I heard rumors about a 5th Gen coming out in 2004, can anyone prove or disprove this?

 

key word

 

I heard the same thing. It will probablly turn into some front wheel drive family car like the Impala.

 

And the rumours only involve the Camaro, the bird is supposed to be done for. Ive heard later dates than 2004 though....

 

I know a guy who knows a guy at GM (man that sounds bad, but it's true) that told me to watch the Indy 500 in April 03. The pace car is supposed to be some new Chevy sports car. The guy would not confirm whether or not it is going to be a Camaro or any other details about it. He just stressed very heavily to make sure that I watch the race and that I would not be disappointed. I know this sounds either stupid or fake, but knowing my friend to be an honest person, and knowing who the information comes from (sorry can't say), I believe him. So all I can say is watch the race. We very well may see the next Chevy sports car; possibly a Camaro.

 

IF Pontiac actually gets things going....
The GTO/Monaro will get off the ground, but I will really sincerely MISS the Firebird. It's a strange feeling to walk into the dealership only to discover a new "sport" car that is going the way of the J-body.
Blecch!
I sure hope that Pontiac builds something along the lines of a new F-Body or Y-Body design. Would love to see something come out of the same plant as the Vette for the new Firebird.
If that is the case, the new Firebird will be NOTHING like the old Firebird, but be designed around the Y-body....
Put your imagination to work on that.
I can envision that for the new Firebird. Maybe a 4 seater hatchback, maybe not.
It's the Pontiac engineers that have to consider their standpoint on the musclecar. If all they need is Monaro for the new generation, say bye bye to good looking cars.
Everything will come out of the same mold. Is that what it has come down to? Sacrifice everything for that? No flagship car anymore?
Reminds me of what Dodge did when they re-introduced the Charger. That was a mistake. What a mess. Is Pontiac going to fold up and not build a new unique Firebird? I hope that someone from GM reads this.
We don't want the Firebird or the Camaro to become a cookie-cutter of another model..... with the name on it to DISGRACE what it is.
We don't want the Firebird or Camaro to become a FWD vehicle. We want it to be what it is! WAKE UP GM!

 

The Indy 500 will probably be paced by the new RWD Cadillac CTS. I think I "know this guy who knows a guy at GM" that you are talking about. The new Camaro will probably be built on the Sigma platform (the CTS platform). If it is the same guy, then he already knows the details, since he works with the speedway on their automotive program and already knows the 2004 Indy pace car also. It has also been confirmed that the Camaro will return as a RWD V8 and remain true to it's roots. The Camaro is pulling a 1983 Corvette stunt! The Firebird, unfortunately, has been axed, and no knowledge of it's return has been confirmed.

The idea to watch the indy 500 was to see that GM is going back to RWD and the car that will pace it is also going to be a performance model. The same platform as the returning Camaro. Ihave not heard of dates yet, but I am thinking an '04 return for the '05 model year.

 

Actually I read an article before they quit production of both cars. The Firebird will return if Camaro does according to the article. I think it was in a issue of motortrend. Or one of the other more mainstream publications. If I can find the article I will post it.

 

No not the same guy. I'm not sure who this guy at the speedway is. Oh hell I'll just say it. The guy I know knows Scott Settlemire. All I know is that Scott said we should watch the race.

 

The Camaro will be a Camaro no doubt. RWD, V8, beats M*****gs, and handles better than any1 would expect a musclecar to. I would say the car will be back before or at the 40th Anniversary. It will be back though.

 

I HIGHLY doubt the camaro will be done forever......

 

I know a guy who works for GM in lansing MI, told me he is not allowed to say whether there will be another camaro or bird but he did say they have future plans (designs) for the camaro and also said if they bring the camaro back pontiac will not say anything about the bird to raise the anticipation of it, what ever the hell that means.

 

GM recently released some sketches of a new car called the Chevrolet SS, which i'm pretty sure is going to be Chevy's version of the GTO. And as far as the Camaro is concerned, just be patient...

Don't worry about that....GM is working on making more and more RWD cars...trust me, I work for GM Powertrain.

 

I founnd this on another site

 

Ugh
whats with these styles
UGH!

 

NOOOO!

 

that thing is fugly

 

That thing reminds me of the Pontiac Solstice that's coming out next year I think. I'd like to see the Firebird and Camaro go back to the first and second generations where they looked at least a little alike. The new Firebird looks too insect like IMO and the Camaro front looks a little like the Sebring.
David

 

Concitering that we are in the 2003 model year already, I'm doubting the Camaro will return in less then a year with all of the safty requirements that have to be met (one reason for the f-body's dismissal was that GM would have to sink more money into the platform to comply with new federal regulations in 2003).

I read an article that a Missouri F-body Association member posted on our website ( http://www.mofba.net/ ) from Scott himself that hinted towards the car being reintroduced sometime in the near future. What ANYONE hears is only rumor. The only facts are known by GM emplyees that have sworn to keep their knowledge to themselves.

Just wait, I am doubting that GM is going to disapoint us...

Matt

 

All I can say is this is a news report that a friend of mine shipped me Via Auto week.

Its OFFICAL THEY ARE COMING BACK
By RICHARD TRUETT
Automotive News

General Motors is putting the pedal to the metal in an effort to get high-performance niche vehicles into its showrooms and to bolster dealership parts department sales of its performance parts and accessories.

In a speech Wednesday to Detroit-based auto writers, Mark Reuss, executive director of GM's Performance Division, said GM plans to:


Build at least one high-performance model for each division, a vehicle that leverages the division's performance heritage, such as Super Sport or SS models for Chevrolet and GTO for Pontiac.


Look a for a suitable rear-wheel drive platform for a next generation Chevrolet Camaro.


Take on Honda and other import-brands with its own array of high-performance four- and six-cylinder engines.


Enable younger drivers to customize their vehicles with factory appearance packages and performance kits to be sold over the counter at GM dealerships. GM will first introduce items for entry level vehicles from Saturn, Chevrolet and Pontiac.

"As people buy our vehicles, we'd like for them also to be able to afford and buy performance and appearance pieces that they may not have had the money for when they bought the new car in the first place," Reuss said.

GM can move fast to bring some high-performance vehicles to market. If the vehicle retains the same engine but just gets horsepower and suspension tweaks, GM's Performance Division can have it in showrooms in as few as 12 months, Reuss said.

But GM will be playing catch up. GM has not had a four-cylinder that performance enthusiasts have embraced. And Ford's Special Vehicle Team or SVT, will build its 100,000th high-performance vehicle this year. Also, Honda dominates the small-car tuner market.

However, GM's performance strategy differs from that of Ford Motor Co. and the Chrysler group. In most instances, GM's performance models, Reuss said, will be marketed as a way to freshen products that have been in showrooms for awhile or where the assembly plant is not being fully utilized.

"Part of the way we look at performance on existing brands is that we look at the lifecycle of a product," said Reuss. "We are not going to go crazy in the last year of a lifecycle of an architecture of a product. We want to look at the business of when it makes sense to do a performance version."

Reuss said the GM Performance Division is working with all GM divisions to identify potential performance vehicles and to create tuner parts for older vehicles.

"We are going to have a pretty consistent rollout of different products and different power train options as we go through the next couple of years," he said.

GM's performance vehicles won't just be cars. Trucks also will be given more horsepower, firmer suspensions and special appearance packages. Reuss said the new Hummer H2 especially lends itself to the performance treatment.

Jon Moss, GM's manager of special vehicles, said GM in the past has not done a good enough job bringing many of its performance-oriented show cars to market. Though Moss wouldn't criticize former GM North America president Ron Zarrella, who left last year to go run Bausch and Lomb, he did say the new regime at GM is much more open to building performance vehicles that will be put into production.

Said Moss: "We have done some (performance vehicles), but not as much as we'd like to. But now here comes Mark Reuss. He's established the Performance Division. The whole idea is…to take some of these 'wow' cars that we are doing and make them real and get them into the showroom. Bob Lutz and Reuss are empowered now to make that happen.

 

I think the thirdgens looked the best. They have a ferrari like look to them. mean and aggressive.

 

I think that a return to the longer nose look would be nice. Have you looked under the hood of a 4th gen? Even the 6s are shoved under the cowl so far they're almost hidden. The 80's and early 90's look of the vettes and firebirds are my favorite production car look period.
David

 

I found this one somewhere. 2005 Camaro retro concept.

 

I dont think GM has Offically released concept drawings of the Camaro yet so you got to understand that these pics might be artist concepts & not the real thing.

 

They aren't real, they're concepts.

 

Well either way, the above concept looks a hell of a lot better than the ugly blue retro/half truck thing. Hopefully GM would realize that.

 

this was in the back of Eather super Chevy or the Old camaro magazine i cant rember

 

heres rear of the car

 

OMG:rockon: That's by far the best concept that I've seen so far. Man if they do something along those lines they'll sell a tomn of them, well in my opinion anyway.

 

they have said somethin about bringin it back.. no way they would stop making the car all together... here is a pic from motor trend... i think its sweet

 

just want to answer the original question:

"5th Gen in 2004?"

no way, no how.

the best place for latest info is this 5th gen forum. there's great info deep into that forum.. won't find much on the first page but look at older threads as well, and you'll see there's no chance for 5th gen in 2004.

 

well theres one thing we can count on. Thay well Bring it back. Thats just how GM is, Gm well Kill a Car and Bring it back Thats what car Company.

I think gm is making a smart move with Killing the car for now. Cous when thay bring it back The camaro is gona be one of the hotest car on the market (if thay make it look right that is)..

But thats just my $0.2

 

2004 doesn't seam that far fetched at all. Once a car's design has been approved they can gear up pretty quick for production. Take for example that Pontiac roadster concept that was unveiled this year on the car show circut. This was a functioning car and not merely a clay mockup. It was put together in a very short time. Once a platform decision is made getting final designs to production takes a hell of a lot less time than it did in the seventies when our cars were being concieved.We have no idea what the General is up to, perhaps all designs and molds are in the can and this hiatus is merely a marketing ploy to stir up interest and to leak a few concepts to the public to see if the design team is on the right track or not. AS I said earlier with the design software and hardware that the big 3 have it is amazing how quickly changes can be iimplemented once a basic shared platform is established. Powertrain has probably already been established (either LS1 or LS6) rumours are that the big three are shifting back to rear wheel drive anyway,so platforms may have been in development for some time. Who knows right? Its all a guessing game. We could see a 2004 release, but as a 2005 model. Our cars were in development for such a long period because of indecision,whether to go FWD or RWD, and numerous changes to the design. Hopefully the return of the Camaro won't be hampered by coperate politics.We have no Idea how much work has been done on the 5th gen, if any at all. FOr all we know they could have started development years ago.

 

I talked to Scott Settlemire at the F-Body Gathering in Atlanta. He said very little in the way of actual good info, cause obviously he can't tell everyone he meets at these car shows what is going on behind GM's tightly closed doors. But what he did say is that we won't be disappointed (i.e. it won't be a *****), the car will be RWD, and it will probably be a Camaro only (no Firebird) with expected sales of 40,000 a year.

 

Only 40,000 a year is just stupid. The Camaro has always been a high volume car. Low volume usually means a price increase. Get with it GM.

 

And the only reason I'm not that crazy about those concepts is because they bring nothing new. If I wanted a 1st Gen I would buy 1.

 

That's true. I think they're shooting for such a low production number because they know they can sell that many, and won't be stuck with having allocated a lot of production resources to a car that might not sell a whole lot. Oh yeah, I forgot. Scott also said that for the Corvette and Camaro, they aren't going for a retro look, cause they can't make them as aerodynamic.

 

Well thats good because if I wanted any other Gen I can buy it. They do need to keep specific Camaro cues in it in places though, but not the entire car.

 

i don't see it coming back in 04'. I see 06'-07'
they would have said something if it was coming in 04'
we already know that the monte carlo is going to be RWD in 05' so I don't see GM going for two new RWD sports cars in the same year, because they will hurt each others sales.
BTW for the guy that said that 40,000 sales is low, just think that the 02' camaros there where only like 22,000 made!!!!
biker