Lutz from Oz: Camaro "as awesome as the concept"
In his latest missive on the Fastlane Blog, GM car czar Bob Lutz checks in after a trip to Australia during which he sampled several new Pontiac G8s (he called the Ponchos "fabulous"), the Buick Park Avenue destined for China, and the Daewoo Veritas, another Holden sedan export. Oh, he also drove other development stuff that's in the hopper, including the Camaro development prototype. Lutz said that the car, despite being covered in a spy-photog-unfriendly black-and-white camo pattern, looked "as awesome as the concept" and that its power, sound and braking ability were completely in line with his lofty expectations. (That sound you hear is Brenda Priddy boarding a Qantas 747 to Oz.)
He describes the interior as being "remarkable" as well. We recently saw a GM video put together by the design group, in which a simulation of the Camaro startup process is shown from inside the car's passenger cabin. (It was not an actual car, but a super-high-quality computer simulation). If the interior shown in that video is indeed what's in store for the production Camaro, Lutz's use of "remarkable" is not at all out of line, and we'll all be yammering about it endlessly come January. According to Lutz's post, the Camaro is intended to be "the finest car in its class, ever." He's not doing or saying anything to temper our expectations, and based on what we've seen and heard on our own so far, there's no reason for him to do so.
[Source: GM Fastlane Blog]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
vkchu 2:05PM (10/12/2007)
is there a secret 'bumblebee' mode button in there somewhere?
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Strongbadinator 1:44PM (10/12/2007)
Challenger> Camaro.
Challenger= successful musclecar fan.
Camaro= Coors drinking mullet dropout.
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Non-Bizarro Adam 2:08PM (10/12/2007)
Ummm, you can come to this conclusion based on what experience? Neither car is out yet. So you are uneducated at best.
And to those who say it looks stale, I was there when it was unveiled in 2006, I was there when they unveiled the convertible this year, and I just saw the red one (the one with no drivetrain) at a show in August, and I'll tell you it looks as sweet now as it ever has. And to be honest, this has had no longer shelf-life than the GT-R. I'd rather them take the time to do it right (which I think they are in both the GT-R and the Camaro's case) than to rush something to production and get it wrong.
FireStorm 3:51PM (10/12/2007)
Challenger and Camaro are very different cars... the Challenger will be Larger, carry more people, be heavier, and more expensive than the Camaro...
It's styling direction is also very different than the Camaro's even though they are both "retro".. Challenger aims to be as close to the 70 Challenger as possible... Camaro seems to have gone for the futuristic look, while still taking heritage cues from the 69 Camaro..
I prefer the Camaro personally.. and while I agree the design may be getting old to some people like us who kee up with automotive news on an everyday basis.. i think the general public has had relatively limited exposure.. and i think the Camaro should be well recieved and will be better than the Challenger or Mustang in every category
Joe K. 4:21PM (10/12/2007)
I went to Transformers with my 52-year old dad, who is the furthest thing from a passionate car guy. thats not to say he doesn't like cars, he just doesn't keep his nose in it like i do. I get him to the NY Auto Show every year and he enjoys the BMW display or an Infiniti, but isn't driven to look at spy shots or anything like that.
When Bumble-Bee changed into the new Camaro, his eyes lit up like a small child's... leaving the movie it was all he could talk about. I said, "haven't you seen the spy shots, the press, whatever?" "Nope, but I'm buying one"
Last time i heard him utter that was for the convertible he owns. I don't doubt he will buy it. It is an impressive car. So the general public, i.e. my pops, isn't tired of it...
Matt 9:11PM (10/12/2007)
When considering the "Challenger and Camaro are very different cars..." line, we must also keep in mind that the Charger is priced to compete with the Camaro already, so Dodge is set in that product/price range.
Russell 11:30PM (10/12/2007)
Sorry but
Camaro > Challenger
GM > Crapsler
LS engine > Hemi
And will see which one will handle better.
Strongbadinator 12:24PM (10/13/2007)
Russel apparently drinks too much of the kool aid. What engine do most dragsters STILL use today? Oh, that'd be the hemi. Apart from the ultra rare yenko crap, Chrysler OWNED the musclecar era, and still does today. Cobalt SS gets raped by the Neon SRT4.
JasonV 1:44PM (10/12/2007)
Yawn, that design is already boring.
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Jeremy 2:50PM (10/12/2007)
sweet, then don't buy one and stop posting on blogs about it.
wettlaufer 4:24PM (10/12/2007)
Yawn, that comment is almost as old as the program itself. Boring.
Don 1:44PM (10/12/2007)
I like it when Lutz boasts. Makes me all tingly.
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Justin 1:44PM (10/12/2007)
So someone got spy shots then, right?
Right guys?
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henrykrinkle 1:58PM (10/12/2007)
I hope they're doing a modern interpretation of the concept because we've seen it so much it already feels 20 years old.
After all this build-up did you expect Lutz to say it was just "meh"?
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raz 1:59PM (10/12/2007)
This car was HOT, super HOT. It is a great looking car, but to keep their jobs Lutz and Wagoner released pictures and concept car YEARS ahead of production. Now the buzz is dead, it has simply fizzled away, and the car is still some time away from going on sale.
What GM could have done is to keep everything in secret and then drop it on the public…..it would have been the second coming of the original mustang, everyone would want to buy one, from young teenage girls to old farts and everyone in between. But now the fizzle is gone, plus it allowed the competition to prepare for Camaro’s launch by readying their sports cars. By the time Camaro will go on sale or a year after it will go on sale every Automaker will have a great sports car on the market, Challenger, Toyota HF-TC or whatever it is, even Honda will have one, and of course a brand new Mustang.
Way to go Rick the Prick……………if this is not an example of how dumb GM’s management is, I do not know what that example could be.
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Matt 10:36PM (10/12/2007)
Congrats, raz! Your comment isn't incredibly one-sided or biased *at all*.
/end sarcasm
J M C 3 2:09PM (10/12/2007)
These 'spy shots' with car covers being strategically pulled back to simply reveal a corner of the car have got to be teaser shots from the manufacturer.Hey ,not that I'm complaining ,but if I was a spy photog I'd pull the whole thing back.
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Aki 2:30PM (10/12/2007)
Gotta love Bob's hyperbole. Even if they're crazy comments, you still appreciate how he oozes with enthusiasm for cars. I think that's rubbing off for GM with cooler looking cars (Aura, Vue, G8, Malibu, CTS, etc)
I just hope they don't tone down that wide, aggressive stance of the car.
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TriShield 2:44PM (10/12/2007)
Holden is responsible for the engineering of the new Camaro inside and out. It's based on the new Commodore which is being exported by Holden to Pontiac. Holden even has a Camaro page on their site now.
http://www.holden.com.au/www-holden/action/conceptcar?modelid=20010
They are quite proud of it. You can count on the production car looking virtually like the concept with some minor changes. Lutz, and the rest of GM including Holden are very aware of what a hot potato they have on their hands and will pull out all the stops with it.
This car and the new Challenger will be among the hottest releases for 2009, guaranteed.
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wettlaufer 4:22PM (10/12/2007)
The way the instrumental panel sweeps into the door panels is very cool. Nice rendition from Holden on this.