08/25/2008, 2:10 PM
Chevrolet News
Lutz Interview, Part 1: Camaro began as “pure concept;” mum on Z28
It’s hard to interview General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz without at least mentioning the Chevrolet Camaro. The car represents a huge investment for the automaker, and more recently a point of some controversy. In an exclusive interview with Leftlane, we asked Mr. Lutz about the Camaro’s journey from concept to production, timing of the launch, plus future model plans.
Do you think it was a mistake to unveil the Camaro concept so far ahead of actual production?
Bob Lutz: “No, I don’t think so at all. The Camaro started out not being a production program. We did this pure concept car. There’s a couple of different kinds of concept cars.”
“There’s the kind I call ‘fake,’ which are so-called precursors — when the real car has already been decided on and is already in the hopper and is about eight months away from production, and you do a conceptualized version, reducing the roof height a little bit, putting bigger wheels on, like we did with the Cadillac Provoq which now turns out to be the Cadillac SRX. They’re a way of revealing most of the production intent of the car, but making it a little more exciting and getting some advance press on it.”
“Then there are the other types of concept cars that start out as a pure concept, just as a great idea, sort of ‘Wouldn’t that be nice,’ with no intention of producing them whatsoever. Examples of that kind of car is the original Dodge Viper, shown in 1989, the Pontiac Solstice, shown in 2002, and the Camaro. A lot of times what happens with those is that the car guys within the company do that car because the only thing that has a chance of convincing the corporation that it might be a good thing to do is the overwhelming success and response to the concept car.”
“The skeptics in the company say ‘oh no, jeez, we shouldn’t be wasting our money on that, these Pony cars are short-lived.’ Once the concept is shown, the company is bombarded with emails and letters, and even your own board members start asking what’s to prevent us from doing this?” That’s when the whole company gets energized and says, ‘well, maybe we ought to do this.’ I hate to say it, but sometimes it’s the way to sell something internally that otherwise would be tough to sell.”
“Once we showed the concept, and it got a good reception, we moved the implementation phase. And since we were starting from scratch, the concept had in no way been designed in a way to enable easy production. It was a special version of the Zeta rear-wheel drive architecture and nobody had a clue how to get wheels that big onto that architecture, and so on.”
“So under three years from concept to production is pretty darn fast. I don’t think that hurt the car, in fact I think there is a very agreeable surprise on everybody’s part that the production car looks almost identical.”
We’ve had several people familiar with the supercharged Camaro project tell us that it has been cancelled. Whether it was to be called Z28 or something else has there been a change of plans in terms of high-performance Camaro offerings?
Lutz: “Well there certainly has been a de-emphasis because of the fuel economy rules, we have to bias the mix towards the vehicles with the V6 engines, and discourage the sale of large powerful V8s. That’s what we’ve always said about the CAFE legislation- it puts us at war with market demand. Gasoline is four dollars a gallon and maybe someday going to five and six, the market will automatically gravitate to the smaller-engined cars.”
“But that’s the point we’ve always been making, that with fuel economy mandates without a concomitant increase in gasoline prices, you are going to have cars that the public desperately wants and you’re going to have to say to the public, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t give you one of those.’”
Check back Tuesday for part 2 of our exclusive interview with Bob Lutz.
Interview by Mark Elias.
08/25, 2:17 PM
posted by:
JoshyLofty
i hate chevy but the camaro is amazing to look at.
08/25, 2:26 PM
posted by:
RaineMan
The Camaro is bloated and past it’s time… just like Lutz. Two years earlier and 500lbs lighter this would have been a mean machine and excellent Mustang competition. Even with 400hp it’ll never measure up to the likes of Mustang.
08/25, 2:34 PM
posted by:
Rick_WagonWheel
HRR,
I think Lutz could be handing you one right about now.
From my Ren-Cen office.
08/25, 3:03 PM
posted by:
howsmydriving
It’ll be very, very interesting to see how Camaro lands.
08/25, 3:11 PM
posted by:
F451
Would have been much better had the team that actually made the Camaro was interviewed versus Lutz who is useless.
08/25, 3:13 PM
posted by:
d00d
GM may be doing a `Milton Berle’ with the new Camaro.
There’s a story where Milton let out only enough to win a tool length contest …if you get what I mean.
They may be waiting on releasing the Z28 version, because the SS already comfortably out performs the nearest competitor, the Challenger SRT.
I’m not counting the Mustang, as it’s solid rear axle is appropriate for a truck or drag racer, but not a modern road going muscle car.
08/25, 3:18 PM
posted by:
Vosotros
I can’t imagine GM would let the Z28 moniker die… I’m sure they’ve got something tucked up their sleeves, though probably not what we’re expecting.
The new Camaro looks great - and while I do agree that it’s a touch behind the times on the musclecar band wagon, look what GM has done with the Chevy HHR. It’s basically a Chrysler PT Cruiser with a little more room inside - and GM has marketed the hell out of it with interesting variants like the panel wagon (I see a TON of those around here in Baltimore) and the new SS version. I bet GM can pull it off… I hope!!
08/25, 3:56 PM
posted by:
brassmonkey
Thank you, LLN. I have been going through withdrawals from not having a Camaro to read about.
08/25, 3:58 PM
posted by:
RaineMan
I seriously doubt the new Camaro is faster than the SRT-8 Challenger. Heck… it was only a few seconds faster than the Cobalt SS around the ‘ring. It’s pretty pathetic for a 400hp “muscle car” to get beaten out by an amped up FWD econobox like Cobalt. I’m just itchin to run one on the streets.
08/25, 4:05 PM
posted by:
HemiRoadRunner
The camaro needs to be a PERFORMANCE CAR!!! NOT an economy car, that’s what the POS cruze and beat is for.
08/25, 4:34 PM
posted by:
d00d
According to GM, the Camaro SS automatic is 400hp and 3913lbs (9.78lbs/hp), and Chrysler lists the Challenger SRT automatic at 425hp and 4140lbs (9.74lbs/hp). I can’t find any weight data for a manual SRT yet, and the SS manual has 422hp, but it looks like the automatic versions are closely matched.
08/25, 4:45 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
I’d be a little nervous if I were Lutz. Yes they do have a lot riding on the Camaro and they’re going back to do battle in a niche where there are now 3 other players, if you include the Genesis coupe, instead of only one as it was during the Camaro’s last go around. If GM’s going to push the lower performance variants then they’re betting a hell of a lot that the look of the Camaro alone will draw customers.
08/25, 5:18 PM
posted by:
injunraiv
‘Only one’? The Camaro faced the Mustang, Cuda/Challenger, AMX/Javelin, and Firebird, just to name a few. Throw in the Nova class, and there was plenty of competition back in the day.
The scary thing about this article? It says ‘Part 1′…
08/25, 6:13 PM
posted by:
crackerhemi
When the prius is pumping out more HP and torque than your puny “American Muscle,” having a Z28 model for a wannabe sports car isn’t such a bad idea.
08/25, 6:51 PM
posted by:
beatusmongous
Prius 76 hp @ 5000 rpm (gas) < Mustang 210 hp @ 5300 rpm
Prius 82 lb.-ft. @ 4200 rpm (gas) < Mustang 240 lb.-ft. @ 3500 rpm
Prius 67 hp @ 1200-1540 rpm (electric) Mustang 240 lb.-ft. @ 3500 rpm
Here’s what all this means: The Prius can get a nice jump, since max torque is put out at 0 rpm. But once it hits 1,200 rpm, that max torque drops out. Meanwhile, the Mustang is just starting to reach its max torque. Now, that’s assuming everything is happening in one gear. But it’s not…
No, the Prius has a CVT, which is a rubber-band like transmission, instead of gears. A CVT is designed to work by keeping the RPMs pinned at maximum torque and letting the transmission do the work. However, anyone who’s ever driven a car with a CVT knows that the theory doesn’t work in practice. Instead, the CVT pins the RPMs at the highest level, just before redline, and it doesn’t quite give you maximum torque. The Mustang, however, is geared to stay within its “powerband” as much as possible. What ends up happening in practice is that the Prius passes its powerband, and the CVT pins it in a low-torque, high-RPM level, while the Mustang is shifting through its high-torque, high-RPM powerband.
Now here’s the fun part: The Prius gets max torque at 0 RPM, but the Mustang reaches it at 3,500 RPM. So, the Prius driver will not hit the accelerator until he is given the “go”. However, the Mustang driver will rev up to 3,500 RPM, and drop the clutch on the “go”, giving both cars max torque from the start. Once the Prius gets some speed, and gets past 1,200 RPM, the torque drops off, and the Mustang will leave the Prius in the dust. It’s no contest. That is why the Prius, with 295 lb.-ft. of torque, gets only an 18 second 1/4 mile, and the Mustang does it in 15 or less.
Heck, my 4,400 lb. Nissan Minivan with 240 hp and 235 lb.-ft. of torque gets a better 1/4 mile time than a Prius, although that isn’t saying much. However, it is a good 3 seconds faster…
08/25, 7:10 PM
posted by:
crackerhemi
beatus:
I am talking about the new prius, which should get 40+ more HP, and much more torque.
08/25, 7:19 PM
posted by:
beatusmongous
Okay, so 116 hp? Or is it the electric motor getting 107 hp? It’s still less than 210 hp, and the torque still drops off at the same point. The 40 hp boost is good for maybe 1 second on the track.
Oh, and you can’t combine the electric and gas hp numbers. They hit at different RPM levels, much like a bi-turbo. It’s good for a smoother torque curve, but it still won’t touch the Mustang or Camaro. It will beat a base Civic, though.
08/25, 8:27 PM
posted by:
Dodge_fanatic9
wat there making a new camaro? why didnt anyone tell me 5 years ago…. oh wait lol
08/25, 10:24 PM
posted by:
Get Real
PBS did a big interview with Lutz about 2 weeks ago.
The man has no fire in his belly, how can he run a company ??
08/26, 12:03 AM
posted by:
olds307
As long as you can turn on the windshield wipers with the window open without getting a left knee full of water, unlike the 90s F-bodies, it looks good to me.
08/26, 11:23 AM
posted by:
global_lightning
New Camaro = Automotive Vaporware
08/26, 2:11 PM
posted by:
hbcbob3
@Raineman: It’s been 40+ years, and roughly 7 years off for the Camaro, and the ****stang still can beat them…I guarantee you. Ford ****ing sucks my nutsack.