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Old 03-14-2012, 11:36 PM   #1
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Post How Will GM Repeat Success with 2016 6th Gen Camaro? Al Oppenheiser Weighs In


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http://www.autonews.com/article/2012...ro-in-redesign

It says the 6th Gen is to come out the end of 2015.
Quote:
General Motors is wrestling with development of the next-generation Chevrolet Camaro.

GM views the current car as a big success, and the automaker is cautiously taking steps to avoid — well, let's call it screwing up the redesigned Camaro. The car is due in the fall of 2015.

What's the issue? Well, there are several, says Al Oppenheiser, Camaro's chief engineer.

Weight reduction is one.

"We always get hammered for mass, and that's not going to be getting easier going forward" with the upcoming CAFE regulations, Oppenheiser said.

"Displacement, number of cylinders, all of these things you need to think about."

Then there's styling.

"This is a very successful car," he said during an interview this month at a Chevrolet press event. "In some ways it is actually going to be tougher" to create the redesigned car, which will be the Camaro's sixth generation.

"Do you make it look like a second-gen?" he said, refering to the 1970-1981 Camaro. Or "do you make it look like the first gen?" -- a reference to the 1967-1969 model.

Oppenheiser won't say which direction the team is leaning, but you can understand the concern.

Camaro held 42 percent of the rear-drive performance coupe market in 2011, composed of the Ford Mustang, Dodge Challenger and a recent newcomer, the Hyundai Genesis coupe.

Chevrolet sold 88,249 Camaros last year, followed by Mustang, 70,438, and the Challenger, 39,534.

Hyundai sold 32,998 Genesis vehicles last year, but that includes the coupe and the sedan. Hyundai does not release separate numbers; the Automotive News Data Center estimates coupe sales at around 40 percent of all Genesis sales, which would be 13,199 coupes.

This year the Camaro has nearly 40 percent of the market. Mustang sales are up, giving it about 35 percent share.

On the horizon is the redesigned Mustang, expected for the 2015 model, the car's 50th anniversary. Though Oppenheiser didn't mention it, the new Mustang has the potential to become the No. 1 player, surpassing Camaro.

Oppenheiser stays in close communication with Tom Peters, design director for GM's performance cars. Peters' group is designing the next Camaro.

"We talk with our teams about what would you do to top [the current Camaro] or not top it, at least make sure you don't lose what you have today."

Said Oppenheiser: "We always have to stay fresh and ahead. [But] we do not want to lose the fact that we have nearly 40 percent of the market."
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Old 03-15-2012, 12:08 AM   #2
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good read.

2015 is when my loan is up.. maybe its a sign lol
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Old 03-15-2012, 12:13 AM   #3
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I really hope if they take any styling cues from the second gen that they are minimal. I could see that horrible render coming to fruition :vomit: it would be a horrid sight, IMO they should take development even more serious then this generation! Time and effort are a good start to success
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Old 03-15-2012, 12:17 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by Taintedveins View Post
I really hope if they take any styling cues from the second gen that they are minimal. I could see that horrible render coming to fruition :vomit: it would be a horrid sight, IMO they should take development even more serious then this generation! Time and effort are a good start to success
agreed
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Old 03-15-2012, 05:41 AM   #5
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I believe it will/should be an evolution of the current/original design. It was a hit then, it is a hit now, and it can continue to be a hit into the future.
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Old 03-15-2012, 11:20 AM   #6
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I read all the comments to MotorTrend and wonder why so many Camaro haters bother to post. Do those people really think their off-the-wall comments will really influence GM? However, there were some valid well thought out suggestions.
GM did something right with the 5th generation styling as sales have indicated. Agree interior materials should be improved. I know people with some exotic sports cars that have worst visibility issues then my Camaro. But with correctly positioned mirrors, I have adjusted and perhaps have become a safer driver when I back up or change lanes. In a few years perhaps cameras cleanly integrated into the side mirrors, with a small dash monitor is the way to go for better side visibility.
I hope the 6th generation will be an evolution of the current design because the 5th generation Camaro has been a sales winner. Yes, loose some weight but that can be done with materials without reducing the current overall size. I would consider a 6th generation Camaro that has less weight, but would not consider if the Camaro smaller. Some people (responding to MotorTrend) want a smaller Camaro with more interior space including backseat, larger trunk, and add a turbo 4 cylinder. My response is go get a 4-door rice burner and add some big tail pipes the size of pipes used for sewage disposal.
I disagree with some of the MotorTrend posters that GM designed the Camaro for older guys stuck in the 60s-70s. I am an older guy and was driving in the 60s-70s, and if I wanted, I could have bought a 1st or 2nd generation Camaro instead of my 2011 2LT. Been there...but I wanted a car that looked 21st century which to my eye was the Camaro (did consider both the Mustang and Challenger but to my eye those two autos just didn't look modern enough). No way GM designed our Camaro for us older guys! I am 61 and not as limber as I once was. Getting in and out of my Camaro for the first two weeks of ownership was not graceful. However, after exercising previously un-used muscles getting in and out of my Camaro for the last 18 months, I can now slide in and out without dragging my old butt over the thin leather upholstery (LOL). Driving my 5th generation Camaro does not make me think I am younger than my 61 years, but it sure has made me more limber! Thank you GM.
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Old 03-15-2012, 11:22 AM   #7
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Where are all the designers from Pontiac. In my opinion they are the only ones that can take something as successful as the Gen 5 and one up it.
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Old 03-15-2012, 11:33 AM   #8
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I'm with you bring some of the trim and care that Pontiac had over the camaro in the day.
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Old 03-15-2012, 11:34 AM   #9
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What GM really needs to keep in mind is that ford is going to come out swinging

just like they are doing with this upcoming Shelby GT500.

GM is at a handicap because they can't make the Camaro faster and more powerful without also upgrading the vette. While Ford has just there one car to worry about.

Just the same, if GM doesnt come out the gate with 500 hp for the SS, I dare say they will be behind Ford.
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Old 03-15-2012, 11:36 AM   #10
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I hope its not the 2nd gen. I thought the were ugly.
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Old 03-15-2012, 11:41 AM   #11
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If any one who matters at GM reads this, please do not make the styling of the 6th gen an evolution from the 2nd gen! I'm considering the move to a 6th gen based on the performance improvement that going to an Alpha like platform should provide...that alone already has me excited at the possibilites.

But if you style it like some of the 2nd gen mixed with 5th gen renderings that have been floating around here, you can count me out.

6th gen should be an evolution of 5th, but recognizable as new and different, or nearly all new. Why keep repeating designs from the past??

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I believe it will/should be an evolution of the current/original design. It was a hit then, it is a hit now, and it can continue to be a hit into the future.
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Old 03-15-2012, 11:44 AM   #12
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I trust GM.

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Old 03-15-2012, 11:46 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Road_Warrior85 View Post
Just the same, if GM doesnt come out the gate with 500 hp for the SS, I dare say they will be behind Ford.
Don't need 500 HP to compete. Just a lighter and better performing platform that hooks up off the line.

If the 370Z and its about 3,300 lb weight is a track carver and can run 13 flat in the 1/4 with a potent V6....what could a 6th Gen SS at about 3,500 or so lbs with 420 to 450 HP do?

Kick ass...thats what.
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Old 03-15-2012, 11:46 AM   #14
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Although I think the early split-bumper 2nd gen's are the best looking Camaro's ever, and I'd love to see a modern interpretation of that if done as well as the 5th gen is of the 1st; I think the safe bet is for the 6th gen to be an evolutionary design of the 5th gen.
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