As I said on another forum....

What the hell am I supposed to do with gauges down there?

The guage set up is a retro of the first gens.
I'll still take a body in white though.

Had a first gen. I understand the aesthetic / sentimental reason for it.

Problem is they're useless down there.

I imagine that the DIC will keep you informed of anything that gets stupid (low fuel, high temp, etc). It's certainly not the best place for them, but I think it's something I can deal with. I really don't like that dash, though. I hope the final product looks nicer.

Bob says "No more camo!"

http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/archives/2008/...the_camaro.html

http://www.autoblog.com/gallery/2009-chevy...ts/555815/full/

is that an El Camino on the right?

Throw the whole interior out and start over - NOW. That is the most unappealing dash/radio/HVAC combo I've seen. Whoever drew the Aztek apparently got promoted...

Hope they stay with the smooth-finished wheels (no rivets). Easier to keep clean.

Wonder if the ol' slapstick auto-shifter will make a comeback...are the auto shifters even mechanically connected to the transmissions anymore?

Still hoping for a flush grille hidden-headlight RS option too.

Howdy,

The dash overall doesn't horrify me all that much, but I do think the "dash boobs" that (presumably) hold the tach/speedo look a little dorky. And the guages down in front of the shifter is certainly putting style over function. Can't say I like that much, though I think they look fine down there.

Mark

That's a Holden Ute.

unfortunately they let the US designers have control of the interior design. cheap and crude. its okay in my $1000 3rd gen, but not in a $30K car. guess thats why I bought a snaab, my money still sorta goes to GM. pretty much had to resort to saab to get a 4dr GM sedan with a manual too...but thats another rant.

I think the CTS's interior was designed by an American and it looks better than anything it competes with IMO. The Malibu, Aura, Solstice, Sky, and trucks all look great too. I think GM will ultimately put a nice interior in it, I'm not too hung up on a preproduction car.

I agree. While the pics of that interior SCARE me with its ugliness.....I think the new stuff put out by GM is AMAZING! I went to the auto show and was stunned by the interior in the Malibu! I don't think I have EVER thought a GM car had a sweet interior before that car! "Serviceable" interiors yes, but NEVER impressive. If they follow suit in future cars, it will be a HUGE improvement.

We're what, a year or less away from production... theres no major changes happening. All the tooling is done. Thats what the interior will look like. Big ol dorky holes for tach and speedo. Not really a fan but ohwell. We'll see how it drives. I'll take an SS w/ SPS option code (strano performance suspension)

Just because the "interior is done" doesn't mean this car has the "done interior". I'm not saying it won't be similar, but it's impossible to tell at what point in the development this mule received its interior.

I do like the CTS interior ...much of the components were taken directly from saab. Couldn't get over the exterior styling though. I did look at the Aura, what a change from what GM/Saturn normally offer. But look at the Pontiac G6 (same chassis) and the interior is cheap and nasty. The seats are comfy for long drives but they look like they belong in a Wrangler.

As for the 5th gen, I think the interior "look" is decided, maybe just not finalized. As usual GM is behind the 8-ball on getting to the car to market... ie the G8 (summer 07 availability), HHR SS (fall 07 availability), SSR (two years after projected date), and now the Camaro. As much as a die-hard GM guy I am, I can't overlook the consistent hesitation of GM to put a car into production quickly to capture the enthusiasm of the market.

my saab is the first non-real-GM car I've bought in 15 years. I wanted to wait until the 9-3 XWD came out...but I may trade up later. Any guesses on when the other cars on that chassis (Aura, G6, Malibu) will get AWD, a manual trans, or a turbo motor???

The G6 and the new Malibu do not have the same chassis. That's the older car you are thinking of. The '08 Malibu is on the same platform as the Aura.

I also do not think the '08 CTS shares anything at all with any Saab.

I agree that the Camaro development seems to be at a glacial pace. Maybe it's just because I want one, kinda like Christmas when you're a kid. The new 9-3 (new for '08 I think) which also shares the Aura/'08 Malibu chassis has a turbo V6. I don't think any of the other cars on that line will get a turbo, though. I haven't heard anything about AWD.

It just takes a long time to design something as complex as a car. I'm assuming that GM took notice of the 05 Mustang success and from that point on decided to design the 5th gen. So even if they started in the beginning of 05, if we see the car this summer that is only 3.5 years from brainstorm to product. That is fast!

I concur that is fast...but have the GM marketing folks had their heads in the sand for the last few years?? It wasn't like Ford just went POOF!! and made a retro Mustang appear! Besides, there have been other successful retro cars before that...how many years was the PT Cruiser out before the HHR came out? I think that GM is so afraid to bring out a vehicle for fear it flops, and for that, they lose their edge. When they decided to kill the 4th gen without having a thought of a 5th gen, they put themselves behind the game...

I know that the 9-3X, Aura, and "new" malibu all share the same chassis...guess the G6 is still on the old chassis. You can bet no one other than Saab will have a manual trans car, and the AWD most likely won't make it to other brands either. Its really sad to have to go euro to get a "performance sedan" with a manual.

Anyone go to the Detroit auto show this year? I've gone in the past, but skipped it this year. A friend of mine that I usually go with , went and had nothing good to say about GM's pitiful excuse for a Camaro display. You would think at this stage, they would have a production-like model on the floor for everyone to see up close. Even if they kept the doors locked it could've been viewed up close and underneath. But instead, it was up on a stage 50 ft away from where people could stand. Some of his pics...
http://autoxphotos.com/gallery.asp?action=...x=&shownew=
http://autoxphotos.com/gallery.asp?action=...x=&shownew=
He also noticed with his zoom lens thingy (I'm not a camara guy, can you tell?) that the wiper arms, and door handles weren't even real! There was even some weather stripping falling off the side! Come on GM!
http://autoxphotos.com/gallery.asp?action=...x=&shownew=
http://autoxphotos.com/gallery.asp?action=...x=&shownew=
The second largest car show in the nation, and this was all they had to bring to the table. He said people were walking past it like wallpaper, not even noticing. Again, had it been on the floor where people could take a close look at it, it would have gotten more attention. I was there 2 years ago when they unveiled the original concept, it was the most talked about car there. Now people are so tired of waiting, they aren't even paying attention anymore. Meanwhile there were like 20 different versions of the Mustang there (including the Bullit), all of which had people standing around them.

An example of why this frustrates me is this...
http://autoxphotos.com/gallery.asp?action=...x=&shownew=
http://autoxphotos.com/gallery.asp?action=...x=&shownew=
That's the Honda CRZ concept. A new version of the old CRX. It's already rumored to start production in Sept 08. If that happens, it will have gone from concept to production in under a year! People are excited about that car. People will still be excited about it in Sept. And that is why they will sell tons of them.
I'm just afraid the Camaro will flop before it can get off the ground, due to this taking so long that people are losing intrest.

The wipers might be real. there are several variations of those spring bar wipers available now, and I use them. Those do look like they were just milled form a block of wood or plastic, though.

The "weatherstripping" is definitely not real. It's just strips of rubber (almost) held on with double-side tape.

If that was Bumblebee then a lot of parts are non fuctional. They had it on display at Summit Racings store for a week and you could get a lot closer than that. The plaque explained that this wasn't a real Camaro at all as the platform that was used was a modified GTO chassis if I remember correctly.

I agree that they should have had at least a pre-production test car on display, been that they are supposedly so close to production.

I must say that I'll be amazed if the new Camaro does very well. I don't really like the nose and tail that much, and the interior is overdone. Plus in classic GM fashion, you wont be able to get a stripped one for under $30k, they will all probably be $36k and up. The new Challanger will be the same way, I'm told there are only 2 options on that car, 5.7 or 6.1 and the optional sunroof. What a crock. There is a reason that Neon SRT-4, Civic Si, Subaru WRX, Lancer Evo, sell reasonably well. You can get one for cheap, especially the neon, they were $19k when they came out. I think you should be able to get a base V8/stick Camaro with few options for under $25k. It they arent cheap, they'll never sell.

I couldn't agree more on the price issue. For those of us in the midwest where we can only drive a car like this for 6 months out of the year practically speaking not many people are going to want to pony up $35-$40K for one.

I'm not a huge fan of the design so I would rather buy a used C5 Z06 anyway...

At least the concept was at the Detroit auto show. My wife and I went to the DC autoshow last night and the Camaro (concept or otherwise) was no where to be seen. I was disappointed. But they had a couple cobalts.

GM also had only 1 HD truck and it was an ext cab short bed, while they had 6 1500's in all shapes and sizes. Dodge didn't have any 3/4 ton or 1 ton trucks there except for a stakebody. We went to the autoshow to look at trucks from the Big 3 side by side because I'll be making a new truck purchase at the end of this year. Ford had 3 Superduties and my wife loved the Harley Davidson F250.

FWIW I heard they are mostly keeping the 5th gen away from auto shows. They know that we of the "coverted" will stalk the car and have an instatiable appetite for news and images. But they are trying to keep the general public from getting sick of it before it is even released.