Why I don't think the interior has mass market appeal

[SS4EVER]

Yeah, I too disagree.

But I don't drive an Audi, I drive a Cobalt SS, so maybe that's why I think the interior of the Camaro looks fantastic...

[camaro5]

First off - Thank you for posting, to each his own.

Let's face it; The Camaro and the Corvette are freak-mobiles. They are a total disregard for automotive design as we knew it. They are as far from mainstream as you can get. Always have been.

Precisely why I literally dream about both of them. It's why my blood boils when I think of them.

Chevy has something for everyone. Mainstream is the Malibu with an excellent interior. They're selling them as fast as they can make them. Unusual these days.

[DntWrryBeHappy21]

Originally Posted by Shifty 6

Eich,

You are driving a Audi A4. You may have to lower your standards a bit, unless you plan on another Audi. I like the interior of the Camaro, like several have said the radio and HVAC were a concern.

lol i think thats his main problem right there, Audi interiors are sexy....the camaro interior is sexy as well IMO (now granted ive been in audis but not in the new camaro) Both look great in my opinion i love being unique its fun to be different (except when cops are able to nail you because you are the only one with that car in the town but you take the godo with the bad)

Once again, you are entitled to your opinion but the interior has grown on me and i like it. I guess you gotta get used to it....

[toesuf94]

I have to disagree with you on certain points you made;

The door handles being circular give you more to grasp and are less likely to rip your nails off when you open the door and slip. Plus, visually they give the eye a continuous shape to enjoy. The L-shape would end abruptly.

The interior of the car is NOT DESIGNED to appeal to MASS MARKETS. It is designed to appeal to CAMARO/Muscle Car people. You want a mass market interior, go to AVIS and rent a MASS MARKET CAR: ie: Camry, Malibu, Pontiac G6, Mazda 6. All are bland to meh at best (The new 'Bu is sweet, though). The Camaro is NOT a mass market car - not everyone will want one - but those of us that do sure do NOT want to park the Malibu Friday at 5 to hop into our RS/SS with the EXACT same interior stack in it, do we? I am glad that GM took this to the board and had it built. I met with Mr. Settlemire back after the release of the silver concept, and we sat in the car and discussed the interior. The first thing we talked about was NOT destroying the interior with the Bow Tie center stack. He was telling me just how hard of a fight he was having to get corporate to give him the money to keep the Concept style steering wheel! The bean counters were trying to FORCE the parts bin steering wheel into the car (Cobalt/Corvette/Malibu-same steering wheels!). Did not happen, did it? Know why? PASSION by those who were involved in the car's development kept the PARTS BIN ENGINEERING out of the car. This is a good thing. An example: Every time I push the trunk release on my $56k convertible Corvette, I am pushing the image of a Cobalt or some melted bar of soap car that was screened onto the button - and it pisses me off. Same goes for the stereo and other controls in the car (2004). So, it is refreshing to me to see a NEW interior going into EVERY car in the place of the parts bin center stacks we have seen for the past 30 years out of GM. (See also Chevy Cruise, the new Buick, and a few others that have leaked out...no longer sharing interior components.) The Camaro is a first in a long line of changes coming from GM. Rant over.

The plastic door panels DO look a bit shiny and cheesy. I will agree with you on that. Some nice leather wrap will be covering mine after I take delivery.

[DntWrryBeHappy21]

Originally Posted by toesuf94

The plastic door panels DO look a bit shiny and cheesy. I will agree with you on that. Some nice leather wrap will be covering mine after I take delivery.

or you COULD get it without them the door panels are an option with ambient lighting no?

[EllwynX]

The only point I'll agree on is the orange interior panels. But I don't think what was seen on that model was the final materials. The base version we've seen in pics has been much more attractive.

The handles look fine. No better or worse than any other car on the market. Ok, maybe they're better than the handles in my Aveo that resemble those of a La-Z-Boy recliner. LOL

I for one hate having the controls in the center. Our Equinox has the window controls in the center. After months I still reach on the door when I want the window down...

I like the radio/HVAC area of the Camaro. Nice to see something out of the ordinary. I will agree the interior of the Malibu is fantastic though. The G8 is just average imo.

[fldrummer]

I think I'll like the 'maro interior more when I see it in person, as long as it doesn't have the cheesy, shiny panels. I'm not nearly as excited about the interior as I am about the exterior, but it looks a lot better than the G8's interior. I personally think the G8 interior is boring and I've sat in a couple. The Malibu's looks great though. Like others said, this is no Audi, which is known to have some, if not the best, interiors and, while I'd love to have an interior like that, it probably wouldn't work in this car. Of course, once I hit the gas and feel/hear the LS3 rush, I bet I'll quickly forget about any nit-picks I may have about the interior, unless it rattles like some of my past GM cars (knocking on wood that those days are over).

[Nickdago]

Originally Posted by kanys

Wow, excellent post! I could not agree more. I too love this interior more than any car I have looked at, however I realize that this will not appeal to as many people as GM would like. Parts come off as a little "cheesy" or may look a little cheap. I know this is not a luxury car and it should not be a CTS coupe clone as far as interior goes since it is a different class of car. But even cars like the V6 Accord look quite professional inside and at the same time they are practical and sporty.

Again I think they did an amazing job on the interior, I just feel (although I know that it is probably not happening before launch) they should make many of these things like the plastic on the doors a cheap option or something. I do not have as much as a problem with the radio/controls but they may come across as unsophisticated and/or bulky to some people. Heck maybe I am just wanting this car to be a great sucess so badly that I am completely overanalyzing the little details, but that is just my $.02.

Agree totally

[Eich]

Originally Posted by toesuf94

I have to disagree with you on certain points you made;

The door handles being circular give you more to grasp and are less likely to rip your nails off when you open the door and slip. Plus, visually they give the eye a continuous shape to enjoy. The L-shape would end abruptly.
.

There are TONS of cars in the industry with L-Shaped handles. My Audi has them, our Ford Edge has them, my former mercedes had it. The circular handles, in my opinion, just don't look right.

Originally Posted by toesuf94

The interior of the car is NOT DESIGNED to appeal to MASS MARKETS. It is designed to appeal to CAMARO/Muscle Car people. You want a mass market interior, go to AVIS and rent a MASS MARKET CAR: ie: Camry, Malibu, Pontiac G6, Mazda 6. All are bland to meh at best (The new 'Bu is sweet, though). The Camaro is NOT a mass market car
.

Don't tell that to GM. They are hoping this car appeals to a LOT more people than Camaro / Muscle Car people. It's survival depends on it. That's why I'm so surprised that the interior doesn't have more mass appeal. The exterior is gorgeous. And I think a lot of people who were never "Camaro people" but want a sports car will really like it.

Originally Posted by toesuf94

The plastic door panels DO look a bit shiny and cheesy. I will agree with you on that. Some nice leather wrap will be covering mine after I take delivery.

Most people looking to buy a car don't want to wrap anything with aftermarket materials.

I want this car to be a success. I don't hate the interior. But when I purchase, it will be despite the interior.

[Eich]

Originally Posted by DntWrryBeHappy21

lol i think thats his main problem right there, Audi interiors are sexy....the camaro interior is sexy as well IMO (now granted ive been in audis but not in the new camaro) Both look great in my opinion i love being unique its fun to be different (except when cops are able to nail you because you are the only one with that car in the town but you take the godo with the bad)

Once again, you are entitled to your opinion but the interior has grown on me and i like it. I guess you gotta get used to it....

It really has nothing to do with what I'm driving now. I've driven a TON of cars in my 25 year driving history. I've owned Camaros, Corvettes, Benz', Audi and I also drive a Ford Edge as our primary family vehicle.

The center stack area of the Camaro concept car rated so highly because it looked very nice / cool. But its quality metal-like construction didn't translate well into a plastic production piece in my opinion.

Again - I don't hate the interior. But there are a lot of interiors that I prefer over the Camaro's interior. I want the car to be a success so it doesn't die again. Thankfully, the exterior is amazing enough that most people should overlook a few things in the interior if they don't like them.

Personally, as a 40-something professional, I wanted an interior that was a little less "fun" and a little more professional. The Corvette is a good example. I've owned Corvettes for years and with the C6, they really arrived at a nice interior. And with the Malibu, Chevy proved they could build a first class interior without a Corvette/Caddy price tag. Unfortunately, my 2 year old can't ride in a Vette, so I'm looking at the Camaro for my next sports car.

It will be interesting to see how they incorporate a navigation unit into this car. It seems like the center stack area will have to be completely redesigned to do it. Either that, or they're going to design are really funky looking navigation unit to fit into the Camaro's existing center stack.

[Design1stCode2nd]

I'm not a Camaro or Muscle car person and it appeals to me. I find the interior very unique which is very refreshing. I actually like the HVAC controls and I expect from an ergonomic standpoint that they will prove to be very functional. The only thing I'd agree with you on is the plastic inserts in the door. Regardless of if they are colored or not I'd expect them to be made of the same material.

For those at Indy did the yellow RS and the silver SS door panels feel the same?

I still would like an optional interior upgrade package like you have on the vette. If I can and want to spend another 1-2k on a higher grade interior why not offer that choice? I'd love for a GM Individual option and be able to select from a wide variety of interior leather colors and styles. Many Euro manufacturers do this including Audi, VW and BMW.

[Eich]

Hopefully I'll feel differently after seeing it in person. But right now, I don't feel like the interior has mass appeal. It's not bad or ugly, but to me, it's just not the homerun that the exterior is.

I'm sure once I put my foot back in to a V-8, I'll forget about the parts of the interior I have issues with. But I was hoping that I wouldn't have to forget about them.

[Tal]

Personally I believe the premise of the original post is flawed. It won't be the most appealing interior to everyone and cars that try to do so just end up feeling generic. The Camaro has personality to it's design that will gain some admirers and lose others but I don't see it as problematic. I really don't think most people have a fetish for 'L' handles, and the Camaro's look fine. Hard to say more without a chance to try one out in person though. Leather on those sections would be nice, but those panels should look better with the ambient lighting, it might be a good idea to offer leather trim as an optional upgrade to the leather at some point in the future though. I think demand for such a package would be limited, but those who would want such a package would likely be willing to pay enough premium to make it worthwile. As for the center stack, I've seen plenty of 'standard' center stacks that I liked less, hardcore audio nuts will be annoyed but I and most of the mass market really don't care much though I am interested to see how they handle a nav system. The center stack is the one place GM might've made a small mistake but I want to test drive it, using the controls as I'm not worried about it looking different in pictures but what it's like to sit in the car and use.

[CHVY4LF]

The whole point to all the pieces is to be different and new, the mustang and challenger have the same old stereo as everyother car and Gm wanted to be different and ahead of the game with this one. also if you don't like the shiny-ness of the colored door panels don't get them or a cool idea, sand them and put a flat clear on them. i think GM gets an A+ on this interior and i wouldn't change a thing. scratch that, i agree that there was a little to much color on the seats, should have been done like the G8 or Cobalt SS but then again it goes back to being different and unique