Reigning Champ Camaro Wins the Sales Battle Once Again
2010's Pony Car Sales Champion Camaro Moved the Most Units in 2011
88,249 Camaros sold in 2011 give it a decisive sales victory over direct muscle car competitors Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger
In sports, when a team or competitor dominates for the majority of the match and coasts to a decisive over-all victory by the very end, the term "blow-out" is typically used. In the case of the battle for most popular American muscle car in 2011, you might say that a "blow-out" victory was exactly the type that the Chevrolet Camaro enjoyed.
Following the vehicle's break-out success in 2010, 2011 saw the Camaro continue its dominance. For 11 of the 12 months the Camaro moved the most vehicles--and did so, in many of those months, with a considerable cushion of multiple thousand units. The only month that the Mustang took the sales crown was the month where Ford was moving all of its prior model year vehicles at a severely discounted price to make way for the new model year, and even in that month the Mustang only managed to move 400 more units than the Camaro.
In December alone 6754 Camaros were sold, which was good for a 20% increase over December of 2010, and a 1697 unit lead over the second place Mustang for that month. On the entire year, the Camaro's 88,249 units sold took a commanding victory over the Mustang at 70,438 and the Challenger at 39,534.
So, there you have it, the Camaro is the victor in its sector for a second straight year, and with the ZL1 hitting showroom floors--and the sales for both the coupe and convertible models of the Camaro continuing to climb--it looks like a safe bet to take home the crown on a threepeat.
Ford Steps Up to the Plate, and then, when realizing that Chevrolet was actually prepared to pitch, backs away slowly…
Ford has obviously been planning this move for some time now. Their marketing guys have surely been waiting and salivating for the precise moment to strike and drop this bomb. It's brilliant marketing, it really is, but it also shows how afraid they are of the Chevrolet beast. The Mustang, which for the longest time was the de facto best-selling American sports car, has been dethroned by the Chevy Camaro and it looks like Ford was afraid of losing even more market share with the release of the ZL1.
Knowing that Chevrolet has spent the last 6+ months talking up their new Camaro (and, seemingly, with great reason), Ford waited until the precise moment--when Chevrolet announced the vehicle's price--to strike. They've just announced an updated version of their GT500 come 2013 that will be sporting a new, upgraded, 5.8L version of the same engine and promising HP numbers somewhere are 650HP, and a top speed of 200mph+. These numbers are impressive. Very impressive, in fact; also, they're most certainly a play against the ZL1 to steal some of its thunder as anticipation over the new Camaro has reached a new peak.
Of course, while these numbers are impressive, they didn't seem to scare Chevrolet. Upon hearing them, Joel Ewanick--the senior VP of Marketing at Chevrolet--came out and said "We should take a Camaro, Ford brings a Mustang, we each pick our drivers, and see who has the best time on the Nürburgring". This was a direct response to Jim Farley, head of Ford's marketing division, making a public claim that he would like to "take a bat" to Chevrolet with their new GT500. However, upon hearing of this "I wish we could," challenge, all Farley had to say was: "I wish we could. Who wouldn't want to do that?"
Wish you could, but you can't, or you won't? This reads to me like maybe Ford's blue oval is a little yellow about facing the ZL1--which has already released official Nürburgring times. Seems like maybe Ford knows their heavier, solid transaxle Mustang can't run the ring with the Camaro.
Of course, none of this is meant to lampoon Ford here, either, as the vehicles they've made and are in the process of developing have all been fantastic. In fact, when America's two largest automotive companies start competing head-to-head like this, everybody wins--especially the consumers. Here's to hoping the release of the GT500, and what will certainly be drag-racing numbers in that vehicle's favor, will bring GM to continue pushing the envelope and having Ford push back.
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Camaro Officially Outsells The Mustang in 2010- Ends Ford’s 24 Year Reign Atop the Pony Car Market
For close to a quarter-century Ford has maintained a stronghold on the American Pony Car market with its Mustang, but 2010 was the year that all changed. In the first full year of sales for the Camaro revival, the Mustang was unseated from its throne.
In 2010, the Camaro sold 81,299 to the Mustang's 73,716. That, ladies and gentlemen, is not only a victory, but a solid one at that. Of course, neither vehicle was ultimately hurting, as each saw their sales increase from the year prior. The Camaro by an impressive 32%, and the Mustang by 11%. This should not come as any news, however, as the Pony Car race has bolstered, and even been a large part of the revitalization of the American automotive industry. This is surprising, as it comes at a time when lawmakers are trying to push the American public towards the antithesis of the Pony Car-smaller, more fuel efficient, less powerful vehicles, like the Chevy Volt.
Of course, Ford contributes their loss in the sales race to the fact that this was the first full year of sales for the Camaro. This accreditation lacks the foresight of the fact that the Camaro performed this impressive feat with basically only two models on sale. The Mustang, however, had 7 vehicle models in its line-up. With the release of the Camaro and Camaro SS Convertibles this year, as well as the Z28 in the near future, one might speculate (with relative safety) that the Camaro will begin a new reign atop the vehicles sales race in their class. Further proof towards this are the numerous accolades and awards that have been bestowed upon the Camaro since its release. Whatever the case may be, 2010 was a great year not just for the Camaro, but for American Pony Cars in general, and the future only looks like it will be even brighter.
Pony Car Rivalry Returning to NASCAR
NASCAR, which was the fastest growing televised sport in America for some time, has been taking recent hits to its brand and popularity. A large part of the reason behind this is the staleness that has come around the vehicles used, specifically within the Sprint Cup Series, its premiere division of races. Dominated at the moment by modified Ford Fusion, Chevy Impalas, Toyota Camrys, and others, the premiere NASCAR division of racing is primed for a revitalizing youth movement. Currently, Ford and Dodge are running their Mustang and Challenger (respectively) at the NASCAR Nationwide Series, which is just one step below the Sprint Cup in terms of competitiveness. The appeal of seeing those much more exciting and consumer friendly vehicles has helped raise Nationwide Series awareness, and seems like it could be an ideal step for the Sprint Cup. Imagine, a return to the glory days of Pony car racing with a top-caliber professional racing event once again coming down to a Camaro, Mustang, and Challenger trading paint through the last few laps and battling for first place and bragging rights. The very promise of such is enough to get most race and automotive enthusiasts excited.
NASCAR has released that their product is growing stale and priming themselves for major changes to try and raise interest once again. Before making the switch to a new line of vehicles, a move that is currently projected to occur in 2013 (hopefully, that's not too late for the Sport's product), they are also changing some other, smaller aspects of the races. Doing away with crazy, and honestly fairly ugly, front splitter designs is a first and very obvious step. The splitters, which are less than affectionately known as cow-catcher splitters, are a general eyesore. NASCAR is also returning to traditional blade spoilers, which are more attractive and hearken back to the greater days of racing past than their current brethren. Of course, these changes are not enough, and the switch to the glorified pony cars of today may not cut it either. NASCAR gained its popularity on a sort of "dog eat dog" mentality that was highlighted by crazy characters such as Earnhardt Sr. and his racing contemporaries. The inclusion of the classic Camaro/Mustang/Challenger rivalry will certainly help provide a greater sense of excitement, (as few people care about a street race between a Camry and a Fusion, why would they care about the two doing battle on a track?!) and provide the sport with a greater, more youthful sense. The prospect of highlighting these Pony cars on some of motorsports grandest stages is also very exciting to the manufacturers, which is undoubtedly why Ford and Dodge have made strides to do so in the Nationwide series in recent months. Once Chevrolet includes the Camaro, a move which appears to be an almost guarantee at this point, American Motorsports should have a little more excitement to them, once again. Here's to hoping they can just get everything else right, around these vehicles!
Camaro still King: Sales continue to rise and dominate the competition.
Well, March marked another great month for the Camaro. After the World Design Car of the Year award yesterday, sales numbers are now coming out for the month of March, and they're impressive. 8,904 Camaros came off the lot in March, the second most in any month since the Camaro launched, and a number that dominated the sales of the Camaro's competition: The Mustang, and The Challenger. As for those two though, must give props to the Challenger for almost doubling its numbers from the month prior. It's not a bad car (I like it a lot more than the Mustang, myself) and it's nice to see it getting some boost in sales numbers. Of course, the King stays on top there, with the Camaro outpacing its rivals big time.
New GM LF3 Engine
Sorry I've been awhile for a while everyone. I went on vacation in my Camaro, but am very happy to be back and writing. An article concerning the trip itself will be coming soon. For now though, some GM news:
Apparently, the R&D boys over at GM have been hard at work (while I've been hard at play) putting finishing touches on their new, more eco-friendly, twin-turbo LF3. This V-6 TT engine is meant to be a direct competitor to the Ford 3.5L EcoBoost TT engine in both power and efficiency. At this point in time, no official HP or Torque numbers have been released, but it should be expected to be equivalent to or surpassing the 355 HP of the 3.5L Ford Ecoboost. This number doesn't seem too far-fetched either, considering the power that Chevy has been milking from their LS engines for so long now, and also applying the knowledge that this will be a Twin-Turbocharged monster. Of course, the TT does mean that some Torque will be sacrificed for the added HP boost. Only time can truly tell, but I can only imagine performance numbers of 350+ HP, possibly nearing the 400HP range.
Providing further merit to those HP speculations is the very recent (March 22nd) announcement from John Fitzpatrick, the head of marketing for the Camaro. Fitzpatrick hinted to MotorTrend that the 2011 Camaro's V6 HP numbers could exceed the numbers of the 2011 V6 Mustang. If not 2011, very soon. When asked if those HP matching numbers would be met in the next couple of years, Fitzpatrick was quoted as saying “you might see it sooner than that.” This show of faith in the future HP numbers of the Camaro engine lead me to wonder how those numbers will be achieved, and if the LF3 isn't destined for Camaro SS or Z28 designation as soon as it is finished and ready for production. I would love to see that LF3 hitting the Camaro sooner rather than later, but will also happily accept just some more HP from the base Camaro build. I do like the V8 and would be sad to see it leave, so I would hope that when the LF3 is done GM could find a means by which the two engines could live in harmony within the Camaro body. We'll see. Time will tell.
Camaro Sales Numbers for the Month of February
Well, for the 9th month in a row, the Camaro has outsold the Mustang (and continually by a large margin). The model year for the Camaro ends this month too (March 16th), so we'll soon get to see its total year sales numbers. Lets hope these numbers continue strong for some time to come.
Delivery (sales) Stats:
Camaro February 2010 Deliveries (actual sales): 6,482
Total January 2010 - February 2010 Deliveries: 11,853
Mustang sold 5,115 units in February 2010.
Camaro Sales Rise, Mustang Sales Stagnate
Now, I am never happy or excited to report on something of this nature, but the Camaro's incredible sales have resulted in lay-offs at the factory where Mustangs are produced by Ford, as their sales have declined drastically. Nearly 900 positions were cut by Ford, which is by no means a happy bit of news. Of course, the flip side to this is that the Camaro production run resulted in many more hirings than 900 when it began, and its increased production and popularity has meant more hirings on the GM front. Who knows, maybe some of those former Ford employees may even be able to find work with GM. I hope they find work somewhere, best of luck to all people who lost their jobs at Ford because the Mustang is not as cool as the Camaro.
As for the Camaro, well, short of being too awesome it has done nothing wrong. Its sales continue to rise, and its popularity grows with each day that passes as it has more and more accolades lavished upon it. Here's to the future of the Camaro, may it continue to dominate the Sports Coupe market for years to come!
Camaro December Sales Numbers
Well, the Camaro is staying strong! A look at the December numbers for sales, and the 2009 production numbers are quiet impressive, and definitely offer a lot of hope towards GM's future. Let's also remember that the Camaro outsold the Mustang (by a considerable margin) for the 7th month in a row, which is its direct, popular, competitor.So, here's to selling another 60k+ Camaros in 2010 for you GM! If they want to guarantee improved numbers too they'll have to give the public new options. Maybe we'll see the return of the Z28 finally come to fruition this year! We can only hope!
Production Stats:
Camaros produced in December 09: 8,368
Total Camaros produced to date (since March 16, 2009): 82,188
Delivery (sales) Stats:
Camaro December Deliveries (actual sales): 7,548
Total April - December Deliveries (actual sales): 61,648
Ford Trying to Keep Up
Well, because the Camaro is mercilessly wiping the floor with the Mustang in sales right now, Ford realized that they had to do something. That something? Make the Mustang as much like the Camaro as they could! The 2011 V6 Mustangs will have new engine tuning modifications to offer 305 HP and 29MPG, pretty much identical to the V6 Camaro's 305/29. Now, I wonder if they'll go out and fix some of the styling cues on their vehicle to compete as well? Only time will tell, but until they do, we Camaro owners and fans can sit back and enjoy the numbers which keep rolling in showing that the masses agree with us in this argument.
