GM is the latest to join the retro craze with the resurrection of the Camaro:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/showthread.php?p=1553475674#post1553475674

Very interesting... if GM can stay afloat and deliver the new Camaro and if Daimler-Chrysler bring on the new retro Challenger, and with the already popular Mustang, we have all the makings of a new age TransAm series featuring retro versions of many of the same cars that ran 30 year ago. Sorry, no AMC.

Glad to see the Camaro coming back if this happens. I was very surprised when they took it off the market. But then again, maybe their plan was to reintroduce it and create some hype. If they rolled from the old model to this, it wouldn't have had much of a big impact as bringing it back from the dead.
Thanks for the post.
Jim

Good starting point, but I'll hold out for the Challenger. ;) rr

It looks like its grinning at you. Overall looks good but that front grill could use some work.

Roger Corrie

Glad to see the Camaro coming back if this happens. I was very surprised when they took it off the market. But then again, maybe their plan was to reintroduce it and create some hype. If they rolled from the old model to this, it wouldn't have had much of a big impact as bringing it back from the dead.
Thanks for the post.
Jim


Jim,

Years before the Camaro was cancelled, I saw a 1969 SS Camaro retro rendition in some popular car magazine that would give the new 2005 Ford Mustang a run for its money. This was when "retro" was not popular. I ALWAYS wanted a classic American muscle car with modern technology and conveniences. I was extremely dispappointed when they cancelled the Camaro and Firebird. I had a 1977 Firebird Formula and I would love to recapture the good old days.

I like the new Camaro except for the front end which looks too much like the letter "V". The new Dodge Challenger looks right to me. I can't wait to see them on the road.

Unfortunately, you give GM too much credit. They cancelled the Camaro & Firebird due to poor sales and not for future hype. Ford hit a home run with the new Mustang and other companies JUST woke up. They just noticed that there are a lot of baby boomers with disposable income that love the classic muscle cars. The retro cars are also a hit with the younger generations.

American car companies better start making better looking & reliable cars if they want to stay in business. Currently, Ford and GM are not doing to well financially.


Ken

Musclecar to me means an American car made by Americans with lots of American power. The new so-called musclecars all look japanimated to me and I'll give you one guess which wrenches they reach for to fix them. Fix them ha ha. Most of the people I know that buy these cars don't even have wrenches. They say I had this, this and this done and now it's the fastest car in the world. Here's an example. Last summer at the local classic car show a guy with a brand new vette and parked it right up front in the middle of all the real classics. Long live the real musclecars and the garage mechanics who love them. At least they can't turn our cars off via sattelite. Nobody has to agree with it. When I get in a new car I feel like I'm in an import no matter what brand and they are so expensive. 30 grand for a car that makes 400 horse power or less. How fast can you make an old car go for 30 grand or even 20? Ok. Now that your all mad at me, remember this is my opinion and it may not reflect your own. I'm not even gonna get started on 2nrs. :p

we have all the makings of a new age TransAm series featuring retro versions of many of the same cars that ran 30 year ago. Sorry, no AMC.

Ahh.. But don't forget that Daimler-Chrysler has the rights to the name AMX & Javelin.....
A retro Javelin with a Hemi? Would Daimler_Chrysler dare?
Why not...:p

Scott

Jim,

Ford and other companies JUST woke up. They just noticed that there are a lot of baby boomers with disposable income that love the classic muscle cars. The retro cars are also a hit with the younger generations.
Ken


Jim,
I'm surprised and glad it finally happened. My friends and I have been talking for years about one of the big three (?four) bringing out something that looked like the cars from our heyday but with todays technology. Was getting tired of cars looking so much alike, and never really got into the Tuner thing. Hope GM & Chrysler come through with something. I think they'd be surprised how many of those would roll of the dealer's lot. I know Ford is loving that new Mustang sales. Just love being a boomer with no kids at home..... and just having a slotcar habit. :) rr

i like the new retros. camero im not sure about.i like the ford and chrysler.they have their own respective motors as always. GM likes to go the corperate engine route.man i dont know if i could stand another camero badged as a firebird or t/a.the firebird and t/a died when the last 400 was stuffed under the hood ,or 301 even though sickly.somthing about a poncho with a sbc under the hood.yuk

Hope GM & Chrysler come through with something
I'd say the retro Challenger retro is a pretty good first step for Chrysler. There's also talk of redoing the Charger around the same time frame. The current Charger is an excellent road vehicle, just like the ever popular 300C, even though it falls far short on living up to the sporty image of the late 60s Chargers. I'm hoping the next Charger makeover is along the same lines as the phenomenal 1967 to 1968 model year makeover that catapulted Charger sales through the roof.

I'm all for any company that can build an appealing car that delivers the same price/performance ratio of a $4000 in '69 Dodge Charger, '69 Plymouth Roadrunner, or 69 Chevelle SS396. That's about $22,000 in today's dollars. I'll even raise the price threshold to $25,000 to account for all the junk taxes, government fees, and pension payments strapped on to today's vehicles MSRPs. The $25K barrier is the bottom line for me. I don't care about exotic components or whether the car is built in Detroit or in China. Show me a good looking car with some major right foot joy for $25K or less and you'll get my attention. So far the Mustang GT is about the only car that makes the grade and I'm a Mopar guy. The V6 Charger lacks the performance to make me look beyond its awkward styling. GTO, too bland and too pricey. Monte Carlo SS, yawn...

As nice as the retro Challenger looks, if it doesn't come in at a price that's competitive with the retro Mustang it'll be just another rich old man toy.

I've been watching the hype over the Camaro Concept develop on the web over the past few months. There's tons of pics of it from the LA Auto Show all over the GTO BBS.

I'm digging most of the styling but hate the front end. I finally figured out what it looks like. :tongue:

http://www.planetofspeed.net/PhotoPost/data/3022/109Camaro-front-compare2.jpg

http://www.planetofspeed.net/PhotoPost/data/3022/109Camaro-front-compare.jpg

A little late with the price of gas these days....

The same thing that killed them in 1970 is going to kill them again.

Also

Insurance companies freaked at 330 hp cars in the 70's they are going to sh*t themselves silly with the high powered engines of today. Very few people can even get insurance on a Z06 and if you screw up and get tickets, you won't have any insurance at all.

It is more expensive to insure a safe handling, modern high tech vehicle than it is to insure my out of control vintage muscle cars right now. Back when I was young the muscle cars were "rated" cars that were hard to insure. Now my 70 AMX, Sunbeam Tiger, 455 Formula, 396 Chevelle, V-8 Jeep are regular cars like old station wagons to the insurance company. Mention the safer Z06 and they freak out.

Anyway at 3 bucks a gallon ain't nobody gonna be buyin performance cars even if they falsely claim mid 20 MPG figures.

Good point AMX, it was the insurance companies that killed the muscle cars where I lived back then (MA). Yeah, a lot of those old big block monsters with their 60/40 weight distribution handled horribly on anything other than a drag strip. In most places I've driven I notice that roads do have an occassional curve or two thown in.

I heard the target price of the new Camaro was somewhere in the $30K range. That's a tad bit too high today, but in '09 or '10 it may fall into the acceptable range. I wonder how it handles in snow and slush?

i already said this on the Diecast boards...

I am happy as a pig in poop that it seems like "Ponycar Wars: The New Millenium" seems perfectly staged to play out just as I hit my midlife crisis. I have pics of that silver Camaro all over my PCs at home and work. I haven't had much interest in brand-new performance cars since I got my license in the 1980s. Old muscle cars just always seemed more interesting. But that Camaro... dang. If the production model looks close to that, I'll be mortgaging something to buy one... :tongue:

I think it's interesting that of the 3 retro pony cars that us car guys have to look at now, the Camaro seems to elicit the most sharply divided love-it-or-hate-it response...

--rick

No thanks to the Retro Camaro I'll hold out for a retro VW Thing first