From making a strong presence in blockbuster movies to being an enthusiast favorite, the Chevrolet Camaro has blessed the muscle car scene since the 1960s. The Camaro is one of four thoroughbred muscle cars that have stood the test of time. Talk about looks and prowess—the Camaro is stunning and representative of American culture.
However, recent years have been tough on the legendary Camaro. Since the arrival of the sixth-generation Camaro in 2016, it has had the hardest days. And there are a plethora of reasons. To make things worse, the hegemony of the Corvette C8 sports car and GM’s plans simply ruined Bumblebee’s future. So how did Chevrolet and GM soft-kill the Camaro without even trying?
Chevy’s Unending Obsession With The Corvette C8 Sports Car
Chevrolet has heavily favored the Corvette since the last decade and has kept it regularly updated to preserve its relevance among sports cars. It was the first Vette to feature a mid-engine layout and marked GM’s revival of mid-engined sports cars since the advent of the Pontiac Fiero in the 1980s.
GM put its best efforts into the C8 Corvette and equipped it with a 495-hp 6.2L Small Block V-8 LT2 engine that made the C8 the fastest Vette to date. Also, Chevrolet kept its pricing under $60,000 and marketed it as "a true supercar for every day".
This January, Chevrolet introduced the Corvette E-Ray hybrid sportscar to mark the company’s leap into evolution. Hence, the Corvette C8 became an instant hit and further overshadowed the aging Camaro.
Chevrolet Is Focusing More On SUVs And Pickups
The Camaro contributes only 12% of the total share among cars while the Corvette ups by 16%, as reported by GM Authority. The Malibu sedan, with 54% of sales, is the most profitable among cars.
The numbers are massive when it comes to trucks and SUVs. Chevy sold 1,518,048 vehicles in 2022, of which 523,249 (34% of truck sales) were Silverados, followed by 529,765 (36.8%) in 2021.
Apart from the Silverado, Chevrolet sold 212,072 Equinox, 105,756 Tahoe, 96,965 Traverse, 89,197 Colorado, and 67,246 Blazer, according to best-selling-cars.com.
GM's plans of going fully electric by 2040 and R&D on EVs further hindered the upgrade of the Camaro. Chevrolet is focusing on building a strong EV lineup and already has the electric versions of the Equinox, Silverado, and Blazer scheduled for launch. Hence, both GM and Chevrolet have no choice but to preserve profitable models and desert the Camaro because of its poor sales.
Chevrolet Simply Abandoned The Camaro Muscle Car
Similar to the Corvette, the Camaro was getting old since its generation upgrade in 2016, but Chevy simply ignored it. Thus, the Camaro started falling behind with older looks, cheap materials, and many problems. All of this made it inferior in the niche and ultimately plagued its sales.
Despite being relatively new, the 2016, 2017, and 2018 Camaro models turned out to be the worst of this generation. Abrupt engine problems, rattling noises, bad mileage, cheap materials, and problematic electronics took an aggressive dig at the Camaro’s reputation and sales. The Camaro’s overall design simply failed to allure buyers. Not only was the interior shabby compared to what its rivals were offering, but buyers also found the exterior design to be nothing but a refreshed version of the preceding Camaro.
With the arrival of the sixth-generation Camaro in 2016, Chevy registered a sale of 72,705 units, which fell by 6.77% in 2017 and a shocking drop of 28.55% in 2018. All these led to an even more shocking fall of 98.7% in 2022. This led GM and Chevy to prioritize the Corvette and, more importantly, SUVs and pickup trucks.
The Camaro Failed To Brush Against Ford And Dodge Rivals
The muscle car war is heavily localized, with only Ford, Chevrolet, and Dodge fighting. But Dodge and Ford planted the nails in the Camaro’s coffin to intensify the duel.
Let’s face the fact that Chevrolet has bad product management. Chevrolet has been biased in modernizing the Corvette, overlooking the Camaro, which leaves a large void in their lineup. Ford, on the other hand, knew about Chevy’s stupidity and was not willing to commit the same blasphemy. Each year, Ford introduced the GT with special editions to keep it highly exclusive and introduced the seventh-generation Mustang to secure its spot.
On the other hand, Dodge sold 80,365 Chargers and 55,245 Challengers in 2022 and has already launched the seventh Last Call model to mark its departure from the ICE scene. But the fact that Dodge has already announced the electric successor to its muscle cars distinguishes it from Chevy.
Chevrolet Camaro Final Collector’s Edition Is Farewell At Its Worst
Chevrolet’s ignorance of the Camaro is more evident if you see what the recently launched Collector’s Edition offers. Nothing! Chevy introduced a package consisting of insignificant additions like Magnetic Ride Control and the 1LE package to mark its departure from the muscle car scene.
Dodge, though, retired the Challenger in the best way possible. The seventh Last Call model, the Challenger SRT Demon 170, unleashes 1,025 hp, making it "history’s first-ever eight-second factory muscle car".
Sources: Chevrolet, GM, Best-selling-cars.com, GM Authority