The way i see it they are making a sound business decision, make a low end reasonably powered starter Camaro for the mainstay, then push the v6 - v8 to the enthusiast crowd.
Heh, i can see that cobalt pulling up to me thinking he can take me, and me blowing his arse off the road
As to premium pricing, i think its probably a bad word to use, i think the prices for the base versions will be reasonable, and after that you pay to play. But aint that always the way?