Follow us on TwitterMove Over Mustang; Camaro Tops The Pony Car Charts
The Camaro is officially back. Yes it’s back as in being produced again back, but also back as in capturing the hearts and minds of the motoring public. The Camaro is the car to have on the automotive scene right now, and that must feel really good for General Motors. Bankruptcy, what bankruptcy? Camaro buyers don’t seem to care.
The Ford Mustang is pretty much a perennial best-seller, doing well for Ford consistently over the years. When the original Camaro came out in the 1960′s it sort of missed the initial pony car craze and it wasn’t until the late 1970′s that the Camaro ever passed the Mustang in yearly sales volume.
I feared the same situation could have repeated itself now; once again GM was late to the game with the Camaro. Ford had scored a blockbuster hit with it’s retro Mustang remake. This time around, things are different though. For the month of June, the Camaro topped the Mustang with 9,320 vs. 7,632 units sold. That is very impressive given there are only two Camaro models at present, the V-6 RS and V-8 SS. As you well know, the Mustang has a plenthora of models available. What’s more, this is with no sales incentives and the weight of the bankruptcy that is currently looming over General Motors.
This is very good, but of course it’s just the beginning. We’ll see how the Camaro fares as time goes on - the Mustang has proven to have long-term durability. Will the Camaro do the same? While the Camaro is a hit, sales for both the Camaro and Mustang are impressive; this is where the action is right now. The poor Challenger? A distant third with only 1,369 units sold.
You know, Tony, this is what I’ve been saying all along about GM. If they would stop rebadging a mediocre vehicle for multiple brand channels and focus their energy on doing one thing really, really good, they wouldn’t be in the trouble they’re in right now.
Case in point, the new Camaro. Nevermind the publicity from the Camaro being in the biggest hit movie in years – twice. This is a unique, from the wheels up vehicle. Look at how it does in comparos against it’s cohorts! Not only does it look better, it makes more power, gets better MPGs, and even handles better?
At the same time, this wonderful new Camaro frustrates the hell out of me. How can GM see how this – their one truly unique vehicle under $100,000 – is on FIRE right now, and not be looking to further trim the fat from their bloated, badge-engineering department? Why invest a DIME in figuring out how to turn the Malibu into a Lacrosse or tweaking a Traverse enough that we can call it a Terrain to replace the Torrent that nobody gave a shit about in the first place? Why, why, why?
Ugh.