Six Things That Went Wrong With The Sixth-Gen Chevy Camaro: Opinion
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We’ll just come right out and say it: the situation with the Chevy Camaro isn’t pretty. In fact, it’s downright ugly.
During its first model year back on the market, the fifth-generation, Chevy Camaro recorded over 81,000 deliveries in 2010. Comparatively, the sixth-generation Camaro saw only 29,775 deliveries in 2020. That was during a year riddled with COVID-related production issues, so let’s wind the clock back a year to 2019, when the muscle car sold only 48,265 units. But those figures were also impacted by the UAW’s infamous strike that sapped roughly 40 days of production, not to mention development of vehicle programs. In 2018, a year not impacted by any issues, the Camaro recorded a measly 50,963 deliveries. No matter which way you slice it, Camaro sales have been on a downward trajectory ever since 2014 – the high point of fifth- and sixth-gen sales volume.
Sales Results - USA - Camaro
| Year | Total |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 24,688 |
| 2022 | 24,652 |
| 2021 | 21,893 |
| 2020 | 29,775 |
| 2019 | 48,265 |
| 2018 | 50,963 |
| 2017 | 67,940 |
| 2016 | 72,705 |
| 2015 | 77,502 |
| 2014 | 86,297 |
| 2013 | 80,567 |
| 2012 | 84,391 |
| 2011 | 88,249 |
| 2010 | 81,299 |
*** This manufacturer is now publishing only quarterly numbers for this market. Monthly figures may be averages.
With the Camaro set to be discontinued after the 2024 model year, let’s take a step back and explore what led to the legendary nameplate’s second demise.
GM’s Strategic Pivot
Arguably the biggest reason for the Camaro’s upcoming demise was not the car itself, but rather the monumental change in business strategy by Chevy parent, General Motors. The Detroit-based automaker made a very conscious and strategic decision to go all-in electric vehicles (EVs), autonomous vehicles (AVs), and other new business ventures such as BrightDrop, GM Defense, HydroTec, Cruise, and the now-discontinued Maven, Book by Cadillac and Ariv.
All of those areas required massive financial outlays in the billions, absorbing capital from low-volume, low-margin products like the Camaro. The newfound direction also meant redirecting planning, design, and engineering staff to those new projects, with the most famous example being the assignment of Camaro chief engineer, Al Oppenheiser, to the GMC Hummer EV program. All that resulted in less important yet fun products like the Camaro being put out to pasture.
However, the problems with the Camaro started way before GM’s major strategic pivot. Let’s now explore the product-related issues that plagued the sixth-gen Camaro.
Issue 1: More Expensive Entry-Level Models
When the sixth-gen Camaro launched for the 2016 model year, its starting price was $1,995 higher than that of the previous-generation 2015 model. The difference grew to $3,490 for models equipped with the 3.6L LGX V6 engine, since the base 2016 Camaro was equipped with a turbo four-cylinder – the 2.0L LTG I4 – a first for the nameplate. Then, SS models with the 6.2L LT1 V8 engine started $2,795 more than their fifth-gen equivalents. The increase in price appeared to create a scenario that pushed price-conscious buyers to more affordable offerings from Ford and Dodge.
GM reacted by introducing the 3LT trim level for the 2019 model year, which enabled Chevy to offer the Camaro 1LT and 2LT trim levels with less equipment and at lower price points than the 2016-2018 Camaro models. By this time, though, the downward spiral in Camaro sales figures had already taken hold.
Similarly, higher prices of Camaro V8 models compared to those of the Mustang GT base and Challenger R/T compounded the issue and resulted in the introduction of the bare-bones LT1 model for the 2020 model year. When it entered the market, the LT1 had a starting price of $34,995, making it more affordable than the V8-powered Challenger and Mustang models and about $2,000 less than a 2019 Camaro 1SS. Although it was more affordable, the LT1 still offered respectable components, including Brembo brakes and Recaro performance seats.
Issue 2: Controversial Design
Whether you love it, like it, or hate it, the styling of the sixth-generation Chevy Camaro has always been a point of contention. The general consensus is that the new model wasn’t different enough from its fifth-gen predecessor, which ultimately worked against the muscle car.
While this is indeed a subjective measure, the way a vehicle looks and its perception in the public eye can surely be a contributing factor when it comes to sales performance. To that end, this is not merely a reflection of what we think of the car ourselves. Yours truly was a big fan of the sixth-gen Camaro, particularly the monstrous ZL1 1LE. In fact, I liked it so much that I decided to purchase my very own.
To assuage criticism that the design of the sixth-gen Camaro wasn’t different enough from the fifth-gen model, Chevy updated the styling in conjunction with the 2019 model year refresh. Notably, the ZL1 trim level was the only model to forego the updated fascia, which ended up backfiring on The Bow Tie. The short-lived facelift generated such a negative reaction that the automaker made a snap decision to introduce a “concept” fascia design for the car during the 2018 SEMA show. The revised front end was then rolled out for the 2020 model year, effectively representing a facelift to the facelift.
Despite rolling out a hasty correction for the questionable change – which was ironically done to boost sales in the first place – interest in the pony car continued to dwindle. To put it in perspective, 48,265 units of the Camaro were sold in 2019 versus 29,775 units in 2020.
Issue 3: Poor Outward Visibility
The sixth-gen Camaro was often hammered for its less-than-optimal outward visibility. While some might disagree with this criticism (myself included), the point stands that it is much harder to see out of one of these Camaros than its direct rival – the Mustang. In its defense, select trim levels come standard with blind spot detection, and some drivers appreciate a vehicle that requires a heightened sense of awareness.
Inspiring a sense of confidence is a major selling point for cars in this segment, and while the Camaro certainly does so mechanically, it arguably leaves much to be desired when one is actually sitting behind the steering wheel, which brings us to our next point: the interior.
Issue 4: Sub-Par Interior Materials And Quality
Another demerit for the Gen Six Camaro was its interior quality, or lack thereof. Generally speaking, the Camaro cost more than its rivals, creating the expectation of a superior cabin than its competitors. For some, the Camaro’s higher levels of performance, handling and driver engagement more than overcame the demerits of its cabin, but that also wasn’t the case for many.
Aside from feeling cramped, the plastics and seating materials were often criticized for “feeling cheap” and leaving much to be desired. The forward-leaning center screen was also a bit strange, though in its defense, it does prevent sun glare in Convertible models.
Issue 5: Little To No Marketing
Unfortunately, many are simply unaware of the Camaro’s existence, even today. Sure, the Camaro has more presence than the Holden Commodore-based Chevy SS sedan, but the fact remains that we rarely saw any commercials or ads for the sixth-gen Camaro. In fact, my own Camaro was even mistaken for a Mustang. While a more passionate car enthusiast would have never made this mistake, a car needs to be recognized and well-received by the general public and broader consumer base if it has any chance of achieving sales success (see Tesla), which is the number-one priority in a business that aims to turn a profit.
Ironically, the Chevy Camaro ZL1 has finally made it to the big screen in the movie Free Guy in which it plays a supporting role for Ryan Reynolds’ character, Guy. The spotlight is, however, perhaps a bit too late to have any positive impact on the muscle car’s future.
Issue 6: More Sports Car Than Muscle Car
Speaking of performance, did we mention the fact that the 2018 Camaro ZL1 1LE ran a 7 minute and 16 second lap at the Nürburgring? While the Gen Six Camaro was praised for this feat, it began to be referred to as a sports coupe. Moving away from its muscle car roots may have done more harm than good to the nameplate, as its lesser-capable rivals began to widen the sales gap. In addition, Chevy already has a bonafide sports car in its stable – the Corvette. Despite the latter being twice as expensive (or even more), having two sports cars in the family might not have been a winning formula.
Ultimately, this is where the Camaro fell short. It’s beloved by enthusiasts who want top-dollar performance on a budget, but doesn’t really deliver for anyone else. While it can be praised as being one of the most capable vehicles of its time and lauded for giving buyers affordable performance, it looks like a failed product in the eyes of the accounting department.
Looking back, all of these factors contributed to the seemingly inevitable demise of the Chevy Camaro. Plans for the seventh-gen ICE model have been shelved, and GM has been very mum on whether or not the nameplate will live on as a high-performance electric vehicle. At least GM execs haven’t completely ruled out the possibility.
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Had a ‘17 Vette Z51. Forward visibility was better than my ‘19 2SS 1LE, but other than that….nope. When GM announced a change for the ‘20 front end I was thinking 57 years in the past. Anyone remember the ‘63 Vette, looked awesome but people hated the rear visibility. Another Chevy one-off, perhaps some value 30-40 years from now….who knows. Give it to my grandkids.
It was the styling.
Some say it looked too much like the 5th gen, but I say it didn’t look ENOUGH like the 5th gen.
The general public loved the 5th gen due to it’s retro design.
The 6th gen forego all of that in favor of a weak, generic, foreign design.
They 86ed the coke-bottle look for a bland design. The rear quarter window shape is awkward. The gap between the rear quarter window and rear shoulder line was too big. The coving on the door opened at the front instead of the back.
I studied transportation design at CCS. The 6th gen design is a disaster.
Most of the 6th gen concepts were way better looking than what was actually released
Being a 50 year Chev/ Camaro owner, I recently rented a 2020 Camaro in Las Vegas and came away with the opinion of who would buy one of these. Was hard to climb in and out of, low visibility, hard to drive in traffic, ugly grill, back seat so small only a small child can sit and a lame ass 4 cylinder. Sorry, the only thing it had going on was the name plate.
I LIKE driving a car (Buciks, & Camaro) BUT park where you have to back out and have 2 SUV/Trucks park on either side of you … by the time the “rear” alarm or camera shows anything, You been hit. I’m 70, my first car was a “used” ’67 Camaro SS (1969) still love Camaros & Vettes, just not getting hit in a parking lot (twice already in 4 yrs)
I only agree with reason 5, 6. GM,s commercials suck all together theses days so they would be better not to market cause they suck! The 5th gen camaro commercials was good, talking about the magna ride and it’s performance. Which in turn got 90 lbs girls to buy it cause of its looks. And the outward visibility wasn’t much different back then and people didn’t care then. The 6th gen Became less of a gimmick and more of a purpose built machine that did better then its nameplate if you ask me. It was a 2+2 corvette which if you ask me is suited with the vette going mid engine. Moving forward do you ignore what the original purpose for the creation of the camaro is for which is to beat the mustang, and literally try to be a mustang and create a car that something for everyone and more practical?
Love my 6th Gen Camaro SS!! Fast and very fun to drive! The convertible eliminates any perceived “visibility” issues, especially with the top down most of the year here in central Florida. I don’t really care how many they sell – if there are fewer on the road, it makes mine that more noticeable.
I’m awfully tired about low visibility comments unless you own one.
What’s funny is that no one has mentioned NASCAR as the Camaro is the Chevy nameplate for the sport. They tried with the SS and screwed that up so making the move to the Camaro along with Ford to the Mustang made total sense. Too bad numerous Chevy wins by big names and big teams couldn’t help the car either.
For whatever reason, Chevy and GM just can’t get this right and shifted attention to the Stingray because why not?
I am not a Ford guy, but if I had the money I would own a Mustang. The Camero just doesn’t ooze the classic look that it needs to survive. It needs to show some heritage. And it just doesn’t.
The interior is strange looking . It doesn’t look classy or expensive.
I agree it’s going away because that’s what gm wants.
How stupid is the lower case gm??! Idiots….
I don’t think GM will survive the future. They or is it she (Mary) has no idea what people want….
And female customers. Well my wife has a Pontiac Solstice and she likes it a lot. It’s small and easy to park.
But even she would take the Mustang over the Camero..
Ed Welburn and company were told by enthusiasts 14 years ago to style the 2010 as a total clone of the 69. We all know what they gave us. And this is a guy who owns a 69. Geez.
Thereafter, enhancements every few years in terms of horsepower and models. They’d have a Challenger on their hands which wouldn’t have been a bad thing, no ?
I always felt the 5.3 would have been a great and economical engine choice for the Camaro but it was never offered.
Love the 6th generation, have owned two of them….a 2017 and a 2021….The camaro is a great car…The one thing is the LT1 base model V8 should have come out a lot sooner priced at $29,995…If that would have come out in 2016 that would have flown off the shelf…The 6th generation camaro was in a couple of movies, but it would have been nice just to see one, “just one” nice Chevy Camaro commercial sort of like the old 1980’s Bob Seger “like a rock” commercials. Belleive me, image through marketing works…I think bringing the Camaro back was Oppeneimer and Ed Welburn’s “baby” and they did bring it back and did a fantastic job! people went crazy. I think the 6th generation needed some more “muscle” to be a muscle car instead of a sports car. if only they could have a 7th generation camaro and combined somehow the 5th and 6th generation they could have come up with something great…Well, how about bringing back the Chevelle? Shape it like the 68-72 models and you would have a big winner!….
Trust GM
Too hard to see out of.
Don’t care. Love my 6th gen 1LT V6. Period.
The Camaro failed because it is pretty hideous looking, and you can’t see out of it, poor materials, and it isn’t doing anything really impressive anymore. Most pople don’t care about a car that goes really fast because it has a huge V8 engine putting out alot of horsepower. People want to go vast in a smaller V6 o 4 cylinder engine with good gas mileage and less emission. And no the Camaro doesn’t outperform the Challenger or the Musang. The Mustang GT with PP goes 0-60 in 3.9 with the auto and low 12s. The Camaro has been dying for years, the Fan boys just keep ignoring the truth about that and keep up with lies about how great of a car it is, and how its a great value. It really isn’t if it was, more people would buy it.
For all you naysayers about the Camaro visibility. Take a look at the link below. Fill in the (dot) with a period. There you’ll see the three competitors in comparison and notice the height of the front side window. On each the heights are nearly identical. The perception of low visibility is the rear window slope. The Camaro is more raked with a higher deck lid. What is certain is the vehicle sits low. While in my Camaro and I’m next to a Challenger or Mustang I’m slightly looking up and the other door belt lines are higher. The roofs are higher. Glass wise they are nearly the same.
www (Dot) motortrend (Dot) com/features/ford-mustang-chevrolet-camaro-dodge-challenger-insurance-prices-premiums/
GM should bring back one plant 4 car lines where by the slow build can be compensated by the faster selling line, Canada built the Autoplex and the USA Corporation did away with it. The bean counters like one plant one line. Open up Canada with the lines that only sell 15,000 a month cars and Trucks as it did for 100 years it worked there.
I have a terrific 2019 Black Camaro SS 6 speed that outruns everything except supercars. With 455 horses and 455 torque it is a really fun car to drive on the street. The seats are quite comfortable as opposed to C7 Vette seats. With 42000 miles I have never had a problem. I have raced Scat Pack Challengers and always won. I paid only $34,300 when new. The value proposition compared to much more expensive supercars is much better. Yes, Chevy Marketing sucks big time. The flow tie sucks but it doesn’t matter. The sill lines are kinda high. The Goodyear tires were terrible, but now the Michelin 4s tires are perfect. So I will buy another one hopefully with an LT2. I think the Engineering has been excellent. My kids are grown so the back seat is fine for my small coolers. I am a computer professional. – Hey Mary building electric cars for California will be a disaster because the grid is not reliable. Collusion with Biden should be illegal! FJB! No electric here.
ONE REASON. GM cheapness and penny pinching! GM missmanagment will spend a dollar to save a dime. Their other position is save a dime now knowing it will cost a dollar later. GM think is what causes problems at GM. The entire entrenched management needs to be flushed and replaced..
Ding Ding Ding
This is the correct answer.
And it needs to start with Mary
Did you see the video of the big over paid fat guy from Ford saying Elon Musk will learn just how hard it is to build cars.
Now Ford is saying they need to watch and learn from Musk…….