[nancygrl]

I saw an article yesterday that all but 2 mfg's are reporting lower sales numbers for May-2016.

http://www.usnews.com/news/business/...s-growth-slows

[Techn9cian805]

Originally Posted by nancygrl

I saw an article yesterday that all but 2 mfg's are reporting lower sales numbers for May-2016.

http://www.usnews.com/news/business/...s-growth-slows

that's cuz everyone is holding out for the new tesla....

[DrkPhx]

Originally Posted by nancygrl

I saw an article yesterday that all but 2 mfg's are reporting lower sales numbers for May-2016.

http://www.usnews.com/news/business/...s-growth-slows

Get ready for big incentives. It still amazes me how well full size SUV's sell considering the obscene prices they charge. GM would be in a world of hurt if their full size SUV's sales plummeted.

[raptor5244]

I think mostly enthusiasts have bought into the new Camaro at this point. In order to drive mass appeal they need more advertising and attractive lease offers and incentives.

[SuperSound]

Originally Posted by raptor5244

I think mostly enthusiasts have bought into the new Camaro at this point. In order to drive mass appeal they need more advertising and attractive lease offers and incentives.

I think good lease offers would help attract new buyers, but probably not pull any from the Mustang. The Mustang has at least for the last few years been terrible in terms of RV, at least compared to companies that go after leases like BMW.

[merlin803]

Originally Posted by Posaune

You should re-read the article and note it was published April 7th.

"GM hired 500 new workers in January to add a third shift to meet increasing sixth-generation Chevrolet Camaro demand. Employees were trained over the winter and officially instated this past Monday."

That means third shift has been running since April 4th, just shy of two months ago. A quick, nationwide search of cars.com shows 19,183 2016 Camaros available. Factory has been building and inventory is building...quickly. But GM has changed the business case and expected much lower sales.

No need to reread it, I was just pointing out that they didn't actually add the 3rd shift at the beginning of the year. It has just been a couple of months.

You can quote inventory numbers but it is all relative, is 19,000 a lot nationwide? Are they targeting some areas more than others? I can't explain why the 10 closest dealerships to me only have a few but the fact is that they do.

As far as the business model changing, yes your right, we should believe you over what GM has stated, what do they know? (and I never said that they expected much lower sales, you added that. I just repeated what they said - that they decided to cut down on low profit fleet sales and move the Camaro upstream, higher profits per car sold. Common sense would tell you that with those decisions that it is very likely to impact sales to some degree).

[ThatRedFirebird]

Originally Posted by DrkPhx

Get ready for big incentives. It still amazes me how well full size SUV's sell considering the obscene prices they charge. GM would be in a world of hurt if their full size SUV's sales plummeted.

The day I bought my Camaro, the dealer sold 2 (!!!) $70,000 Silverados to a married couple.

$150,000 (after tax, etc) in trucks to one family on one day? Madness. And that wasn't even that strange to them. And this community is not especially affluent either- definitely not poor but I'd say pretty close to what I'd call "middle class" average.

[Posaune]

Originally Posted by DrkPhx

Get ready for big incentives. It still amazes me how well full size SUV's sell considering the obscene prices they charge. GM would be in a world of hurt if their full size SUV's sales plummeted.

Should a first year model need incentives?


Guess GM wants to move a little more metal.

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by DrkPhx

Get ready for big incentives. It still amazes me how well full size SUV's sell considering the obscene prices they charge. GM would be in a world of hurt if their full size SUV's sales plummeted.

No, I forget what the number is exactly, but the company has been restructured to maintain profitability at lower sales volumes.

[Raven87]

Originally Posted by Mr. Wyndham

No, I forget what the number is exactly, but the company has been restructured to maintain profitability at lower sales volumes.

Are you saying that even if Truck and SUV sales tanked, GM would be just fine? How can that be? Lower sales volume and staying profitable are usually contradictory.

So, either GM's profit per unit is so large it doesn't matter how many they sell (impossible) or this statement can't be true. The bean counters are ruthless - profit per unit is critical and everyone knows the profit on a truck is more than on a Cruze or Camaro.

I have absolutely no doubt that if GM lost market share on its Silverado and SUV lines, there would be people jumping out of windows in Detroit.

And, with empty pockets to boot.

[suzook]

Originally Posted by Posaune

Should a first year model need incentives?


Guess GM wants to move a little more metal.

That's with $3600 down....that's not a deal.

[hotlap]

Originally Posted by raptor5244

But it is not just faster, that is the problem. It is a more advanced, better handling and more refined car. Most folks just don't realize that yet. You will hear time and time again from folks that go and actually test drive both cars and they usually all come back and say the Camaro is the better car. So, how much more should that cost over the competition? $2k, $3k, $5k?

It is perception...IMO, here are a couple ways to think about the new Camaro to help change the perception of it.

- What if the new Camaro SS was essentially a Cadillac ATS but with the Corvette engine?

- What if the new Camaro SS could get you 98% of the performance and driving experience of the Corvette Stingray?

- And as we have seen from the experts at MotorTrend, what if the new Camaro SS is the better overall car when compared to a very expensive BMW M4?

If you agree with any of those comparisons and you desire and appreciate that level of driving experience then the new Camaro is a steal. However, if you just want the least expensive V8 experience money can buy then the Mustang will fit the bill. Remember, if you start adding bigger wheels and tires, aftermarket exhausts and anything else performance oriented to keep up with the new SS you will close the price gap pretty quick anyway.

Agree. I traded a 13 ZL1 and feel the 2SS is a better car in every way with a MSRP that is ~$10k less. The ZL1 was more of a beast once it got rolling but the refinement, agility and speed of the 2SS is absolutely amazing. The car is a true value for what I got (MRC, A8, NPP, etc.) but understand many can't afford a car at this level. When I was in my 20s or 30s, I couldn't have afforded it either but would have snagged used.

It is that good and I feel wrapped in luxury driving it.

[Raven87]

If people/buyers would realize that the 6th Gen Camaro is really a four seater C7, I think they would feel less concerned about the price.

There is no doubt the Camaro - at any trim level - is a better built and higher quality car than the Mustang or Challenger. But maybe that might be part of the problem - it is too good and all that 'goodness' did not come cheap.

Maybe the market doesn't want the Camaro to be a four seat C7 with a resultant price increase? Could be...

I don't know but I suspect it is a lot of things causing the sales slump:

1. Price
2. Looks
3. Lack of advertising and promotion
4. Some serious quality issues (for several, not all)
5. Challenger and Mustang are popular cars, especially the new Mustang
6. Did I mention price?

[SpeedIsLife]

I think another issue is they're trying to market the Camaro in general to the youth crowd, with the SS holding the banner, but pricing it, as Hotlap pointed out, out of the price range that someone in their 20's or 30's can afford new.

Maybe it's just my perception, but it seems like they have their Camaro and Corvette markets a bit confused, and the shared ground on the Venn diagram, as it were, is a bit too large.