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Old 12-28-2012, 12:16 AM   #1
ALLTRBO
 
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Drives: V8 up front and 7-spd out back FTW
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: MD
Posts: 746
No more V8 for 6th gen Camaro?

I'm getting very tired of seeing all over the forums that Camaros are going to lose a V8 option (anytime in the at-all foreseeable future), and everyone deserves a rant every now and then I think, so it's my turn...

Now... We all know that GM has made many, many huge mistakes, but
they (specifically the Camaro team) are not stupid enough to believe that killing the V8 Camaro won't totally ruin the desire from the faithful and ultimately murder sales, despite the majority of sales traditionally coming from V6 cars. For one, a lot of the V6 owners hope to upgrade to a V8 when they can afford it and a lot do just that, but it's a lot more then that.

Buyers expect a Camaro to be a front engine, RWD car with an available V8. The GM Camaro team has been in tune with us customers more than ever in history, and they're Camaro people too, so stop worrying about it so much and just keep the faith.

On the Big Brother side of things... As of my current understanding, the gas mileage requirements that car manufacturers have to meet are averaged across the lineup. For every V8 car or truck GM sells, they sell tons more of the smaller, more efficient cars and trucks, and they're getting more and more efficient and more desirable every year, as well as the PHEV's and all-electric cars becoming increasingly available on the higher-end of the econo spectrum. That's just on top of the newer traditional econo cars that have been getting good reviews and putting out great numbers.
What this means is that a number of gas guzzling options can be had while still satisfying the average numbers GM must meet. Above all that, even the numbers from those "awful planet-killing, nature-hating, obnoxious, crude, and just plain selfish" V8's are going in the right direction, not only in mileage but in power as well! Take that, tree huggers! But I digress...

I don't foresee this method of forcing efficiency numbers on them to change any time soon other than making the requirements stricter over time, but I am far from an industry expert, so take that for what it's worth.

In short, don't at all worry about whether or not there will be V8 Camaros for years to come. If they do go for substantially improved efficiency in the Camaro, the smaller turbo engines might be the way they do it, but they will absolutely not kill the V8 Camaro. Mark my words... (and if I'm wrong I have no problem standing corrected).


Here are my predictions (speaking in general terms):

The 5th gen will get a couple more engine offerings/replacements and tweaks yet, but I don't see any paradigm shifts for the rest of this go-round.
The 6th gen will probably have the LT1 as the base V8 (man I hate it when they dig up retired designations), some better form of V8(s) in the higher performance models, and possibly (hopefully) the twin-turbo DI 3.6, and potentially even a 4-cylinder turbo base engine. I won't rule that out because the structure is already in place, and it is a solid performer as 4-cylinders go. It's no 2.5 Iron Duke, that's for sure! Tuned for "torque" and minimal turbo lag, I'm sure it'd move along a ~3400 lb car just fine.
However, I still don't think it's likely.

If they do a TT V6 I'll be in love and would probably take it over the V8. As long as they did it right, it would be stupid easy to eclipse the V8 power. That's why I love turbos. On the other hand, can't beat the sound of that traditional and ever-present musclecar V8 thumping under the hood.
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