This isn’t the first Chevy has shelved the Camaro.
In the weeks leading up to the gargantuan reveal of the C8 Chevy Corvette, a new rumor has popped up regarding the fate of the Camaro. According to sources within GM talking to Muscle Cars & Trucks, the next-generation Camaro program has been suspended. That means the nameplate may be shelved by the time the sixth-generation model draws to a close in 2023.
Currently, GM builds the Camaro on GM’s Alpha platform, which also underpins the Cadillac ATS and CTS. Both those models are going away, and its replacements will use the company’s new Alpha 2 platform instead. It makes total sense for GM to transition the seventh-generation Camaro onto this platform, but the company apparently has other plans.
A Chevrolet spokesperson gave The Drive via e-mail the following short statement on the matter. “While we will not engage in speculation, we will remind you of our recently announced updates coming to the Camaro lineup this fall.” That refers primarily to the 2020 Camaro SS and its redesign, dropping the controversial front fascia to match the other models in the lineup.
This is not the first time we’ve gone some years without a Chevrolet Camaro in the lineup. Since the first-generation model went on sale in 1966, GM carried on with three successive generations through 2002. After that, they shelved the model until it reemerged in 2009 with the familiar styling we know today. That fifth-generation model bowed out in 2015, and the current Camaro has been on sale from the 2016 model year forward.
Slumping sales may doom the Camaro
The Chevrolet Camaro hasn’t exactly enjoyed the best sales in recent years. In 2018 alone, sales dropped off by 25 percent, even with a new version available. Even enthusiasts didn’t much care for the 2019 redesign, and a substantial number have opposed some of the brand’s plans for the nameplate moving forward. GM is also planning to electrify its entire lineup in the coming decade, so it’s tough to see where a blue-blooded Camaro would fit into that lineup. After all, this is supposed to be a big-engined, hard-charging muscle car, at least to some extent.
Chevrolet has not made any official announcement yet. We’ll have to wait and see what happens to the Camaro in the coming years. At the present moment, though, it seems the model is safe for about another four years. Stay tuned to TFLcar.com for more updates!
