This question reminds me of something I was taught in statistics: correlation does not mean causation.
At the start of the new millennium, sales for the generals twin's, camaro and trans am, had slowed. so they were canceled. oops. anyway, shortly after that the ricer/boy-racer scene exploded after building for a number of years. as a counter-move, ford revamped its mustang, and dodge developed an attitude of performance. Chevy reintroduced the super-sport packages. in 2005 chevy designed a rear wheel drive silver concept car to hit the car show circuit in 2006. The response to the new camaro was overwhelming. 6 months later they announce production plans for a 2009 model year. Every car takes at least 1 year to put into production. More if it is a redesign(C3-C4 corvette for example), and still more if it is completely new.
so, at the risk of being labeled a heretic, I believe that we will have those kids driving around in those stupid little civics to thank for the Camaro and not the mustang.
