So much for GM protecting the Z/28

[soulsea]

I remember reading numerous articles a while back about how GM was going to be very aggressive in not allowing z/28 clones by not allowing anyone without a Z/28 to purchase any of its trim specific parts. It looks like all that went out the window ... http://www.chevrolet.com/performance...parts/z28.html

Chevy had a Z/28 displayed at SEMA with part numbers for basically every Z/28 specific part:











Personally it makes no difference to me, in fact I always thought that if GM didn't offer things like the aero kit some aftermarket manufacturer would, but I'm sure it'll rub some people the wrong way. I'm somewhat surprised that GM decided to reverse course on this. But then again they also showed at SEMA that they'll let every Stingray owner clone a Z06/Z07, and I know for a fact those guys can get pretty snippy about stuff like that.

Anyhoot, I just thought it was interesting, and if anyone wants to swap some of these parts in now you have some of the PNs.

[Zslash28]

I don't mind it. For me, and in the long run, it is the VIN that counts. Plus having a forum like this to document these cars is a huge plus that the older generations did not have in the past.

I imagine there will be plenty of copy cats, but not so many that youll start seeing Z's all over the place. One thing I have noticed about the 5th gen crowd, everyone does their own thing, to be different from the pack.

Back in 1979 they made nearly 85,000 Z28s, that's 1700 per state, IMHO that is more than all of the '14 or '15 Z/28s on the road right now. Our Z/28s are going to be elusive like the 2000 Cobra R's, when was the last time you saw one of those (mind you, I know they only made 300)?

[ROE]

SO the air intake can not be used on l99 camaros

[The_Blur]

GM has a longstanding frustration with the aftermarket. GM is known for extensive R&D testing and producing, overall, great products. Of course, we the enthusiasts, demand more power and customization to differentiate ourselves from the masses; or, alternatively, demand that our OEM models be special without customization. Usually, the latter group owns high-trim models, like the ZL1 or Z/28 on the Camaro. Similarly, these trends exist for the GT500, Z06, and ZR1, among others.

Getting back to that frustration with the aftermarket, GM has concerns about uncontrolled quality issues. GM can't control OBX exhaust quality just like it can't control ARH quality, and one of these two brands is renowned for excellent build and design while the other is known for low cost. Both find their ways to cars, and GM doesn't want to have their owners think that the car sucks as a whole when your lower grade parts let you down. Of course, GM does want us to go to the track and safely beat opponents. How can we do that without offering the same parts they can get from the Dodge or Ford dealer?

Furthermore, this isn't new. People have been fabricating knock-off parts for generations. These issues may not be apparent to a casual buyer anyway. By taking away the tendency of builders to use aftermarket knock-offs, GM is ensuring the brand retains high acclaim for the long haul. Good cars with bad parts still come to forums to complain, and they might not admit to having crappy parts. Who else has seen a post where someone clearly made a mistake and tried to cover it up or blame GM for their own bad install, bad tune, bad parts, or other mistakes?

Owners of particularly expensive vehicles tend to feel that their cars are fast and unique from the factory. GM agrees, but also points out that the styling is functional. For instance, the "flowtie" is functional for air flow, and the brake ducts contribute to braking performance.

For some reason, these modifications are seen as elite and only worthy of a Z/28, even if a kid in a half-broken Scion tC does the same thing to the car he bought for $5k, albeit with junk parts he or she found on eBay.

Here's the thing. The Camaros—all trims—are on the same platform. Your parts are not special. They bold directly to my car, a 2SS. Although some parts may require substantial modification to get them to work on mine, they will eventually fit due to clearances being the same, mounting points being the same, styling being the same, etcetera.

For the Z/28 or ZL1 buyer, take solace in knowing that your parts work together to outperform the sum of my parts. Throwing a supercharger on my 376 doesn't give me an LSA. There's a lot more to a ZL1. Likewise, the Z/28 is a combination of parts built to harmonize at a performance level outside the envelope of any SS. Can I build a faster SS? Yes, but it won't turn like yours. Can I build a better handling SS? Yes, but it won't be as fast. The balance won't be right. It will still be a Camaro SS.

In closing, just because I can throw Z/28 and ZL1 parts at my Camaro does not make me a faker scrub trying to build a cheap Z-spec Camaro. It makes me an enthusiast who likes functional parts that have been rigorously tested by General Motors and Chevrolet Performance to exceed the prevailing standards of the aftermarket. After all, if you really believed the aftermarket was safer, faster, and featured better handling all at the same time, you, despite your budget for a rich man or woman's Camaro, would drive a Camaro SS with a heavy load of aftermarket goodies. You don't believe that, and so you take your warrantied ("safer" as stated above) Camaro with higher performance ("faster" and "better handling" as stated above) from the factory. Since you believe these mods are safer and higher performance from the factory, why should I be excluded from using just part of your so-called special parts? They're from a factory. They're from a highly popular OEM. People wear Chevy baseball hats. Shouldn't they buy their parts from Chevy as often as possible? Shouldn't Chevrolet benefit from this enthusiasm, not just in the sales process of cars but also in the sales of parts? Should GM stop selling crate motors unless you can prove your car once had the performance motor you request? Should GM stop selling parts altogether, only offering to fix what is broken on your car?

TL;DR—Your car isn't special; it just costed you more, but your car also performs better than mine, because of your OEM parts. It came from the same body and factory as mine, but the sum of your parts performs better than the sum of mine. I want your functional parts, and GM complied. Now, they get to make more money. Deal with it.

[ckaram]

It's a good business strategy. Intakes, suspension mods and a bolt-on spoiler don't make your car a "clone".

[2010SLVRBULIT]

exclusivity instead of for-profit?...please.

[brt3]

It's fine by me. My car is still a Z/28, and you can't add these parts to another 5th Gen Camaro and make it a Z/28. I'm just happy the Z/28 exists, and I'm also happy for the people who couldn't afford the Z/28 -- but who can now upgrade their parts, one at a time, as they can afford it. It's so much better to have factory engineered parts, developed on the Nordschleife. This is a win/win...

[CCMADONNA]

i am not gonna track my car or go bat-outta-hell crazy.
the only thing i would like is the Flowtie grille on my 2SS/RS L99.
just for looks.
what is wrong with that?
it's not like i want to put the badges on…...

[Bad@ssCamaro]

@ TheBlur, IMO, I would disagree with your statement of saying that the Z/28 isn't special. With the amount of R&D into the development of the car to become a supercar competitor, I would say it is special, given the interest from the Porsche, BMW, Ferrari, etc, crowd. In that sense it is special.

But from a business perspective, as others have stated, it makes sense to have certain parts available to enthusiasts that want to enhance their vehicles. Yet, there are still a few parts that are difficult to attain to being able to make any car a Z/28 clone. Someone would have to spend some serious cash to try to replicate the car at this point. Possibly in the future it might be profitable enough to do so, But I don't think we'll see the level of cloning like that from the 70's.

In closing, The Z/28 as a car is special, yet the components individually that make up the Z/28 are not unique enough to be considered special to just the Z/28 model.

[The_Blur]

Originally Posted by Bad@ssCamaro

@ TheBlur, IMO, I would disagree with your statement of saying that the Z/28 isn't special. With the amount of R&D into the development of the car to become a supercar competitor, I would say it is special, given the interest from the Porsche, BMW, Ferrari, etc, crowd. In that sense it is special.

But from a business perspective, as others have stated, it makes sense to have certain parts available to enthusiasts that want to enhance their vehicles. Yet, there are still a few parts that are difficult to attain to being able to make any car a Z/28 clone. Someone would have to spend some serious cash to try to replicate the car at this point. Possibly in the future it might be profitable enough to do so, But I don't think we'll see the level of cloning like that from the 70's.

In closing, The Z/28 as a car is special, yet the components individually that make up the Z/28 are not unique enough to be considered special to just the Z/28 model.

Allow me to rephrase because you're right. The Z/28 is special from a heritage standpoint. From a logistics perspective, it's the same metal as another Camaro with some parts replaced with others. Of course, all Camaros have a strong heritage, which is part of why we like them over alternatives. Uniqueness is a better way to express what I was saying.

On your cloning discussion, you're right. We won't see a lot of cloning yet because it just isn't worth the cost. For all the replacement parts, the work would end up costing substantially more than the difference.

[soulsea]

Originally Posted by The_Blur

Deal with it.

Okay ... but I'm not sure who on this thread isn't dealing with it.

I found the original article on gmauthority from back in April ... in fact the thoughts I posted back then (before I ever knew I was going to own a Z/28) to a great degree echo yours:

Erm, you guys do know that there’s a multi billion dollar aftermarket part industry which will be more than happy to step in and provide any part GM decides it doesn’t want to. Heck, they’ll build the part even if GM does make them available to the general public and just sell it for half price. Ironically enough when I was at SEMA last year GM had a significant presence encouraging this very industry.

So many people fail to grasp why we like to modify our vehicles … for every crook who might try to sell an Z28 clone based on an SS there are thousands who are simply enthusiasts who like to personalize their vehicles. Tahoe/Yukon owners have been buying Escalade parts for years and I’ve yet to see a buyer stupid enough to buy a Tahoe thinking that it is an Esky. Nor do I see Camaro owners buying SS or ZL1 parts trying to sell their base model as an SS or ZL1 … but even if this were the case somehow GM doesn’t care to stop selling those parts.

This is what happens when executives have meetings for nothing and have to make decisions to justify themselves and said meetings. And in the process GM ends up losing hundreds of thousands of dollars of profit trying to mitigate a scenario that will either never happen or will happen so rarely as to negate any justification from preemptive action.

We’re not in the late 60s any more, long gone are the days when a person could pass a Tempest for a GTO. Models and parts are easily identifiable to anyone armed with an internet connection and half a brain. These draconian measures are pointless, profit denying, and more than anything else, removed from reality.
But like I said, where there’s a market someone will fill the gap, so this is really nothing that even merits discussion other than to note the absurd.


Read more: http://gmauthority.com/blog/2014/04/...#ixzz3IbZJEMXC

I still fee the same way as a Z/28 owner.

Still, I thought the change in strategy from GM was noteworthy.

[Todd in Vancouver]

I would imagine the meeting went like this;

GM guy A " and we are not going to allow anyone to buy the Z/28 parts for their car"

GM guy B " well, if we don't sell them then the aftermarket will copy our parts and sell them to the Enthusiasts"

GM guy A " make sure all our parts for the Z/28 are on sale at SEMA this year"

It just doesn't make sense to forgo all the possible sales that are out there to protect a specific model when there is a need or demand. They are in the business to make money..

[The_Blur]

Originally Posted by soulsea

Okay ... but I'm not sure who on this thread isn't dealing with it.

I found the original article on gmauthority from back in April ... in fact the thoughts I posted back then (before I ever knew I was going to own a Z/28) to a great degree echo yours:

Erm, you guys do know that there’s a multi billion dollar aftermarket part industry which will be more than happy to step in and provide any part GM decides it doesn’t want to. Heck, they’ll build the part even if GM does make them available to the general public and just sell it for half price. Ironically enough when I was at SEMA last year GM had a significant presence encouraging this very industry.

So many people fail to grasp why we like to modify our vehicles … for every crook who might try to sell an Z28 clone based on an SS there are thousands who are simply enthusiasts who like to personalize their vehicles. Tahoe/Yukon owners have been buying Escalade parts for years and I’ve yet to see a buyer stupid enough to buy a Tahoe thinking that it is an Esky. Nor do I see Camaro owners buying SS or ZL1 parts trying to sell their base model as an SS or ZL1 … but even if this were the case somehow GM doesn’t care to stop selling those parts.

This is what happens when executives have meetings for nothing and have to make decisions to justify themselves and said meetings. And in the process GM ends up losing hundreds of thousands of dollars of profit trying to mitigate a scenario that will either never happen or will happen so rarely as to negate any justification from preemptive action.

We’re not in the late 60s any more, long gone are the days when a person could pass a Tempest for a GTO. Models and parts are easily identifiable to anyone armed with an internet connection and half a brain. These draconian measures are pointless, profit denying, and more than anything else, removed from reality.
But like I said, where there’s a market someone will fill the gap, so this is really nothing that even merits discussion other than to note the absurd.


Read more: http://gmauthority.com/blog/2014/04/...#ixzz3IbZJEMXC

I still fee the same way as a Z/28 owner.

Still, I thought the change in strategy from GM was noteworthy.

It wasn't always that we accepted this reality. In previous threads on similar topics, many enthusiasts angrily mashed their keyboards over V6 and SS owners with OEM parts from other trims. My comment, part sarcastic, was directed at those keyboard critics.

The change in strategy is noteworthy indeed and a welcome change, too. It has been my opinion for some time that Chevrolet Performance could be a leader in aftermarket options if only they were willing to offer OEM parts and reasonable upgrades at the counter. Besides, how many of us would use those parts over other name brands? They could have made a lot of money by now off Camaro owners if they marketed their products to end users the way Mopar and Ford Racing do.

[tw78911sc]

GM guy B "make sure you let them know all the parts will render their warranty worthless, so they are just going to buy after market stuff anyways since it will be cheaper."

Originally Posted by Todd in Vancouver

I would imagine the meeting went like this;

GM guy A " and we are not going to allow anyone to buy the Z/28 parts for their car"

GM guy B " well, if we don't sell them then the aftermarket will copy our parts and sell them to the Enthusiasts"

GM guy A " make sure all our parts for the Z/28 are on sale at SEMA this year"

It just doesn't make sense to forgo all the possible sales that are out there to protect a specific model when there is a need or demand. They are in the business to make money..