Will GM’s Camaro make it to the muscle-car party?
The new Chevy Camaro would seem to have everything going for it: a genuinely storied tradition, a built-in fan base, even a starring role in a blockbuster movie.
But as they say down at The Improv, timing is everything. And in that regard, at least, the Camaro can’t seem to get its act together.
General Motors Corp. expects to have the new Camaro in dealer showrooms during the first quarter of 2009. That would be three years after a Camaro concept car was unveiled as GM’s entry in the current muscle car revival and well behind retro rivals such as the Ford Mustang and Chrysler’s Dodge Challenger.
“I honestly don’t understand what they’re waiting for,” said Dick Guldstrand of Burbank-based Guldstrand Motor Sports.
Certainly, fans of the original Camaro -- many of which were built at the now-closed GM plant in Van Nuys -- are eager to get a look at the new version.
The last Camaro rolled off the assembly line in 2002 and the versions seen since have all been concepts, including the yellow-and-black copy that starred as Bumblebee in last summer’s popcorn hit “Transformers.”
“That was pretty impressive, but I’m waiting to see the real thing,” said Mark Bird of Westminster, a 53-year-old member of the club Cool Runnin’ Camaros of Southern California and the proud owner of a restored 1969. “As for buying one, I’ll have to talk my wife into it.”
GM knows that more than a few of its customers are toe-tapping with impatience. Designing the car around a completely new rear-wheel-drive platform -- rather than using an existing automotive architecture as did Ford and Chrysler -- is the main reason for the long lead time, GM spokeswoman Wendy Clark said.
“Maybe we showed the concept a little early,” she said. “I know it feels like a long time. But it will be worth the wait.”
Or will GM miss the “sweet spot” of the muscle car rebirth? The trend began a few years back when Ford fielded a redesigned Mustang that mimicked the lines of the iconic late ‘60s fire-breather, but came with modern amenities such as fuel injection, air bags and four-wheel disc brakes.
The vintage look proved to be a big hit with baby boomers who recalled the muscle cars of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s such as the Challenger, the Pontiac GTO, the Plymouth Barracuda and the Camaro Z28.
Those cars, fabled as much for their dreadful handling and braking as for their neck-popping straight-line speed, are the new stars of the collectible car circuit, with extremely rare and well-preserved models selling for millions of dollars.
The Camaro concepts seen so far have strong echoes of the 1969 model, considered by many to be the ultimate expression of the car, itself one of the gems of the muscle era.
“If you’re not into it, it’s hard to explain,” said Los Angeles attorney Barry Freeman, 69, who owns two vintage Camaros. “It’s a seduction that people of my generation have never escaped from, nor do I want to.”
The first muscle cars were killed off by a combination of high gasoline prices, a weakening economy, new federal regulations and rising insurance rates.
Those same factors are threatening to choke off the cars’ comeback before the new Camaro even reaches dealers.
“It’s a tough time to be introducing cars like the Challenger and the Camaro,” said Karl Brauer, editor in chief of online auto site Edmunds.com, noting that Mustang sales already began to slide last year.
“The number of muscle cars in the market is a good barometer of how well things are going in the economy, and these cars are late getting to the party.”
It doesn’t help that the new fuel economy standards Congress passed in December will make it tougher for automakers to justify selling big-engined cars that evoke a simpler time. (For example, the high-performance SRT8 version of the new Challenger, due in Dodge dealerships in May, boasts a 6.1-liter Hemi V-8 rated at 425 horsepower -- and 15 miles per gallon in combined city-highway driving.)
The darkening outlook has squelched rumors that other muscle icons such as the Pontiac Firebird were poised for a comeback, according to Brauer.
Auto executives remain optimistic that the boomers who bought muscle cars four decades ago as teenagers are now liquid enough to buy the new tire-smokers no matter what’s going on at the pump.
“The V-8 is typically a third car, and that’s why I believe it’s immune to fuel prices,” said Robert Parker, car marketing manager for Ford. “People want to take it out on weekends or to special events.”
GM also points out that the new Camaro will be available in a more fuel-efficient six-cylinder version, as well as a V-8. (The automaker has yet to release more detailed engine specs, or pricing information, for that matter.)
Fuel economy aside, high-performance variants such as the Challenger SRT8 and the Shelby GT500 Mustang create what car buffs call a halo effect that helps generate buzz and pull in buyers.
“It gets people into the showroom again, and that’s what the automakers need,” said muscle car expert and author Colin Comer.
One Illinois Dodge dealer is trying to capitalize by offering an ’08 Challenger on Ebay for the “buy it now” price of $60,000 -- more than $20,000 above the car’s suggested sticker. That only ups the anxiety level for Chevrolet dealers who want some muscle of their own.
“There’s a lot of interest in it,” John Sackrison, executive director of the Orange County Automobile Dealers Assn., said of the Camaro.
“It would be nice to see it in the dealerships tomorrow, parked right next to the Malibu.”
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