others label it a sporty coupe or a pony car.
GM spokesman Pat Morrissey would not discuss the company's specific model plans or speculation about a new Camaro.
"We are reconstituting our rear-wheel drive car plans," he said, noting that the company currently has a variety of models built off three different rear-wheel drive architectures.
"We are committed to future rear-wheel drive products," he said. "We know there is a need for a mid-cost, midsize application, and we're working on a variety of scenarios."
A spokesman for the Auburn Hills-based Chrysler Group also declined to say whether the company intends to get back into this part of the market.
But Catherine Madden, a production analyst with Global Insight, said she expects the Chrysler Group, a division of DaimlerChrysler AG, to revive the Dodge Challenger in this segment by 2009.
"The information that we receive is from very different sources," she said. "It sounded like they were certainly interested in the prospect of going after a product like the Mustang. . .There's certainly no reason that DaimlerChrysler couldn't try and go after some of that volume."
Auto analyst Jim Hall, vice president of AutoPacific Inc. in Southfield, doubted the automakers could afford to delve back into this niche market. For example, demand may be lower than expected for the investment such a vehicle would require....
... "Those cars have been missing from the market for so long," said John Wolkonowicz, North American market analyst for Global Insight, a research firm in Waltham, Mass. "There have been people who've been wanting them all the time that they weren't available, and the industry is now bringing them back."
Wolkonowicz said returning to this market "is something that is being analyzed right now" at GM.
Jimi Day, who owns Imagine Motor Sports, a custom car builder in Milwaukee, recently did a seven-city tour with Hot Rod magazine. More than 2,000 enthusiasts participated as the group drove from Milwaukee to Kissimmee, Fla., between June 4 and June 10.
"We heard from people in every city that it would sure be nice if they would come out with a true muscle car again," Day said. "Everybody is wondering why the hell they got rid of the Camaro platform." Michael Robinet, vice president of global vehicle forecasting for CSM Worldwide, the Farmington Hills-based auto research firm, says several automakers are examining the business case for getting back into this part of the market in earnest.
"I think Ford has shown everybody, that with a properly done vehicle that is properly contented for the price, you can be successful in the market," he said. "I think it's a combination of the success of the Mustang, but also looking at the demographics. Baby boomers and Generation Xers might be looking at that kind of vehicle."
A lot of automakers backed out of this segment as Baby boomers transitioned from single life to parenthood and into minivans and SUVs. That left the market wide open for the Mustang to attack.
"You can bet that GM, looking at the success of the Mustang, has to feel like they could create an equal success with a '69-inspired Camaro, and in fact, many car magazines have hypothesized what it would look like, and it looks quite exciting," Wolkonowicz said. "There would be a great opportunity for GM to bring back the Camaro."
END
*Note: I hope GM is listening
A "Bring Back the Camaro Petition" online, available at www.petitiononline.com/CamaroSS/petition.html, has only 62 signatures.
447 after I entered mine.
Link to vote
Link to Article
Some excerpts:
Mustang's success fuels hope for return
June 23, 2005
BY SARAH A. WEBSTER
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
Could the Camaro make a comeback?
The success of the new retro-inspired Ford Mustang has fans of the famed Chevrolet sports coupe fuming mad and fantasizing about a revival of their own.
The Camaro, and its sister Pontiac Firebird, came to market in 1966, two years after the Mustang, and developed a cult following that largely pitted the cars against the Mustang.
When GM discontinued the Camaro in 2002, it essentially handed that market to Ford. The new Mustang now has an estimated 41% of the shrinking market for midsize coupes, and its sales are up 24.9% this year through May, reports Autodata Corp. of Woodcliff Lake, N.J.
Camaro fans say this is proof Chevy should have kept the Camaro in the game and that it should get back in as soon as possible....
...Like experts who closely watch the industry, Scheffy says the success of the Mustang has GM and other automakers considering jumping back into a specific part of the market considered dead more than a decade ago.
That is the market for an affordable rear-wheel drive, V8-powered, four-seat, midsize two-door coupe. Some people call this type of vehicle a muscle car, while others label it a sporty coupe or a pony car.
GM spokesman Pat Morrissey would not discuss the company's specific model plans or speculation about a new Camaro.
"We are reconstituting our rear-wheel drive car plans," he said, noting that the company currently has a variety of models built off three different rear-wheel drive architectures.
"We are committed to future rear-wheel drive products," he said. "We know there is a need for a mid-cost, midsize application, and we're working on a variety of scenarios."
A spokesman for the Auburn Hills-based Chrysler Group also declined to say whether the company intends to get back into this part of the market.
But Catherine Madden, a production analyst with Global Insight, said she expects the Chrysler Group, a division of DaimlerChrysler AG, to revive the Dodge Challenger in this segment by 2009.
"The information that we receive is from very different sources," she said. "It sounded like they were certainly interested in the prospect of going after a product like the Mustang. . .There's certainly no reason that DaimlerChrysler couldn't try and go after some of that volume."
Auto analyst Jim Hall, vice president of AutoPacific Inc. in Southfield, doubted the automakers could afford to delve back into this niche market. For example, demand may be lower than expected for the investment such a vehicle would require....
... "Those cars have been missing from the market for so long," said John Wolkonowicz, North American market analyst for Global Insight, a research firm in Waltham, Mass. "There have been people who've been wanting them all the time that they weren't available, and the industry is now bringing them back."
Wolkonowicz said returning to this market "is something that is being analyzed right now" at GM.
Jimi Day, who owns Imagine Motor Sports, a custom car builder in Milwaukee, recently did a seven-city tour with Hot Rod magazine. More than 2,000 enthusiasts participated as the group drove from Milwaukee to Kissimmee, Fla., between June 4 and June 10.
"We heard from people in every city that it would sure be nice if they would come out with a true muscle car again," Day said. "Everybody is wondering why the hell they got rid of the Camaro platform." Michael Robinet, vice president of global vehicle forecasting for CSM Worldwide, the Farmington Hills-based auto research firm, says several automakers are examining the business case for getting back into this part of the market in earnest.
"I think Ford has shown everybody, that with a properly done vehicle that is properly contented for the price, you can be successful in the market," he said. "I think it's a combination of the success of the Mustang, but also looking at the demographics. Baby boomers and Generation Xers might be looking at that kind of vehicle."
A lot of automakers backed out of this segment as Baby boomers transitioned from single life to parenthood and into minivans and SUVs. That left the market wide open for the Mustang to attack.
"You can bet that GM, looking at the success of the Mustang, has to feel like they could create an equal success with a '69-inspired Camaro, and in fact, many car magazines have hypothesized what it would look like, and it looks quite exciting," Wolkonowicz said. "There would be a great opportunity for GM to bring back the Camaro."
END
*Note: I hope GM is listening
A "Bring Back the Camaro Petition" online, available at www.petitiononline.com/CamaroSS/petition.html, has only 62 signatures.
447 after I entered mine.
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06-25-2005, 12:30 AM
#12
TECH Senior Member
um... i dunno if I want my name associated with that....
Sorry... if you're going to start a serious petition for something... at least spell the words correctly .... i question of the use of genre , but technically it does fit.... were F-Body's and Mustangs ever considered muscle cars??? I thought they were pony cars?
that and the fact that there have been 50 bazillion petitions similar to this and GM has done NOTHING
The production of the Chevy Camaro must be restarted! We need a RWD affordible coup from Chevy! We must not let the Ford Mustang rule the muscle car genre! Help us bring back this American Dream Car by signing this petition!
that and the fact that there have been 50 bazillion petitions similar to this and GM has done NOTHING
