[SDG23]

Too early for me to decide yet, but I'll either keep this car and add power, or trade it in on a 7th Gen ZL1 or possibly get a mid-engine Vette. But that's a good ways down the road, I'm just going to enjoy my SS for now.

[Martinjlm]

Originally Posted by SDG23

Too early for me to decide yet, but I'll either keep this car and add power, or trade it in on a 7th Gen ZL1 or possibly get a mid-engine Vette. But that's a good ways down the road, I'm just going to enjoy my SS for now.

Solid plan! I am going to keep my Fifty SS Convertible for as long as I can enjoy it and worry about what my next car is when an attractive option comes my way.

[douglas2742]

Originally Posted by Martinjlm

I'll just leave this right here.....

Great - it's already invented!

[CamaroNorth2017]

The 7th gen is almost guaranteed to be at least partially electric. I imagine they will come out with an all-electric model, a combined electric-ICE performance model, and then just the V8 model.

[DenverTaco07]

Originally Posted by Martinjlm

The point is not whether Tesla or any other electric can do everything a Camaro can do. The point is, the days of electric vehicles being tiny little ugly snails that can't get out of their own way are over. Most people don't take their car to the Nurburgring and will never know (or care) that the Tesla can't get around it at full load.

Today, electric cars are freaky fast, loaded with luxury content, look pretty darn good, and can travel about 300 miles on a charge on the very rare times people actually want to do that (about 6 times a year for me). And they continue to improve on all aspects through competitive development.

Electrification on some level is a very real consideration for future generations of Camaro, whether it is an electric motor to add power to a downsized ICE (Porsche Panamera S e-Hybrid, next gen Nissan GT-R) or a full-blown all-electric option calibrated for performance (Tesla P100D, FF 991 or Lucid Air)

my point is not that they can't do everything a camaro can do, it's that they can't do everything any ICE car can do right now.
The point about the nurburgring is not that people will or will not take their car to Germany, it's they can't do what any ICE car can do on a track. Many people buy a Camaro and other sports cars to take to the track - I don't think you can go a full day of track with a Tesla. Teslas are impressive, but they aren't currently good enough to be a full replacement IMO, especially performance cars.

I own a Volt - the reason I chose a Volt is because I don't have to worry about finding a place to charge it, if you run out of battery on a full electric...you can't call AAA and get a gallon of gas to get you to the nearest gas station for a quick fill up. If they make a Camaro with hybrid electric like the Porsche and Mclaren(?) i'm all for it.

[KMPrenger]

Originally Posted by CamaroNorth2017

The 7th gen is almost guaranteed to be at least partially electric. I imagine they will come out with an all-electric model, a combined electric-ICE performance model, and then just the V8 model.

There will be a turbo 4 model. You can bet your life on that one. V6 might get the axe. Then a V8 model, and then an electric/hybrid model could pop up also. The base car will not be an electric car...unless perhaps it something like e-assist.

[Martinjlm]

Originally Posted by DenverTaco07

my point is not that they can't do everything a camaro can do, it's that they can't do everything any ICE car can do right now.
The point about the nurburgring is not that people will or will not take their car to Germany, it's they can't do what any ICE car can do on a track. Many people buy a Camaro and other sports cars to take to the track - I don't think you can go a full day of track with a Tesla. Teslas are impressive, but they aren't currently good enough to be a full replacement IMO, especially performance cars.

I own a Volt - the reason I chose a Volt is because I don't have to worry about finding a place to charge it, if you run out of battery on a full electric...you can't call AAA and get a gallon of gas to get you to the nearest gas station for a quick fill up. If they make a Camaro with hybrid electric like the Porsche and Mclaren(?) i'm all for it.

Yeah, we're pretty much on the same page. Different paragraphs maybe, but the same page. My '17 Camaro shares garage space with my wife's '17 Volt. That Volt replaced our '12 Volt. If you look at the spectrum of electric cars 5 years ago compared to today, there has been amazing progress. Now that a lot of the focus for new product development is on performance electric vehicles, I would expect the world to look a whole lot different in 5 years than it does today.

There is already a Formula E racing circuit, where all the cars competing are electric vehicles. Now, today the way they deal with battery range is each driver gets two cars, so one of their pit stops is to change cars.

But there are new technologies in the works to dramatically speed up recharge time. Today, "fast chargers" operate at around 100 kW. In less than 5 years, some fast chargers will operate at 350 - 400 kW.

FWIW, I retired from Product Planning at General Motors to set up my own consulting business. Most of my consulting work has been in the area of hybrids, electric vehicles, and autonomous vehicles.

I should also point out that even though a Tesla Model S might not have been certified at Nurburgring, several EVs have. Admittedly, most of them are super-exotic, but the fact of the matter is, those that have run the ring have put in some staggering times. The current lap time record is held by the Nio EP9. It's a super exotic, but the company that built is planning to build sporty sedans using some of the same technology.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/15/motors...ion/index.html

[DenverTaco07]

Originally Posted by Martinjlm

Yeah, we're pretty much on the same page. Different paragraphs maybe, but the same page. My '17 Camaro shares garage space with my wife's '17 Volt. That Volt replaced our '12 Volt. If you look at the spectrum of electric cars 5 years ago compared to today, there has been amazing progress. Now that a lot of the focus for new product development is on performance electric vehicles, I would expect the world to look a whole lot different in 5 years than it does today.

There is already a Formula E racing circuit, where all the cars competing are electric vehicles. Now, today the way they deal with battery range is each driver gets two cars, so one of their pit stops is to change cars.

But there are new technologies in the works to dramatically speed up recharge time. Today, "fast chargers" operate at around 100 kW. In less than 5 years, some fast chargers will operate at 350 - 400 kW.

FWIW, I retired from Product Planning at General Motors to set up my own consulting business. Most of my consulting work has been in the area of hybrids, electric vehicles, and autonomous vehicles.

I should also point out that even though a Tesla Model S might not have been certified at Nurburgring, several EVs have. Admittedly, most of them are super-exotic, but the fact of the matter is, those that have run the ring have put in some staggering times. The current lap time record is held by the Nio EP9. It's a super exotic, but the company that built is planning to build sporty sedans using some of the same technology.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/15/motors...ion/index.html

word, earlier on may drive home I was thinking about this and was like, we are probably disagreeing to agree..lol.

i hear you, progress on electric drive and battery are almost exponential right now. we are impressed with our 17 Volt as a commuter car.

[SSport16]

Guess I should saving now for a 7th gen! Lol...my SS still feels new to me, coming up on 2 years!

[Dethsupp0rt]

Originally Posted by Martinjlm

Handling is pretty good, too. Different, but very good.

I slalommed the beast on GM's Black Lake at Milford Proving Grounds. No pylons were killed. Having a humongous battery under the floor gives it a very low center of gravity. Having no engine in the "frunk" makes it easy to get a 50/50 weight balance. It feels different than doing slalom in a Vette or Camaro, but good times are easier to achieve.

Also got to play with it on the road in the real world for a while. It is a VERY capable car. Here it is in the driveway with my wife's Volt. They had to share the power plug for a few days.

It's certainly a nice ride, and does handle well for as heavy as it is (due to the low center of gravity, like you mentioned). However, to me, that's akin to the old baseball analogy, "He runs well, for a catcher."

Kidding aside, I can't take anything away from what they've done, and whether we like it or not, EVs are the future. The more performance-oriented EVs are doing amazing things as well.