GM’s Taking the Camaro to India
With India's economy enjoying sustained growth for more than a decade now, and their automotive industry being amongst the leaders of that growth, it makes sense the sports car market within the country has begun to see a great deal of life and vibrancy. Already, European supercar companies have imported their brands to India for the country's wealthiest businessmen and women to get their hands on (Maserati, Ferrari, and Koenigsegg are just a few of the names) that it made sense that Chevrolet's most prized and well-reviewed vehicle would be joining them. Starting later this year, GM has announced that the Chevrolet Camaro will become available within the Indian market.
The vehicle will be entering in interesting territory. Chevrolet has already built a decent consumer base within the country, and there's a market opening for a more affordable sports car to step in and fill. Currently, for a true sports car feel and appearance, the high-end European automotives are the only real thing available, and their vehicles tend to be priced so highly that they're well outside the range of the average consumer. Even with the importation fees and and taxes (which typically raise the cost of an American automobile entering the Indian market by %110), the Camaro will still be a much more affordable sports car than its competitors within that market. This greater affordability (while still expensive, no doubt) will open up an all new, potential sports car buying client base that has previously been untapped within the Indian market. If this calculated risk pays off, GM could find themselves holding a very strong stake in a very quickly evolving automotive market--a move that will reflect positively upon their future prospects worldwide. Of course, the risk doesn't seem to be too extreme, as the incredible styling and construction of the Camaro have made it an immediate hit anywhere and everywhere it has been made available.
Camaro Gets Sales Revenge on the Mustang
Well, the Mustang sales incentives for the 2010 models are dwindling, and the Camaro not only reclaimed it's spot at the top of the sales heap, and it did so with bravado. Last month Mustang outpaced the Camaro in sales by a grand total of 3 units. That was the third month in a row (and, only the third month period since the Camaro release) that the Mustang had outsold the Chevroley monster. A total of 3 units is a small small victory. A total of 751 units is a large victory though, and that's the margin by which the Camaro outsold the Mustang in August.
Chevrolet had official sales numbers of 6,321 Camaros. Of course, they produced 10,252 units in August, which means they're preparing for the more busy months ahead with the 2011 gaining reputation quickly as an improvement on the unanimous best new car on the road. Ford did move an impressive 5,570 units in August though. This number was a 26% drop off from the month prior, but was still solid for the generally slow month of August. In all, this is great news for both Ford and Chevrolet and speaks highly of the product being built and sold by these American Automotive companies right now. Hopefully, they'll continue to innovate and excite with their work in to the near future.
Maybe this Z28 Thing is Real this time…
Well, according to the usually reliable MotorTrend, when interviewing the GM VP of Global Engineering he recently divulged that the Camaro Z28 would be a real thing. It seems that Karl Stracke is filling in the shoes of the old Bob Lutz and giving up GM's secrets to the media. Stracke's a pretty interesting character himself, as he drives a Corvette Grand Sport as his daily driver and rides a Harley, and is by no means afraid to speak his mind. He recently spoke out against the Cobalt, calling it "horrible" and questioning how it ever passed multiple departments and was considered a good idea.
Well, Stracke also spoke his mind in a number of other ways recently. He claimed that the Camaro Z28, and Next-Gen Camaro as well, would be utilizing the new GM Alpha-Platform. Having his confirmation of the definitive nature of the Z28's future is definitely a good thing for all of us Camaro fans, as anything less than that up to now could reasonably be considered ridiculous postulating from less than informed sources (I've been very very skeptical of all the various Z28 reports up to now, as they tend to be various forum members from one website or another claiming they know a guy who knows a guy who saw a tester, or something similar). Going beyond this, Stracke also talked about how Cadillac is gunning directly for BMW, saying that they don't want to settle for being anything less than the top-dog. He said that in reaching for this, they're making moves across the entirety of GM to improve their interior style and design, and to take cues from the Audi line of vehicles in that department. Stracke also stated that engineers were currently discussing a potential Hybrid Diesel or Rotary for the next-generation Chevy Volt.
All in all, pretty interesting information from an interesting character, and a seemingly solid admission of proof to the future of the Camaro and the Z28.
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.
Gen6 Camaro to get new platform?
According to a recent MotorTrend report we're beginning now to get some information about what the 6th Generation Camaro will be like (seems a little premature, no?). Apparently GM is developing a new RWD platform that will take place of the SIGMA platform on the Cadillac CTS and be the base by which the 6th Gen Camaro is also built. This platform will be the ALPHA platform. This seems a little odd of a move, but I'm alright with it personally, to announce this right now before the second year of the Camaro has hit dealerships. So, this platform will be hitting dealers in 2014, and the Camaro is scheduled (tentatively) for 2015 right now. Other changes discussed here: The 6th Gen Camaro is expected to be lightened by a good bit from the 5th Gen; Also, apparently the engine in the Camaro will not be a naturally-aspirated, but instead either a turbo or super-charged V6. It seems the goal is to continue increasing Camaro performance while also increasing its EPA gas consumption rating to guarantee it will continually be able to beat whatever Mustang Ford throws at it. All very interesting stuff, but, having just bought my Camaro not too long along, too soon for my liking to hear about!