I spoke my .02 cents to GM about the crappy paint on the 2010 Camaro - kinda sorta...

[bumblebeecamaro]

I attended the 2010 F-Body gathering this weekend and I had the pleasure to meet lots and lots of new people. one of those people happened to be Scott from the Camaro team from GM. (I can't remember his last name at the moment.)

he approached my car at the event and he complemented me on my car. his comments were mainly geared towards the black chrome Havoc wheels on my car. he then began to tell me how they originally had intended to have a black chrome wheel option on the gen 5 Camaro but the idea was quickly scrubbed due to the fact that the black chroming process involves a chemical that is not so environmentally friendly.

I then told him this: "so this is for the same reason why my Camaro has such a crappy paint job that chips as easily as when a leaf falls on it?" (well, it doesn't chip that easy but you know my point.)

he then kinda paused for a few seconds and then tells me that GM isn't the only American car maker that has this issue. I find it funny that he said that because I know quite a few people with full sized GM pick up trucks and a friend that has a 2009 Escalade and none of these peoples' vehicles chip nowhere near as easily like mine does.

he then proceeds to tell me blah, blah, blah this and blah, blah, blah that. so the bottom line is this: GM knows there's an issue but according to this guy they can't (or in my opinion, they won't) do anything about it. I then told him how unhappy I was with this issue and that the gen 5 Camaro would have been the perfect car if and when this issue was non existent.

what a load of you know what!

so while most people at this event were kissing this guy's butt, I gave him my .02 cents about this paint issue which I know won't go too far. if anything else it made me feel good letting it out to someone that works directly from Detroit.

[LS3 SS]

I applaud you for it. That really lets me down though, they GM knows that there are problems with this vehicle but wont admit to some of them.

[Indpowr]

My Vette has a LOT thicker paint!!

[2010 SSRS]

wow

[JoeP@TeamBeckyD]

Your comments to Scott may go further than you think. I think he is a good one to gather info from Camaro owners and forward that info along. He's close enough to all the right people. In the mean time, get your touch up paint out, or maybe invest in a clear bra. I hate the chips too.

[bumblebeecamaro]

Originally Posted by BeckyD@RodgersChevrolet

Your comments to Scott may go further than you think. I think he is a good one to gather info from Camaro owners and forward that info along. He's close enough to all the right people. In the mean time, get your touch up paint out, or maybe invest in a clear bra. I hate the chips too.

I bought touch up paint in the second week of car ownership. (and this wasn't by my choice! )

and as far as the clear bra thing. that was installed on the front end and the sides since day one. and yet I still have paint chips on the damn car. not on the front or bottom sides, but they're on other parts of the car. I say this with slight anger because I am VERY VERY careful with my car and yet it still has these battle scars which are beyond my control. I have never had a vehicle with this bad of a problem. this says a lot because I have had plenty of vehicles since I was 15.

[smhss]

Add my name to the list of those who applaud you for saying something to him about this! THANK YOU!

[Ivan @ Southwest Speed]

Be lucky you don't have a Black car and have made 2 trips to the Left Coast.

9200 miles and my quarters look like they've been blasted with rocksalt. No shit. Had em looking like that before I hit 5k.

Disappointed, but hell, I'd rather that be the main problem with my rig them some other random problem.

-Ivan

[bumblebeecamaro]

Originally Posted by Bad Karma

9200 miles and my quarters look like they've been blasted with rocksalt. No shit. Had em looking like that before I hit 5k.

-Ivan

someone posted a picture of their rear quarter panels in a similar thread and they look horrible. they literally look like they were bead blasted to death.

what a freakin' shame...

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by bumblebeecamaro

He then proceeds to tell me blah, blah, blah this and blah, blah, blah that. so the bottom line is this: GM knows there's an issue but according to this guy they can't (or in my opinion, they won't) do anything about it. I then told him how unhappy I was with this issue and that the gen 5 Camaro would have been the perfect car if and when this issue was non existent.

what a load of you know what!

so while most people at this event were kissing this guy's butt, I gave him my .02 cents about this paint issue which I know won't go too far. if anything else it made me feel good letting it out to someone that works directly from Detroit.

With all due respect...you should have listened very carefully to that "blah blah blah" because that guy knows more about this business and this car that should be humanly possible....AND he's arguably the biggest Camaro enthusiast out there -- which means he cares what you have to say . What he had to say was important, and he was trying to answer your 'question'...

Much of the "blah blah blah" probably revolved around these points:

--Paint is not crap, Silverados, Impalas, Camaros and soon some more are painted at the same plant
--Actual "paint chip problem" is far less than it would seem across the board --- not a blind belief
--Camaro's design dictates many flat, edgy, non-aerodynamic surfaces up front
--and there is debris on the road. Debris hurts paint...

Many people are expecting a fix to this "problem"...short of a total redesign of the front end, or painting it with titanium...there's nothing that can be done.


EDIT: Not to be a debbie-downer or anything...

[IROCanSS]

man... you guys must drive full speed down gravel roads. I have over 10,000 miles on my car. The tires look great, there are very few paint chips and the paint is basically perfect for a $35,000 car. Yea, there is a piece of dirt in the paint in the fender and a small drip on the crease in the truck lid...do I care... NO.

I dont applaud you for treating FBodFather... Scott Settlemier is his name... like that saying what he was saying was "blah blah this and blah blah that" If it werent for this giy, the Camaro wouldn't even exisit. Yes, the paint is thin b/c its water base and yes, its b/c its environmentally friendly. We are all damn lucky this car even exisits and for the "thin" paint, its only for color not protection. The cars have thick baked on primer. Could it be thicker... I guess but why? Your car is colored, like it should be, its a car, it will chip... whatever, not like the paint jsut flakes off from driving.

Originally Posted by Dragoneye

With all due respect...you should have listened very carefully to that "blah blah blah" because that guy knows more about this business and this car that should be humanly possible....AND he's arguably the biggest Camaro enthusiast out there. What he had to say was important, and he was trying to answer your 'question'...

Much of the "blah blah blah" probably revolved around these points:

--Paint is not crap, Silverados and Impalas are painted at the same plant
--Actual "paint chip problem" is far less than it would seem across the board --- not a blind belief
--Camaro's design dictates many flat, edgy, non-aerodynamic surfaces up front
--and there is debris on the road. Debris hurts paint...

Many people are expecting a fix to this "problem"...short of a total redesign of the front end, or painting it with titanium...there's nothing that can be done.


EDIT: Not to be a debbie-downer or anything...

Thank you! We were typing at the same time... you were just nicer about it! LOL!

Hey i think bumble bee had stone chips on his quarter panels in the movie...

[Hylton]

Truth of the matter is that this car is not the first vehicle on the road with "angles" and customer expectations for paint durability is not unreasonable. Let's see if GM is truly going to be customer focused as they have stated...

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by Hylton

Truth of the matter is that this car is not the first vehicle on the road with "angles" and customer expectations for paint durability is not unreasonable. Let's see if GM is truly going to be customer focused as they have stated...

Good point...I'm curious how those cars fair with dings in the paint...or are we just assuming they didn't?

Anyways...Everything I see this issue pop up around here, I read the complaints (however valid...or not)...but nothing else. What would you like them to do, exactly? Just curious....holding them to an impossible standard on a cumulative non-issue is borderline asinine, not a "customer expectation"....at least imo.

[Hylton]

Originally Posted by Dragoneye

Good point...I'm curious how those cars fair with dings in the paint...or are we just assuming they didn't?

Anyways...Everything I see this issue pop up around here, I read the complaints (however valid...or not)...but nothing else. What would you like them to do, exactly? Just curious....holding them to an impossible standard on a cumulative non-issue is borderline asinine, not a "customer expectation"....at least imo.

"A cumulative non-issue"? I've got to remember that one to use in a future business meeting.

Here's just 2 possibilities:

1. Since the fascia is painted by the supplier, they can posibly look at increasing the thickness of the paint and/or the quality of the clear-coat. Lots of products out there that are more durable and do not affect paint color.

2. Place paint protector vinyl in the areas which are prone to chips such as the rear quarter area before the wheel opening. They already do this for the rear part of the rocker panels.

Sure this will cost more money but how much money will they lose due to lost sales with everyone saying the paint is not durable?