An Open Letter to Chevrolet

[Camaro Fred]

A fellow Camaro owner who has owned performance Chevrolet vehicles all his life, including a 1970 Chevelle, wrote this letter providing his customer thoughts on the 2014 refresh changes. Hopefully the design folks at Chevrolet will read it and consider it the voice of the customer.

As an avid car fan, it is always interesting to me which cars will become classics and which cars are relegated to "loser" or "OK" status. The '57 Chevy, the '63 split window Corvette, and the '69 Camaro are good examples of cars that did not make a big splash when new but became classics with time.

When the 2010 Camaro came out, I felt that this just might become a classic even before too many years past. I bought a 2010 and my wife and I thoroughly love the car. I wondered what Chevrolet would do to upgrade the styling to try to improve it for future sales. The car seemed great as it was without any further styling "tweaks". I have seen pictures of the 2014 Camaro and I must say that you have not done the car any justice by your messaging. A great car has become an OK car. I do not know of any Camaro fans who have anything favorable to say about the 2014 version.

In closing, I would like to thank you for downgrading the Camaro styling for it will ensure that my 2010 will truly become the classic that I thought it would, and much sooner than I thought.

Jim R.

[AdamZ]

Cool story. I love the looks of the '14.

I don't know why they started making v6's but that's just my opinion. Just like this is yours and his opinion.

However, I promise the horse is dead.




P.S. That was just an example. I love all Camaro's

[tom231]

I also like the looks of the '14 Camaro. If they would have left it alone, (or minor tweaks) just as many people would be complaining that they were too conservative in the styling. Like the new Silverado, They really went out on a limb with that style....

[AmericanMuscleCars]

GOT HEEEEM!!

[Sevn86]

im not liking the 2014's either. when i do get back into a camaro, i plan on buying the current style, unless the 2016 ones are out and look nicer.

[two_wheel_mayhem]

I like half the front end treatment, IMO the lower grill is too large but I like how they shrunk the upper.

The taillights I could care less, they will grow on ya. GM should have changed the reverse lights too.

[markas214]

They used to make changes every single year. Imagine if they still did. I seriously doubt many people who are not car people will even notice. Others will buy just to have the latest thing. I like the original 5 but I'd buy a '14 if I was looking for new. Hell look at the original 5 and see how many people swap out the front bumper, hoods, rear facias, blackouts, GFX, led lights, etc, etc. So even the original, which I believe GM nailed, is not perfect for some.

[Synerbee]

Originally Posted by markas214

They used to make changes every single year. Imagine if they still did. I seriously doubt many people who are not car people will even notice. Others will buy just to have the latest thing. I like the original 5 but I'd buy a '14 if I was looking for new. Hell look at the original 5 and see how many people swap out the front bumper, hoods, rear facias, blackouts, GFX, led lights, etc, etc. So even the original, which I believe GM nailed, is not perfect for some.

No car comes perfect from the factory. We all adjust our cars to our unique personalities. Some people like to have some small changes such as color of emblems, license plate frames, and dome lighting. Some people like to complete transform the car such as new bumpers, new hoods, rear spoilers, body kits, custom stripes, custom headlights, and custom tail lights. Then when it comes to performance, we all would enjoy a supercharger, cam, intake, exhaust and tune if it was possible.

For me, The 2014 will cost a lot more to make me want to drive it vs 2013 and older. I dislike the tail lights, the hood insert and quite a few other things I can't remember right now.

[baum]

He may have sent it to chevy, but its probably sitting in an inbox on the deck of phone bank operator in india.

Looks of a car are all opinion based. The must have got the clearance fromt he "big wigs" at gm to proceed with the car. that means it must have wowed enough people.

[DRKS1D3]

I'm sure this letter, along with the other 5,000,000 they've received, regarding the horrid '14 refresh will go on an immediate path to the CEO for his review . More like, they'll go straight into the incinerator. We get it , the car is not as visually appealing as the 2010-2013 (minus the 2013's wheels). Next topic!

[WheelmanSS]

So much whining over this... I just don't understand.

If you have a camaro you like, why complain about a new one? To each his own.

Auto enthusiasm is based on the evolution of the automobile. Things change, ebb and flow, with the times. It's what makes this hobby fun.

Change is inevitable and efforts are always being put into new developments.

Do you want Chevy to make the exact same camaro every year, year over year?

The ignorance here is disappointing.

[motorhead]

The OP contradicted himself. He said that the 57 chevy, 63 split window vette, and 69 camaro weren't well received at the time of their debut(although some would argue that), but they ended up becoming classics. And then he states, that his car; which to him is the more loved car by everyone currently, will end up being the classic while the 2014 not being well received now will be a fail down the road.

Your letter would lead me to believe that if history repeats itself that the 2014 will be the classic that people want down the road. If the OP is correct in stating that the cars he listed weren't well received at their debut which I have a hard time believing anyway.

They built a ton of 69 camaros, and 57 chevys and while I don't know for sure, I would bet that the 63 split window vettes did pretty well with production numbers for vettes too.

[dwinva]

[meissen]

Originally Posted by WheelmanSS

So much whining over this... I just don't understand.

If you have a camaro you like, why complain about a new one? To each his own.

Auto enthusiasm is based on the evolution of the automobile. Things change, ebb and flow, with the times. It's what makes this hobby fun.

Change is inevitable and efforts are always being put into new developments.

Do you want Chevy to make the exact same camaro every year, year over year?

The ignorance here is disappointing.

Amen. For every person that doesn't like the 2014 refresh, there's plenty more that do but aren't as vocal about it. Believe it or not, there were a lot of people in 2010 that didn't like the 5th gen, but it grew on people and now they like it. I suspect the same will happen with the 2014.

Personally, I love it - I think it looks great.



PS - Not to bash, but that was by far one of the poorest written letters to make your case. It's not like they're going to read your letter and have an "AHA" moment. You make no argument as to WHY you feel the way you do, no alternatives to how to fix it, nothing. Three sentences saying you don't like it is not going to make GM change the car. Out of 10 sentences, 3 are about not liking the 2014.... that's not making your case.