Quote:
Originally Posted by AlphaDream
GM is putting out the "delayed, not terminated" story to protect current Camaro sales. Call it whatever you want, but there is currently no development team for a 7th gen Alpha2 platform Camaro. The team was disbanded because the Camaro7 under development had exactly the same flaws that compromised sales of the Camaro6, and to fix the flaws they would have had to basically throw out years of development time and money to start over.
Given Camaro6 sales, it would have been a hard sell to bring the Camaro7 to market, but to ask for extra development funds in order to fix the Camaro7 design flaws carried over from Camaro6? It would have been ludicrous.
No Camaro based on the Alpha2 platform will ever be available for sale short of a seismic change in the sports car market. A future VSS-R based Camaro is a possibility, but by the time we get one it will probably feature dual motors instead of a V8.
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I am not sure why you are thinking that the same flaws of the Gen6 would be present on an AlphaII platform. If you take a look at the CTS and compare it to a CT5 (which went from an Alpha to AlphaII platform), you will see a taller roofline and a shorter beltine giving it better visibility. I would assume that if there was going to be a 7thGen based off of AlphaII, it would/could have fixed the visibility issue. And I'm pretty sure that the AlphaII could support a larger trunk opening. As far as the rear seats, the CT5 has roomy rear seats, so I think Chevy was going to fix these issues with the AlphaII based Gen7.
Personnaly, I think it's more of the CAFE requirements that are pushing things back. I also think the Camaro may skip the AlphaII altogether and be delayed for the VSS-R platform (or vehicle set, if you will). The VSS-R is supposed to underpin all GM RWD/RWD based AWD, longitudinal vehicles. Which would include Camaro, if there will be one.
This delay gives time to develop the new platform, gives time for the C8 to roll out more powertrains that can be borrowed, and frees up resources to work on this big transition to electric/electric-assisted vehicles. Also, why put the Camaro on the AlphaII platform, when all GM vehicles will go to four platfoms in the pretty near future. Why not skip the AlphaII and go straight to the VSS-R? That also reduces the amount of R&D money put into the Camaro as a whole.
I believe that GM is giving the "wait and see" approach. If the decline in car sales (as opposed to SUV/CUV), and more specifically, pony car sales continues, they may abandon the Camaro nameplate. If the demand levels off, they they may ramp up a team to develop a Gen7 Camaro on the VSS-R platform.
But this delay, gives them the flexibility to commit resources to more important projects, and the future will clairify the justificaiton of a 7th Gen Camaro one way or another. Seems like a smart move from a business perspective.