[Martinjlm]

Originally Posted by JT6Speed

Lot of good points made so far. I'm going to say it comes down to more than one thing as well. The price was very competitive in the later years of production, early on I can't speak for, because I was still in my previous gen Mustang. When I was building and pricing out, my Camaro build was equal to, if not cheaper, than a base R/T Challenger (yes, with the 5.7). A Scat was easily an extra 5-7 grand, and that was for a "stripper" model. Ideally I would have gone for a widebody or shaker, so add ten thousand easily.

I'm not sure how much marketing would matter either. I think ultimately this was an "if you know, you know" kind of car. We enthusiasts know what this car is all about and its true purpose. Not everyone shopping for a sports car will necessarily see it that way though. They may not be willing to sacrifice a small trunk opening, or high belt line, among other things for performance.

At the end of the day, the V8 coupe is pretty much extinct. Not to mention manuals are an endangered species.

You'll never get V8+coupe+RWD+manual=Camaro ever again, that I'm confident in. At least some part of that equation will change, whether it be a sedan, or mid-engine, or still a coupe but not a V8, I have no idea.

No doubt that there are several factors. Price just happens to be the first "walk away" point for most buyers. Especially for the target demographic for expressive design, high performance vehicles.

Originally Posted by KingLT1

Practicality is the issue. Otherwise, the 6th gen was a well-rounded car for the money. The fact that it's more difficult to see out of and almost non-useable back seat make it less attractive for those that can only afford 1 car. Hence why you see so many Chargers and Challengers running around. The masses don't compare lap times or 0-60. They see big comfy ride with lots of HP and it has their attention. GM already has the Corvette for a 2 seat option, and the Cadillac is out of reach for many. They need to bring back an affordable big 2 door or 4 door car like Pontiac G8 GT. Give it a 6.2 with Awd and watch it sell like hot cakes. It's going to take something like this to draw buyers in since most want a SUV or Crossover to daily. The problem is it likely won't met Cafe standards or whatever. Hence why everything is now trending to a 4cylinder turbo.

If price is #1, practicality is #2. Especially for Camaro target demographic which by and large is a demographic who would prefer to have it as an only car. We've all heard (or lived?) the story of the cool guy who owned a Camaro, met the girl, had the kid, and had to get rid of the Camaro because the car seat won't fit in the back.

Originally Posted by m6-lt1

That actually isn’t the case with the gen6 Camaro. There is a thread here that contains all the details for ALL the Camaro’s built from 2020-2024. Believe it or not more V8’s were made than i4’s and V6’s combined. It is still very close to a 50/50 split but I was surprised to see a slight edge given to the V8.

I’d be willing to bet this isn’t the case with the Mustang and more i4’s are built than V8’s. If that’s the case I’d say the Camaro attracts a very different kind of buyer which unfortunately for GM is the minority.

You are right. It most certainly is not the case for Mustang. Four cylinders outsell V8 by about 4:1. That is the primary reason Mustang has consistently outsold Camaro. Mustang even eliminated the V6 years ago and went with EcoBoost 4-cylinder / V8 lineup. Say what you want about the EcoBoost, but it was very competitive with Camaro, Charger, and Challenger V6s and it outsold Mustang V8 by about 4:1. Why? Price. The fact that it was and still is a more practical car also keeps it afloat. You CAN get baby seats in the back. Barely.

Originally Posted by genxer

The 5th to 6th downsize failed because it's still to big. It needs to be able to beat autoX modded RX-8s (more useable interior) and BRZs, without resorting to turbo 4s. Base cars can't just be cruiser soft, enthusiast has to stop being a dirty word inside gm.

....

BRZ, Miata and the like are no where near the target competitive set for Camaro. Not even on the radar. I say this as the person who led GM Competitor Intelligence during the development of the Camaro 6 program as well as C8 (and every new vehicle product in the pipeline at the time). The proper competitor for BZR, Miata, et cetera was in the pipeline but died a business plan death. It needed to be shorter, narrower, much much lighter and nimble than Camaro. Think of an improved Solstice. Or a shrink wrapped Corvette

As far as enthusiast being a dirty word at GM, you'd be surprised how many key leaders are track rats. Several of them own garages at M1 Concourse and have some serious track cars. The ones that I'm aware of are much better track drivers than I am. Myself, I autocross two of my cars. The Camaro and a '91 MR2 Turbo. The MR2 Turbo is by far the better autocross car. Size and mass are super important in autocross. That's why Miata, BRZ, and WRX dominate. Camaro is fun, and there are classes that position like vs like, but overall, the small, slow cars driven fast run circles around the big, heavy, fast cars driven slow.