GM: New Camaro will be affordable, not a fire-breather
CHICAGO — General Motors will borrow some marketing savvy from the Ford Mustang to sell the Chevrolet Camaro.
The Mustang lesson: Low-priced V-6 models established the brand.
Troy Clarke, president of GM North America, said that the Mustang, launched in 1964, succeeded because it stayed true to its roots as "a very affordable car to a very broad base of people."
High-performance V-8 models, such as the Mustang Cobra and Shelby Mustang, create buzz and draw buyers to showrooms, he said.
The Camaro coupe goes on sale in February 2009. The convertible follows about nine months later.
Clarke expects most Camaros will be equipped with a V-6 engine. A Chevrolet source said the car will be offered with a 3.6-liter V-6, producing about 281 hp.
"We know that the mission with the Camaro isn't to create a specialty vehicle with a very narrow appeal that is very much subject to your wallet," Clarke said at the auto show here. "It is going to be a great base car that is going to have a very broad appeal.
"The concept of the car will evolve into a really fun-to-drive, stylish vehicle, as opposed to something that just breathes fire and has more cubic inches than the next guy."
More From Automotive News:
B-P-G: No Trans Am for Pontiac
Jamie LaReau
Automotive News
February 11, 2008 - 9:55 pm ET
Buick, Pontiac and GMC dealers will get 12 new or special-edition vehicles over the next 20 months — but they won't get a Pontiac Trans Am.
Pontiac had lobbied for a sibling vehicle to the Chevrolet Camaro, which is scheduled to arrive in February 2009.
General Motors' plan to make Pontiac a rear-wheel-drive performance car division is likely to be scaled back because of fuel economy regulations, GM leaders told dealers at the make meeting.
One dealer said the business case for the Trans Am didn't compute.
"It was an economic situation," said Lynn Thompson, owner of Thompson Motor Sales in Springfield, Mo. "It would cost $200 million to bring out the vehicle."
Pontiac will remain a car-only brand for the foreseeable future, dealers were told. But because of new legislation requiring vehicles to reach a fleet average of 35 mpg by 2020, Pontiac might not end up as GM's performance division, dealers said they were told.
"The plan is being tweaked because of the gas situation," Thompson said. "I hope they don't give up on performance because they don't have to. You can use four-cylinder engines to achieve incredible power."
B-P-G will give dealers six new or special-edition vehicles — such as the special-edition GMC Sierra pickup, called Pro Grade — this year. They will get another six next year, dealers who attended the meeting told Automotive News.
Executives also told dealers GM will build nearly 55,000 Buick Enclave crossovers this year. Dealers said Jim Bunnell, head of Buick-Pontiac-GMC, told them GM increased Enclave production by 41 percent from the initial production plan. A dealer said Bunnell told them Buick built 6,400 Enclaves in January, and then added, "But it's still not enough."
281hp 3.6L sounds nice. [8D]
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I wan't to know what the v-8 is going to put out and how much the Camaro is actually going to weigh.....who cares about the v6 lol[:'(]. I never thought I would say this but the look of the taillights on the gen 5 camaro are almost enough to make up for any short coming I can imagine. However, we'll see how the '10 mustang turns out too, and how much lighter it will hopefully be...
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Has anyone ever noticed that GM owners think they know more about Ford engines than the people that actually own them?
I think its neat that sucha small sixer puts out that much power. They use the same 3.6L in some caddies right now and there producing 304HP.
There actually really advanced motors.
well the CTS uses two versions of the 3.6L, one version is a VVT 3.6L with 258 hp and 252 lb-tq, the other verion is the VVT DI 3.6L which bumps it up to 304 hp and 274 lb-tq
they are really advanced but i see the Camaro getting the VVT 3.6L with 258 hp and 252 lb-tq.....still very good for a base model
Camaro Motor and other info.
