Chevrolet Aims to Drive New Camaro Sales Amidst Tough Competition

Small payment, small engine, big sales, big performance — that’s the Camaro’s goal in 2019.

In the three-way sales race for pony car domination, Chevrolet held the crown for five years running. From 2010 to 2014, the Camaro outsold the Mustang and the Challenger.

However, when the Camaro was redesigned, GM refocused their efforts on performance over volume. That worked reasonably well, as the Camaro sat comfortably in second place behind Ford’s Mustang, still selling in respectable numbers that ensured a balance of profitability for GM.

All seemed right with the world until the Camaro dropped to third place behind the bloated, outdated Dodge Challenger. In an interview with Automotive News, Al Oppenheiser, chief engineer of the Camaro program, didn’t mince words. “Frankly, they’re eating our lunch.”

For 2019, Chevrolet is taking a page out of the Mustang playbook to regain market share in 2019. In addition to lowering prices on base four-cylinder models, there will be more options for budget-conscious Camaro buyers. Much like the Mustang, turbo-four fans can order all of the track-day goodies their V8 big brothers are available with in the new “Turbo 1LE” package. In that vein, Recaro seats will also be an available option.

ALSO SEE: Driving the Camaro SS Hybrid of the Future

It’s not like the turbo 2.0 liter Camaros so equipped will be all bark and no bite, though. With 275 horsepower on tap, the four cylinder Camaro can hit 60 MPH in 5.4 seconds. That’s a ways off from the V8 cars, sure. But for a “gateway drug” to lure in new Camaro buyers, we think you could do a whole lot worse.

We think that stealing performance-minded Ecoboost Mustang customers away from Ford is a great strategy for Chevrolet. It allows the Camaro to maintain its image and performance focus while also building up sales volume and driving new customers to the brand.

With a recent redesign, it’s no doubt that the Camaro will have the hearts and minds of enthusiasts. With a lower price and available performance on a budget, it seems they’ll have their wallets, too.

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Cam Vanderhorst

Cam VanDerHorst has been a contributor to Internet Brands' Auto Group sites for over three years, with his byline appearing on Ford Truck Enthusiasts, Corvette Forum, JK Forum, and Harley-Davidson Forums, among others. In that time, he's also contributed to Autoweek, The Drive, and Scale Auto Magazine.
He bought his first car at age 14 -- a 1978 Ford Mustang II -- and since then he’s amassed an impressive and diverse collection of cars, trucks, and motorcycles, including a 1996 Ford Mustang SVT Mystic Cobra (#683) and a classic air-cooled Porsche 911.
In addition to writing about cars and wrenching on them in his spare time, he enjoys playing music (drums and ukulele), building model cars, and tending to his chickens.
You can follow Cam, his cars, his bikes, and his chickens at @camvanderhorst on Instagram.

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