Chevrolet has announced that in January 2024, the sixth-generation Chevrolet Camaro will officially exit production. With no immediate replacement, this is where the Camaro lineage stops for now. Chevrolet has promised an eventual successor, but it’s hard to say what form it might take. Will it be as wonderful and conflicted as the current car? Who knows? Still, ten months to buy your dream four-seat Chevrolet coupe isn’t much time at all, but it’s a miracle we still have ten months considering how hard of a life the sixth-generation Camaro has seen.
The reborn fifth-generation Camaro was a smash-hit for Chevrolet, building a whole bunch of cultural relevance on Holden bones. Not only were its ‘60s-inspired looks a huge hook, four-link independent rear suspension gave it an edge over the S197 Mustang which still used a live rear axle. Sure, outward visibility was limited and the large sedan-based platform meant that the Camaro weighed a few hundred pounds more than a comparable Mustang, but that’s show business. You know what else is showbiz? The difficult act of following up a crossover hit.
In 2015, plenty of rumors were swirling around the then-upcoming sixth-generation Camaro. Some expected it to take on a more ‘70s look as the logical continuation of the fifth-generation car’s retro theme. Well, when the sixth-generation Camaro debuted, it looked very similar to the outgoing car. Evolution rather than revolution often works well for mass-market cars like the Toyota Camry and Chevrolet Equinox, but something more specialized like a Camaro deserves more.
It turns out, all the “more” went underneath the new sixth-generation car. Not only is it lighter than the previous-generation model, it’s based on GM’s extremely good Alpha platform. This architecture first came under the Cadillac ATS and was benchmarked against some of the best luxury sports sedans the world has ever seen. The result is a world-class driver’s car dressed in a Busch Light wrapper. In SS 1LE trim, this trailer park icon ran rings around a new Toyota GR Supra 3.0, Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, and Lexus RC F Track Edition in Car & Driver’s annual Lightning Lap track comparison test. Brake pedal feel is epic, steering calibration is intuitive and feelsome, magnetic ride control is magic, this is a full-fledged sports coupe that wants to dance, and it isn’t even the fastest Camaro Chevrolet offers. If you want to go even faster, you can buy a ZL1 or ZL1 1LE, both of which escaped a truly unfortunate decision made for 2019.
See, 2019 marked the fourth model year of the sixth-generation Camaro, which meant it was time for a facelift. While I doubt that GM still employed the same team that restyled the Pontiac Sunfire for 2003, the 2019 Chevrolet Camaro SS was 2003 Sunfire levels of ugly. Out was any sense of tastefulness and in was a massive single-frame grille covering most of the front end. It was so enormous, it swallowed up the bumper beam, the headlights, the Chevrolet emblem, and the brake ducts. The 2019 grille was so appalling that Chevrolet rallied its troops for an emergency redesign.
The end result is the Camaro SS you see up at the top of this page near the headline, a car that isn’t particularly pretty but isn’t egregiously hideous. Could GM have cleaned up the front end a little bit more? Absolutely. Could things have been a whole lot worse? Sure. At least Camaro owners can take solace in the fact that they don’t have to look at their cars while driving them. Granted, part of that is due to appalling outward visibility, but still.
The current Camaro is misunderstood. It’s the driver’s choice among the current crop of American four-seat coupes, yet drivers of sixth-generation Camaros can’t see out. It’s a car that begged to be taken to the track, yet can’t fit most helmets through its window apertures. It has some of the best inputs and worst ergonomic quirks in the industry, and it really should’ve seen more success than it did. It doesn’t matter whether you choose turbocharged four-cylinder, naturally-aspirated six-cylinder, naturally-aspirated V8, or supercharged V8 power, the Camaro is brilliant to drive so long as you can stand the way it looks.
Of course, the end of any era is prime for money-making opportunities, and GM is marking the end of sixth-generation Camaro production with a Collector’s Edition package on RS, SS, and a limited number of ZL1 models. While we won’t know much about the package until this summer, it feels a bit hollow when looking at how nuts Dodge went with the Challenger SRT Demon 170. Still, let’s wave farewell to a true enthusiast’s bargain. With the Mustang going it alone after January 2024, we may never see a GM coupe like this again.
(Photo credits: Chevrolet)
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Have heard the visibility comments for years. Just today, drove a 2023 ZL1 at a dealer, coupe. Raised the seat all the way up, my 5’10 frame had plenty of headroom and front view ok, rear with mirrors and rear view cam not bad. While the outward view can’t compare to the 69 Camaro I own, I didn’t think it was bad for my anticipated “fun” use of the car. Will probably buy it.
They had to cancel the model as there was no visibility on future demand and they were running out of marketing headroom.
I’d heard GM deep-sixed the Buick Avista for fear of eating into Camaro sales.
But what about the Camero?
They will live on in Facebook marketplace and Craigslist
camero is love, camero is life
camero is forever
Start making ones that look like the 2nd gen.
It’s hard to compete with the Challenger in all honesty, when Dodge will literally lease/sell one to anybody with a pulse.
I have a special place in my memory for this generation of the Camaro. This is the car where I started to work as Wire Harness Engineer for a Tier 1 supplier. We started with the quote drawings back in 2013, and I stayed in that project until 2020! when finally I moved positions. I know every single detail from that car (electrically talking), if you put me a wire harness from Camaro, I can tell you what are the modules and functions the connectors attach to
Usually a main body harness its shaped like a H, where in the convertible only, it also cross between left and right at the back of the vehicle, it was difficult from a design standpoint because you have to make sure which wires cross at the front and which ones cross at the back and not make unnecessary loops around. One day I will own one for sure 🙂
Same, a 2022 Camaro had been on my shopping list to replace my 2014, once my employer informed me that employees aren’t allowed to have cars older than 4 years. Then they informed me that we aren’t allowed to drive non-pickups with less than 2 doors, either, so it came off the list, along with everything else I wanted.
Guess a new Camaro will never happen now, until it comes back in electrified form as a 5-door crossover, but I don’t have bad knees, children, or engage in an xtreme outdoor lifestyle, so a tall hatchback is of absolutely no interest to me
What awful job do you have that imposes such rules?
Sales manager for a building materials company
Wait, a Camaro has less than two doors?
It absolutely baffles me how you (the site, not the author) can shit all over the Camaro’s looks, yet call the Lexus NX “sharp”. I am not a card carrying, mullet wearing Camaro Stan by any stretch of the imagination, but come on.
I wonder what Nascar is going to use now?
The same exact cars they are now, just with different stickers on the front
Either the Autopian’s Daydreaming Designer or its Pro Designer (maybe both?) should pen an electric Camaro, just for sh**s and giggles. It should probably slot in below the 2024 E-Ray in price (definitely) & performance (?) to avoid intramural slap-fights and hissy-fits. Keep it a pony car. Keep it relatively irresponsible. Keep it fun. Keep it powerful. Who’s the market? Folks whose parents and grandparents worship(ed) V-8 power. Who’s not the market? Those self-same parents and grandparents.
Thoughts?
Like this. Or do it as a E-maro vs Mustang Mach-e-for-real-this-time comparison.
The EV versions of these cars could be the time to finally deep-six the 60s retro design influences. But I can totally see both moving to ’80s design influences, the Camaro embracing the 3rd-gen F-body angularity and the Mustang doing Fox.
I do lament that there will be a lack of bitchin’ Camaros to bitch about.
Maybe can drive one up from the Bahamas ?
Or drive it to the shore to pick up some Def Leppard t shirts
I gotta see my favorite cover band, Crystal Shit.
The Camaro failed because it has no T-tops and hardly any glass at all.
Why the fuck is modern GM so allergic to glass? Someone should send Mary Barra a care package with some Zyrtec and Allegra lol
Coming soon, in a new, improved, electrified version, the CamEro.
I’m kind of hoping for an E-camino…
Ugh this is sad. As you all know I really, really like the 6th gen Camaro. I understand a lot of the stereotypes behind these cars are rooted in a degree of truth and that they don’t always attract the uh…most wholesome of characters, but focusing on the stereotypes misses the forest for the trees when it comes to this generation.
These are fantastic driver’s cars masquerading as douchey drag strip specials. The chassis is phenomenal. You can throw these around on backroads like cars that weigh much less and they’re a blast to drive. Hell, I had an SS on super technical Hawaiian mountain roads for an afternoon and it was surgical even at low throttle. As long as you skip the wheezy base 4 popper the powertrains are great too. The V6 is plenty powerful and sounds great, and the LT1 V8 needs no introduction. Both engines will roast the rear tires on demand and I’ve found that both slide around great without ever feeling like they’re getting away from you….but like all pony cars it’s wise to keep the TC on.
Plus every trim is available in manual…with the V8s getting an amazing Tremec unit with a no lift shift feature and the auto option in the V6 and V8 being the excellent (in performance applications) Ford/GM 10 speed. You can even get the V8 in a rental spec base car for around $35,000 with the LT1 trim. That’s 450 naturally aspirated horsepower and a Tremec stick for the price of a well equipped Camry or Accord.
These are great cars and they’ll be missed. Honestly I wish they didn’t make you sacrifice as much as they do, because I could never make one work as a daily. The visibility is infamously bad, the doors are yuuuuuge and heavy as hell, the trunk opening is laughably small, and the back seats are useless. The interior is also a pure GM plastic palace until you get into the higher trims.
But who cares. V8 go burrrrrr…and if you can make one of these work as a daily I salute you. They’re also just about perfect when it comes to being a semi affordable track/weekend car. If I had the funds I’d absolutely have a manual SS drop top stashed away for weekend driving. Maybe I will in a few years…but I do have a feeling these are going to get a post mortem redemption arc and the rowdy versions will hold their value pretty well.
I just hope if it comes back it:
1). Isn’t a damn crossover
2). Retains a V8 option
3). Addresses the huge livability issues the last two generations have had.
….that’s never going to happen but a man can dream 🙁
you forgot the most important part: T-TOPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😀
A sad day indeed. If you don’t like Mustangs, your V8 choices are starting to get really thin.
The pure cruiser in the Challenger is on its deathbed and the corner carver is now gone too. The Mustang kind of splits the difference. They’re good cars but I’d rather daily one of the mopars and I’d rather track a Camaro.
Or start liking trucks.
Turbo Sixes are the New V8 in trucks, the NA V8 is on its last run I fear.
Most likely it will come back as an electric vehicle. And at worst, they will misuse the name on a CUV to go against the Mach-E.
I’ll pour one out for one of the finest driver’s car that America ever made. I’ll hug mine when I get home tonight.
What will Chevrolet do for their NASCAR involvement?
I’m not much of a fan of the latest Camaro. Engineering-wise it might be excellent, but simple necessities like being able to see much of anything outside from inside were clearly not as important to Chevy as “style.”
That wouldn’t be difficult to correct, but I guess the sales figures — and the profit-margin bonanza from SUVs — make that unworkable.
The NASCAR Q is a really good one.
I remember when Ford announced the Fusion was dead, there was a lot of discussion about the next Ford-bodied racecar.
Obviously the Mustang was (and turned out to be) the easy choice, but I did see someone make the intriguing point that the Mustang already sells just fine/doesn’t need more exposure, so why not choose a crossover like the Edge as the body?
Just flatten it a bit (certainly within the unwritten race on Sunday/sell on Monday rules, as the Fusion was never available as a coupe) and there you go – an easy way to draw attention to an otherwise lower-profile model.
Probably have to go to Corvette-style headlight stickers, either that or the Blazer, which at least has a grille they can print up
Chevy damned the 6th gen by making it almost imperceptibly different from the 5th gen. There was no reason for the average person to buy the new one, because even me, a hardcore fan, could barely tell them apart.
It’s gotta be a bit more than that though, because the Mustang has refined the same styling cues since 2005 and the 2023 Challenger looks identical to a 2009 model.
I think it’s the compromises you have to make for the Camaro. Unless you’re single or it’s just you and a partner you really can’t to much of anything other than drive in a Camaro. While it’s the best chassis of the bunch by a country mile almost no one actually goes to the track…which is why the Challenger has outsold these like 3 or 4 to 1 over its entire existence.
They’re hard to live with. Chevy put all of their eggs in the design and performance baskets. The result is a car that’s hugely rewarding to drive but a real pain to live with for most people. Honestly I think the Camaro is as close to a Miata or Toyobaru when it comes living with/its mission as it is to the other pony cars.
GM has always done the (IMO) wise thing by having a wider variety of fun offerings than competitors.
If you wanted a Camaro chassis with a more practical bent, you could get an ATS-V/CT4 BW on the high end, or a G8/SS on the lower end. Or going the other way, the Corvette was always available for an even purer experience.
Compared to the Mustang or Challenger, the Camaro was always the least practical, but I think it made sense within the hierarchy of GM performance vehicles. Of course, that means little when all of them south of the Corvette are going away at the same time…
Actually I always saw the CTS-V as the only 4 door Camaro option. ATS and CT4 was just not quick enough. The Mustang and the Camaro were both too heavy for the lack of interior space. it made little sense and of course at almost all Engine price points the Camaro HP numbers were dead last.
I am pretty sure the challenger survived on HP numbers on paper, and the size of the seats.
From 2010-2017 the Camaro SS had more horsepower than the Mustang GT: it took until 2018 for the Mustang to beat the Camaro by … 5 horsepower. Heck, a 2023 Camaro SS makes 490 HP standard. The Mustang? 450
And the Camaro’s V6 has consistently made more horsepower than the Mustang’s V6 & ecoboost turbo 4 (which replaced the Mustang’s V6) since the Camaro came out in 2010 until the present day.
What exactly do you mean by “at almost all Engine price points the Camaro HP numbers were dead last”?
I’ve been driving my 2011 SS since I got it in 2016. I have three sons and my wife and we like to get around. While I cannot (legally) put all five of us in there, when it’s just the boys and I, we fit just fine. I have no issue going to the grocery store and getting a week’s worth of groceries and I have a subwoofer in the trunk. I’ve done several multi-state drives without issue beyond perhaps short range. I have a set of snow tires so I drive it all winter without drama. The rear seats open to the trunk so I’ve brought home oddly shaped bits of lumber and pipe for projects.
While I don’t have the later alpha-chassis, I have a track day scheduled at mid-ohio this summer (once I get the 1LE suspension added and some other changes made).
While it’s not going to work if you are a contractor or landscaper or have a large family and it’s your only car, it’s been perfectly fine for me and my family for several years. I used to own a Miata and the Camaro has been far easier to live with what with rear seats and a roof that is knife-proof. My wife loves driving it, the kids enjoy it (less so the back seat), it’s electric-lime green so it also gets lots of smiles and waves.
I don’t see the issue here.
This, 1000x this.
I have never understood how so many people say this comaro look exactly like the one that came out in 2010. Seriously, someone needs to write an article debunking this.
Torch!! You love writing about tailights! The Challenger has changed the look of it’s tailights ONCE since it came out in 2009. The Camaro has changed its tailights at least twice in the same time period! (This is just one example mind you). Why does nobody give the Challenger s**t for looking exactly the same on the outside for 14 model years straight and then point fingers at the camaro that has actually changed a lot more than people give it credit for and say “it looks exactly the same; this is why its sales are bad!”
I don’t even own a Camaro nor have I even driven one, and I’m no Chevy fanboy.
But I just don’t see why the Camaro specifically deserves so much hate for looking the same.
It also sucks that Chevy finally got it right just as they’re killing it. The current taillights are cool as hell, especially the frosted ones.
The challenger 1) looks good and 2) is pretty easy to daily. Not sure the Camaro fulfills either of those terribly well it has outward visibility and a hatch it might have sold better.
On the money. I only know there’s a difference between generation 5 and 6 because I read about it. FWIW, I never thought is was ugly.
Will that Dodge Hornet be offered in brown? For you youngins, Google The Brown Hornet. GM needs to bring Voltec back and shove it in a crossover. Call it the ReVolt. The best Camaro is the first generation with the concealed headlights (67/68 RS?).
It’s a shame that sales have plummeted as the Camaro has become the best (performing) version of itself. This hurts even more than when they killed it after 2002 because I just know they’ll bring the name back on an electric car or CUV…or both.
This generation of the Camaro has been my favorite to look at since the first one.
That sound you hear right now is the sound of Skoal being spit out and mullets being cut off all over America. ????????????
nope, that was Ford Breathing a sigh of relief that the new Mustang will no longer have a Camaro to be compared to shape wise.
I have friends/family who honestly cannot tell the difference between Mustangs/Camaros/Challengers/and even 4 door Chargers so I fear Ford will have to hold their breath a while longer.
Gee, I sure hope it’s eventual replacement is a POS compact EV SUV to compete with the Dodge Hornet and the Mustang Mach E. Not.
Not sure what your complaint is all about. Chevrolet made a great enthusiast car and really listened to the few people that actually bought them, and it hasn’t sold well for years. So guess what, it’s getting axed.
You buy one? If you did, you should have bought two dozen; that might have been enough to keep the sales number up.
I’m not thrilled that Blazers are generic crossovers, or that Mustangs have become electric crossovers, but those sell. Pillboxes on wheels, don’t.
They didn’t listen to me about bringing back t-tops.
UH they did not listen very well. the Engines were perennially lower output than Dodge or Ford even(this matters on paper more than real life though). They did make a pretty good handling thing, but they never fixed the greenhouse visibility issues or trunk access in any refresh.
Are they though? You have to keep in mind that Camaro didn’t put the good engines behind a huge paywall. The V6 throws down 335 horses if I recall correctly which is more than an Ecoboost Mustang or V6 Challenger and it hits 60 quicker than both. You could also get into one in the high 20s/low 30s if you went light on the options. I’ve driven one and driven an Ecostang and the V6 Camaro is much faster in any real world application.
The LT1 V8 makes 450 horsepower, which is more than the Challenger RT and essentially the same as a Mustang GT…plus you can get into an LT1 trim for 35 grand, which undercuts the others. The Scat Packs beat it by a little bit power wise, but those cars are land whales compared to the Camaro which, although portly, is the most spry of the bunch. The Camaro will also decimate any of the others on a track or backroad.
I don’t think it had power or performance issues…I think it’s livability issues that ultimately did it in. It’s a big car that’s hard to see out of, unwieldy in parking lots/other tight quarters, can only seat 2 people, and has a trunk opening that’s too small to get full size suitcases through.
Scat Pat competes with LT1, the 6.4 has always have more ponies. The 5.7 in the R/t these days is kind of an in between with less competition. And in the real world the people buying them bench race more than actually race. so they see the top dog being 650 hp and scoff at it when Ford and Dodge fully eclipse it in the GT500 and Hellcat and above.
If someone was cross-shopping a ZL1 with a GT500 & a Hellcat I’d agree.
But the halo ZL1 being down on horsepower compared to the competition doesn’t explain why the mainstream models (which sell significantly more units) are selling so slowly.
Again, its probably more about trunk opening size, visibility, looks, etc. instead of a horsepower deficiency.
The styling and truck access was exactly because they listened to the people that actually bought them.
And anyone care to compare engines for someone that is too lazy to look them up? I don’t remember hearing much about the Camaros being slow; certainly not around a track.
For those too lazy to compare Horsepower themselves:
2023 Mustang GT – 450 HP
2023 Challenger R/T Scat Pack – 485 HP
2023 Camaro SS – 490 HP
“The 2024 Camaro LT1 and SS feature Chevy’s iconic small-block V-8, with 455 horsepower and 455 pound-feet of torque.” At least that is the headlines from Car and Driver. And I think Ford with things like GT350’s and even the Mach1 now or the Darkhorse next year get the headlines about HP because those not that much more packages get you closer to the Challenger numbers.
My bad, Camaro SS is 455 not 490.
But wait it gets better. I built and priced all three of those with no options, and to buy those three cars and get those amounts of horsepower, you would have to pay:
2023 Mustang GT: $39,720
2023 Challenger R/T Scat Pack: $48,535
2023 Camaro SS: $37,295
To buy a Challenger that is price competitive, you’d have to buy a regular Challenger R/T that is $39,980 and comes with … 375 horsepower, the EXACT SAME amount of horsepower that the Challenger R/T came with back in 2009.
My brother in Christ, you’re skipping the LT1 package, which gives you the V8 starting at $36,400.
Seriously? I checked it on Chevy’s website for my zip code (Cali) and thought for sure I had the cheapest one…
If true, that’s even better!
this is accurate, but also indicative of the model people want. Camaro has been a lame duck for years, and the Mustang made the longest on the lot list this year and we are in a vehicle shortage.
We seriously need to settle this:
The reason that people are buying Challengers and Mustangs vs. Camaros has everything to do with marketing, personal preference, interior space, visibility, looks, attitude, etc. etc. etc.
It is not because the Camaros have been uncompetitive with power for their price point.
That has never been the case, not once in the 13 years the Camaro has been in production since 2010. Full stop.
Someone show me the numbers and prove me wrong. You can’t.
Perhaps certain individuals should check their facts before typing the first thing that comes to mind.
“Perhaps certain individuals should check their facts before typing the first thing that comes to mind”
Considering you’ve typed that the 2023 Camaro has 490 hp a couple of times, and per Chevy’s own website it still has 455 hp, I suggest a little more humility and practicing of what you preach.
There is a difference between doing your due diligence and making an honest mistake vs. speaking opinions without checking anything at all.
Mine was the former.
A quick google search said it was 490 hp. I checked Chevy’s website just now, it said 455. You’re right, I was wrong. Honest mistake.
Everything else I said is still true though as far as I know.
And it doesn’t change that fact that there are some here who do little to no fact-checking of their opinions at all.
If it’s a compact EV SUV, it’ll at least beat the Hornet EV to market…. if the Hornet sells well enough to get one when it gets off its own ancient chassis. (Its origins are in the mid-2000’s with Fiat/GM platform sharing that only went to Fiat and Opel but oh-well).
Not saying it’s a good thing, but just that it’ll come out sooner.