Bob Lutz Orders the Camo Off of the Camaro
It looks like Bob Lutz has grown tired of playing the cat and mouse game with camouflaged test mules and crafty spy shooters.
Chevrolet’s General Manager Ed Peper has posted on General Motors’ FastLane Blog that the camo is coming off all of the pre-production Camaros. The move will give GM a greater ability to test aerodynamics and cooling efficiency, as well as give a good frothing to the many fans of the new car.
As a show of good faith, Peper included this photo of a white Camaro on the move, and tells readers that Chevy will be testing the car throughout the year on U.S. and Australian roads. He then goes on to encourage all readers to snap pictures of the car and post them to the FastLane site. Well played, sir.
Could this small act signal a change in the way GM handles new car launches? Or is Lutz just trying to take control after the Camaro beans have been badly spilled? Have your say in comments.
+ GM FastLane Blog: For the Camaro Fans…
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Comments
The Stig
Probably just trying to keep it in the spotlight and attention away from the cross town rivals upcoming release.......
Steve
Have you seen it? The look and the specs are more than enough to keep attention away from the cross town "rivals"... Blah.
Jeb
Well, last week there was the article about how Ford has been testing the Flex openly and getting a whole lot of positive feedback and buzz doing so. It doesn't take a genius to learn a lesson from that.
Matt
Too little too late. With the interested public well aware of online auto news they would be smart to change their current new release model.
But if GM thinks they are going to have sales records with this car they are crazy. This is classic American automotive genius at work. Trying to keep the public interested in a fad that ended 2 years ago. With ever increasing fuel costs anyone that buys this car is crazy.
Winding Road » Archive » eBay Auction of the Day: 1969 Chevr
[...] spending this morning staring at photos of the ‘09 Camaro in both camouflaged and bare forms, we went looking for a vintage model for comparison. What we found on eBay - a 1969 ZL-1 - is [...]
chris mich
why is it that when you click the picture, most of the time it just brings you to the same page again? why not make the click enlarge the picture instead, since i'm already at the page? i don't need to go there again...
Goose
Matt: You don't like the car, then *stay out of the thread!*
Geezzz . . .
hwyhobo
Matt: You don’t like the car, then *stay out of the thread!*
Why? Criticism is extremely important to the success of any company. As a trainer, I learn more from a single critical remark than I do from 10 accolades.
Jonathan Fung
Free buzz. Better testing. The common man gets to see it. Everyone wins. Well played, Mr. Lutz...well played.
Mark M
Because, yeah that extra 3mpg is really going to make a difference.
Over the course of a full year, the difference in MPG between your average V6 Midsize Sedan and your average V8 Pony Car will cost you a whopping $400 even at $4.00/gallon if you drive 15,000 miles a year (and less than that if you drive a lot of highway miles as the difference in MPG there is even less). The person that goes out and gets a new car payment of $500+/month isn't even going to notice an extra $25/month out of their pocket, and that's only IF they were moving from a more fuel-efficient car to begin with -- A Mustang GT for example gets BETTER gas mileage than my V6 Mazda6.
Besides, it's always been the case that the V6 versions far outsell the V8 versions anyhow. And a V6 Camaro won't get any worse mileage (appreciably) than, say, a V6 Malibu.
Russ Bellinis
I don't think removing the camo from the Camaro means anything. The thing that surprises me is that GM ever wasted their time with the camo in the first place. If you are testing a new Malibu that no one has seen before, camo makes sense. You don't want to dry up interest in the current model by letting people see it's replacement too early. In the case of Camaro, it has been out of production since 2002 while Ford has been selling Mustangs like crazy. The prototype has been shown in auto shows all over the country, with people giving feed back on whether or not to produce it. Automotive magazines, including Winding Road, have been test driving the prototype vehicle for a year or more. There are no secrets left concerning this car, there are no current models that glimpses of this new model will steal buyers. The only car that GM produces that might have suffered from views of this car is the GTO, and it has continually missed its intended market anyway. When GM introduces a new generation Corvette, it will get camo and as much screcy as possible. I would be surprised if GM doesn't build a bunch of ringers that have no relationship to the actual C-7 Vette to put out there with camo just to confuse the inevitble spies who will get pictures of it.
Pats MT
The car's exterior looks great and faithful to the concept, but the interior looks like a disaster. There's no way I'm going to get excited about sitting inside one. The prototype was supposed to be a teaser, and it was a lame update of the original. The actual pics of the interior made me sick. Have fun, if I decide to spend my money on a modern retro sports car, there's much tastier options from Dodge, Mazda, BMW and Nissan. The reason I hated the modern 90's camaro was because the driver's view from inside the car was more than disappointing. Would GM please fire the guys who sign off on the interior designs. Nobody wants to sit in the penalty box.
Steve Lopez
Gorgeous!!
I want a road test with the Camaro, Challenger and Mustang.
Great cars are coming back. Yes, fuel economy is important and you can get good gas mileage and have great fun and protect the planet.
Good stuff!!!
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