[Junction65]

Originally Posted by NovaSS4spdFan

I appreciate your optimism and you should be applauded for holding out hope. Between 2003 and 2010, there wasn't a federal resolve to put us all in EV. What's more, the mindset of the leadership back then was quite different from today. Forums such as the GM Authority continuously report on the manufacturer's initiatives ; including powering vehicles like full size trucks and two+ ton SUVs with small displacement, turbo charged engines.
And there's always the requirement for a sound case by product development- a product that'll yield big profits down the road. It's unlikely anyone will put their neck out for an ICE Camaro. And a switch by young buyers to off road capable vehicles has diminished demand for muscle/sports cars. Their choice is to have a weekend vehicle that can tow, carry a lot, etc.
I do believe (without reservation) that a Gen 7 Camaro will appear before the end of this decade. Sadly (for ICE aficionados), it'll more than likely rest on an existing EV platform. Just my .02.

The response and kind words are appreciated NovaSS4spdFan. Just to be clear, I'm totally ok with the 6th gen being the last Camaro ever which is the main reason I currently own one. I am like you though and can foresee a 7th gen being built for reasons mentioned in my previous posts.

So that brings us to the ICE or EV powerplant. Given the current state of battery technology encapsulating everything from production, use/life and eventually disposal/reclamation, the feasibility just isn't there yet(my .02) and I don't foresee significant advances in the next 10 years otherwise my portfolio would include "battery stocks". The electrical grid and charging either at home or abroad is another discussion entirely.

As for federal policy and administrative challenges, something tells me there could be some changes there in the next year or two. In addition, there could be a shakeup in upper management at GM at some point, who knows?

Either way my bet is hedged... I'm happy with my '23 LT1 being one of the last ICE Camaros produced and yet would be just as happy to see a 7th gen.

[tenargo57]

Originally Posted by Martinjlm

One of the best selling mods in Mustang world is a shift kit. Maybe the one you drove had one?

Yea, cj pony part's page for the MT-82 has a very different tone than the one for the T-56, which was the predecessor of the TR-6060 and is even mentioned a few times.

[FarmerFran]

no one is blowing any smoke up my ass, that getrag in the (at least) 2013 to 2024 is a pile of crap

[Moonracer58]

I've been reading thru the pages of this thread and I gotta admit it looks like a lot of parallel views. The auto industry has been steady changing for my entire life (66yrs) and way before then. My Dad was a bit of a car buff and listening to the changes he described were amazing especially given he grew up during the Great Depression. He recalled the day when people said the car would never replace the horse, but we see how that went.

On the EV subject, I honestly dont see all the fuss. Its new technology and will take time to develop. Govt actions regarding vehicles have been ongoing the world over...at least in every developed country, so that's nothing new. At the same time, many of those govt mandates are why we have cleaner, more efficient engines and safer vehicles overall. The 3.6LGX cranks out more power on pump gas than many storied muscle cars of years past and gets great mpg doing it. I've driven a few EVs and they all were a hoot. I'm looking forward to test driving a new Charger.

I was personally surprised that Camaro sales plunged below both Mustang and Charger/Challenger but that alone will kill off any model.

I also don't get the blather over "GM isnt building what people want." I guess not as sales show, but it wasnt because they didnt offer a V8 MT car. It was there for the taking and it got passed over. There are still year old unsold Hellcats sitting on lots. Govt "mandates" aside, the majority of the public doesnt want a car that gets mpg in the teens. Personally, I'll never buy another V8 car. I'm not tracking or racing and the V6 is plenty powerful and fun.
We've all watched coupes, wagons, and who knows how many models go the way of the dinosaur. That happened thru public sales and demand, not mandates. The Govt did Cash 4 Clunkers to try and help the market. Did it? Maybe, maybe not.

The ICE vehicles have got a century of development behind it, and EVs are infants by comparison. Battery tech will get better and prices will too. When range and infrastructure improves (it already has by leaps & bounds) sales will follow. I know plenty of people now (I chat with at Cars & Coffee meets) that have their eye on the EV market closely and most say they expect to own one in the next decade. I'm definitely in that group, and govt mandate has zero to do with my choice.

In the meantime, the ICE car isnt going away, and like Jay Leno, I think there is easily room for both.

As far as the future of the Camaro is concerned, GM brought it back to life once before. I still think the full page ad in Car & Driver was a test balloon despite GM denying they placed the ad. "Pontiac is Back" to me screamed not so much about the revival of Pontiac, but GM capitalizing on the ongoing romance with the Trans Am. GM leased the T/A rights to Trans Am Worldwide in FL where they have successfully converted and sold Camaros into T/As and don't think that has gone un-noticed by GM. The full page ad hinted at a hybrid 600hp machine, and while I'm sure they wont be cheap, I do think they would sell. I would certainly look hard at it since I owned a T/A back in 79.

In the interim, I'm still hunting for 3LT convertible, preferably with the LGX and ceramic white interior. I really like the 50th edition but wont pay a kings ransom for one, so likely that will get passed over.

[FarmerFran]

My Thoughts,

Camaro will never be ICE again. That ship has sailed. GM still has a good bit of ICE and people I know are buying them.

Weird times

[Number 3]

Originally Posted by FarmerFran

There is a documentary and the entire run in cockpit view

Happen to have a link?

[Number 3]

Originally Posted by Junction65

Based on many things... recent history, profit margin, and technology just to name a few factors.

Companies are in business to make make money/profit right? Not everyone has the budget for a Corvette. More people today can budget for a new Mustang than a new Corvette though right? Remind me what kicked off the initial pony car wars in the 60's?

Within another decade or so, its conceivable that GM rolls out a 7GEN ICE Camaro that could possibly take styling cues from the 3rd/4th gens Camaros. Nostalgia is very lucrative. Read that again and let it sink in. Nostalgia is very lucrative.

We have seen this play out before right? It would follow the same pattern as to how we ended up with 5th and 6th gen Camaros.

Just my .02...



Bless your heart

By the time it were to come out, per your timing, a Gen3 styled car will be 50 years old. Not a strong market for 70 year olds to buying sporty coupes. I drove a Gen4 on my honeymoon over 40 years ago. As I’ve said, the only chance to is succeed with a coupe is to reinvent the sporty coupe segment, not to try and hang onto the past. If you can’t hook a ton of Gen Z buyers it won’t fly. Look at Mustang sales in 2024. Coupes are all but dead and nostalgia doesn’t sell well enough to resurrect the dead.

And there just isn’t much of a chance for it to be ICE. Possible? Yes. Likelihood slim.

[Number 3]

Some interesting developments that may or may not impact this discussion but…..

GM announced it is taking a $5 billion write off in China. Sales for pretty much all non Chinese manufacturers are falling. Even the original in China, VW, is pretty much tanking. So with GM pulling out of China or reducing significantly does that end Buick? Would allow Chevy more leg room for better up market cars.

GM announced it is abandoning CRUISE robo taxi business. Too many players showing up in that segment and a diversion of capital with no return so far and now limited in the future. GM says they will focus on L3 and L4 for personal transportation.

GM announced it is backing out of a multi billion dollar battery plant. Combined with walking away from “Ultium” this means GM is either realizing battery technology is moving so fast you can’t tie yourself to one company or one solution or they are again repurposing/saving capital.

GM announces $450,000,000 spent to get an F1 team for Cadillac and announces and undisclosed amount to use Ferrari engines in Cadillac race cars. This seemingly a long term ploy to bolster the Cadillac brand globally, perhaps indicating moving up market??

4 pretty huge announcements in a short spell. None likely leading to an ICE Camaro but all clearly a part of a future plan……..or just results of a major clean up.

I’ve said for years this was the likely outcome of global OEMs going to China in search of profit at the expense of teaching the Chinese how to design, engineer and build great cars, and they are now doing just that on their own.

Now if China wanted a V8 powered sporty coupe……..

[Junction65]

Originally Posted by Number 3

By the time it were to come out, per your timing, a Gen3 styled car will be 50 years old. Not a strong market for 70 year olds to buying sporty coupes. I drove a Gen4 on my honeymoon over 40 years ago. As I’ve said, the only chance to is succeed with a coupe is to reinvent the sporty coupe segment, not to try and hang onto the past. If you can’t hook a ton of Gen Z buyers it won’t fly. Look at Mustang sales in 2024. Coupes are all but dead and nostalgia doesn’t sell well enough to resurrect the dead.

And there just isn’t much of a chance for it to be ICE. Possible? Yes. Likelihood slim.

The difference between a 2010 Camaro and a 1969 Camaro is 41 years. The difference between a 2024 and a 1969 is 55 years. What are the ages of 5th and 6th gen owners? Seems reasonable to me. Someone that turned 16 in 1995 would be 55 in 2034. Maybe they couldn't afford a new 4th gen then but could afford a new 7th gen at that time.

Also congrats on having a 4th gen Camaro in 1984.

As for "reinventing the sporty coupe segment", that's what needs to happen. How's does that happen? With technology. "Possibly taking styling cues" does not mean build new exact copies of 3rd or 4th gens. All things considered, those early F bodies weren't great cars.

Since you mentioned Mustang, here's a current example of something like what I was referring to:

All 2024 Ford Mustangs feature a digital gauge cluster, and as you'd expect, it's highly configurable. There are settings or "themes" tied to various drive modes to highlight different bits of information. Delve a little deeper into the menus and there's one theme that'll delight tons of Mustang fans: Fox Body. No, really.

So why not pay tribute? "I grew up with Fox bodies," says Craig Sandvig, interaction design manager for Ford. "I didn't own one, I wanted to own one, it was really an aspirational thing. I had lots of friends that had them, I had a girlfriend that had one, it was really cool."

As for Mustang sales, the market is saturated with them, they are everywhere and the cars have their own issues(styling, manual transmission, etc) but that's another discussion.

Who knows, granted its all speculation however a 7th gen ICE Camaro isn't the outlandish concept that some make it appear to be.

[ItsChristianInHD]

Originally Posted by Number 3

Some interesting developments that may or may not impact this discussion but…..

GM announced it is taking a $5 billion write off in China. Sales for pretty much all non Chinese manufacturers are falling. Even the original in China, VW, is pretty much tanking. So with GM pulling out of China or reducing significantly does that end Buick? Would allow Chevy more leg room for better up market cars.

GM announced it is abandoning CRUISE robo taxi business. Too many players showing up in that segment and a diversion of capital with no return so far and now limited in the future. GM says they will focus on L3 and L4 for personal transportation.

GM announced it is backing out of a multi billion dollar battery plant. Combined with walking away from “Ultium” this means GM is either realizing battery technology is moving so fast you can’t tie yourself to one company or one solution or they are again repurposing/saving capital.

GM announces $450,000,000 spent to get an F1 team for Cadillac and announces and undisclosed amount to use Ferrari engines in Cadillac race cars. This seemingly a long term ploy to bolster the Cadillac brand globally, perhaps indicating moving up market??

4 pretty huge announcements in a short spell. None likely leading to an ICE Camaro but all clearly a part of a future plan……..or just results of a major clean up.

I’ve said for years this was the likely outcome of global OEMs going to China in search of profit at the expense of teaching the Chinese how to design, engineer and build great cars, and they are now doing just that on their own.

Now if China wanted a V8 powered sporty coupe……..

They are great changes.

I think, if China wanted a V8 coupe, it would be the C8. GM invested more money into that platform and car than any other product (if I remember correctly).

There’s no chance (sadly) they will boot up another plant for another sports car platform for any market. Let alone a V8.

Mark Ruess even mentioned publicly he wants an EV Camaro not focused on performance. I don’t know how many people are even left at GM that can change his mind.

[90503]

GM announces $450,000,000 spent to get an F1 team for Cadillac

Now were talking! I love it! I think NASCAR is finished. F1 is where it's at. Great news.

[crysalis_01]

I can't help but feel that gm would be more likely to throw a curveball and utilize the Camaro name as a performance trim level of another product rather than on one of it's own.

Though it's something I know no one here wants to see, me included, but I don't think anyone that is actually watching how this all seems to be playing out would say is impossible.

[ariZona28]

Originally Posted by 90503

GM announces $450,000,000 spent to get an F1 team for Cadillac

Now were talking! I love it! I think NASCAR is finished. F1 is where it's at. Great news.

NASCAR finished? Doubt it. Nobody I know watches F1. NOBODY! LOL!

[Malbjey]

I would absolutely love a new Camaro to take styling cues from the 3rd gen. I'm a child of the 80s, so the 3rd gen is the definitive Camaro for me.



I very much want them to return to the liftback for added practicality, too. Even as a coupe, the 6th gen was a terribly impractical car compared to the Mustang and Challenger.