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7th gen Camaro reportedly cancelled

49K views 468 replies 87 participants last post by  rockyspaw 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
#2 ·
Re: No 7th gen Camaro??



2023...kinda makes sense as we have no idea where the passenger car is going that far off into the future. This may be the last real gen of ICE powered cars w/ the advancement of battery tech. Personally, I think we captured another crashed alien spaceship and are in the process of reverse engineering some kind of perpetual motion powered engine. /tinfoilhatoff
 
#5 ·
Re: No 7th gen Camaro??

2023...kinda makes sense as we have no idea where the passenger car is going that far off into the future. This may be the last real gen of ICE powered cars w/ the advancement of battery tech. Personally, I think we captured another crashed alien spaceship and are in the process of reverse engineering some kind of perpetual motion powered engine. /tinfoilhatoff
I would think they're already somewhat designing the next gen Camaro. Or at least planning a heavy MCE (like the CT4-5) on the current Alpha Camaro. I do see a lot of rumors popping up though.
 
#3 ·
Re: No 7th gen Camaro??

I believe it all hinges on sales of the CT4 & CT5 built at the same factory and how well the more expensive Gen8 Corvette sells after initial demand is met. 2023 is quite a ways away.
 
#4 ·
Re: No 7th gen Camaro??

I believe it all hinges on sales of the CT4 & CT5 built at the same factory and how well the more expensive Gen8 Corvette sells after initial demand is met. 2023 is quite a ways away.
Makes sense. And let's see how the cheaper V8s do.
 
#7 ·
Re: No 7th gen Camaro??

Well we know some of team Camaro has been transferred to the EV program, and there is a "sports car" slated to be part of it. One can deduce that the next Camaro will be an EV...

See the covered car above the Bolt's hood below..(4th from the left)

Exactly...the Camaro team moving to EV develpment was the first hint of the shift in focus. It'll be fool-hearted to believe that GM should throw more money at a mainstream ICE powered sports car that far off in the future.
 
#9 ·
7th gen Camaro reportedly cancelled.

https://www.motorauthority.com/news...XTZMULAAEtz3zEQDe3itNnFFXdlt4FeDWeTpyE_wzBbKE


The year 2023 could feel a lot like 2002 for Chevrolet Camaro devotees. According to a new bombshell report, the seventh-generation Camaro program has been suspended and the pony car will likely die early next decade.

Muscle Cars & Trucks broke the news Tuesday, citing "multiple sources within GM." The seventh-gen car was in initial development stages, but the entire program has been relegated to the sixth-generation car's remaining shelf life, per the report.
he current sixth-generation Camaro will supposedly ride out the rest of its life until 2023. That year, the product roadmap expires for Chevy's pony car and it will likely depart the automotive world once again.

Motor Authority reached out to Chevrolet for comment on the story, and Chevrolet issued the following statement: "While we will not engage in speculation, we will remind you of our recently announced updates coming to the Camaro lineup this fall. An all-new LT1 model will provide customers V8 power with the design and affordability of our LT trim. The award-winning SS model will feature a new front fascia from the Camaro Shock concept. All of our updates are customer-driven to improve the car and its driving experience.”

It's been three years since the current Camaro debuted, and since then, the car has seen a mild refresh with a controversial front clip for 2019. Chevrolet quickly sprung an emergency refresh on the car and revised the pony car's nose to a far cleaner look for 2020. To remedy calls for a more affordable V-8-powered model, the 2020 Camaro LT1 trim was introduced. Sales of the current car have been, to put it mildly, rather ho-hum. The car lost 25 percent of its sales in 2018 with just under 51,000 sold.

Chevrolet famously killed off its iconic nameplate in 2002 during the Camaro's fourth generation. The muscle car returned in 2009 for a fifth generation and became a roaring success for Chevy and General Motors. The sixth-generation car has been a far cry from the booming sales succcess of the fifth-generation car, though, despite substantial technological superiority.

The current Camaro rides on GM's Alpha platform, which will be phased out in favor of an updated version dubbed A2XX. The A2XX platform underpins the Cadillac CT4 and CT5, while the ATS and CTS used the old Alpha platform. With the Camaro's demise, it will end the Alpha platform's lifespan for good.

News of a next-generation Camaro has been rather isolated at best. We know GM was actively working on a new Camaro, or at least new powertrains, thanks to a customer survey. The GM survey asked Camaro owners their thoughts on hybrid engines and the turbocharged 2.7-liter inline-4 that debuted in the Chevy Silverado for the Camaro. Adding a dash of worry to the situation was news the Camaro's chief engineer, Al Oppenheiser, was reassigned to GM's electric car team.


Alas, it appears none of it will see the light of day. If there is a seventh-generation Camaro, it probably won't come directly after the current car.

Update: This story has been updated to include comment from Chevrolet and note that the source report said the Camaro will likely die, not that it will die.
 
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#14 ·
Re: 7th gen Camaro reportedly cancelled.

Ehhhh.....IDK about this. Why invest so heavy in CT4 and 5 but not in the actual car that trounces them in sales?

GM has already shown they are willing to throw away billions on Cadillac, what would change that now?

GM’s handling of the Camaro has been abysmal. The 6th gen could have been a home run but they played it safe with styling, ignored criticism and made some poor decisions.
 
#11 ·
Re: 7th gen Camaro reportedly cancelled.

Kinda feels like 1999 all over again, when the rumors starting coming out of GM that the F-body wasn't going to make it past 2002.



But if the car dies, it was because of cost and looks.
Too expensive and too bland. Too foreign looking. Too soft. Didn't look like an American pony/muscle car.
GM shot themselves in the foot when they styled the 6th gen. But what do you expect when Shanghai runs the show.
 
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#17 ·
Re: 7th gen Camaro reportedly cancelled.

But if the car dies, it was because of cost and looks.
Too expensive and too bland. Too foreign looking. Too soft. Didn't look like an American pony/muscle car.
GM shot themselves in the foot when they styled the 6th gen. But what do you expect when Shanghai runs the show.

Soft, bland and foreign looking? I get that it's not for everyone but I just don't see that with either of my 6th gens.

 
#13 ·
Re: 7th gen Camaro reportedly cancelled.

If the report is true it's very, very bad news. '23 cars are really not all that far away in terms of product planning. As poorly as this generation has done in sales, it would be a tremendous disappointment to see the car go away. If GM won't commit to a 7th gen, it's difficult to see how long they could make a car on the current platform profitably with the current sales trends. The tendency of this type of product is to see brisk sales at the start of generations with a taper in later years, and that being the case, I don't know if they can find enough buyers to keep the lights on for many more years with a 6th gen car.
 
#22 ·
How incredibly sad, if so. It is the self fulfilling prophecy. Mess up the 6th Gen (amazing performance car with little to no utility and high price graced with a shrink wrap styling of the previous gen), sales go down. "Fix" the problems, which does nothing to fix the actual issues, then cancel the car due to low sales.

Sigh.

I don't see Ford cancelling the Mustang, and I don't see FCA cancelling the Charger / Challenger. While they may offer a fully electric version in the future, I don't see them telling all of their loyal fans "you WILL buy electric, or you will buy nothing."

I was incredibly sad when I saw the headline. Not surprised, but sad. I still want a 1970 SS Split Bumper. One of my favorite designs of all times. :(
 
#42 · (Edited)
I don't see Ford cancelling the Mustang, and I don't see FCA cancelling the Charger / Challenger. (
While the Camaro and Mustang were rivals the Mustang is more in line with the Corvette in that both are iconically American vehicles. The Camaro was often better than the Mustang, but it was never as deeply embedded in the Chevy brand or the American heart as the Mustang is. The Camaro just couldn't get out of the Vette's shadow in that sense.

As for the Challenger/Charger twins, they're cheap to build, the development expenses have already been amortized so they can continue as long as there is a market. Alpha is apparently too expensive to continue without volume.

As a Ford guy this is all very disappointing as the Camaro's presence made Ford improve the Mustang. I cannot imagine what'd pass for a Mustang if the Camaro hadn't come back as strong as it did. The competition will be missed!
 
#24 ·
Carryover styling, poor utility and outward visibility and a relatively high price will be on the epitaph. And it dies because, rather than address the complaints about the 5th-gen, they simply built a 7/8th's scale version of it, albeit with world class driving dynamics. Unfortunately, with what cars cost today, a $35K-plus car or truck has to justify its space in the garage (at least if you're in the middle class), and the Camaro just doesn't check enough of boxes for enough people. Sad, for such a great driving car.

What blows me away is GM's unwillingness to to address the back seat space issue that has plagued the car essentially since the 1970 1/2 model and has gotten worse with each generation. I mean, I thought my 4th-gens were bad, but they're limousines compared to a 6th-gen.
 
#25 ·
Re: No 7th gen Camaro??

tripowergto . 2023 is quite a ways away.[/QUOTE said:
For all intensive purposes we are talking 3 years away...minimum time for development of a new model. Design work, hard line definition, mockups, prototype creation, extensive performance testing, identifying and signing parts vendors, validating new parts, updating plant tooling, making new sheet metal dies, testing to satisfy all Fed standards, etc, etc, etc needs considerable lead time. There will be no 2023. Packaging and a lazy uninspired 6 gen update signed the death warrant. Also I believe the investment in the new mid engine Vette sucked all the oxygen and dollars out of the room. RIP, Camaro. All hail the promised EVs along with a $75K base vette....and good luck with that!
 
#27 ·
Re: No 7th gen Camaro??

For all intensive purposes we are talking 3 years away...minimum time for development of a new model. Design work, hard line definition, mockups, prototype creation, extensive performance testing, identifying and signing parts vendors, validating new parts, updating plant tooling, making new sheet metal dies, testing to satisfy all Fed standards, etc, etc, etc needs considerable lead time. There will be no 2023. Packaging and a lazy uninspired 6 gen update signed the death warrant. Also I believe the investment in the new mid engine Vette sucked all the oxygen and dollars out of the room. RIP, Camaro. All hail the promised EVs along with a $75K base vette....and good luck with that!
:fall:
 
#26 ·
Re: No 7th gen Camaro??

Zero Zero Zero Mary.

Meanwhile Ford's Mustang has been in constant production since 1964 1/2. Remember the GTO? It came out about the same time as the 'stang. It's gone away twice now.
Challenger ran from 1969-1983 and then started up again in 2008.

All :frankie: electric, all autonomous. Keep repeating, keep repeating, keep repeating...:frankie: yes master, all electric all autonomous, all electric all autonomous, all electric all autonomous, yes master!:frankie:
 
#33 ·
Re: No 7th gen Camaro??

Zero Zero Zero Mary.

Meanwhile Ford's Mustang has been in constant production since 1964 1/2. Remember the GTO? It came out about the same time as the 'stang. It's gone away twice now.
Challenger ran from 1969-1983 and then started up again in 2008.

All :frankie: electric, all autonomous. Keep repeating, keep repeating, keep repeating...:frankie: yes master, all electric all autonomous, all electric all autonomous, all electric all autonomous, yes master!:frankie:
How dare you bring up the 80s Challenger
 
#28 ·
OK I'll say it: I think there will be a Camaro in 2023. It might have a hybrid engine option, it might be based on a moderately tweaked version of Alpha (see CT4/CT5) to save money, heck it might have an EV option. But it'll be around. Especially since Vette has gone midengine.

See you in three years!
 
#31 ·
Re: No 7th gen Camaro??

TBH...I don't think the Camaro is dead...I just think that the Camaro as we know it is dying in 2023, w/ the successor being an EV. Get used to it...we're living in the transitional period right now and it'll be a short transition w/ an almost sudden shift in priority by the Manufacturers from ICE to EV. What better way to ring in the era of the truly mainstream electric car than to start it w/ an 100% Electric Camaro?
 
#65 ·
TBH...I don't think the Camaro is dead...I just think that the Camaro as we know it is dying in 2023, w/ the successor being an EV. Get used to it...we're living in the transitional period right now and it'll be a short transition w/ an almost sudden shift in priority by the Manufacturers from ICE to EV. What better way to ring in the era of the truly mainstream electric car than to start it w/ an 100% Electric Camaro?
OK I'll say it: I think there will be a Camaro in 2023. It might have a hybrid engine option, it might be based on a moderately tweaked version of Alpha (see CT4/CT5) to save money, heck it might have an EV option. But it'll be around. Especially since Vette has gone midengine.

See you in three years!
I think it will be electric as well. We know virtually nothing about the upcoming electric vehicles, not much has been leaked other than we know they are coming. I think we are still to used to the old GM that would leak a lot of information, the new GM knows how to keep its mouth shut.
 
#32 ·
After the CT4 and CT5 launch, can we all realize that Alpha 2 (A2xx) is probably not a thing that will happen? Barring a total sales collapse, I'm not sure why they'd cancel the Camaro over just doing a pocket change redo like the CT4 is of the ATS - that could carry it a few years further. It'd be hard to feel mad about them not moving to a new platform when we all know Chrysler is probably going to be selling re-re-refreshed LX cars for another 10 years.
 
#36 ·
Re: No 7th gen Camaro??

This was just posted a few hours ago.

I have no proof of its validity.

https://www.musclecarsandtrucks.com...s9Ta39nKPme1L3lfccVipSgT8LTDaqUXc1vrsPLEzSZjE

Can this be corroborated?
This is only the second time I've seen this website (both times today), so their track record has yet to be proven.

I believe it all hinges on sales of the CT4 & CT5 built at the same factory and how well the more expensive Gen8 Corvette sells after initial demand is met. 2023 is quite a ways away.
Let's play Devil's advocate here for a second. What kind of sales numbers would GM need to see in order to produce the 7th gen Camaro?

Well we know some of team Camaro has been transferred to the EV program, and there is a "sports car" slated to be part of it. One can deduce that the next Camaro will be an EV...

See the covered car above the Bolt's hood below..(4th from the left)
I hadn't thought of this, but the article talks about the nameplate dying off. I'm not saying that GM won't offer a 2-door Camaro-sized sports car, but if it's only going to offer an EV model of car, it won't carry the Camaro name. Personally, I'm fine with that. Kind of like the rumor of FCA doing a new Viper with an aluminum Hemi engine. To me, Viper has to have 10 cylinders (like the Camaro not being an EV only model). Think up a new name in both instances.

How dare you bring up the 80s Challenger
At least it was RWD. :D
 
#40 ·
Okay, I had to reach out to some old sources and see what they know. I'll post as info comes in.

The 6th gen has been extended another 18 months. Actual work on the 7th gen has not even started yet, if ever.
 
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