Twinned with the Pontiac Firebird, the Chevrolet Camaro launched in September 1966 for the 1967 model year as GM's take on the Ford Mustang. But as opposed to the best-selling pony car of them all, the Camaro was discontinued twice.
Dwindling sales, the underutilized Sainte-Therese assembly plant in Canada, tensions with the Canadian Auto Workers union, lack of commitment on GM's part, and the rather old F-body platform. The aforementioned pretty much explains why the Catfish was retired after model year 2002, only for GM to revive this nameplate in 2009 for MY 2010 as Oshawa Assembly.
The fifth generation sold relatively well, moving over 80,000 units yearly from 2010 through 2014. The sixth generation, however, failed to crack 80,000 deliveries per annum. Its best year was 2016, with 72,705 sold in the United States.
It went downhill from there: 67,940 in 2017, followed by 50,963 in 2018. Although it saw a rebound in 2023, that was due to GM confirming that Camaro would end production after a very short 2024 model year. As for the reasons why the sixth gen bombed this hard, first remember that SUVs and trucks are getting increasingly popular.
Secondly, General Motors pretty much stopped caring after the introduction of the 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, which also introduced a 10-speed automatic transmission to the breed. There was hearsay according to which the sixth-gen Camaro was planned to receive a Z/28 model with the flat-plane crankshaft V8 from the C8-generation Corvette Z06, although that's a bit weird because said engine was developed specifically for a Tremec-supplied DCT rather than the Ford-developed automatic tranny.
Photo: Hycade on YouTube
At some point in the near future, GM will revive this nameplate a second time. But in stark contrast to the first second coming, the Camaro is expected to have a battery-electric setup instead of a small-block V8. There's even talk of an electric sedan, although Mark Reuss indicated a car-versus-crossover debate within GM.
Whether it's a sedan or a crossover, only time will tell. Pixel artist Hycade, on the other hand, recently published a three-dimensional rendering of the seventh-generation Camaro in the form of a coupe-bodied thriller with oversized wheel arches. The Mustang GTD influences are pretty obvious, right down to the aero diffuser.
Gifted with Hycade-branded Michelins wrapped around dual-spoke alloys in black, the digital concept further boasts a low-slung front bumper that can be described as a scrape magnet. Looking at the bigger picture, this design is likely preferred by most over a four-/five-door.
Stellantis-controlled Dodge played it safe with the new Charger, which comes in either electric or twin-turbo I6 flavors with either three or five doors. While there's no denying a crossover would sell much better than a five-door fastback, kudos to Dodge for keeping the center of gravity low because that fellow sure is heavy.
Although the Dodge Charger soldiers on with internal combustion, the lack of a V8 is certain to put off a handful of prospective customers. The seventh-gen Camaro will alienate enthusiasts as well, but on the other hand, a zero-emission rebirth will also bring new customers in. The big question is, how many new customers?
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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