"Maximum Bob" Lutz is nothing if not leading edge (well, by GM standards, anyway) - he's posted a Camaro Concept vodcast on the GM Fastlane Blog. In the vodcast (video podcast), Lutz is interviewed by the Wall Street Journal's Detroit Bureau Chief Joe White about the design and heritage of the Camaro Concept.
As you might expect, the comments section of the blog is receiving plenty of traffic, so if you've got something to tell Bob and GM about the new Camaro, here's your chance!
And in other Camaro news, GM today received the EyesOn Design Award for "Best Concept Implementation" at the North American International Auto Show. (That's GM VP Global Design Ed Welburn holding the trophy, at right.)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 15)
Gardiner Westbound @ Jan 10th 2006 7:49PM
I like the 2003 Chevrolet SS concept better.
http://www.seriouswheels.com/top-2003-Chevrolet-SS-Concept.htm
Ken @ Jan 10th 2006 7:50PM
My 13 yr old son says "we've got to get one"! I would agree! Go for it Bob!
RUDogg @ Jan 10th 2006 7:54PM
This thing better have tons of HP for very little $$ in order to compete with the Mustang if this concept isn't going to be built until 2009.... otherwise the camaro will lose that battle before it even begins
RayBob @ Jan 10th 2006 7:56PM
Please Build this Car!!!
MDJ @ Jan 10th 2006 7:57PM
That is the biggest banjo-playing mullet-havin' Busch-swilling POS I have ever seen since the last Camaro!
tom goeke @ Jan 10th 2006 8:00PM
Do your best to save the company..great products that meet consuumer demands, it is not complicated. corvette, cadillac and some new products are hitting the mark. Camaro is on target. move, move, move. my father worked for 40 years for GM and it feed, clothed and educated us....get the job done!
Frank Skurnowicz @ Jan 10th 2006 8:02PM
Build it as a 2007 model. Don't forget a Z-28 model with at least 475 HP. If you build that one my check is waiting.
Bob White @ Jan 10th 2006 8:05PM
3 years ago, this would have been a show stopper. Today's Mustang looks a whole lot nicer, and the new Dodge Challenger concept(especially Hemi powered) blows them both in the weeds. As usual under Waggoner's watch, GM is late to the party.
James P. Brown @ Jan 10th 2006 8:11PM
i think that going retro is not a good way to go. If you design a fast looking car with fine lines (camaro SS) with an engineered presence you will not fail. Let Ford go retro. Young people today say that American cars are for the old people. They believe that the Asian cars have higher quality. I know people who have had serious quality issues with their Japanese cars-yet this is never mentioned in the news. If you go reto you are locked in a design frame not easy to get out of, which reinforces the "old". GM cars have good quality and engineering. Go for beautiful lines.
Surfer-X @ Jan 10th 2006 8:13PM
Typical GM crap, a rebadged Caddy XLR. GM deserves to go bankrupt.
Byron Ho @ Jan 10th 2006 8:15PM
Although it was sad to see the Camaro phased out in 2003, it was probably for the best. The latest Camaro rendition had none of the muscle car look left in it. In fact, to me it resembled a door stop, much like Porsche's 996 model, there were no buldging fenders or agressive stance left. It is no wonder why Ford's Mustang has taken a comfortable lead in pony car sales. In fact there is no real competion left since Camaro has been in moth balls. I can only hope that GM does it right this time. Look to the past to set a course for the future. Look to what Ford has done with the latest Mustang. And rather than offer basic performance options every year in a weak attempt to enhance the brand, do it right and offer us a full meal right off the bat. The American buying public is not stupid and we want your best shot up front. That is why I buy imports today, because I am frustrated with American manufacturing mentality. Do you think Porsche holds back horsepower, transmissions or options so that they can stretch the life of a model? Hell no, they do it right the first time and continue to make marked improvements to keep things fresh. The way it should be done, the way GM should start doing things or face further erosion of market share. So let's see what you can bring to the table.
Tom @ Jan 10th 2006 8:19PM
Make it asap, 2009 at the latest
Make is affordable, don't let cost creep make it too expensive like the last version
Make it insurance rate friendly to anyone 21 yrs and older (find out how to make it affordable to buy and insure)
Make it in North America
Make it sound "cool" like the current GTO
Make it a Program for GM workers (GM and Salary) that want to work on the Program. There is passion out there for many GM employees that would enjoy bringing this car back and may want to work long hours to make it happen
Alex Wilson @ Jan 10th 2006 8:21PM
Well it is ok, but ok won't cut it. By the time this comes out the Mustang GT will have an older brother (Shelby GT500) and the GT itself will have near 400 horses, but maybe if GM had put this out instead of the lowly '94 on Camaros they would have never disappeared but it is '06 now not '94. Once again Chevy is waaayyyyyyy behind, usually they are ahead of Dodge and behind Ford, but now I think they are in trouble. Bottom Line If The Camaro costs anywhere near the Mustang it will flop, and if they try to go to much lower they take $$$$$$ away from Solstice. If they go higher Chevy's own Corvette will take sales.
motorman @ Jan 10th 2006 8:24PM
since GM has a agreement with the UAW that the "camaro" can not be built any place but where they were built in canada and since GM has bulldozed the plant down and the contract runs till 2007 you will not see this camaro till a 2008 model
Frank @ Jan 10th 2006 8:28PM
You better build it before you go belly up GM.
GM is a prime of what's wrong with coporate america. Big, bloated and full of waste. This car is another example of the crap coming out of GM.
This concept will never see the light of day. It'll end up looking like a Monte Carlo by the time their done with it.
And while you build this big stinking piece of crap, why don't you lay off another assembly plant, cut workers wages and benefits and then at the same time build this waste of metal in China or better yet, Mexico. Just think of all the profit you could make just by exporting the assembly south of the border.
I WILL NEVER BUY ANYTHING GM, GM CAN BURN IN HELL!!!
David Estes @ Jan 10th 2006 8:30PM
The Mustang looks like a Mustang. The Challenger looks like a Challenger. The Camaro looks like God only knows what, but is isn't a Camaro.
Michael @ Jan 10th 2006 8:30PM
You had better recalibrate your sights. When you see the new Mustang coming down the road you automatically THINK "Old School Muscle". Now too with the Dodge Charger. GM has missed the point when it comes to bringing back what the consumer longs for. Its know wonder GM has fallen into a "Junk", rating in more ways than one. Baby Boomers want to relive the past now that they can afford it.
Thomas Parks @ Jan 10th 2006 8:38PM
Mr, Lutz,
The Camaro concept looks great except that the front doesn't give the impression of quickness or speed. Also, the tires chosen for this concept would be unaffordable for most of us, and I assume it would be priced well beyond its competition. If it is to be produced, produce it fast, that is before 2009. Frankly, I believe that the entire design staff should be fired for leaving GM without a significant design for an affordable sports car or muscle car for all these years. Don't believe me? Ask your dealers what they really think, especially the Chevy dealers. Ford has been eating their lunch for the past few years because GM has not had an affordable sporty car to offer young people or people young at heart. Guys, FWD doesn't make it, regardless of how many SS emblems you stick on a vehicle. As for the GTO, strictly a throwback to a time of low-tech engine, poor exterior styling, and cheap interior appointments. Solstice?--underpowered, cheap interior, and I've seen much better convertible top latches on most all of the rest of the market. Obviously, your design staff never had the opportunity to put a top up during an unexpected shower. However, I really like the lines of the Solstice and I really hoped for a similar effort by the Camaro design group. Here's hoping that you will wake up and see all the millions of dollars lost to imports that filled the niche which you have refused to fill. May I mention the Mazda Miata, just for one. Wanna regain the domestic market? Design and build sporty, high-tech cars and SUV's that are affordable and are priced according to their real value.
Phil @ Jan 10th 2006 8:40PM
Finally designers at GM figured out what it takes to design cars that public wants. A few more designs like this will put GM back on track. If the bean counters can keep their paws off the creative work.
Richard Bowman @ Jan 10th 2006 8:49PM
I have to agree with another poster poster, Bob White.
Retro styling is where it's at, and creates more than a ripple effect with the American car buying public - it generates sales, and those sales are sorely needed by GM and Ford.
Ford got it right with their new Mustang.
The Chrysler PT Cruiser was their first step in the right direction. I just wish it had been built on something other than a Neon platform.
So-so Charger sales prompted Chrysler to do the new Challenger. If that sucker is priced right, so the average driver can afford one, it will sell. God, a grown up pony car with a street hemi and a 6 speeed......
The only way GM can top this is to start thinking about a new version of the classic '57 Chevy styling. Now that would be something, and is something other people have asked for. Put it on an Impala platform and you'll have the boomers (the nation's largest populace) tearing the doors off Chevrolet dealerships. Of course that fell on deaf ears.
Now if Ford follows up with a copy of its '40 Ford coupe or sedan, or maybe even a 32 Ford Victoria clone on a Mustang platform, history can be made.
I'll get my checkbook out if the price is right.