The Corvette engine, whether potential production material or not, is a lot more likely to do time in a future Camaro than the
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| The Camaro Concept's interior is ruddy stunning, but being that GM will want to enter the lower end of the coupe market, something less outlandish will probably make the cut. (Photo: General Motors of Canada) |
concept's interior treatment. Don't get me wrong, its ruddy stunning, but being that GM will, once again, want to enter the lower end of the coupe market, something less outlandish will probably make the cut. For now, however, a quick study of what GM's designers laboured so diligently over prior to letting the proverbial cat out of the bag (reportedly keeping the lid on this show "surprise" was much more challenging than actually developing the car) would be fitting.
Black and gold is the interior theme, a motif that is more Trans Am than Z28; if you can remember way back to 1977 and Burt Reynolds' ride in Smokey and the Bandit - man I wanted that
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| Some of the interior details are stunningly gorgeous. (Photo: General Motors of Canada) |
car. This one? Well not as much, but not because of its stellar cabin. GM says the interior contrast colour isn't gold, but orange, and as such it pays homage to a design theme offered in its first-generation Camaros. So be it.
"The fact that the Camaro has been out of production for a number of years made it particularly important that the Camaro Concept honors the Camaro heritage in the right way," commented Bob Boniface, director of the Warren Advanced Design Studio.
The original didn't come with orange tinted gauges, mind you, nor the acres of brushed metal trim or sophisticated, fully bolstered race-like bucket seats. Yes, the concept shows off a stunning interior, quite obviously too good for this class. So enjoy it while you can, because whatever the General comes to market with won't be as stylish or as well put together, but, as displayed in its most recent production cars, it'll be good enough not to turn off would-be buyers.
So, if GM were to bring back the Camaro looking just like this concept would
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| The original Camaro didn't come with orange tinted gauges, nor the acres of brushed metal trim or sophisticated, fully bolstered race-like bucket seats. (Photo: General Motors of Canada) |
it be capable of selling 699,000 examples, just like the original did during its first three years of production. Not likely, and that's not just because the concept, as it sits, will only appeal to a small margin of potential buyers. Yes, there are some that go gaga for glitz and glam, just like there were buyers for the black and gold "screaming chicken" Trans Am back in the mid- to late-'70s - I would have been one too if only my weekend odd-job money was even sufficient for the down payment (although something tells me GMAC wouldn't have given credit to a kid of fourteen years).
"Millions of people of all ages fell in love with the Camaro for all of the right reasons," said Ed Welburn, GM vice president, global design. "Camaros were beautiful to look at and offered performance that could rival expensive European GTs. Yet they were practical enough to drive every day and priced within the reach of many new car buyers."
Just like with the original Camaro, many buyers will want something with a little less
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| The car that showed up at last month's NAIAS stage is more of a niche product, juicing up diehard Z28 fans but hardly the type of car that could win over the masses. (Photo: Justin Couture, Canadian Auto Press) |
testosterone, something a little classier. A Berlinetta maybe? Yes, that's it. And with the respect to the concept, there's no way it could be toned down enough to appeal to such a buyer. The car that showed up at last month's NAIAS stage is more of a niche product, juicing up the diehard Z28 fans, but hardly the type of car that could win over the masses like Ford's new Mustang has. That's why I think it may only resemble the real deal in principle, or more specifically, Chevy will continue to pay its respect to previous models, particularly the '69, when it comes forward with a production version of its upcoming Camaro. When will it arrive? Next year maybe, or possibly the year after; but no later than the 2008 show.
