For the right people, yes. Some Americans want a Smart Car and some want an F-350.
The buyers for cars like the 2SS don’t have $37K and their credit report rules out any chance of financing. Then you must deal with your insurance agent, who will extract more blood money… So the buyers will be limited to those wealthy collectors who flock to low production muscle cars hoping to make money at some car auction 20 years down the road…They can hype it all they want, it’s still a 60 year old engine design, push-rod, 2 valve…
There’s going to be an expensive, high-end supercar from Lexus soon.
The Lexus LF-A. 500 hp V-10, 8-speed tranny, yadda, yadda, yadda.
Return of the Supra?
Interesting…when I asked the saleman who would buy this car? His reply was a collector. Someone would buy it and store it for the next 20 years…
I also test drove the 6 cylinder model (305 HP with an automatic). The MSRP was about $29K (and the salesman said he’d get $29K). That car may be a bit more practical. At least something someone would use daily. A least my wife liked it. But that car was still on the lot too.
“The Charger is no throwback car.”
I think it is meant to be, though less true to the original than the Challenger. And the Charger is available with two V8s, including the 6.1L 425HP/420lb-ft hemi. I’m glad it doesn’t look like the original Charger; I’m not fond of that design anymore.
“We were all junkies at one time and measured our manhood by the length of our skid marks…it’s time to consume healthier products, excluding 420 hp Camaros. Stop the race to the bottom !”
The Camaro is also available with a 6-cyl with 304HP/294lb-ft and gets 17 MPG city and 29 MPG highway. And MSRP starts less than $23,000. That seems like a pretty good deal for a quick car that gets good mileage. Apparently you grew up somewhere along the way, and that’s OK. But wouldn’t it be nice if today’s young adults could have a little fun while they grow up?
Young adults have a lot of choices at the low $20s such as Mazdaspeed 3, Hyundai Genesis Coupe, Mini Cooper S, Subaru WRX, even the Chevy Cobalt SS. The Camaro was one of the few choices in the past. Today, GM is offering what the young adults’ parents had. Is that necessarily what the young adults want?
I expect more from a company that’s capable of building the CTS-V and the Corvette.
It should be noted that the Corvette ZO6 and ZR1 make due with “60 year old engine design, push-rod, 2 valve” engines and compete with cars 2 or 3 times their price. Plus they get decent mileage to boot. The Z06 has a 7 liter V8 and is known to get better than 25 MPG on the highway. There’s nothing wrong with using what works.
“But that car was still on the lot too.”
When did it arrive on the lot, and how many did the dealer take delivery on since the new model year started? The Camry is a popular car, and there are oodles of them on dealer’s lots everywhere. I don’t understand how being on the dealer’s lot immediately makes it unpopular.
“The Z06 has a 7 liter V8 and is known to get better than 25 MPG on the highway”
What highway would that be?? The Cadillac CTS-V uses the same engine (Boris Duntov would be proud) but it takes a 30 MPH tailwind for it to see 25 MPG…Caddy dealers can’t get enough of them…
But you are right…Simple and cheap usually wins out over complex and expensive, especially with street iron…
With due respect, I can’t help but imagine that these cars are built for baby boomers who wanted these cars 40 years ago, but couldn’t afford them at the time. So you see them making a comeback today purely out of nostalgia and retro coolness.
Only if someone else builds it and sells it. Let them go bankrupt; be purchased at auction; and become reincarnated with new executives.
Nope! The new CTS V uses a supercharged version of the regular 6.2 litre 'vette mill for 556 HP, not the 7 litre Z 06 engine.
Corvettes, with their very tall top gear, really can push 30 MPG highway.
my2cents–
You never said what you didn’t like about it? GM has moved a bunch of them around here…the V6 is a great balance of performance and economy. It’s probably not practical for a family man…but neither was a '68 Firebird.
The Camaro a different car in many ways. A young adult pulled up behind me in one a couple of days ago. And the Mustang still seems to be popular with younger folks, too. I think your comment about the great expectations is a cheap shot. Should we be disappointed that the Nissan Sentra SE-R is a mere shadow of the GT-R or G37? The Sentra fits its class and provides what some people want for about $20,000, just like the 6-cyl. Camaro. But the GM cars you mention start near $40,000 and go up to $110,000. You get what you pay for. Except maybe the 6-cyl Camaro, which is a screaming bargain.
I saw a new Camero in the super market parking lot…No visible exhausts sticking out the back so it must have been equipped with a mundane engine…But no matter, it was a great looking car and GM should sell many of them…Very few will be equipped with 420hp engines…
What I meant was that Camaro is not the only fun car that young adults buy. Each of those that I listed are different in their own ways. To me, a 3800lb coupe such as the Camaro is more show than go. I’m not saying that the Camaro should hang with the Vette. But it isn’t an optimized sports car that GM wants us to believe it is. All the cars that I mentioned, and including the Sentra SE-R, tried to be the best sports car that they can at the price.
Does a Corvette look like the ones from the 60s? Does a CTS look like an old Cadillac? How about the Cobalt SS? None of them needed to; they all excel on their own dynamic merits.
I never said I didn’t like the Camaro (reread the original post). My comment was about the 2SS (6.2L, 426HP, 6 speed manual) and the MSRP of about $37K but the dealer telling me he would get $40ishK. Hence one of my questions: Is This the Car America Wants?
are you asking “wants”? or “can afford”? the way the question is worded, you imply “would you roll around town in this?”.
wants? most definetly.
can afford? no, not new. but thats why they made the V6, for those that are bent on getting a new car, but dont want to spend crazy money (a contradiction if there ever was).