[90503]

FWIW...Marketing/pricing related perhaps and near-future related modern muscle car future, such as it is...lol

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/othe...2ea34078&ei=59

[pzoom]

As a former owner of Corvettes and F-bodies, I had NO idea how good the 6th gen was when looking for a replacement for my M4. My #1 on the list was a GT350 until someone told me to consider a 1LE. Anyway, except for a few minor ergonomic items, it has been a fantastic car. I don’t plan on ever selling it.

[JTS]

Well I have to say , I absolutely enjoy going to a Car Show, Cruise in , Cars n Coffee, and being the only or 1 of 2 Camaro ZL1, maybe a buddy or 2 will show up an we are a minority to how many Challengers and Mustangs are there. Most people look as they walk by them. But they do stop and look at the Camaro , maybe for a few seconds,some longer and some take pictures and love to talk.

[armycop71]

It must be different in every area in the country. I live in small-town Kentucky, about 45 minutes from Louisville, and have never had a bad reaction to my 6th Gen. Every time I stop for gas or park it somewhere, someone comments on how nice the car is or asks questions about it. When I am in town, I've got plenty of thumbs up and people yelling "nice car" when I drive by. I love most generations of the Camaro, the 4th gen is the exception, and the '19 SS are the only ones I am not crazy about.

[Alan47717]

Originally Posted by LT1gen6

For all those that believe GM is terrible at marketing, what exactly would you do differently? And, please describe some missed target audiences, and how you would reach and appeal to them.

As far as Gen 6, GM builds, and has built as many as they could sell. It's definitely a niche and enthusiast vehicle. Those who care about such things know.

In most cases, I argue the first step would be to actually DO some marketing. GM sold as many Gen 6 Camaros as there were people who knew they existed without GM expending any effort to expand those numbers.

Look, I could understand a straightforward decision to say the Gen 6 is the end of the line, we are going EV, what have you and at least TRY to sell as many as you can going out the door. But that's not GM's process. They prefer to kill a product with neglect and zero advertising. Then use predictably declining sales as justification for doing what they intended to do along. Why that is considered a good business model is beyond me. Actually that's not true. It's a terrible business model. Why they do it is what is beyond me.

[Clear141]

Thanks guys and gals(?). Loved reading your posts. I knew this might fire up the crowd. As I said in my OP, I love my car, and will never get rid of it. Performance is outstanding, nothing previous compares. I do love the looks/styling, just my least favorite love. I would not have spent the money otherwise, just nitpicking my nearly perfect car on a very subjective topic.

[dpevans]

then why did you buy one. Sell it someone who really wants it. The 6th gen Camaro is the best Camaro every built and I've owned a few. It handles like a rock star and looks amazing. I get more compliments on mine then any car I've had and I've had some really nice cars.

[FarmerFran]

Originally Posted by dpevans

then why did you buy one. Sell it someone who really wants it. The 6th gen Camaro is the best Camaro every built and I've owned a few. It handles like a rock star and looks amazing. I get more compliments on mine then any car I've had and I've had some really nice cars.

Sharky approves of this message

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by Martinjlm

One thing Dodge did do, at least in the Metro Detroit area, for about a year or more you could lease a 5.7L Charger or Challenger for ridiculously low prices. I’m talking $200-250 a month lease. People who had never driven a performance car before were getting their hands on them and hooning it up as if they had a Hellcat. For a couple years I couldn’t go a day without somebody pulling up next to me with his Hemi to challenge me at a light. They didn’t know or care that I had about 80 more hp and torque, about 300 lbs less mass (even as a convertible) and tires that could actually grip. They had a Hemi so they were king of the world. I never took the bait. Well, twice I took the bait. One time I spanked a Challenger that still had temporary plates. But I was driving a BMW i3 at the time. The other time was from a roll on the expressway. I was driving top down while towing my bike. That was before headers, E85 and tune.

This pic was taken when I arrived at the park after roasting the Challenger.

Your honesty is appreciated

Heh, that other time was the ultimate roast, top down and towing a bicycle, ie running with the crappiest drag coefficient one can think of and still smoking the whale

[Casper the friendly G]

Originally Posted by LT1gen6

For all those that believe GM is terrible at marketing, what exactly would you do differently? And, please describe some missed target audiences, and how you would reach and appeal to them.

As far as Gen 6, GM builds, and has built as many as they could sell. It's definitely a niche and enthusiast vehicle. Those who care about such things know.

What would I do?...Hire the guy in charge of Dodge Marketing.

[Casper the friendly G]

Originally Posted by CamaroRSOnt

My first Camaro was a '78 Z28, what a piece of crap compared to this generation of Camaro's. When you buy a 60's or 70's muscle car unless it is a rest-o-mod it is all about nostalgia, not performance. Friend had a early 60's 'Vette that was a rest-o-mod, nice car, handled well, impressive. By the way the 10 spd auto is probably the best tranny I have ever had in a car, silky smooth and smart.

My RS is a V6 and as fast as those SS's in '69 and handles way better with all the tech goodies. I had a C7, the SS is every bit the car the 'Vette was, that's why I chose to go with one vs the C8. Not big on the C8 look, too many lines, prefer simpler lines, less rectangles.

Except for the 90's always liked the Camaro styling. My brother had a '67 Mustang, cool at the time but a dog in handling and power wise compared to today's vehicles. Always preferred the Camaro look over the Mustang, still do. In the end though , your money, buy what you want.

Because of gearing. The 2,3 and 4 speed transmission can't make use of the power they had. I had an 11' Camaro V6, I had some 60s muscle too. For instance My old 69' Ply Road Runner 383 I could easily tell was putting out more muscle than my Camaro but the gearing was just 3 speeds and the ratios were spread out, so every gear change the spacing was taking you out of the power band. My V6 Camaro was a 6speed manual, each gear change was a much closer ratio but still by 3rd gear there was not much their regarding Tq. and pull even with the lower rear gears than my old RR. With a modern 6 or 8 speed trans in the old RR it would be at least a whole second quicker.

[JamesNoBrakes]

Originally Posted by WhyUMad1LE

I like the way the 17-18 1LE looks. Do I think it’s the best design in history, no, but it’s pleasant and the front end fits naturally with the rest of the car.

The facelifts got too busy in my opinion. Still a damn good performance car underneath though.

100%. The thin head-light line was the best. Automakers seemed to trend towards huge gaping holes after that and it seems like Chevy tried to ride that horse too, until realizing it was dumb.

[plus1zero]

Originally Posted by Clear141

If I could change anything it would be the styling. I bought for the name/heritage and the performance!!! and the clear indication that GM had gone full virtue signaler. I believe most of us think that pre 4th gen our cars had a beautifully aggressive appearance that said F off without actually saying it. They really missed the mark in the decades since. You want to compete with the big 3? Give us something that resembles an American kick ass muscle car instead of something that looks like it came out of Europe or Asia. Hell Corvettes used to be gorgeous, now they look like Italian super cars- no thank you. 99% of people I come in contact with don’t have any idea what I’m driving. Just proves in my opinion why Ford and Dodge outsell Chevy consistently by large margins. My bias is making me tolerate this car’s appearance, not my rational side. I do appreciate certain parts of my car, appearance wise, but I’m no longer blinded by my bias. Chevy has failed its consumer’s and by extension itself. In the meantime I’ll enjoy what I have, reminisce about the past and shed a tear for what could have been. Happy to answer questions and respond to the negatives.

I'm gonna respectfully disagree. To me the first gen camaros looked amazing. The second/third gen looked a little funky, the 4th gen looked atrociuos and a trans-am looked light years better than a 4th gen SS. The 5th gen was an instant classic. The 16-18 was my favorite camaro GM has made and looks more aggressive than the other two. The 19 was kinda meh. The 20-22 was a safe bet but not aggressive.

[JamesNoBrakes]

Originally Posted by plus1zero

I'm gonna respectfully disagree. To me the first gen camaros looked amazing. The second/third gen looked a little funky, the 4th gen looked atrociuos and a trans-am looked light years better than a 4th gen SS. The 5th gen was an instant classic. The 16-18 was my favorite camaro GM has made and looks more aggressive than the other two. The 19 was kinda meh. The 20-22 was a safe bet but not aggressive.

I agree with all of that except for the 5th gen stuff. It didn't need the fake vent-bumps and 2016 was a huge improvement. Not to say 5th was bad...it wasn't, it was like 80% of the way there, maybe a smidge more. With a manual transmission, an SS wasn't crazy heavy, but it was a very big car relatively. It's strange to sit in my 2018 having owned a 2010 and how every dimension is smaller. The 2010 styling wasn't bad...but I think it was handicapped from being such a huge car. Looked alright in higher trim versions that sat lower. Due to being smaller, 2016 seemed to kind of have that out of the gate. The big thing about the 5th was it was actually put on a decent chassis...again, maybe not the best ever, but stiff with IRS and overall good traits.

But all that about the earlier years...totally agree. 1st was the best and had good clean lines...it just got wacky after that.