It’s easy to forget that not just auto enthusiasts go shopping for the best of the best, or most powerful and top performing cars. When it comes to the typical consumer, brands reign supreme, and they better mean something.
And that’s where Jalopnik poses an intriguing question: should Chevrolet ditch its “Z” names for something else? We’re talking about the ZL1, Z06, Z/28, ZR2 and more.
The Tuesday report took a quick look at the average prices for 2014 model year Camaro ZL1, Camaro Z/28 and Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 values. Surprisingly, the Camaro Z/28 hasn’t fared well at all. With 48,000 miles, the Z/28 holds a used value of $36,241. Meanwhile, the ZL1 is just $3,000 cheaper. The Shelby? It still commands $46,924.
It’s not a solid study, but it’s clear the Shelby brand means a lot more than “Z/28” or “ZL1,” despite their historic pasts known to enthusiasts. And to the average Joe, it might be hard to discern where the halo car starts, and a mid-range model begins. Many often associate the “SS” badge with the top-of-the-line performance model, but the SS is far different animal from the ZL1.
Is there substance to such an argument? Vote and talk to us down below.
Comments
The real question is Does the car fail the name?
Here is the situation.
In the decades before performance cars were often reasonably prices mid sized sedans or in the case of the Camaro specialty car based on a low cost economy car. They were relatively cheap to build, low cost to buy and they made money.
Today the cars are specialty cars based on more expensive platforms or their own platform. They are not cheap to build, buy or develop.
The market has no real low cost platform to build these cars on anymore and if there is it turns a cheap FWD sub compact into a $40K car once it is done right with AWD.
The market has changed and the customers have also changes along with the ability to build a cheap rwd performance car.
The names are fine as they hold a lot of heritage and they hold a lot of market strength. The cars are as good or better than they ever were in terms of living up to the names. The problem is the market and the economics are no longer in place.
People today also are not as much of auto enthusiast as they once were. The Enthusiast is a dying breed. People have moved on to other things and this will continue. Not only cars are suffering but car shows and even most racing events are struggling.
You want to find the problem it is not the name but it is a culture and economic issue that time has changed and not much can we do to reverse it.
Even the best examples of the breed are going to struggle and fail at some point.
As for the tires Smoke em while you got em!
My neighbour has a ZL1 1LE and even he doesn’t know wtf it’s called. He changes its name every damn time I talk to him. ZLE ZLE1 1ZLE SSZL1
I think SS and Z/28 are good. And Z06. But they should start using names. Its part of the draw to the Demon, Hellcat, TrackHawk etc. Basically Dodge is cleaning up the name game. And Raptor.
Trucks there is no excuse. Use RST for appearance pack sure Rally Sport Truck. And do an SS-super sport. TrailBoss is fine for the soft roader. And for the real off-roaders, instead of ZR2, they should use the old Chevy TaskForce truck names: Viking Apache and Spartan
Colorado Spartan
1500 Apache
2500 Viking
But I’d reduce the amount of Silverado/Colorado badges kind of in the same way the Corvette did with Chevy badges.
Spartan?
Now there is a name that congers up images of a feature equipped vehicle.
More like Spartan warrior. They could use the hollywood-ized Spartan helmet as part of an aggressive/sports decal treatment and embroidery on head rests
Apache is the only only i see them having an issue with nowadays.. they could use Wolverine instead
They already market their 3 truck strategy. They market them all under the TaskForce tucks like they did in the 50s
If you have to explain it the name is flawed.
I know what you mean but outside of Michigan State few will know.
Any name that could have a negative connotation is rejected. That is why Pontiac Banshee never made production..
Colorado has more than enough name equity and has no issues.
Any body who’s ever made it through grade 7 would know.
And even if jokes flew about it being spartan: lacking features. Who cares, it would be a serious off-road rig and drum up attention for both reasons. Seriously though, given the mainstream media exposure who doesn’t know about the Spartan people?
Look at the Raptor, raptors the dinosaur were actually the size of wild turkeys in weight and height.. not 8ft. And very likely had feathers.
It’s an unfair comparison. “Shelby” is a brand, “Zxx” is a specific configuration. “Shelby” has been marketed for six decades as something special, and in multiple formats (produced cars, tuner cars and trucks, competition, Chrysler badging, Ford badging, Hertz badging, chili, etc). “Zxx” is nothing more than a vinyl sticker or trim level in some applications.
Z/28 Camaros are track cars, and a used one has probably been “used” on the track. Most Shelby Mustangs are garage/show queens. Used prices aren’t comparable, generally speaking.
GM should do better marketing exclusive, top-tier performance models. But, as a “brand,” Zxx will never compete with Shelby as long as there are “Z60 Street Truck” sticker packages in the mix. If they wanted to, they could invoke ” ‘Z’ comes from “Zora” Arkus Duntov, the godfather of Chevrolet racing,” and build a slightly hyperbolic aura and legend.
You can market anything into people’s minds… Remember the “wide track” Pontiac Grand Prix? Pure marketing. It’s track was identical to the Monte Carlo and Regal and Cutlass it shared a platform with.
No, the “Z” names need to stay. They are historical to GM. If you don’t understand their significance, then you’re not truly a GM fan.
If you can’t pick out a ’14-’15 Z/28, 5th/6th Gen ZL1 or C7 Z06 from 500 yards, you’re truly NOT a car person.
These high performance vehicles are made by enthusiasts for enthusiasts.
I suppose with Ford having the Shelby name emblazoned across the front and rear of certain models, even non-car people can recognize the Shelby name and, more often than not, they know it is a different breed than say, a Mustang GT. With that being said, they still are clueless to what the vehicle could potentially be packing under the hood.
For instance, when I bought my ’12 ZL1 in June of that year, I took it to a car show a few weeks after. I parked it near some other 5th Gen Camaro’s. I was near by and several groups of people walked by and never gave a second look. It wasn’t until a younger guy came up with a huge grin and said to his buddies, “Do you know what that is?! That’s a new ZL1!!!”. They had no clue. His buddies all thought it was just any other Camaro. He even had to explain what the ZL1 was all about. 580 supercharged ponies…
Z/28= Hardcore, NA road course fighter
ZL1= Supercharged muscle that can tackle a road course or the strip
Z06 C7= Supercharged road course fighter (add the Z07 Package and it gets even more hardcore)
Again this is a case that shows that the car makes or breaks the name of a vehicle.
The name was built on a race bread street car option in the 60’s
The name was destroyed back in the 70’s with a badly conceived decal package car and even died for a few years.
It was brought back and the car was restored to be a higher level model.
Then it was gone to return as the type of car it was originally conceived as being.
The fact is depending on the time frame the name Z/28 can have negative or positive references depending on just what model you are looking at. 2016 or 1969 it holds great favor but say 1974 and not so much.
Cobra has seen the same ebb and flow. Remember the Shelby Cobra GT350 but also the Mustang II Cobra and now the GT500.
Like the argument at Cadillac over numbers or names. It is the car that defines the greatness of the name or number. No great name can save a bad car. Also if the car is not in favor with the market and economy it can be a great car that no one will ever buy.
The Regal is the best Buick sedan in recent history but it will fail due to market conditions. People don’t want cars.
“It is the car that defines the greatness of the name or number. No great name can save a bad car.”
I would to pay you for the rights to this phrase, as I will be forcefully tattooing this people’s forehead.
The “Z” badges are definitely OK, but slapping them on just about anything because it “allegedly” looks “cool”, is just plain wrong. It belongs on muscle cars and NOT pickup trucks. Plain and simple.
I believe the “Z” cars are awesome in their own rights! But I would like to see GM do something a tad more special with the “Z” branded cars. They’re already great as they are, but they feature tech and engineering that isn’t all that exclusive. Other GM products, such as the Corvette and Cadillac’s V-Series models, share the same engineering and engines; which works out well for GM as a whole. It’s great to be able to get the best of what they offer in multiple cars! However, since Ford doesn’t have any cross-platform/Powertrain sharing with their high performance cars, they have a little more exclusiveness to their name. Just take a look at the fact that they’ve given us a flat-plane crank V8 just for the Shelby GT350; and who knows what they’ll bring with the revealing of the next GT500!
Nevertheless, z-badges are gracing the cars who wear it in many other ways, just maybe not value as much as we’d like….
Z names need to stay on the cars maybe not so much on the trucks. As far as a Shelby being worth more that’s not represented correct they should have compared it to a GT or a Boss. If your comparing it to a Shelby which is a special model that’s not just Ford built those should be compared to a Lingenfelter edition Camaro or one of the other company’s selling brand new higher performance Camaro’s.
Well the Z71 used to mean off road package on full size trucks/suvs. Now its used as a trim level on the Colorado, the name has been diluted. Besides getting some upgraded shocks, its just an appearance package. I guess the Trail Boss will now be the “off road” nomenclature.
Hey GM. A thought. Establish a “marketing/philosophy/attitude/following/agenda”, with a bunch, a bunch, A BUNCH, of public ‘education’ around the logo/name/meaning of ZORA …. which would mean ULTIMATE PERFORMANCE. AND, NEVER use the ‘moniker’ ZORA on anything but a GM vehicle that is built for ULTIMATE PERFORMANCE. …………… just an idea. … ZORA. …………. thanks, gene.
Ding ding ding…we have a winner.
The SS camaro is hands down the best muscle car on the market when it comes to all around performance but it’s too expensive. Back in the day Chevrolet had a plethora of Camaro models ranging from the Berlinetta, RS, Z/28 SS-327, SS-350, SS-396, ZL1, etc. The thing about it was that the Camaro was a good all around car, just like the full Chevy brand. Chevy had so much going for it and still does but they need to get back to being that American car brand. Truth be told (an i’ll get back to being camaro-specific in a moment) but what we miss are the old Chevy vehicles, we miss cars like the rear-wheel drive Impala SS, the Impala wagon, the full size Chevy Blazer, the S-10 and the S-10 Blazer, the Monte Carlo, the Trailblazer SS the Silverado SS and even cars like the old school Z24 cavalier (which would be really cool with the new 2.7L turbo 310hp I-4). These are the cars that we wish Chevrolet would build again. We actually miss american cars, we miss Pontiac something vicious out here and truth be told, we’re not impressed with the Buick-branded Opel car we’ve been getting force-fed at all. Honestly here’s the thing GM, We really do love sedans still and we love SUVs as well but we love what we had before and we need stuff that is going to stir the soul. Anyone old enough to remember the ’80’s? Remember cars like the Monte Carlo SS & Malibu SS, those kinds of cars are what America needs right now. Remember the K5 blazer? We really miss that. But getting back to the Camaro, Honestly it doesn’t need to be a super car even though it is border line that right now. To be quite frank, a 2.7L Turbo 310hp Berlinetta, a 350hp RS 3.6L V6 with the 1LE equipment offered as standard equipment, a 415hp 5.3L SS-325 with the standard SS equipment and a 3″ lip spoiler on the rear and a hotter 495hp 6.2L “SS-376″ with the 1LE equipment standard but with the standard SS ground effects and a more aggressive 4″ lip spoiler on the back. Both cars need their designation displayed on the outside of the car with different hoods to show the difference in the two cars, just like the 68 Camaro SS-327 vs the SS-396. Now the last Z/28 car that came out was a 505hp 7.0L Monster that was pretty much a track only car with not a lot of street manners (hence why the 1LE came back to be the mediator between the Z/28 and the SS. Cars have come a long way since the last Z/28 and I would be convinced that a new Z/28 could blend everything that is good for the track with a street car. Most people who own cars like this don’t really take their cars to the track but there are those that do. The Z/28 should probably come in two models, the regular Z/28 with a 550hp 5.7L (350ci) Aluminum DOHC V8 that actually has all of the creature comforts in a slightly more aggressive looking package and then a Z/28-R that is a stripped down track rat that has a sole purpose of destroying any and everything at the track. Same goes for the ZL1 and ZL1-1LE. The new ZL1 should have the LT5 engine to destroy the new GT500 and it should destroy the new GT500 in every possibly way.
Beyond the Camaro, there are a lot of us out here who would like to see the reintroduction of the Malibu SS, the Impala SS and the Monte Carlo lineup. For the naysayers out there who think that big coupes don’t work, try telling that to companies like Mercedes Benz and BMW. Mercedes has an S-Class coupe and BMW just brought out a brand spanking new 8-series which is a full size coupe and just think how many people swooned when they saw the Cadillac Elmiraj concept. People want those kinds of cars. Also to those who think the sedan is dead, just look at the Dodge Charger. That car isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Where GM failed with the SS Sedan was that they didn’t market it and the car didn’t catch people’s attention because it looked to much like a Malibu unless you knew what you were looking at. A midsize sedan to do battle with the Dodge charger is something that most people are looking for and people buy the charger because its a decent sized sedan with rear wheel drive and a V8 option and its powerful. Most people know Chevy has good reliability with their engines and transmission so people really wouldn’t hesitate to buy a hot GM muscle sedan or full size muscle coupe like a Monte Carlo SS with a proper Chevy small block V8, which should be either the 415hp 5.3L V8 or the 485-495hp LT1 6.2L V8. Another thing would be to also have the regular affordable family and economy vehicles that people really do miss like an actual Caprice sedan and Crossover (lifted station wagon) the cruze (Alpha-2 platform hatchback with an electric, a hybrid, a 2.7L Turbo 350hp Z/24 Version and a 410hp 3.6L twin turbo Z/34) a regular Malibu sedan (Alpha-2 Platform sedan with the 2.7L V6, a hybrid and an electric version along with two high performance versions such as a 5.3L SS-325 and a SS-376). As far as the SUVs go, bring back the big boys. Bring back the full size 2-door SUV because believe me, it will sell. A Tahoe Blazer Z71 with the 6.2L V8 would do well in today’s market as would a real Z71 pickup truck. What I mean by a real Z71 pickup is the Trail Boss but without the dumb name. A real Z71 is a Trail Boss, it has an off-road capable suspension, all terrain tires, a V8 engine and it sits high enough that it can do some light trail work. Now of course a 5.7L DOHC 550hp ZR2 Silverado that is meant to tackle the harder stuff should sit at the top of that food chain but since no one is Dune jumping, who cares about fighting with the raptor? Honestly, the upcoming Dodge Rebel TR & TRX trucks are the ones to benchmark. A 755hp LT5 V8 and a capable suspension along with a 5.7L N/A DOHC 550hp off road variant would be more than enough to step up to the plate with. Let’s not forget about a Silverado SS variant with a 495hp 6.2L V8 under the hood, lowered suspension, big brakes, 22” wheels, wide tires, blacked out trim, sport interior black housing LED lamps, dual mode dual exhaust that exit in front of the rear tires, Magnetic ride, 4×4, aerodynamic upgrades to the body and hood, etc. The current High country should also be more luxurious and tech-savvy than it is now with a rear seat that is like a reclining luxury sofa that seats three comfortably with enough room for the rear seats to recline and for the legs to be able to come up. The should also massage and be heated and cooled along with having cup holders on the door sills that are heated and cooled as well. The bed should be just as high tech as the GMC without the carbon fiber and it should have storage bins on the side like the avalanche used to along with the locking bed covers and the storage area in the bottom like the high desert variant did just without the sails. On performance vehicles, the red outlined bowtie needs to come back as well. Honestly that would be cool for the red outline bowtie, the blue bowtie, the silver bowtie and the Gold bowtie to come back on different trim levels, the Gold bowtie would be on either the luxury oriented Chevrolet cars while the blue bowtie would be on trucks and the silver bowtie would be on the regular Chevrolet cars. Back to the different vehicles though, The Silverado, the Tahoe, the Suburban, the Colorado and an upcoming Chevrolet Blazer/Trailblazer should all get a High-Country variant like the GMC Denali line. Also the new Colorado should be matched with a Chevy Blazer/Trailblazer both with an SS Variant with the LT1 under the hood with lowered suspensions and everything else to combat the SRT Durango and the more than likely return of the Dakota R/T or SRT pickup because we all know its coming and its coming soon.
Along with just the cars, trucks and SUVs, a really good thought would be for Chevrolet to add to the accessories and performance options they have. It’s no secret that people love their cars. People have been hooking up cars for generations and people love having warranties on their cars and their modifications. With that being said, GM Performance could offer more cold air intakes, short tube headers, cat back exhaust systems, lowering springs, heads, cams, intake manifolds, Brakes, etc for their cars and have all of this stuff warrantied through GM Authorized dealers. Honestly, why go aftermarket when you can get everything right from a dealership and have it all warrantied? Partnering with companies such as Borla, Corsa, and Magnaflow for exhaust systems, JLT, AFE and Airaid for intakes and Edelbrock or Holley for the engine components, and Brembo and Eibach for suspension and brake upgrades would seriously make sense because each of these companies are at the top of their game and offer quality parts. With those kinds of parts plus a factory backed ECU tune would bring in a ton of money to GM. Also consider styling, lighting and wheels. people love options such as hoods, spoilers, lights, steering wheels and seats. We need more options for those as well and not with just the camaro but for the SUVs and trucks as well. Even with the way i mentioned the Cruze above, you take that and give people performance and styling options, people will flock. Even different stereo options, would be cool, Harman/Kardon, Alpine, Pioneer & Bose. If people have options from the factory then GM makes money, Period. Even for the people who aren’t interested in performance and all the big stuff, smaller accessories are still a major thing as well. Long story short, GM has a lot it could do even just with the Chevrolet brand. I didn’t even cover GMC, Buick or Cadillac. I mean a lot of people would love to see Pontiac come back (which would be cool if Pontiac could go under the GMC umbrella as the car lineup for GMC because who wouldn’t love to see the Firebird Trans Am, and the GTO return along with the Grand Prix and the Bonneville right?) The big thing is honestly if GM is going to keep Buick, they need to stop making them rebadged Opel cars. It’s time American cars go back to being American cars and stop being so focused on being European competitors. If people want European cars that’s fine, let them buy European cars. But there is still a huge population of America that just wants a good, old fashioned reliable American car. For a long time, Chevrolet was that brand. Yes i know that Electric cars are coming and that they have their place in every aspect from economy to performance and i’m all for that. Truth be told is that there needs to be electric cars on the road. (not Tesla) Honestly with Buick being what it is, Buick would be the perfect segment of GM to go heavy for electric vehicles. Buick has been that quiet brand for a long time without much excitement so to switch Buick over to the all-electric brand should actual bring forth more of a reason for Buick to still be in existence. An all-electric Buick Electra maybe?? makes sense right? Take what was going to be the Buick Avenir sedan and put dual electric motors in it to the tune of a base 400hp and have a high performance Electra Wildcat GS pushing out 600hp and a high luxury variant “Electra-Park Avenue.” Even the beautiful looking Buick Avista wouldn’t seem too out of place as an Alpha-2 platform dual motor high performance 700hp AWD performance vehicle would it? Would it be too far out of line to imagine a 600hp Buick Avista GSX or a 700hp GSX Stage-2, both with dual electric motors and AWD running the streets with hot colors and aerodynamics and high performance handling and braking? I mean yeah of course there’s going to be the more civilized 200hp AWD dual motor version for the average commuter traveling back and forth, but let’s breathe some life back into Buick for a little while! The only thing i will say for Cadillac is that it needs to completely differentiate itself from everything else in the GM lineup. What i mean by that is nothing should share a silhouette with anything else in GM’s lineup, that includes the Escalade. It should carry the smooth and angular design of the rest of Cadillac and it should be a little lower to the ground. It needs to be on the level of a large AMG or BMW M vehicles (oh yeah and Cadillac needs something to kick the AMG SUV’s butts as well as that Porsche SUV as well) Cadillac is my only exception to my statement of not chasing European cars because Cadillac is a luxury car and it should be at the helm of Luxury cars and that means luxury performance cars as well. It also brings me to my next point that the Corvette should be handed over to Cadillac now and let the Cadillac performance team and Team Corvette move the car to the next platform so it can truly lay waste to Lamborghini. Chevrolet has done an excellent job with the Corvette thus far and it’s only fair to let this star vehicle elevate itself to the level it should be on and i feel that moving it to Cadillac would be the way to go.
Don’t worry about what Ford is doing, let Ford fail on its own. Ford has been floundering around in the shallows, afraid to step out and do what it needs to do for a long time. Let them choke themselves on their ecoboost failures and everything else they’re doing wrong and just keep moving forward. At this point, Ford should just hook up with Tesla and stick to electric commercial fleet vehicles and things like that. Most people now days don’t even want a Ford vehicle because they are terrible. If Dodge ever fully gets themselves together they will bury Ford because Dodge, jeep, ram, Chrysler have it going on already, they just need a few things tweaked and they’ve got it made. Don’t get me wrong, Ford has a few okay ideas but for the most part, they’re lynching themselves with those stupid Ecoboost engines and front wheel drive chassis vehicles, It’s why nobody wants their sedans. Beyond the fact that they are boring, bland, lifeless and somewhat ugly, their vehicles don’t have any feeling to them. They’re numb and mindless. The mustang is the only decent vehicle ford has and it’s not all that hot. But i’m not going to get into all of that right now. The thing is that GM has a lot of potential. I would love to see the ideas that i had above come to life and i think it would seriously help General motors take over a major part of the auto industry. I would love to see Mopar do a lot of the stuff I mentioned above as well but that’s a comment for another day.
I dont buy cars and trucks to sale at a later date as a investment! There are cars and trucks that you buy to keep for the rest of your life and then there are throw away cars!
So I dont care about how much the cars and trucks are worth because when I buy a used car or truck that I want to keep I buy it with the intention of having it for decades!
Of course with the modern ones I am usually disappointed and getting rid of them within a couple of years because of breakage or repossession.
You’re getting vehicles repossessed? Man, that is so cool! What is your credit score…22?
Gm has to build a legend for its Z, SS cars or V cars for Cadillac, through movies, series and games. GM cars must be the star to get people attracted to them.
When Chevrolet brands a product with the Z-label, it means the vehicle is elite and to drop it for something else doesn’t make much sense as even when Chevrolet vehicles are electrified; putting a Z on a specific model will mean the same thing as it tells everyone that this vehicle is elite.