Chevrolet - Listen to your customers and Build the Camaro we Want

[The Flash]

@HufferSS :

Well, there is some beating you got in here pal. I quick-read through the entire thread...oouucchhh!!

And I would say that some replies had a rude disrespectful tone, totally uncalled for.

As you pointed out kind of indirectly in one of your entries, there are a lot of inmature kids (I rather say brats) in this part of the forum, yet age provides no excuse.

Now, I kind of think you meant well with your initial comments, even with the example about the Rubicon.

Unlike some of our fellow bloggers I have been a GM loyal customer long enough (about seventeen years now) and committed enough (well over $120,000.00 worth of new vehicles in that time span) to see past brand pride and reckon the shortcommings and defects of our vehicles.

I conceed your point about the short comings in the drivetrain, and suspension, for instance.

Just want to call your attention to the fact that several other top sport car manufacturers also (AND QUITE COMMONLY) fail short on the "owner expectations/car delivery" ranking.

I could mention an embarrasing list of such cars, spanning several years but in the interest of being merciful and brief let's just recollect the recent repeated attemps to get their "tiptronic" settings correct in a famous expensive german sports car... (at last they got it right about a year and half ago,... sort of), or the very, very weak clutch in the entry level car of certain italian brand (an all wheel drive entry level car worth above 200 grand... and a clutch worthy of a Miata) or the recent all wheel drive japanese marvel that kept busting its drive train (drive shafts, half shafts and diff gear set) when launched at full boggie (at first the manufaturer issued a warning not to "strip launch" the car... ¡a sports car!! then later accepted the fault and changed the drivetrain components & design, don't know if they made a recall on previous cars)

I'm not talking about stuff you read in the magazines or the www, but about embarrasing experiences ocurred at local drag race events or when leaving a street light in plain view of every other driver... I witnessed some of these humiliating mishaps myself.

Why is this? When you look down into it, is simply an instrinsic part of the process of designing, developing and manufacturing a business-viable sports car. Cars are human made products... do I need to say more???

My point is, when you look at it in this angle, while not flawless, the CAMARO individual systems, and the car as a whole, is quite a sports car, a lot more reliable than some of the more expensive (a many times underperforming) sports cars in the market.

Yes there is room for improvement, and IF THE MARKET RESPONSE (read annual model purchases) makes a business case then we will see them.

This seems to be the case as GM is committed to release the ZL1 early next year.

Is it valid to complain and whine and say "¡¡¡why next year!!!, ¡¡¡why not now!!" ???? NO.

Next year will be the third year of production of the car; and all of us who rushed to get the car while it was new, while the romance with the media and the press was in full swing, when we were going to be the first ones in our neighborhood, our office building, and our local car club to own it, knew (or should have known) there was a downside to that, a price to pay in that the improvements, the souped up models if they come (if the car would be succesful) will come later on.

Those waiting for the "improved model" were also placing their bets, accepting to come to the game halftime, after the novelty wore off, gambling that there would be a better, souped up car which added/ameliorated performance will reward their patience.

You and me, and many others here are in the same wagon : we wanted "prima note" rights. We got them. Now the novelty is gone. We have a fine, really excellent but not perfected sports car. Period.

Yes, it is true that some of us made quite a gamble, since at the time we placed our purchase orders GM top brass had a hat in their hand and a sign in their chest that read "can you spare some change???".

Yet, it is not fair to cringe now at the shortcomings of the first year model compared to its newest, improved version. There was not a crystal ball to tell even if GM would made it back then.

If you are really commited to get the best factory OEM CAMARO there is, as I think is the actual meaning of your several responses when you explain that there should not be a need to resort to the aftermarket pool of parts & mods, I entirely back your stance but must reckon though, that there is a way to El Dorado even though it is a painful one : sell your current CAMARO, take the hit in the resale price, and buy the ZL1.

The CAMARO you wanted for exists in production plans and if we look at what I attempted to examine, it will be produced at the expected time frame.

It is up to you to decide if you are willing to do and endure what it takes to get it.

I do not want to come out as a patronizing or pontificating S.O.B.; I'm truly sorry if it read like that. I just wanted to give you another perspective in which to look at your own comments, trying to be objective and fair to the situation about which you complain which I believe I have understood.

Safe driving,


The Flash

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by Rogue Leader

Your error is right there in the title



Change that to I and don't speak for the rest of us.



and no I didn't bother to read the thread

That error happens all too often on this site.

[Number 3]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

That error happens all too often on this site.

Wait.....................what? Are you saying that I can't simply post something and just naturally assume that EVERYBODY has the same opinion? Fen, you have destroyed me.




Keep in mind, I've posted the Camaro is not a perfect car. It has many things that make it imperfect in one respect or another. No NAV, no Ambient Lighting on the dash, trunk opening too small, gauges hard to read, 4 pack gauges hard to read, steering wheel is too big (fixed in '12), radio isn't premium enough, spoiler sun roof instead of sliding under the roof, no passenger seat height adj. (fixed in '12). You name the complaint and it's been leveled right here on Camaro5.

But I've taken one of the first ones ever built to California, I've taken Fbodfathers Thor to Florida, I've taken Mrs. Number 3's SS CTF to South Carolina and one of the Camaro Teams CTF convertibles (see sig pic) to Clearwater last year. Blah, blah, blah. But it is the sum of the parts that results in a Camaro that makes you feel perfect. It's a perfect experience. And maybe most importantly, it's perfect in it's potential to be more than what it is.

If you want to improve the car you can. Chassis? We have Pedders and Pfadt. Wheels? Covered (ooooops not hub caps). NAV? Seen those here on Camaro5. Leather wrapped interiors? Yep, you can find those here too. Super Chargers? Turbos? uhhhh huh. Paint? Decals? Sooooo many choices there. You wouldn't believe the Painted stripe I saw on a car at Rodgers Chevrolet week before last. Subtle and simply awesome.

If your Camaro isn't perfect, there is no shortage of people that are willing to help you make it so....................for you and you alone.

So for whatever you find imperfect in the Camaro, the perfect thing is.........................you can make it perfect.

And with that, Chevrolet is constantly thinking of ways to make the car better and more awesome. I don't want to burst anyones bubbles, but pretty much everything you can think up here on Camaro5, the Camaro Team at GM has at a very minimum already considered it. Sometimes those ideas make it, sometimes they don't for various reasons. But count on this, threads like this are likely very little compared to the discussions that GM Engineers, Planners and Marketers have every day working on the Camaro............................................ ..but they don't call each other names. LOL

[ShnOmac]

Originally Posted by Rogue Leader

Your error is right there in the title



Change that to I and don't speak for the rest of us.



and no I didn't bother to read the thread

Originally Posted by Dragoneye

I'm just gonna "+1" this post.

I did read through the thread...but nothing I was ready to write gets to the point any quicker than Rogue Leader did.


EDIT: I will add this:

They did listen. It's just hard to sell things yesterday...

x2

Originally Posted by Weezerj

I aim to please

I don't care who ya are... that's funny right there!

[PETRA]

I cannot believe I sat here and read this thread.... sadly it is a part of my life I can never get back.

But what is more sad is that someone merely posted their opinions on what they want in a Camaro NOW rather than waiting for the "one" that is to come out "soon" and that opinion quickly got turned around and somehow became a blasphemous slander against Chevy.

Really??? Wow... I too am glad I chose never to have kids. God forbid they grow up to be as self inflated as some of you.....

[Pentatonic]

Yea...yea..I see...

...Hmm....

Hey, you know what I tried the other day? Crunchy peanut butter! I was always anti-crunchy peanut butter; usually just eating the smooth peanut butter. But I must say, I think I'm coming around. The crunchy style has it's own unique kind of appeal, ya know?

[NicksVSix]

I dunno...I've always been a smooth guy....and coincidentally I had a smooth vs crunchy debate on my Facebook profile about a week ago and smooth slayed crunchy, 12-3.

[Z/28orSs]

Originally Posted by King Nothing

i agree with the OP. whats sad to me and mindboggling is how my 11 1/2 year old SS can get better times than most new SS camaro's . . . granted your new 5th gens are heavier but you have more hp and tq so chevy kinda failed on that part. but all in all i'm very happy to see the new 5th gen's, i'm a fan of em!!!

i love 4th gens and i own one BUT outside of the ls1/t56 they sucked... and you know it

the 5th gen fixes all of the 4th gen problems it rides better it preforms the same hell it feels like it handles better

TO the op you deff didnt own any older camaros each new gen gets better and better just like ANY other car out there.

the curent camaro is doing what the 4gen camaro / firebird did with a 15%+ price incresse if you dont get y i sad this think about your jeep story but i love your ride and you should too

[ss=scuba steve]

Originally Posted by Pentatonic

Yea...yea..I see...

...Hmm....

Hey, you know what I tried the other day? Crunchy peanut butter! I was always anti-crunchy peanut butter; usually just eating the smooth peanut butter. But I must say, I think I'm coming around. The crunchy style has it's own unique kind of appeal, ya know?

Holy f-ing pootie tang! I was vehemently against the crunchy my whole life. Earlier this year I dipped into the crunchy and I'm hooked. Kudos to you my friend. And oh yeah.......... boxers

[OUR72GTO]

Wow

[HufferSS]

Originally Posted by HufferSS

So what are you saying.......



Oh now you done gone and done it. Don't you dare wish they would change anything.

Originally Posted by Number 3

Heyyyyyyy, I say "meh" all the time. Maybe I'm not old anymore. Thanks!!!!

But wait, no one I'm saying it knows what I mean and they're my age. Maybe I'm still old after all :(

Originally Posted by Z/28orSs

i love 4th gens and i own one BUT outside of the ls1/t56 they sucked... and you know it

the 5th gen fixes all of the 4th gen problems it rides better it preforms the same hell it feels like it handles better

TO the op you deff didnt own any older camaros each new gen gets better and better just like ANY other car out there.

the curent camaro is doing what the 4gen camaro / firebird did with a 15%+ price incresse if you dont get y i sad this think about your jeep story but i love your ride and you should too

I have owned every generation of Camaro....multiple examples of them. I never said they haven't gotten better.

I wonder how short this thread would be if people read what I actually posted instead of what they think I am saying.

[Number 3]

Originally Posted by HufferSS

I wonder how short this thread would be if people read what I actually posted instead of what they think I am saying.

Wars have been fought for less, good sir.

[Caliman93230]

The only bad thing about the camaro it's the weight, puts too much stress on the parts and wastes alot of gas too. if the car was 3500lbs then you would have a better performing car, there are many things GM could have done to lower the weight of the vehicle, like lighter rims, battery, dash, doors ,exhaust, brakes, better suited platform "smaller", lighter materials. Furtherore you would have a car that saves you gas performs like it should,

[SynJax]

I don't care if Chevy builds a car with 800hp and God's gift to axles, and sells it for 25,000 dollars. You lost me at "Learn from Chrysler".