[WhiteyDog]

Originally Posted by Badmojo

The marketing sucks, even though every single Car Magazine has positive articles about the 6th gen Camaro. I also don't think the 6th gen looks that different to the 5th gen to the general public.

I got intrigued by the Camaro when a friend that lives on the West Coast said he was buying one. I was bored and went for a test drive. I was really impressed and bought a '18 ZL1 two weeks later.

Price for all cars, not just pony cars, keeps going up. Not many folks can afford or justify a $40-70k car that isn't that practical.

True. The cost of these things are out-pricing themselves for a lot of people. Nice color of yours, by the way.

[torqueaddict]

Originally Posted by Fraxum

Great post.


As to the interior it gets good marks on the quality front, but to me doesn't look like a $45K car. My wifes $35K Honda Accord Touring interior looks and feels a class up from my Camaro. The $$ were spent on the drive train and chassis with the Camaro. I am okay with that. Where the interior falls down for me is the styling. It looks very disjointed as if different people designed different parts and did not get together to make it all work. The worst part is the two lumps in front of the driver which decreases visibility even further for short people. The 5th gen Camaro had a show car interior. The quality of the materials was low, but if you squinted you felt like you were driving something special. To me the S550 interior, even on the base GT model, is better looking and classier than the CA6, and yet it also gives me the original Gen1 Mustang vibe in a nice way.

These are just my opinions on why the current Camaro is not selling as well as Chevy would hope. But the biggest reason for poor sales is these performance cars are getting very expensive and the younger upwardly mobile crowd are saddled with extremely large student loans. Many of them are moving to the cities and don't even want a car. Baby boomers are starting to die off. The middle class is shrinking. The biggest sales problem is not the car itself.

Now after saying all that, unless someone offers me an even up trade on the right 5th Gen ZL1 for my SS I might just keep it for my forever. I love driving it. But on long trips we will take the Honda. Me maybe not buying another one is also part of the problem. It is just too good.

Good post from a different perspective. Like you said, looks are subjective and we can agree to disagree on that.

Interior design and quality, while less subjective than looks, can still be debatable and polarizing. After comparing the interior of many other vehicles in a similar price range to the that of the Camaro, I can understand why people knock the appearance of the fit and finish. It's one area that's irrelevant to me though. It doesn't have to look expensive, as long as the ergonomics is there, and it's durable, which the Camaro's seems to be. I'd rather the money go into the engine, chassis and tranny.

After having sat in the Mustang, it was pretty obvious that Chevy's approach was a driver-focused design with the controls and center console being in easy reach. Notice how they tend to face the driver ever so slightly. For the most part, they achieved that, but at the expense of the roomy feel many are used to. Whether that's good or bad is obviously up for debate.

I like it though, and it works. The push-button start switch, the infotainment controls, the mode selector switch are all in easy reach and are positioned just right.

In the Mustang, while the shifter position was just as good, the push-button seemed out of place, and I didn't care for the old-style toggle switch design and where they were located among other things. The Camaro won on the ergonomics... for me.

I'm also a fan of simplicity. The Camaro's infotainment system, radio, A/C and vehicle information controls were a breeze to figure out. Also, the infotainment software, Mylink, was much more responsive and certainly less buggy than what Ford used in the Mustang. Their Sync 3 still needs work.

I've seen people knocking the center console vent locations in the Camaro, but I really don't care where the air comes from, once the cabin cools down.

The Mustang had the upper hand with the regards to the trunk opening, but that's it. There's supposedly more backseat room, but it wasn't obvious to me.

If you want back seat room and a big trunk, get a Challenger.

I agree with you with regards to sales, these cars are not as affordable as they used to be, which alienates a large part of their intended market. It's just one factor out of many that have been covered in this thread.

[Koldunic]

I don’t get the cost thing.

In Canada Mustang are really pricey.

The full equiped SS 1LE cost less than a 2018 GT PP1.

After driving my GT PP, I would take a SS 1LE anytime over a 2018 GT PP1.

Thing is I think we V8 performance guys and girls are a minority of the consumers.

[torqueaddict]

Originally Posted by Koldunic

I don’t get the cost thing.

In Canada Mustang are really pricey.

The full equiped SS 1LE cost less than a 2018 GT PP1.

After driving my GT PP, I would take a SS 1LE anytime over a 2018 GT PP1.

Thing is I think we V8 performance guys and girls are a minority of the consumers.

Well, we'll see how the 2018 GT does.

Someone said it, but the sad reality is that the Mustang name resonates more with people, and they'll gravitate to it first, without giving the competitor a try. I almost got caught in that trap.

If more people actually test drive the Camaro, they'll come away with a much more positive impression.

Chevy has to get them into the showrooms and train their sales staff accordingly.

[travislambert]

Obviously there are numerous factors. Here are a few:

• People shift their interest to larger vehicles when gas prices are relatively low.
• Many people who buy large luxury vehicles aren't impacted as much by rising vehicle prices.
• Rising vehicle prices are likely to impact buyers of small cars first, because those are the vehicles that people with lower incomes are more likely to buy. GM knows this, and it's why they are doing everything they can to keep the base cost down and make the lower trims more appealing.
• The big three also have newly designed trucks, so the outgoing models have some pretty good incentives at the moment. These incentives when combined with low gas prices must be helping to drive the sales of trucks. There are probably several people who might have otherwise purchased a new car, but decided to buy a new truck instead because the incentives. In fact, these incentives are probably the only thing that kept GM's sales numbers from being down overall.
• The auto industry is being pushed harder than ever to innovate, and all of that innovation costs money.
  For years people have been financing vehicles with little to no down payment with extended terms. Now we're starting to see lots of people who are so far upside-down on car loans, they can't afford to trade up anymore. (I bet every person reading this at least knows somebody who is driving a car they most likely can't afford.)
  With the recent tax cuts, I think we'll see a little bit of a rebound in the coming months, but we'll soon be back in the same state. I'm thinking we'll see a market correction at some point within in the next couple years.

One thing that I believe is not a MAJOR factor is the design of the Camaro. I don't believe the car is in any immediate danger, but whether or not we'll see a 7th Gen is anyone's guess. I'd bet even Al doesn't know for sure at this point. Ultimately it'll come down to how profitable they think the car will be relative to its alternative.

[Bongos2U]

Originally Posted by torqueaddict

Well, we'll see how the 2018 GT does.

Someone said it, but the sad reality is that the Mustang name resonates more with people, and they'll gravitate to it first, without giving the competitor a try. I almost got caught in that trap.

If more people actually test drive the Camaro, they'll come away with a much more positive impression.

Chevy has to get them into the showrooms and train their sales staff accordingly.

Bingo. Also I've heard that Chevy salesmen usually won't haggle on price for the Camaro. Something the Mustang salesmen have done since day one on this generation Mustang as well as the last.

[metros11]

Originally Posted by Badmojo

The marketing sucks, even though every single Car Magazine has positive articles about the 6th gen Camaro. I also don't think the 6th gen looks that different to the 5th gen to the general public.

I got intrigued by the Camaro when a friend that lives on the West Coast said he was buying one. I was bored and went for a test drive. I was really impressed and bought a '18 ZL1 two weeks later.

Price for all cars, not just pony cars, keeps going up. Not many folks can afford or justify a $40-70k car that isn't that practical.

I have to agree with your take. There is almost zero marketing. As someone who wasn't even into Camaros, I didn't know Gen6 was a completely different car from Gen5. At a quick glance they look almost identical. What drew me to "pony" cars was the Mustang. I really liked the MY '13-14 but was waiting on Gen6 to be released with the IRS. Once it was, and I had read about how the '15 GT lost to a '15 Gen5 Camaro on the track, that drew my attention. I was also intrigued in the GT350 as I'm a twisties over straight line type, and when the 1LE came out and all the publications started gushing about the performance value, I was sold. Vast majority don't know what the car can do, even some of the track rats.

[NYJets12]

Originally Posted by torqueaddict

Chevy has to get them into the showrooms and train their sales staff accordingly.

Some sales people think your stupid, when I 1st went looking at the local dealer
I told him I didn't want to spend over 30k he said:
I never seen a Camaro for that much only in the 40k and above range.
No wonder nobody buys them.
Naturally I got a 18 in November 17 for $29,000 ( with a $2,400 discount)before taxes from another dealer.

[SS376]

Originally Posted by CCG Garnet Red

Respectively disagree. Could have bought my soon to be 17 year old son a nice used 14 or 15 Gen 5, but love the styling of the Gen 6 much better. Bought him a new '17 Garnet Red RS, V6, A8, 1LT with sunroof. Love the return of the Gen 5, but they look so much larger and heavier (and are) than the Gen 6. Like the lines of the Gen 6 much better. I had a '75 RS and a new '79 Z28 when I was young. We also find the sight issue to be overblown. Who buys a Camaro to haul 4 adults around on long trips anyway? You want more room and a larger windshield and beltline, buy a Suburban or Tahoe, not a sports car. His also has the cloth interior and we have had nothing but complements from all our friends and relatives. Heck, his 80 year old Grandmother who helped him and 5 other grandchildren buy their 1st car thought it was a two seater like my vette. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and I find beauty in all generations of Camaros. I hated when it went away after the '02 and hope it's back to stay. (Sorry I wrote the Camaro version of "War and Peace"). P.S. Also got $6200 off sticker and had a great experience with the salesman at the dealership.

Glad you like it. The sales numbers seem to suggest that a lot of people don't.

[CruzySS]

Biggest factor now is time of year. With the cold temps and snowfall. People aren't looking for a Camaro. The price point is a little to much if your paying close to msrp plus the refresh is just around the corner.

[Zack46]

Originally Posted by Koldunic

In the canadian province where I live, very few Camaro are sold each year.

The Mustang has an aura surrounding it. An aura that the Camaro don’t have here. I don’t really understand why.

I expect to have many negative comments on my car but I really don’t care.

What do you mean by aura?

[Koldunic]

Originally Posted by Zack46

What do you mean by aura?

The brand resonate more. People here think it’s more prestigious to own a Mustang than a Camaro ( lol I know ). I don’t understand why.

[metros11]

Originally Posted by Koldunic

The brand resonate more. People here think it’s more prestigious to own a Mustang than a Camaro ( lol I know ). I don’t understand why.

There is definitely truth to this. The Mustang name carries more weight.

[Red Chief]

Originally Posted by Koldunic

The brand resonate more. People here think it’s more prestigious to own a Mustang than a Camaro ( lol I know ). I don’t understand why.

They have a strange way of expressing that status.

If you're ever looking for a cheap apartment in Missouri, try the one with the late 90s mustang parked in front with the obligatory faded paint, cracked body panels and unsightly bumper stickers. Guaranteed low rent.