Speaking with Automotive News, president of GM North America Troy Clarke told reporters that high-performance V8 models such as the Mustang Cobra and Shelby Mustang act as halo models and create a buzz that draws in customers to showrooms but at the end of the day it’s the more affordable V6 models that’s bringing in the profits.

The new Camaro coupe will eventually go on sale in February next year and followed by the convertible model roughly nine months later. Clarke revealed that both cars will get a base V6 engine, likely to be a 3.6L unit with about 281hp. Of course there will likely be limited edition V8 models as well.

“We know that the mission with the Camaro isn’t to create a specialty vehicle with a very narrow appeal that is very much subject to your wallet,” Clarke explained. “The concept of the car will evolve into a really fun-to-drive, stylish vehicle, as opposed to something that just breathes fire and has more cubic inches than the next guy.”


Now, remember these three things.....

1. The existence of "limited edition V8s" DOES NOT MEAN that there won't be regular production V8s.

2. Just because he says "...will evolve into a really fun-to-drive, stylish vehicle, as opposed to something that just breathes fire and has more cubic inches than the next guy..." DOES NOT MEAN that there won't be versions of the car that in fact DOES breathe fire and have more cubic inches than the next guy.
It just means they're focusing on the regular average John Q Public car buyer. Which not only represents 90% of the market... but with successful models like that means the possibility for the enthusiast models that we all like to see.

3. The Pontiac G8 is on the same chassis as the Camaro, and the G8 GT comes with a 362hp V8 for a base price of $29,995... and it's built in Australia (meaning it would probably cost less if built in North America).


So the moral of the story?
Basically confirmation of what we've been expecting....
A new Camaro with class leading power and performance, at a Chevrolet price.

 

Been seeing allot of odd discussions about this so thanks for throw'n up the thread.

 

Finally a thread that makes sense about what the 5th Gen Camaro will carry for a power plant.

 

i can think of a few cars that used to breathe fire and had more cubes than the next guy, then came back on a new platform to be marketed as really fun-to-drive and stylish.

gm would have an angry mob if they pulled that with the camaro.

 

You wouldn't be alluding to the Third-gen Firebird, would you?

I think GM's plan is excellent. 281hp is more than most "normal people know what to do with. Think about it guys...that is more power than the New-Edge Mustang GT, which "normal" people considered to be fairly hot(even if it was only because of how they sounded...)

Yeah, I bet the V8 will probably be that L76 with DOD, which isn't a bad thing. 364hp and truck-like torque is more than enough to spank the **** out of a stock 4th-gen, so low 13's, possibly very high 12's with a freak car and driver. Plus, you know GM'll offer some limited editions with LSA's and **** down the road...I'm still crossing my fingers for a t'diesel special edition!

I don't think there is anything to worry about, drivetrain-wise.....unless you're one of those retarded freaks on here who wants the car to come with an LS3 as the base-model....

 

Limited edition does not mean it is going to be cheap...basic laws of economics...the more of something there is the cheaper it will be.

Limited edition does not bode well for us...

The comment about the cubes and the firebreathing makes me think this car is not going to be what we want.

Those of us on the board want big engines and firebreathing...if this car does not deliver on that...we will go elsewhere for our cars. Camaro has always been about cheap/firebreathing/fastest thing you can afford for the money. And GM does this by mass producing enough of these cars with an already R&D'ed Vette engine to make them affordable for the average man.

W

 

Base V8 should be an LS3, period.

W

 

I think we'll be lucky to see anything. GM today is offering ALL of it's US hourly employees a buyout - 74,000 of 'em!. Which means there is a very serious condition within GM. I think we'll be lucky to see ONE on the road.

 

a buyout? whats that mean? and please more details!

 

uh huh...

You just contradicted yourself! How many L76's are made compared to LS3's?
Besides, what is so special about the LS3 besides it being middlingly more powerful?

Oooo, it's all-aluminum. I'll take Iron for durability and a LOWER COST, thank you. How many all-aluminum engines do you see running around with hundreds of thousands of miles these days? You usually don't....

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the L76 being a base model motor that is supposed to be IN-LINE with the Mustang's soon-to-be uprated 4.6L and the soon-to-be stroked 5.7L Hemi that'll come in the base V-8's of those cars. Trust me, those special edition eights will be the one you need to buy anyway, because they aren't coming out until the second year anyway, the year most of the guys on here will actually buy one. Just stick it out and get a nice, LSA/ LS9-powered Z/28 or SS.

You can have your monster, just don't act like the monster should be the next step after the base model. Honestly, it doesn't look logical to go from a V6 making like 280hp to an all-aluminum, Corvette-sourced V8 making 150 more horsepower than the next-lowest option. It doesn't look good on the sticker either when the price jumps from $21000 to $34000. That's a good way to kill the V8 options. Now, before you say, "*bitch, complainWAHHH, but that's how the 4th gens did it!*bitch, complain*" , I suggest you take a look at how some of the MORE SUCCESSFUL Camaro models did their model lineup. The 2nd and 3rd gens are an EXCELLENT example of how to market a coupe like this. The thirds, for example, ended up having a 3.1L V6, rated at like 150-160hp as the base model, a 305ci V8 making like ~200hp, and the 350TPI making like 250hp. Notice how well the 305 model sold, being a true intermediate option. Today's Camaro 305 RS would be the L76 priced at a stunningly Mustang-esque cost of ~$25-26K, and it would sell well to those who want the car but can't find a reason drop $12K over the base model price just to get some SEMBLANCE of high-performance.

The difference here is that the 305ci sucked and the L76 is better than the LS1, an engine still heralded as being of heavenly origin....

So, what's the problem here? GM isn't going to sell LS3 Camaros for $25K, so it would seem to me that you are suggesting that GM follow a very poor business plan that would alienate customers and lose sales. I gotcha.

 

buyout= GM is offering it's factory workers a very ample sum of money to leave their jobs and retire, so GM can ship its jobs somewhere that demands lower rates.

All I have to say is **** TOYOTA. This is ENTIRELY THEIR FAULT.

 

ahahaha.... Yes. There are some issue here. Read on for yourself!

http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/12/news...ion=2008021212

 

About a million... Honda Civics

I agree with the statement that we will be lucky to see one at all.

 

The buyout will probably not result in jobs being sent elsewhere. Facts are that older workers with seniority cost more in health insurance, are more prone to miss work, more prone to get injured and make more money. Replacing them with people who are making entry level wages is a smart move for GM, plus part of their deal with the UAW allows them to replace non assembly workers with people making half as much.

As far as the comments about limited edition V8's, the V6 models selling in large numbers is what will ultimately decide if the Camaro is successful. The majority of Mustang sales are V6, and having a lot of V6 sales helps keep V8 costs down by making the platform more economical.

 

Exactly. Plus the large majority being V6 sales will balance the CAFE figures, allowing for the limited production fire-breathers. What we need to hope for most of all is a very successful base model. Everything depends on that.

 

Toyota was just doing what other companies do...I blame the people of the US and its greed for the 3 million manufacturing jobs we have lost. There is no loyalty to our state anymore...

And you are right there should be an L76 as the base V8...I am wrong on that...but I do not want to pay more than 29k brand new for an LS3 25 k for an L76

I cede that issue...I hit that one wrong...

W

 

Toyota huh? alright ill open up a huge can of worms...

fact is that toyota makes an excellent product for a good price, extreme longevity and tons of R&D go into their vehicles with great warranty. their **** doesnt break because everything was built to specs and no short cuts were made. The only reason the big 3 are having trouble is simply because of how they used to operate and now because of that to the vast majority of people dont think of them as the best vehicle you can buy for the amount of money you are willing to spend. Why is it that until the late 70's and early 80's all 3 manufacturers vehicles panels were finally perfectly in line, everything matched up and was even through out the gaps and so forth, because of toyota and nissan imports that were straight and everything was done right and people demanded the same quality from domestics. so for that you should thank toyota and nissan. The quality of the builds on the big 3's vehicles went down in the late 80's and early to mid 90's because they could make more money. now they are kicking themselves in the *** because of the bad reputation they have given themselves until the past 4 or 5 years when they started to see this happening.

Now before I get my *** chewed out by everyone on this board, I own a gm and a jeep. I love it and theres a reason I bought it. Now you can say import this or that but matter of fact is that the only part of toyota that is an import is the R&D and most of the trucks are built here while our gm is built in canada and mexico, then assembled in parts of the US here. Honestly to me business is business and if we can get the good quality we want and they can make an extra buck by having fenders and crap built else where...OK fine, but wouldnt you think that any of the big 3 would have stayed entirely in the us if they thought that if we give our people jobs, and we are completely made in the USA, that people will be willing to pay a little more. Very few people would, everyone wants a good deal.


let the bashing begin.

 

sorry I dont mean to

 

But your right

Those 80s and 90s cars are throw away cars they made, keep it for a bit and then there fucken junk

 

I understand GM has to offer a mid level V8, possibly with an iron block. But GM also needs to remember that it wasn't the six cylinder and low horsepower v8s that made the first gen the icon that it still is today. It was the 302 Z-28s and the big blocks that made it the icon. More of the lower horsepower models were sold for cost reasons, but it was because of the specialty models and the outstanding performance of them.

The other thing that GM will probably screw up is to sell them only in the US and Canada. Those things would sell like crazy in Europe and probably in Japan and the Middle east. As for the comments on the third gen, in my opinion those are the least desirable of all the F-bodies. Not saying that they weren't good cars, they just didn't stir my blood and still don't. If you want cool, go back to the first and second gen or the fourth gen. There is cool.