Chevrolet Camaro deliveries in the United States totaled 5,520 units in July 2016, a decrease of 26 percent compared to the 7,469 units sold in July 2015. The results represent the model’s lowest July sales performance in seven years.
In the first seven months of 2016, sales of the Chevy Camaro are down 15.4 percent to 42,354 units.
Sales Numbers - Chevrolet Camaro - July 2016 - United States
| MODEL | JUL 16 / JUL 15 | JULY 16 | JULY 15 | YTD 16 / YTD 15 | YTD 16 | YTD 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAMARO | -26.09% | 5,520 | 7,469 | -15.40% | 42,354 | 50,062 |
In Canada, the Camaro recorded 307 deliveries in July 2016, an increase of 26.86 percent compared to July 2015. In the first seven months of the year, sales of the sports car totaled 1,780 units in Canada, a decrease of 11.27 percent compared to the first seven months of 2015.
Sales Numbers - Chevrolet Camaro - July 2016 - Canada
| MODEL | JUL 16 / JUL 15 | JULY 16 | JULY 15 | YTD 16 / YTD 15 | YTD 16 | YTD 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAMARO | +26.86% | 307 | 242 | -11.27% | 1,780 | 2,006 |
The GM Authority Take
As belabored stated several times before, potential reasons for the Camaro’s declining sales figures include higher prices and low incentives on the sixth-gen, 2016 Camaro, as well as low (yet growing) inventory levels of the model in some parts of the country.
For the 2017 model year, the Camaro is getting a few updates and changes, including the introduction of the 1LE track handling package and the high-performance Camaro ZL1.
We discuss the sales performance of the sixth-gen Camaro with the Camaro team later today, so stay tuned for our report on that.
Editor’s note: an earlier version of this story reported incorrect Camaro sales figures in the title and body that did not match with the sales tables. This has since been fixed.
Comments
Low inventory, as if. Chevy is sitting on 129 days worth of Camaro inventory as of August 1.
Exactly. Those who try to pass the tanking of sales of the Camaro as a normal product change around are delusional.
This new generation car is not being well received period. Although it’s performance tops all it’s immediate competitors is design inside and out is not being embraced by any except hardcore fans of the brand.
Chevrolet needs to go all Malibu on the Camaro and do a major redesign only a couple of years after launch.
They made it an enthusiasts car and most car buyers, even performance cars are not enthusiasts. A lot if people are content with the Mustangs mentality of 85% the performance for 80% the price.
They also missed the mark on styling, interior layout and interior dimensions all while charging significantly more.
I really disagree with you on the notion that any “mark” was missed as it relates to interior layout and dimensions, though yes, the car is more expensive.
Styling, of course, is very subjective — but I personally love it. It improves on the design of the fifth-gen, which already was highly regarded. Put this car in front of anyone, and no one will have anything negative to say about it, as it does look very good. The question of whether it is “different enough” to attract new buyers is a totally different question.
That said, the price is, in fact, quite a bit higher. But that is intentional… at least as part of the current strategy.
Interior layout is off the mark in that the common complaint points to outward visibility especially. The dimensions are tighter than the 5th gen. including but not limited to the rear seat space.
As far as styling I did not say it was poor but they missed the mark by not moving the needle enough on styling.
If it was viability then why did the last one sell so well? It had worse sight lines than the present one.
While reviews like to point the sight out the reality is anyone who wants a Camaro has never been swayed by this in the past and I don’t see that changing.
Lack of discounts is where the biggest issue lies and that will change in the comming year.
But then again nothing worth having is cheap anymore.
Alex some may not like to hear it but you are spot on.
The interior is better than the last one that was worse for sight and had many more flaws. The old layout was not good with gauges on the floor and one of the worst looking steering wheels till late in the run. The only real non improvement is less head room that is still a little better than the Mustang as my head hits the headliner vs the window in the Mustang.
Styling is a half full half empty deal. I know some are disappointed as they had their own perceived notion of what it was going to look like but GM like Ford took the safe route and evolved the design. While some are disappointed the majority are fine with the change in styling. God knows the Mustang has changed little and no issue with little change.
The issue at this time is the lack of incentives. We are just now seeing a 10% deal now. Yes the car cost more but it is a much better car than they have ever built. As it is now they will make about the same profits as they have been with the increase and the volume. I expect the incentives to grow as will the sales.
Also look at the history of new launches of vehicles from GM in the last 10 years. Anything from the Cruze, Malibu, Nox Terrain, Impala and others all had slow starts and then sales took off after the first year. Is it the old don’t buy the first year deal? Not sure.
Either way I would not predict too much doom and gloom as things will continue to increase in the future.
Yes some dealers and areas have and did lack in inventory so it was legit. The dealers here just started to get the new models in and pickings have been slim. I know other areas had more but it was not universal.
The two I have considered have been the Mid Size GM truck and Camaro and what is keeping me from either. Lack of choice. little to no incentives. No sun roof in the trucks which will change in a year. More versions as right not model selections were limited most of this year and have been improving. If I were to buy a Camaro today I would look to the V6 1LE that you can not buy yet. I want a fun daily driver that is easy on gas.
I see what your saying Scott but everyone including my self thought things would turn around by now. I actually like this camaro better than the last, but I agree they played it a little safe on the styling. It looks good there’s no denying that.
Not sure what you mean by the Mustang has changed little, styling wise it took a big risk. There was tons of trash talk about the Fusion styling but it obviously paid off. I myself didn’t like it, but a guy at work picked up a charcoal grey GT with the black rims and I changed my mind fast. The Camaro changed more but to the public eye it looks to similar to the last. This far into production and the talk is still the same. Interior is better than the last, but I’m sorry it looks goofy to me, its the leap pad style touch screen and the low vents. I don’t like the Mustangs interior much either. Not that I’d ever buy one but the Dodge still holds the looks down.
I have a feeling when the ZL1 gets released and or the incentives come, Ford will reveal the GT500 to take attention away from the Camaros. Spy shots popping up now, and I think it’s all planned.
They might need an early facelift that will cost more and take away from profits.
Ken the this is not doom and gloom here.
First off the mustang changed in a evolutionary way as if you removed the badges it still looks like a retro Mustang. There is no subjective there.
Two like the new car and interior or not they both are improvements over the last car that had no sales issues till the reports of the new car were upon up.
No matter if you like or dislike the interior or disappointed they did not change it enough the styling and interior is not worse than it was and if anything an improvement.
The issue at hand here is what I warned about long ago selling out the the retro look. It boxes you in much like Mini in what you can do. You get too far out of the box people complain you stay in the box people complain. Moving to a retro Gen Two would not have solved the issue.
I would have gone all new but I understand why they chose not to do so.
As for the Zl1 and GT500 it is and always has been a game of leap frog. Though the Camaro really holds the edge in performance in most versions. The benefits of more investment in the platform from Cadillac has given them a little better base where Ford share the cost with no one.
The key here is pricing and I think once you see the incentives start things will change. We saw this on the new Chevy trucks when they came out. They held the price and sales were stagnate. Incentive kick in they jump.
The 1600 pound gorilla in the room is still the decline in auto sales that has been expected. GM has worked hard to get the profits up on all models per unit.
Why?
Well as sales decline company profits shrink but if you have already worked to get profits per unit up you will not feel the total impact of the decline.
Also you work hard to limit the incentives and then when you need them they are still there.
There have been several financial stories on how well GM is positioned for the coming decline and how Ford has still struggled with profit per unit and still is using big incentives to sell cars.
But with that said the lack of discounts has hurt when I wanted to go buy a car but it will help GM stave off hard times predicted to come.
But there is a lot more to all this too. Sport coupe sales are far from market leading. They just are not what they used to be. The CUV, SUV and truck segments have hit most car segments hard. One of the few feeling it is the Corvette as often that is the weekend car of the SUV owner.
Now if they had screwed up the styling like the new Prius and taken a step backward I would be right with you on styling. But the truth is it is as good or better subjectively to most people.
The bottom line is while the styling may disappoint some for not making a major change it is still the same well accepted look of the Gen 5 just more muscular.
So I can not like it or not blame the styling.
You must ask what really did change. The price plain and simple. While the Camaro has always been seen as a value leader for performance over the years it has really moved away from that segment. All performance car really have as nothing is cheap anymore. The buyers are older and more affluent as seldom does a high school kid by a new performance car. Even if they did they can hardly afford the insurance unless mom or dad kick in.
The dynamics have changes and I really don’t see these cars selling in high numbers like they used to moving forward. The Mustang too will get more expensive if it is to improve and lose weight.
This is one of those deals where you have to look at this with you head and not your heart. Really look to there the changes came and while the car is lighter and faster there is a price to be paid for the added content to do this. The Alpha was not a cheap car and to keep it light adds cost.
But to place the blame on styling is just sour grapes from those who were disappointed. Now if they really hacked it up then I would say you have a case but the styling is as good or even more refined than the last. That does not make it bad.
The truth be told the buyers have as much of the blame as anyone as so many get mad when they make changes to some cars like this. Just look a the Corvette with any changes. They complain about no pop up head lamps. They complain about changed tail lamps they even complain now that they will be doing a mid engine. This often limits the changes a company will make to a car that has been doing well.
I would watch as they do add incentives and after the new models like the 1LE and others come the Camaro will be fine. Keep in mind it does not have to outsell the Mustang to be successful. The mark of a successful car is being a better car and making a solid profit.
The goal of GM is not so much to top Ford in everything but they do need to make a solid profit and move forward with that profit strategy.
In the end did you make good money? As it stands now they are on track to do so.
One last thought. This is a segment where few jump ship. Yes there are some but most if they own a Camaro stay with Chevy and same with Ford and Chrysler. The brand loyalty is solid and if anyone jumps it is often due to price.
Slight clarification–Fords second quarter not nearly as impressive as GMs but thru first half of year Fords return is higher than GMs. Believe Ford is 8.7% vs 8.6% for GM.
What I speak of is what they are predicting in the future.
GM has many advantages moving forward if the market slows as expected.
They hold gains in
Profit per vehicle.
China sales as long as they don’t tank with their economy
Lower production cost that they have focused on since the bail out
No major outstanding loans as Ford still has
GM already has plowed a ton of money into R&D and plant updates now while major profits are hitting.
Ford is not going to tank by any means but they hold a slight disadvantage moving forward and it may be too late to gain the similar leg hold if sales decline as forecast.
Chrysler and Fiat are the ones at risk. Accept for Jeep.
Ford has been quicker to reach break even in Europe than GM. GM has tougher challenge than Ford.
Starving out the dealers is probably the most viable way to reduce Cadillac dealers. Considering current decreasing sales old tired models and slow introduction of new models Cadillac appears quickly on its way to starving the dealers. If dealers can’t cut cars possibly could apply for a N Y Coffeehouse franchise!
never said it was doomed
never mentioned price was a problem
my opinion on styling, is that it hasn’t changed enough look to cause enough buzz
interior is better but yes it looks goofy in my opinion, and I don’t like the Mustangs either.
I have nothing against GMs decisions in making a profit…just noting that less models sold hurt the aftermarket. Not GMs problem. I agree.
Just thought that sales would pick up a little by now, seemed like you did also from your previous post every time somebody mentions sales.
And I just mentioned the GT500 taking some attention from Camaro, nothing about performance. Unfortunately the only track in my area are two drag strips
I generally try to steer away from predicting the future but would suggest Ford’s European situation is much rosier tha GMs.
The big question mark for me is the Cadillac dealers count. Anyone thinking a reduction will come at no monetary cost is unrealistic. Either Cadillac buys them out or can spend money defending lawsuits! Either option will make Cadillac far less profitable!
As for Europe It may not be good for anyone. The MFG are all worried with the British pull out. Opel has cut back and others are also doing so or hold plans to do so.
As For GM it can’t get much worse as they have so small of a market to lose there.
Cadillac primary market is here and China so what ever they sell is a gain if they must delay then so be it as their future is not predicated on Europe.
Now GM holds more risk in China as they are large there and Ford is no so much.
As for dealers GM is not going to buy them out. GM can not afford that. They can walk a tight rope that is legal to starve out the weak dealers with less discounts and less inventory. It has been done before by most automakers and it will be done again.
It would be foolish to think GM would buy them out. The best deals they can offer would not be enough.
The reduction will take time but it can be done. Also GM can help larger chains buy up dealers and work together to improve the network. Penske, Hendrick and others can buy large chunks of these dealers and make money while helping GM. Odds are this is the best way to do it.
http://autoweek.com/article/car-news/modern-muscle-car-dying?utm_source=DailyDrive20160823&utm_medium=enewsletter&utm_term=headline-center&utm_content=body&utm_campaign=awdailydrive
Here is a interesting story on Muscle cars and the Camaro sales.
Sales over all are down 8.4% with all makes. Market numbers as a whole are down 8.5%
Sales were up in the Muscle segment by 22.6% But all models are down Mustang 5.5 Camaro 15.4 and Challanger 5.5
Chevy Jim Cain says it is down due to a year ago higher inventories and fleet sales. He also pointed out trans action price is up $3584.
He did leave out the higher incentives of last year and nearly none this year along with the higher price.
The fact is the Segment though loyal is soft right now for all makes and time will tell if this is temporary or not. They do get many repeat buyers but will they get any new customers to replace what they lose? As the primary buyers get older it could change the segment.
This appears to be more complex than some would like to think it is.
Too little change, too high priced!
This comment highlights the Camaros issue. Average Joe thinks it’s barely any different and doesn’t know it’s the pinnacle of performance vehicles in its category, or just doesn’t care.
They like the “idea” of a pony car, but are not a true enthusiast.
Exactly, a 2017 V6 msrp is $28,800! A V6 mustang is $24,600, and a 2016 Challenger is $27,000.
It comes down to if you want the better car you have to pay more.
Odds are the rebates will kick in and the price will mean little then as sales take off.
I still wish the Avista would have been the new 6th Gen Camaro.. IMO it was a gorgeous modern take on the 2nd gen split bumper…
The 70 1/2 was to me the best looker. Especially the split bumper and wrap around rear window.
Wasn’t it also due to drop of commercial deliveries as well?
This hurts aftermarket support, plus with the move away from the LS engine to the LT and the time on market of the Coyote. The Mustang could end up being the more affordable to mod. That being said the LT with its small dimension may climb in aftermarket quickly. Luckly the Camaro is a better performer right out of the box.
Remember back in 2010 when you could get a V6 LS for $22,995 and an SS for $30,995? I certainly do! Chevy KILLED Camaro sales with its horrible pricing strategy. What were they thinking?! They killed the base LS trim, made the V6 an option, and jacked up the price. Now the cheapest V6 Camaro you can get for 2017 is $28,795! Even the 4cyl starts at $27,300 for 2017. Prices are up over 2016! Wrong way, GM, wrong way! The same story is pretty much true for the SS as well. The cheapest SS is $37,900. These prices are unacceptably high.
So how did this happen? Well, killing off the base models is largely to blame. You can’t get an unloaded Camaro anymore. Don’t want a touchscreen? Too bad! Just want a bare-bones car? Too bad! Here, take all of this standard equipment you don’t want or need. The SS is the worst offender, though, in my opinion. It has the upgraded touchscreen as standard equipment. It has the RS package as standard equipment. It has the upgraded gauge cluster as standard equipment. So now if you want an SS you have no choice but to get one with all of those features, even if you don’t want them.
They’ve literally handed the sales crown over to Ford. The Mustang V6 (the base engine in this case) starts at $24,645. The EcoBoost 4cyl starts at $25,645 and the GT starts at $32,645. Over at Dodge, while the base Challenger SXT V6 trim starts close to the Camaro at $26,995, the R/T starts at just $31,995. The competition is cheaper, a lot cheaper in some cases. And while the Camaro is undoubtedly the superior performance car in its class, that doesn’t matter as much to the people who will make up the bulk of the sales figures.
As for design, I feel that GM messed up here as well. It’s not a horrible design or anything, it just isn’t as good as it should be. To many, the Mustang and Challenger are better looking. I also understand why the Camaro team was reportedly upset by the Buick Avista’s unveiling. The Buick team really upstaged them!
Anyway, I’ll end this rant now. I hope GM will at least bring back entry-level models and features to get that price down, otherwise I think this generation will be a short one…
Yup, it was the styling. I was saving up, ready to go. Saw the release pictures, I started looking at other cars. Saw the real thing first time, I went and bought something else. Fugly, and even worse, derivative. Simcoe’s VT Commodore wasn’t pretty either. Camaro 6 should have reeked of the Elmiraj…
terrible pricing i have seen turbo fours and v6 cars cost more than forty grand.
Let’s see.. makes business sense to me. You sell 20% less at 20% higher price, massively increasing margin and becoming a more efficient, leaner car maker. Isnt that what GM is supposed to become? Stop complaining about volume numbers…..
Not quite that simple my friend–just ask Cadillac. Too many dealers selling to little vehicles with no simple answers.
We will see how profitable it is when they cut production or slap incentives to clear a 1/3 of a years sales sitting in dealers inventory! Needless to say, sure dealers don’t appreciate having to finance that large inventory.
Your viewpoint is overly simplistic!
Cadillac is making money right? Didn’t Cadillac say they were not selling these car’s in high number’s. ? yes and yes.
Until JDN starts paying out dealership ranks to go away! That is going to cost a bundle!
This is why people hate dealers. They say they are independent and that gives them a better attitude towards the customer, but instead they rip off the manufacturer whenever the law allows them (why can’t a manufacturer just not sell to a dealer? why do they have to PAY to not-sell?), and that makes us pay higher prices for the cars.
Martin, Cadillac is in the early stages of a massive turnaround… as you are well aware. Buying out dealers will be part and parcel of said restructuring/turnaround. It will be treated as a sunk cost, as it should… and makes up for the errors of the last 30-40 years. I don’t see much a purpose in factoring that into discussions of Cadillac’s profitability.
The point is, Cadillac *is* very healthy and profitable even at the current volumes, incentives included. Note that current volumes don’t reflect Cadillac’s ongoing overhaul, the actions being taken to revamp it en masse from the ground up, or any other kind of investments in the matter.
Alex call it what you may sunk overhead extra ordinary expense–cost of Cadillac doing business and it will reduce GMs bottom line regardless what you call it. It is money that could be used for dividends repurchasing stock or investing in other products such as there more profitable pickups and full sized SUVs that they should be investing in heavily and quickly instead of letting them languish!
Please don’t minimize the buyout of Cadillacs dealers as a cost funded by some magical GM fund! This is a cost of CADILLAC doing business and a cost Cadillac should recoup!
While it is a cost of Cadillac doing business, it was enacted by the “old GM” of the last several decades’ worth. And last I checked, Cadillac is fully-owned by GM proper.
But no matter, as laying blame doesn’t help anything or anyone in this case. What does help is turning away to get rid of dealers. And in that regard, the “starving” approach presented by yourself and Scott3 earlier in this thread are more appropriate thwb buying them out… though I’m sure it could come to the buy-out as a last resort. At the other end of this spectrum, though, are the myriad of state laws protecting dealers, which might hamper GM-Cadillac’s ability to diminish their quantity.
And there is also this puzzling development:
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2016/05/new-york-court-ruling-puts-general-motors-dealer-sales-performance-metric-under-review/
They could always have the government tell certain dealer that they have 42 days to liquidate all their stock and go out of business and liquidate the assets of the Shareholders. Oh wait, they already did that.
Glad to see GM Authority staff is sticking with “low inventory” being part of the problem. At least they acknowledge it’s overpriced. Where’s scott3 with his defense of this slow-motion disaster (in terms of sales)?
The only way GM could have gotten away with this pricing strategy is if they came out with a design that clearly marked this as a new generation **and** that new design was very appealing. That was a tall order, as the 5th-gen design was so well-received. GM decided to stay conservative (in terms of styling) and hoped people would pay just for better performance (i.e., things only seen by the driver) — well, they won’t, at least in large numbers. GM blew it.
This is not a sports car, it’s a muscle car. That means they are “peacock” cars — no one “needs” a Camaro; they “want” a Camaro b/c they want to show it off. If the sixth-gen looks too much like the fifth-gen, what’s to show off (esp if you have to pay a lot more for the privilege)?
Rob — the article states that low inventory in some parts of the country could be part of the problem. Key word is “could”.
“Slow-motion disaster” is quite harsh and unwarranted. We spoke to the guys at Chevy about this yesterday and the pricing is intentional (look for a story here on GMA about this soon). And even with the lower sales volume, they’re still making money hand over fist on this car. In fact, this car is more profitable than the one it replaced. The elasticity of demand here is extremely sensitive; the moment they turn on the incentives, sales will skyrocket.
Alex with 1/3 of year inventory, incentives are a coming!
Thanks for the reply.
Unless GM breaks out actual profit by car line, which I have never seen, I’m not going to believe that having sales down this much (35-50% from two years ago) for a less than year old completely re-designed vehicle was a good plan. Summer is high-time for selling sports/muscle cars, and it’s not happening during 6th-gen Camaros first summer out.
Imagine how many incentives are going to have to be on this car for someone to buy one in just 1-2 years. They aren’t going to get 6 years out of this generation as they did with the previous, I can tell you that.
Rob, you’re right – there is no profit break-out by car… never has been. But the strategy we are discussing here is not going to change (at least for now), and I believe that it won’t change because it’s generating good to great results (revenue and profitability).
My reasoning is such: the gen six Camaro is Alpha through and through, so there are huge economies of scale being generated from the Camaro – ATS – CTS trio. Hence, the program R&D is much lower, as is tooling expense and – ultimately – program break-even. That’s before the first gen six Camaro unit ever went into production. Once production began, the variable break-even is much lower due to 1) Alpha parts sharing and 2) production efficiencies generated by #1. All that is to say that I think that many are grossly underestimating the fiscal benefits of having the Camaro on Alpha.
As I’m sure we have all heard before, sales volume and market share are not the end-all-be-all for success. They’re fun numbers to look at, sure… but they only tell a part of the story.
That said, as soon as incentives are added on this car, I think we will see huge sales spikes, since the price-supply-demand elasticity in this segment is very sensitive. And even with incentives plastered on the car, it will still be profitable thanks to the economies of scale impact I described above.
RIght. If GM were worried about the sales #s on the Gen6 Camaro, why did they actually raise prices slightly for MY2017? That alone is a strong indication that the home office thinks the Camaro is doing OK saleswise. When they start playing with option packages and adding content at little to no- cost (hi ATS!), that’s when they think there’s a problem.
Yes I think the design is not speaking to people. It just looks like an “Origami” mess with creases and folds everywhere. It has nothing to do with the real Camaro DNA. They desperately need a new design leader for the Camaro. This isn’t working.
It’s the PRICE, STUPID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wound up pulling the trigger on a ’16 SS in July because I got tired of waiting for an incentive. Didn’t want to take a chance on passing it up much longer because the ’17 was due and that would have been even more expensive. And down here in Fla-da, the selection was poor. Had to grab the Blue Velvet while I could.
As the owner of a C6 Corvette, which has excellent visibility, I am deeply disappointed with the lack of visibility in the current Camaro. When sitting in the Camaro, I feel claustrophobic due to the high beltline and low roofline. In addition the average Joe on the street cannot tell the difference between the current Camaro and the prior version.
When a person gets a new car it should stand out from the crowd. This Camaro blends in with more of the same old Camaro look. In my opinion a revision is needed to update a dated look.
The math is off. Headline says -42% at 4969 units but the stats say -26% at 5520 units. Incorrect stats somewhere !
Sorry about that, folks. The tables and stats were correct, but the headline and parts of the content was off (reflecting June sales, rather those from July). We’ve updated the story to be correct.
Maybe it is time to stop production of the Camaro and spend the money and time on something like a 4 cylinder Fiat 124 Spider and the Miata with price from the 20s to a top model low 30,000 for all the cheap scapes .
You may not be too far off! Sales keep tanking like they are and the Camaro may be yanked Nd disappear again!
I hope that’s sarcasm, guys.
If not, I should re-iterate that GM is in the business of making money… and it’s making more from the sixth-gen program than it did from the fifth-gen. Sales volume isn’t the end-all-be-all metric of success (or failure).
In my case, price isn’t the issue and I very much like the fact that the focus is more on performance. My biggest issue is outward visibility and very poor headroom to the point that the vehicle would be dangerous for me to drive. BTW, I fit in the Mustang and consider visibility acceptable. By comparison, the Camaro feels like it has a chopped roof.
Chevy essentially got caught in a trap as they spent much of their development cost on the chassis which is world class and why car magazines have said the 2016 Camaro SS is better than a 2015 BMW M3; but Chevy stubbed their toe when it came to the overall appearance of the Camaro by keeping too much of the prior model as the consumers aren’t like Porsche 911 buyers as Chevy needs to consider an emergency tweak as they tried to do with the prior generation Malibu.
Personally I think it’s a perfect storm combination of :
1. not revolutionary enough new styling (I and many others argued it was time to drop the retro/heritage crap and go full on 21st century).
2. the price shot sky high!! Don’t get me wrong, objectivity the car is worth it. Subjectively, nobody gives a damn, it’s a Camaro. That means everyman prices for a everyman performance bargain. The increased pricing is a move away from one of the fundamental reasons the Camaro was so popular.
3. why pay 40 grand for a new car when I can get last years with the same options and 3/4 of the performance for a I/3 to 1/2 the price? Never-mind that it looks almost the same, so most won’t be the wiser!
I really love the 6th gen. It’s superior in everyway – and to my eyes – in looks as well. But, the Camaro is not the stalwart of this segment, the Mustang is. And GM can’t afford to ever approach this segment of the market as anything other than the #1 rival to the Mustang.
I agree with many others here that a big part of this is the very significant price increase. That and the minimal styling change to the average buyer. Yes it’s a great performance car, but many buyers won’t appreciate that at the current prices.
Most buyers will appreciate the very significant lower price of the Mustang and as most will not be driving at the track, this will negatively impact Camaro sales numbers.
I priced one and because of “my region” was told only fully loaded was available. I couldn’t even delete automatic transmission and sunroof (neither of which I want) and the price was almost $10,000 more than a Mustang (SS to GT).
I now happily own a Mustang GT Premium with 6 spd manual and no sunroof or magnetic ride suspension…and almost $10,000 saved!
The Camaro is a very good car….for the track….but there’s more to factor in for most buyers!
Ok, my quick take on this is simple.
1. More priority needs to go to visibility and usability of this car. Should have better sightlines and more of a back seat to compare with Mustang. Cars needs to be fundamentally better in every way in a new generation. Too much focus group nonsense goes into decision making. You can make a car better to see out of and more interior room without alienating customers..
2. GM is notorious for being greedy at vehicle launch of new models and customers truly define the market price. Should have more competitive pricing especially for base v6 and v8 models.
3. Sales will likely go back up once GM lays down more incentives and 1LE/ZL1 models hit the dealerships.
Let me be the devil’s advocate please. A party we are not considering in this discussion is the dealer network. Wonder how they feel about decreasing sales volume?
Guessing they are sharing very little if any of GM’s increased margin. What they are loosing for sure are less customers for their service department which I understand is where the money is for them!
Chevy wants them to upgrade their facilities which is a major investment but is curtailing the volume of sales and service customers. Really nice scenario for the dealers! Also want them to improve customer experience which cost them more money.
On top of it all the dealers need to finance the 129 days of inventory languishing on their lots.
Think is fairly easy to understand why the dealer network might be disenchanted.
It’s not just the overall lack of styling changes killing this car. It’s the changes that were made. The design is busy and lacks anything remotely resembling sophistication, as does nearly every GM vehicle with few exceptions (many thumbs down coming my way, I know, but it’s true!).
It pains me to say this, really, but while the Mustang (which still has its own problems in the styling department) has grown more sophisticated and elegant, the Camaro has grown more juvenile, less refined, and like the Cor-fricking-vette, all too tacky.
The Mustang is like a designer beer now. Not exactly my idea of nirvana, but something that can be looked forward to–something pleasant. The Camaro on the other hand… warm Mountain Dew.
Price? How can you say it’s the price when as soon as you are approached by a salesperson as l was they dropped the price by $4000. It has to be something else. Remember this is a muscle car so it appeals to the older buyer who can appreciate it for what it is. It is the car that they grew up with but could not have. Now that we can have it, there are too few of us left to buy one.
jcAllis is correct, The Camaro is a much better build Car than the Mustang and also for you guys that keep saying the price is to high, well just compare an equally equipped Camaro and Mustang and you will see ,that there is not a hold lot of difference in price !
Chevrolet’s C6 Camaro has all the right moves.. as it has best Ford’s Mustang in every head-to-head test and it’s why Ford has decided to move up the introduction of their next generation Mustang by two years given that the Mustang is about 200 lbs heavier than the C6 Camaro; this is something Chevy needs to push in their ‘not actors’ commercials of how Chevrolet’s Camaro uses the latest engineering technology to build the lightest cars in their class while not needing to sacrifice safety.
Winning competitions in enthusiast magazines is not the end all. The vast majority of auto buyers could care which car goes around a figure eight .3 seconds quicker, to 60 .3 second quicker or through the quarter .3 second. Bottom line is very few buyers even have knowledge of Road & Track, Car & Driver…..,
The vast majority of purchasers want a reliable and possibly good looking vehicle. And for this category there is generally a pretty high price sensitivity. Therein lies the problem with the Camaro. Let’s not forget, the public establishes the acceptable price!
I think it’s a beautiful car. I can tell the difference between a 15 Camaro and the 16 Camaro. However if you took real people not actors could they tell the difference?
It’s a great car in the specs department, but in the real world they failed to address the #1 concern of visibility. Also, the backseat and trunk became smaller and less useful. Seriously, the trunk is only 9.1 cu ft, and about 10 inches deep. The Mustang has an amazing trunk, why can’t the Camaro? They also didn’t push styling far enough, it looks like a MCE of the previous car, barely indistinguishable from some angles. Maybe they’d sell a few more if they offered all-wheel drive to us northerners too!
Really? The trunk? The back seat?
When have you ever heard a Mustang-Camaro-Challenger-Hyundai Genesis Coupe – Nissan Z owner complain about either one of those? Those items are so low on the consideration and priorities list of this segment that they are non-starters.
We can talk about styling all we want, and whether styling is actually playing a factor in telling buyers that there is an all-new Camaro in town… we can talk about marketing and the former might be addressed with some clever spots… we can talk about price and how the sixth-gen costs more than the model it replaces. But let’s leave the back seat and trunk out of it.
All of the cars you mentioned have more useful backseats/trunks where applicable. I yearn to own a coupe again, but whatever car I buy has to function as a daily driver too, and the Camaro became less useful in those areas. I recently rented a 2016 Mustang convertible on vacation. The back seat was useful for an extra passenger, and all of our stuff fit in the trunk with room to spare. I have seen the Camaro’s trunk at the auto show, and it looks too shallow to fit a carry-on bag let alone my cooler. I feel that GM put all their eggs into beating the Mustang in the Road & Track comparo leaving a lot of compromises for the end user much the same way they did with the ATS vs. 3-series. I’m never going to take my car to the track or the strip. More power to those that do, but I don’t think that it’s too much to expect a new model to be at least as useful as the model it replaces.
…or maybe it’s that the enthusiasts just don’t like the auto start-stop then.
Bottom line is a top management screw up! No way a new model on new platform should be almost identical to previous model!
We can go back and forth on this all day 🙂
My bottom line is that a replacement for a model with tons of positive critical acclaim and grandiose success should not stray too far from the previous model’s formula. In other words, don’t mess with success.
That’s what took place in the iterative design of the fifth gen to the sixth gen… and that wasn’t a “screw up”. The same can be seen across the industry, including the all-new 2017 Audi A4. It rides on an al-new platform but carries only slight iterations in exterior design over the model it replaces. Other examples:
Audi R8 (first to second gen)
The entire Mini lineup
BMW Z4 (over its generations)
It also appears that it will be the case for the all next-generation Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz vehicles.
So, one can spin the styling debate almost any way and still be subjectively correct. But to conclude that the design is what is negatively impacting sales is premature. There are other factors that are significantly more relevant in influencing the sixth-gen’s sales performance than design, the most notable of which is its higher price tag.
Bottom bottom line: watch what happens when incentives start to roll in.
Agree we could carry this discussion forever but a Camaro is not an A4-sport sedan, an R8 very low volume sedan or a quirky niche car like the Mini.
The Camaro is a mainstream volume muscle/pony car. I would never buy a Camaro , but when I saw the 2016 I yawned! I’m sure this was part of the response of potential purchasers. Why should I spend a lot more money for the 2015 & 1/2 when looks almost identical to the last model?
Already 10% off on some models and not really sure that will be anything but beginning of incentives since we are going into another model year with 1/3 of a year inventory!
I’m done on this topic Alex!
I know you’re done with the topic – but I just feel compelled to reply to your previous comment for various reasons.
My point in comparing design of the 5th-gen and 6th-gen Camaros to the A4, R8, etc. was more theoretical than a direct comparison of the Camaro to those models. To wit, Audi believes that it has hit the sweet spot of design for those vehicles, as have BMW and Mercedes with their respective design languages across all of their models. And though I don’t like the phrase, this is pretty much a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach. It is working very well for Audi in those models and across its entire model range… as it is for BMW and Mercedes-Benz across their own portfolios, too.
The same goes for the Camaro: the design of the fifth-gen was great (not broke) and the sixth-gen carefully iterates on it (don’t fix it). There is nothing wrong with the 6th-gen design itself, which improves in every single way over the model it replaces.
And to answer the question of why would anyone want to spend a lot more money for a 2016 over a fifth-gen? Why, let’s see:
1. Better driving dynamics and overall driving experience
2. Better and higher levels of in-vehicle technology that contribute to #1 and #3
3. Higher levels of performance
4. Significantly better interior
5. Much better ergonomics
6. Higher levels of safety
7. Better fuel economy
Obviously, there are more. And to top it all off, you get a better design. So all in all, you get an all-new car that is modern… with an iterated design. What’s not to like?
I lied–one final response! You can’t ignore the much lower price of the previous Canaro and the lower prices of two main competitors Mustang & Challenger. Additionally they are a multitude of much cheaper vehicles highly appealing as 5-6 year payouts become the norm. Sometimes you price yourself out of consideration.