This article is part of the GM Authority Mailbag series, where the GM Authority Crew features and replies to your questions, comments, and observations.
Just a few days ago, we received an email from David directing us to the very image you see before you: a rendering of a (modified fifth-gen)Â Chevy Camaro with some styling cues from the 1970s-era sports car, named by its creator as the Camaro SS70. And according to David, this is “what the public wants” for all-new 2015 Camaro to look like.
In his message, David was very passionate about the rendering’s design and stated that “My boss, myself, and a list I have of 3,000 people would hands down buy one of these if it looked identical” to the photo. David really wants to see the car in the image seen here pushed through to production, but we have a feeling some of you might feel rather differently.
So, SS70 — yay or nay?
Comments
Yay, two big thumbs up! Might be tough to pass the bumper test though.
Really like this design,i would buy it.Big fan of 67-73 Camaro’s,don’t have much interest in 5th gen,to heavy and sharp body line’s.Hopefully 6th gen. will be around 3500 lb’s or less.
That’s a yay for me love the look old school style whoop whoop!
Yea, I always loved the 70’s models.
I like the side profile, the front needs some work and modernizing though.
I was really hoping for the camaro to be much smaller than it is currently. So I’m gonna say no.
Nay. It would be great if the 6th gen took cues from or hints of the 2nd gens but that is too much. I would stick with my 2010 instead of buying a 2016 like I am planning on doing.
I quite like it so yeh
I like it. I think the front stylling can easily be applied to the smaller archetecture planned for the next gen. The back glass slightly wrapping the edges of the rear pillars should also improve visibility over the current shape while also showing the styling cue from the 70-74 back glass. This would be the last retro version needed IMHO.
No no no no no no no no no no no…..with this not only would the Camaro be a fat pig but now it would be hideous. My boss said its hideous too! And 500 people, my cat, and the Loch Ness monster said with out a doubt……hands (flippers and paws) down that if the Camaro looked like this I’d but a Mustang.
Hell no! Stop fooling ourselves people. The current generation is enough retro in a seriously modernize world. When GM designs a Car today for the future, they have to be concern about global appeal, and not just a few who might say retro.
Furthermore, if Camaro wants to gain global appael for GM, this design in not going to do it. Far from that it might set this car sales so far behind it competitors you would not believe it. I say, an Evolution of the current Camaro but a bit smaller with a modernize look ,will continue to do the trick on the Alpha platform.
Growing up in England, the 1970-72 Camaro is was the only American car that I had pinned to my wall as a kid.
Way too retro looking. Front end needs work. It pales in comparison to the current one. Too ‘time specific.’
Really nice job but way too retro.
Seriously, if you like this check the cars ads. There are lots of ’70 Camaro for sale.
Please, sweet baby J, no.
I hate this design so much. It’s a step back 30 years. Does it come with arm tattoos and an addiction to cigarettes?
I am selling all my GM stock if this becomes reality.
Seeing how a ZL1 is my dream car, I’m going to say nay.
I love this rendering better than the 2014 models, but that grill is wayy too big for my taste, and much bigger than the car GM is trying to re-birth.
No thanks.
I like the design, even though it is portly. But this is not what Chevrolet needs in the next Camaro. It needs something a bit more modern with lots more options as far as engine, drivetrain.
Awful
Jerk
Whimp what you drive a beetle?
well I’m keeping my 2011……….
What it needs is modern styling cues. The car would look so much better if the headlights were a combination of Dodge Challenger and Bentley Continental GT. The B-Pillar needs work. Overall I would favor the design if it were more modern styled.
Not at all. Camaro needs to be revolutionary not a modernized version of an old school design. Current Camaro won because it is sexy not because inspired by the first generation Camaro. by the way, 1st generation Camaro looked awesome but the second generation didn’t.
I like it. The only thing i would change is the rear end. It looks to sloped like a fastback. Make it a little more flat and it would be great.
Haha it looks terrible!
Why is there a belife that cars from 30 to 40 years ago were a high-water mark in car design, and that reintroducing them as whory old replicas are thought of as a fool-proof way to “save” a car company?
Who says this would “save” the Camaro? This design would outright kill the nameplate, stone dead.
Sure, “David” can find 3000 names of interested people; Good for him. But 3000 units in one model year isn’t going to “save” the Camaro. How about 8000 every year, not just 3000 for one year. I think David is thinking short when he should be thinking long.
And the worst part of all, this car’s design has already been through the wash once before, and the negative stains of it’s past cannot be removed, not even with Photoshop. Looking at this, all that “the people” can see are empty cigarettes packs on the floor, Yosemite Sam mudflaps, and chain-steering wheels. Those images aren’t something to relish, or put in the minds of consumers.
Ford isn’t going backwards with the 6th gen Mustang. Word has it that it’s dropping retro for good and moving onward with something new. They’re taking the Mustang to the ends of the Earth, wherever a willing buyer is…and all the better for Ford. The Mustang’s name precedes it; not in what the car meant to Jonny Average of Minesota when he had a notchback Foxbody, but what the car will mean to Jonny Average of Munich.
Finally, if David would take only one thing from this post, it should be that “You can only sell old cars to old men”, and I don’t think the Camaro, or Mustang, are considered “an old mans car” at the moment. It would be a shame if David and his Boss and some 3000 other people were to become old men overnight just by buying a car like that.
Look at “retro” this way. There was an original design theme that the manufacturer used for a particular vehicle. Let’s say, the Camaro. The car was shelved and then brought back to life…the natural thing to do is to go back to first principles and work forward from that, making careful adjustments along the way. It’s not only a matter of style. It’s a matter of common sense. When you go back to the drawing board you do start with a blank paper (screen) but what you put on that paper (screen) should be guided by what worked, with a full awareness of what failed. GM can go forward with designs up to and including the 3rd Gen. The 4th Gen was not as well-remembered and so that would be the time to perhaps go radical IF that’s what the public wants.
i say yes ,lets face it, most people that buy Camaros are old school….todays kids can’t afford a camaro so they buy rice!
your right. If they need more sales make a 1.5t base, 2.0t LT, 5.3 SS global version that is more practical, more comfortable, and cheaper.
This is EXACTLY what I expect it to look like. The 2nd Gen is my favourite so this is perfect. Certainly, the nose would have to be adjusted a bit for more modern tastes, but it’s a very good rendering.
There’s no chance GM would roll out the next gen looking like this. Thank the car gods. For the record I love the 1970 1/2 Z
No.
No way. The second gen was ugly as sin, and the third gen was a close second. The current model and the 2014 look great, keep them the way they are!
Looks like something from that Company that makes those Firebirds and ’69 GTO things. It’s still better than the C&D future Camaro rendering!
HOT!!!!
Nay
I expect that theme with the next Camaro. Hopefully, I’ll get married by then; otherwise, the next Camaro may end up in my garage.
I like it….retro can be great…this could be great with some tweeking
Lets face it many of us like/love second gen Camaros and in some wacked alternate universe I am sure the next gen Camaro looks like this, and as much as retro has worked on some cars (wish GM would have done the BelAir concept); its time to move on and get back to a modern pony car, styling cues from past cars are fine, but lets have a modern camaro that is smokin hot… In the meantime I am going to teleport myself to that alternate universe and enjoy some retro second gen camaro styling… Bottom line if the camaro looked similar with some modern tweaks I would buy it in a second… But do agree for most the retro fad is over..,
David is not a creator he is a copier. David is clearly out of touch as the retro thing is on its way out just as the 5th gen is.
The 70 split bumper is one of my favorite cars of all time but the last thing I would ever want to see is the car above on a 5th gen platform.
I will wait for the fresh Alpha car that is coming in 2016 with 3400-3500 pounds and a fresh new classic look.
Even Ford understands where the global market is and they are finally moving on. Retro is a nice place to visit but you have to get on with you lives and create new classic.
Can this web site ever come up with a realistic concept of the 6th gen? Everything posted here is not even close.
I do expect the new car to scream Camaro with hints from the past but on a clean new canvas. The hints from the 2014 show the way to the new car where it will not rely on looking like a 69 or 70 Camaro. The new car will break free as much as the 3rd gen did from the 2nd gen. You can bank on that.
http://www.seriouswheels.com/2000-2003/2002-Chevrolet-Bel-Air-Concept-FA-Diner-1920×1440.htm
I like it a lot, BUT I’d do a first-gen edition. Many say the ’69 was the best styled/most iconic car in GM history. This is a bit too “retro,” it needs to have “Camaro DNA” vs. copying a specific design. The 2005 Mustang was an AWESOME example of brand DNA (NOT retro) styling. So powerful it got me to buy my first Ford (former GM loyalist). Then, Ford screwed it up in 2010. Who wants the Camaro smaller? The current size is perfect, if you want smaller, get a Prius or an Elantra.
So a smaller, lighter, better handling Camaro is somehow wrong to you?
Yes, I need my muscle cars big and bad otherwise I’d just buy a Scion FR-S; probably what you should be looking at with your persistent smaller/lighter talk. You will also like the Hyundai Genesis/Tiburon, or perhaps a Mustang II with a V-8, smaller & lighter for you. Lighter has very little meaning, other than being less safe. It is a matter of power to weight ratio, and 50/50 axle balance, Grasshopper.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2000-2001_Hyundai_Tiburon.jpg
See, I like subscribing to the comments when I post so I get email updates. But then I also hate it because I get emails when people comment stupid stuff. Do you see what I’m getting at?
You mean things like this?
“Lighter has very little meaning, other than being less safe. It is a matter of power to weight ratio, and 50/50 axle balance, Grasshopper.”
Yeah, joining GMA is both a blessing and a curse.
That’s TOO retro.
I think a slightly more modern version of what we have now will become the 6th gen.
?? What the… No way. It’s HORRENDOUS !!!
sorry that’s a no bueno!
Nay!!!!
My first new car was a red 77 Camaro LT so I should love this, but design proportions just look a little a awkward and heavy. I love second gen Camaros but new one should be more modern with just a few subtle styling cues like round taillights of early 70’s and maybe the round headlights laid down and aerodynamic.
With regard retro I like it & hold the opinion that I can buy a retro motorcycle so why not a retro car? Yes it won’t be everybody’s cup of tea, so why not have a retro Camaro & a modern one sold side by side? Win win.
I love the 70 thru 73 Camaros’s , I would be the first in line too buy a Z28 model 6th gen.Make it with the LT-1 and 7 seven speed transmission,and some modern 20″ rally wheels,and the General has itself a new customer .
Car manufactures are constantly looking at ways to improve & enhance their products be it new & inventive body styles (crossovers, 4dr coupes etc) or new engines or technology. I feel retro has its part to play in this too (after all retro is what got us to where we are now) so it should be celebrated by the way of the odd model or two. Those knocking it as bad business & a route to failure should look at the successes of the retro Mini, Fiat 500 & VW Beetle.
Nay.
IROC-Z.
If GM would look back, they would look at the IROC-Z.
You currently outsell Mustang. Why go back to style that couldn’t outsell the competition.
The 70-73 sold quite well considering there were several strikes through it’s production (one lasted for months with next to no production at all) that’s why the early 70s Camaros and Firebirds are so rare. Not lack of customer interest.
Who’s to say two models retro & modern couldn’t outsell the opposition? It would appeal to two different types of customers. We all want a choice & the freedom of choice & for nothing to be the same thus limiting choice & only pleasing a handful if that, the bigger the range the more they sell & that’s more choice for us the consumers.
“so why not have a retro Camaro & a modern one sold side by side? Win win.”
Because of cost. Two cars with the same nameplate in the same segment for the same price but look different? Not cost effective for the numbers of units that would sell, especially in a non-essential segment.
Albeit GM’s done such a thing in the past; the J-bodies, Mk1 Deltas, Lambdas, the GMTs, W-bodies, and others. The difference is in the volume and MSRP; that’s how GM got away with it.
Always loved the first 3 years of the gen 2 (I’ve owned & restored 3 of them) with a few tweeks this would be a yay
Daydreamed about this deeply. Imagine IF GM and their American competitors created a “Nostalgia Line” business model. It could work. Much like Volkswagen’s Global car strategy with frame, mechanicals all interchangeable. In a perfect world, you can go online, build your “NL” automobile, and have it delivered to your home in 3 months. Woww, I would choose a 1971 Buick Rivera.
The retro thing is done, and it’s funny how people chastise Hollywood for just remaking old movies, but car people want the same thing rehashed. Listen, the car looked good in it’s time, but it’s 2013 and evolution is a good thing here. The shape of the current Camaro evokes strong awareness as it’s very visually powerful. This is nothing more than a 70 with a few tweaks.
I think i would trade my 2010 in on this one, but yes it needs more styling cues, BUT with the new non retro mustang coming out I’m sure the new camaro will be new age and not retro at all, which also would be good. I just love camaro.
NO!! Let that retro sh#t go! If you must have a Old Camaro, by all means go out and buy one. Better yet, go buy and old one in need of a complete resto, and add all the modern stuff you wish it had and truly have the best of both worlds.
But it’s 2013 people. The Camaro should be in the 21st century as well. This looks almost as bad as that ugly “fan rendering” of a potential 5th gen by Kris Horton that everyone was drooling over (at least till the real thing got revealed, then it looked like the armature cartoonish concept it was)
I really hope it looks nothing like this… the car looks scared! Its great that the current camaro looks retro and modern at the same time but I want the next gen camaro to be totally different from anything in the past!
Very nice. Looks like the split bumper RS/SS of the early 70’s which IMO were the best looking Camaros of all. Excellent rendering – make sure the designers at GM see this or I’m afraid you will see more angles etc like the C7.
First I should say I think what Reuss and his team did for the new Z28 was outstanding and I can appreciate it. However the one thing missing from trying to recapture the performance handling is that the current Camaro is just too damn big! If you have driven an early 70’s Z the one thing you notice is how light and nimble it was. Now I am sure anyone will tell me that the new Z can far out handle the old Z and I know they are right. If anyone could engineer outstanding handling into a car it would be GM’s Mark Steilo. But even he can’t get the size of the car down to the size of the early 70’s cars. I am sure GM recognizes this and will tell us it will be difficult or impossible based on the platform being used. But even if a style similar to the retro rendering is not considered as long as the designers don’t over angle the car and load it with black trimmed “do dads” like they did on the C7 if may be fine. But regardless of the speculation what we should be celebrating is the fantastic job GM did on the new Z28.
Grawdaddy, GM sells similar cars side by side today & is successful with it. It would expand the market and make it bigger than just a niche with relatively little additional costs involved. Gone are the days when people ether wanted a large car or a small car, people now want more choice & individuality reflecting in their purchase.
It doesn’t matter. If GM were to spend $250M USD on bodystyle during development, they’re going to make sure the body will have the greatest appeal it can get and sell as many of them as they can.
Now with your idea, GM has to spend $500M USD a seperate body style, and spend twice as much on advertising the same car.
You’re just not taking costs seriously enough. People can trash the ‘bean counters’ all they like, but you don’t have to be an accountant to see where the wasted development dollars would be in your example.
By the way…
“GM sells similar cars side by side today & is successful with it”
Namely? Same car, same platform, same wheelbase, same segment, same price, different bodyshell. Get on it.
Remember, high enough MSRP and volume can blur all that. You won’t get it for something like the low volume Camaro.
No i dont like it, it looks like a cheap hotwheel…
A BIG NO NO NO, no more Retro.
I am not an accountant although I’m excellent with money reasonably successful & I am on a committee. So with regards bean counters & cost & profit I understand the need to make money. With everything there is a risk & yes nothing is certain however in order to expand the market from a niche to a bigger niche there needs to be differing models & a choice to the consumer. If this isn’t the case the risk is the consumers get older & die off with the model following them or at the very least an older audience buying it. Non of these options are good for GM or indeed America or its investors.
I agree with David… Its beautiful.
My wife loves Camaros… If it looked like this… I would too.
We would buy it.
would love to see this version of the Camaro out we love the Old School Feel of it!!
I wiould pre-order one today. That look, I love.
I would buy this car if it comes out!!!
yay!!!!The car looks awesome
I prefer the gen5 looks.
Never liked this front end
As a man who is 65 I could really relate to this. Would get 1 in a second. Bring it on !!!!!
2015 concept looks awesome me I love the 70 look I have a 2011 2lt rs conv. and love it. thinking of getting an old school Camaro. the 2015 would be it
If GM puts this out, I’m selling the last of my GM stock because it will crater immediately.
Yea, yea, yea!!!! Would like to see it with a real 2 piece chrome bumper on it! The more retro the better to me!
Looks pretty kickass to me, i say bring it.
Yay. I like it. I would have a hard time deciding whether to purchase a 2014 or wait for this one — if this turns out to be close to the final design. I’ve waited 40+ years for this car, so whichever it is I am going to make sure it’s the right one. But anyway, yeah, I like this better than just about any of the other 2015 designs I’ve seen that are extremely different than the current Gen 5 design.
Leave the current front end from the upcoming Z/28 and leave the front quarter all the way to the rear as the render. Good to go.
“This is what the public wants” uhmm that must be a personal opinion because I know for a fact that a 70’s – 21st century remodel would hardly sell. The 60’s were know for the nostalgia of the muscle car. Not the 70’s camaro, which was a mistake. Anyways the 70’s camaro isn’t anywhere as historic or referred to as a late 60’s camaro. What next a 90’s early 2000’s inspired remodel?? Yuck. The public wants a sleeker, no blind spot camaro redesign that has nothing to do with the 70’s body style. Regardless that rendering sucks. The rear roof line and side windows look horrific, just awful.
Awesome! a good place from which to start a new design.
I would definitely buy one.
Definitely! 1972 z28 split bumper is my favorite car of all times, if the new Camaro looks anything like that I’ll do whatever it takes to buy one.
I now have a 2012 Camaro lets don’t go back to the 70 that’s in the past please go forward if they go backwards I wont own a Camaro anymore ill have to buy a sports car that is going forward.
You do realize that the taillights on the 2014 Camaros are modeled after the old z/28 lights right? That is technically “going backwards” as you call it.
Looks like you need to disown your Camaro.
You’re obviously not a true Camaro fan if you don’t appreciate the old body styles.
yeahhhh!! i like it. would it have the 427 in it?
YAY!! It looks alot better than the current rendering of the possible 2015 chevelle. the grille should be a little smaller, and nose a little longer, but over all the car looks great.
Those who trade there camaro’s in for mustangs because of this body style are not true chevy people. They are phoneys just like the ford motor company and the garbage they produce. They’ll have their mustangs for 6 months and have to take them back because of recalls issues. Thats just what ford does. I will say this though, its a good thing that PONTIAC is not in the mix. Because if they were gm would have a hard time keeping up with them in sales. And if you don’t believe me just go to http://www.transamdepot.com and see for yourself. GM ROCKS!!!
I had a 71 RS/SS 396 and loved it. This front end styling of this car is hideous. I do like the side view and tail view but the front end of the car is a deal breaker. I think they could have achieved the look with a much more modern design. If Chevy does produce this car as it looks, I’ll be sporting a new Mustang or Challenger. This is certainly not what I want.
No to worry. This is a just a drawing made by a fanboy with a dream to make all modern cars look like those from the 60s and 70s. The 2016 Camaro will not look like that.
Why not, everything comes back around in style, it’s just how the world turns every 20or30 years, things come back, music, clothes, buildings, why not cars..??
Oh yeah where do i sign
I would buy it tomorrow.. Beautiful car.
must have the round tail lights
Most definately a YES! I had a 70 1/2 sunkist orange Rally Sport v8 when I was ypunger to this day I regret getting rid of it. Would most certainly buy one if made again.
I love that retro look, but it will never be.
I like it just the way it is..!!
Why not make both, the SS70 &
The 6th gen, what ever that would be?
Other car mfg, have different style, upgrades, accsesseries…..why not just brand it as such… The all new SS70 camaro retro, designed for you then, now. 🙂
I own a 72′ Camaro and love the unique design. This revisiting version lacks luster and is a down play to the original. I say no to this design because it is truly lacking spark..
Be waiting to buy the SS70 Had a 1970 Camaro was my first Car Bought a 2010 2SS it’s just not even close, still waiting for the SS70