Who thinks this is unacceptable??

[Moose]

The "final word" from Scott;

From the very beginning -- I -- and several others -- felt that it was crucial to bring the Camaro Enthusiast community into as many events and decisions as possible.

I cannot make that decision -- the decision is made at the very top of the company. We (John/Cheryl/myself and others) had to convince Corporate Leadership that this was a great idea and that there was no down-side............and I would have bet every cent to my name that there would have been no down-side...

I also know that no other car company has ever been more 'open' about a new car.......especially a car as endeared and revered as the Camaro.

We felt strongly that we should have input from the Camaro Enthusiast community.








................

We tried to keep the car hidden until proper pictures could be taken...........and, as most of us know, pictures hit the web of the black and white IVERs...............and one of the first 'panics du jour' was "THE HEADLIGHTS!!! Horrible remarks...........and of course I tried for weeks to explain "They aren't the real headlights!" -- someone FINALLY came up with a smiley so that I didn't have to keep repeating myself.......

.........and then there was the unauthorized picture of the interior with all that tape..................horrors!

.....................and then there was the Shunt Saga -- ( what a hoot! -- that was fun because it made me laugh on some days where it was impossible for me to even smile....)

Then the picture of the white car in the garage leaked -- all due to an overzealous person who was 'well-meaning' -- again -- people went crazy -- even though many of us said "slow down -- not a good picture -- you'd better withhold judgement......." -- and when you look back, you realize how ridiculous it all was -- and how we wasted so much time and energy..........

(.........and can someone please explain what's wrong with being a 'fan-boy' as some claim?
I keep hearing "fanboy" -- as if it's something to be ashamed of........

Is it shameful to be enthusiastic?

Is it some badge of honor to bash those who show enthusiasm?

Why is it that when someone supports us, they're wrong for doing so -- or, it seems it's implied that they must be "challenged" in order to agree with us..........?? Why is that???? Does that not just sound a bit shameful???)


Now --

Let's talk about two items that are co-joined...............

Ambient Lighting

and

Mr. Hendrick's Camaro.


Ambient Lighting first --

What a great idea! But look at the uproar when we announced that it will only be in the doors for now and not on the I.P. applique!

Had we just never talked about it to anyone on the 'outside'.......and kept the Camaro under wraps -- we would not have this issue because you can't usually get upset about something that you've never heard of before.........but no --- we talked about it....you asked us to be open and sharing -- and we were -- and you saw the furor.........

Our teams worked so hard to get this feature in the car -- but there were issues -- such as 'fit and finish' (pay attention to those last three words - - 'fit and finish' -- 'cause we'll get back to them in a minute...)

You cannot begin to imagine the man hours that were invested just on this one feature. Why did we do it? Because you wanted it!

And WE wanted it!!

And we wanted to deliver...........

At some point, a hard decision must be made -- we're ready to go into production - and we haven't solved the problem........so the call was made - and Ambient Lighting will only appear in the doors -- at least for now.

Question: should we delay the start-up of the car for another month? Two months? Until we get Ambient Lighting to where we'd like it? Remember - most of you can hardly sleep at night because you want your Camaro last year...............

The call was made that we need to start producing cars -- you want them -- we want them -- and we need to start production..........

Now -- Mr. Hendrick's Camaro.

I was bombarded with requests to do something special at Oshawa on March 16. If this were a perfect world, we'd have invited EVERYONE there to celebrate...........but friends, this isn't a perfect world.

Our number one concern MUST be QUALITY. That means we need to minimize any distraction in the plant..........and 10,000 of our closest and dearest friends would have definitely been a distraction!

Now.......lets assume that some of the early parts that we received from many of our suppliers are not quite right.........(and THIS IS IMPORTANT: EVERY manufacturer has problems with parts and components; both those built internally and those built by suppliers......EVERY means Toyota, and Honda, and BMW, and Rolls, and EVERY manufacturer!

......sooooo....what do we do?

Do we delay production for another week? Another month? ...............

............OR -- do we build some cars -- park 'em -- and, as the replacement parts that are correct arrive at the assembly plant -- we 'replace' them PRIOR to shipping?

The answer is: We replace that/those components or parts! Every manufacturer does!

Now -- another reason there was heart-burn in having enthusiasts at the plant on the 16th is: we KNEW that some of the cars would not be "ready to ship" completely. So.......you see -- by letting you in early -- we've opened ourselves to criticizm -- and some of it became criticizm became "borderline" at best..............

..........and then you have people like me -- and the rest of the team -- who are working 7 days a week under a lot of stress due to the industry-wide collapse.............and we're getting three hours of sleep at night -- and when we DO sleep, we dream of the job and all its problems...................................and then I keep getting emails about various threads and notes like "Fbodfather, can you come in here to this thread and set people straight...." -- and I take the time -- and then I am again and again questioned and disbelieved.

.........................................and then I start to get upset ----

Because you see -- I guarantee that there WILL be people who question whether we should ever do this again -- meaning -- bringing our enthusiasts into the process --because we now know that there IS a downside---- and because once someone posts something on the internet -- it's forever -- as we all know.

So -- was a thread started that was worded inappropriately? Maybe so.

Did I over-react? Boy howdy!

Will any of us learn from this?

I'd like to think so -- but I also suspect that there might one or two "panics du jour" before the cars get into customers' hands. ......or mebbe not!!


Mr. Hendrick's car had not gone thru final inspection. It could not receive a part that did not exist in its final form.........

Someone did not understand that.

Others said we were wrong to let the car be shown in that condition..........without knowing all the facts......

Mr. Hendrick's car will receive a couple of retro-fits.

We are committed to bringing you the best Camaro ever.

We are not morons.

We will stand behind our product.

Personally? I've put myself out here for many years -- I'm not going anywhere-- (at least I hope not!!! )

,,,,,,,,,,,,and I'm telling you that we're working harder than ever to bring you a world class Camaro --that will embarrass cars costing thousands and thousands of dollars more........and while we'll have problems now and then -- we WILL work to solve them.........

Will there be problems? Friends -- show me a perfect car. There is no such thing. Even Rolls and Maybach have problems - including fit and finish..........

Will some of you manage to destroy your Camaro or some of its components?

Well -- if we engineer the car to, say --- 500hp -- you KNOW someone will do something to get it to 600hp -- and if we engineered it to 600hp (and add a couple MORE hundred pounds by the way ..) someone will hit 700..........................

The answer is, sadly -- yes.


Now --

How 'bout we (that's you and me) start to think before we start abusing the keyboard?

I have to believe we all want a great Camaro...............

Please Remember- "It ain't ready 'til it's ready!" Just because we show it to you early, doesn’t mean it’s ready.

..........and NOW I'm going to walk down the street and meet my Dear Camaro/Firebird friends from the great city of New Orleans!