Z28 coming on in August?

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by GM4lyfe

Do you mean late '08?

Thats why I said the standard used to be. I'm not shure if thats followed anymore or what it is.

whoops, my bad. Yes, I meant 2008

[Milk 1027]

I have a friend who knows a guy who's best firiend's girlfriend's father works with GM and he says, it will be under 50K and available early 2012...........

[KKreme15]

Originally Posted by Milk 1027

I have a friend who knows a guy who's best firiend's girlfriend's father works with GM and he says, it will be under 50K and available early 2012...........

Yeah, I think I slept with his cousin's niece.

[Camaro_Corvette]

Originally Posted by SILVERHAWK

I can see the Z28 realistically running around the 50k mark, but if it goes much more than that they may have people going to the Vette instead when you start talking that kind of money.

Apples and Oranges. Apples are okay, but I love Oranges. Depending on the situation, I will still grab an apple. Why? Because it's easier to eat, and it's still pretty good.


I'm a vette guy, and even I can tell you. Just because a Camaro is the same price as a vette, doesn't mean that every single guy is going to push people out of the way to get a vette instead. The camaro is a totally different animal, fruit, or vegetable. However the hell you want to look at it. Not everybody loves the vette anyways. Take my dad for example. He would take a Camaro over a Corvette any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Sadly, he would rather have a third challenger than buy a Camaro.

[SILVERHAWK]

Originally Posted by Camaro_Corvette

Apples and Oranges. Apples are okay, but I love Oranges. Depending on the situation, I will still grab an apple. Why? Because it's easier to eat, and it's still pretty good.


I'm a vette guy, and even I can tell you. Just because a Camaro is the same price as a vette, doesn't mean that every single guy is going to push people out of the way to get a vette instead. The camaro is a totally different animal, fruit, or vegetable. However the hell you want to look at it. Not everybody loves the vette anyways. Take my dad for example. He would take a Camaro over a Corvette any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Sadly, he would rather have a third challenger than buy a Camaro.

Yeah, I see your point. I guess I should have qualified my comment better. In my case, I love my Camaro, its the second one I've owned, but if (just hypothetically) I would have had to spend 49K for my SS instead of 39K like I did, I would have just gone for the Vette. Every model has a limit as to how much someone is willing to pay for it at least if they aren't really a loyal person to that model. If you start talking 55-60k for a Z28--- Chevy will get the loyatlists for sure but for the performance person thats not married to the Camaro, they will start moving to the Vette if they are going to spend that much money. Of course looking at the overall picture GM doesn't care as long as it another Chevy sale for their bottom line.

[Mr. Wyndham]

I like the Vette/Camaro conversations. Maybe because I was there, once.

The Corvette serves a different purpose than the Camaro. In terms of fleet positioning, performance, social status (in the car world), and most importantly, to its owner.

If the vehicle is a secondary "toy"...then the tossup is easier. But if it's the only car, a daily driver...the Camaro begins to earn some serious points in comfort, and general 'live-ability'. Consider that if you have $50k to spend on a Camaro or a Corvette...one will be stripped down to factory basics, and the other will be optioned to the moon with convenience features. (You'll need to spend at least 54k to get a HUD in a Corvette, just for example)

I found that I was a Camaro guy after some "soul searching"...if you wanna call it that. The two-seat configuration isn't for me, and I liked the character of the Camaro better. Certainly doesn't change the fact that a Corvette could drive circles around an SS...but that's not all there is to it.

[CyberDude]

It would be nice if it came out in May of 2011. You only really could drive it from May to November if you live in the North Eastern part of the country because of Winter.

Don't be suprised of the first Z28 Camaros are selling for around $60K +. If you check the price for a loaded 2011 Shelby GT500 it's $55,537. You would think the Z28 will be around the same price and depending on the fuel economy there might be a gas guzzler tax of around $1,500. Then of course the dealer markup. It there's a limited production it will probably even be hard to get one at stick price. GM has offered very limited rebates on the Camaros and surely aren't going to be giving this one away.

[x626xBlack]

This may or may not be new news to some of you. I was at my dealership last weekend talking to my sales guy. He said the GM rep was there a few days earlier and the Z-28 would be limited production. More of a "Boutique Car" as he put it.

This is because of the new governmental guidelines regarding fuel efficiency. It seems for every Z-28 they build they have to build 1.5-2.5 Chevy Volts to off set the Z-28's MPG.

Limited Production will definitely drive up the price.

[Dan@showstopper]

Originally Posted by x626xBlack

This may or may not be new news to some of you. I was at my dealership last weekend talking to my sales guy. He said the GM rep was there a few days earlier and the Z-28 would be limited production. More of a "Boutique Car" as he put it.

This is because of the new governmental guidelines regarding fuel efficiency. It seems for every Z-28 they build they have to build 1.5-2.5 Chevy Volts to off set the Z-28's MPG.

Limited Production will definitely drive up the price.

Remember when the SS was rumored to be "limited production"?

[Shurenuff]

Originally Posted by Dan@showstopper

Remember when the SS was rumored to be "limited production"?

Exactly. GM will build as many as demand dictates. They're trying to turn a profit, not create a collectors car.

Even with that said, it will be a relatively low production car (after initial demand wears off) because not everyone of the Camaro enthusiasts have the means to buy one. Those that do have the means but are not hardcore Camaro enthusiasts may look elsewhere.

The production of this car will not do much to affect fleet averages during the 3-4 years that it will be produced to warrant a very limited production IMO.

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by x626xBlack

This may or may not be new news to some of you. I was at my dealership last weekend talking to my sales guy. He said the GM rep was there a few days earlier and the Z-28 would be limited production. More of a "Boutique Car" as he put it.

This is because of the new governmental guidelines regarding fuel efficiency. It seems for every Z-28 they build they have to build 1.5-2.5 Chevy Volts to off set the Z-28's MPG.

Limited Production will definitely drive up the price.

Thats total BS. If anything, the Volt will off-set 2.5 Z28's. With an EPA rating of 60 mpg combined composite for the Volt, its CAFE score is going to be at least ~75 mpg, and potentially an awful lot more (as much as 120). I'm just estimating here, but the Z28 will probably have an EPA average of around 18 mpg combined, maybe 19. But its CAFE score would be up around 21-22 mpg though. So to 'cancel' its low CAFE score and to meet the 35 mpg average, it would only need one car with a 48-49 mpg CAFE score (I don't think GM has anything in that range), or two with a 42 mpg score (such as the Cruze Eco).

[Mr. Wyndham]

Lower demand than an SS doesn't exactly equate to "limited production"....

[thePill]

I can see the Z28 limited to well below 10,000 units. Depending on the MSRP, it could be as low as 5000 a year. I doubt GM will officially announce the total number produced to keep dealers from marking them up too much like the GT500. Like the GT500, the Z28 purpose will be to get people into the dealership, something to attract attention. Having the money to buy a car with the halo effect is one thing, but maintaining high monthly payments and insurance on a S/C 6.2 V8 that cost $50k will only appeal to very few.

Will the Z28 come out in August? I hope so. Let's put ourselves in GMs marketing shoes, obviously the Z is intended to compete with the 500 in every aspect. Since order banks are already open for the '12 GT500 and remains unchanged this time gives GM nothing new to benchmark the Z28 from. As long as the Z28 is ahead in all areas of performance, an April release would be good but would give Ford a benchmark for the possible SVT Cobra in 13.

A Transformer 3 promotion on opening day could work too, but if the movie opens nationwide only a few theaters would host the promotion event and most people will be missing out. August might not be a good idea, That would also give Ford a finished product and any news about a improved SVT model might over shadow the Zs debut (remember the 312hp bump on the V6). An August release would give GM the win against the '12 GT500 but how long would it last knowing Ford is waiting for the specs.

A late 2011 release would be better, although it sucks to wait that long, any news on a top tier Ford would already surface by then. It looks like Ford has adjusted the SVT Mustangs MY so that they will begin production on 1 Jan and show up on dealer lots in early spring (March). Im not sure if that was intentionally done to put GM in a tight spot or because last years GT500 sold very fast and they wanted a complete 12 months to push MY units.

GM could pull the trigger in April and be very successful but according to the buzz that won't happen. I don't understand why GM would prolong the release now that Ford announced nothing for the final GT500 MY. Releasing in August gives them the same
marketing advantage as an April release except performance vehicles sell better in the spring and they could enjoy a longer margin of victory throughout the summer.

August just doesn't seem to have any advantages as a good release date. GMs best bet would be a happy medium between April and August... I think that the Z on the lots at the end of May would be nice... Right in time for those tax returns.

[Mr. Wyndham]

I would put money on this car being released on a normal schedule to be a '12 MY car. But that's a guess.

On the other hand, I'm fairly confident that the price of the car will limit its production rate without the need for any artificial limits. If I'm not mistaken, they haven't even 'limited' the ZR1, or CTS-V's production rate.