Chevrolet aims to update its lineup by adding a budget V8 Camaro. Offering a cheaper V8 would be fantastic both from an enthusiast standpoint and from a sales perspective. Everyone likes the current Camaro with its 455-hp V8, but the $37,995 price makes it a tough sell when it's a full $2,000 more than the now more powerful 2018 Ford Mustang GT. It's also almost $4,000 more than both the outgoing 2017 Mustang GT and the Challenger R/T, the most affordable V8 Challenger.
We think that if Chevy could offer a bare-bones model for a couple-thousand dollars less, perhaps without the large wheels, infotainment screen, and rear wing that are standard on the SS, it could have a real winner. It could especially be popular with people who want to modify their Camaros. They don't care how the car looks off the lot because they'll replace any parts they don't like, and if they don't have to pay up front for the parts they'll replace, even better. We would also like to see potentially cheaper Camaros sooner than later, both because we like the idea, and the Camaro's sales slump is pretty major. Chevrolet sold about 600 fewer Camaros than the Challenger in July, and about 1,500 units fewer than the Mustang. It also trails the Mustang for the year so far at about 9,500 fewer cars, and is effectively tied with Challenger sales. It gets worse when comparing this generation of Camaro with the previous one.
Camaro sales have been dropping since right about the time the sixth-generation model was introduced. In 2015, the last year that fifth-generation cars would have been on lots, sales for the year were just over 77,500. That dropped in 2016, the first full year of sixth-generation models, to just under 73,000. And for 2017, Camaro sales are down about 1,000 cars through July compared with 2016. Those signs say Chevy needs to do something soon.
