GM and RWD

[BigAls87Z28]

http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26728&page=1&pp=20

In there it explains to great extent on what is going on, and great insight on the Camaro.

[NJSPEEDER]

i like the half stepping around the camaro production schedule. lol that was a good dance.
that is also the first time i have ever heard anything directly from GM that refgered to the trans am royalty.
for those who don't know the history of the trans am in detail. it was a car created for the street to capture the essence and glamour of a racing series. no trans am or firebird of any sort was built specifically for the series or had much of any success in the series. the name in trade mark nad copyright has been held by the sports car club of america since the early 60's and auto manufacturers were allowed to use the name for a fee of around $20 per unit.
pontiac and dodge(challenger t/a) were the only two companies that really tried to market using the series name.

[BigAls87Z28]

Guy doesnt work for GM, hes just, as he puts it, "really good at guessing".
Guy was also one of teh 250 people invited out to Detroit.
I will vouch for this man, he knows a lot...a LOT, and shares what he can.
Turbo96 can also vouch for the man.

[LS1Hawk]

If royalty issues are the case with Trans Am, couldn't it be the same for Grand Prix? Maybe GM pays a fee for that name as well.

[NJSPEEDER]

there are no royalty fees related to any other brand or vehicle name on any current production vehicle anywhere in the world. :)

[Oddball]

http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26728&page=1&pp=20

In there it explains to great extent on what is going on, and great insight on the Camaro.

If they might make the Camaro in Delaware we should apply for jobs there. I almost got one with Dahlmer working on the Durango before I switched to software.

[turbo96z28]

Guy doesnt work for GM, hes just, as he puts it, "really good at guessing".
Guy was also one of teh 250 people invited out to Detroit.
I will vouch for this man, he knows a lot...a LOT, and shares what he can.
Turbo96 can also vouch for the man.


Guy knows his ****. if i were a betting man, i'd put some money an those predictions ;) . (gotta love the winkie club, right Al ;) )


and about the Camaro coming sooner than expected, if you wanna know when it's coming, keep an eye on Wilmington.

as soon as word about the plants conversion comes out, just add about 12 months ;) :D .

[WayFast84]

Im so excited! does any one Know If there will be a trim with the LS7? If I get a 09 maro you will bet It will be loaded with all the optional stuff!

[NJSPEEDER]

the more stuff i read about the "possible" future of GM's cooler concept cars i am starting to think they should change their corporate motto to "If Approved".
WTF? everyone knows they are gonna build it at this point. i can't remember the last car that had so much hype and fanfair to introduce the production model, much less a concept.

[BonzoHansen]

the more stuff i read about the "possible" future of GM's cooler concept cars i am starting to think they should change their corporate motto to "If Approved".
WTF? everyone knows they are gonna build it at this point. i can't remember the last car that had so much hype and fanfair to introduce the production model, much less a concept.Kinda makes you realize how GM got to the state it is in now...

[turbo96z28]

not a question of "if" right now Tim.

the buzz the car generated is more than enough approval for GM.

all they have to do now is sort out the business case to secure all the funds they need for the basics: plant, mules, suppliers, etc.

the GMT-900s procured alot of budget from other GM divisions and programs. they have to wait til the return starts coming in from those before other projects start getting put into the "fastlane".

[NJSPEEDER]

i understand that they have to get all their ducks in a row before they let people start ordering. the thing that gets me is that they act like a bunch of politicians that keep saying maybe in some circular way.
it just seems silly at this point. we all saw teh hype, we have all seen the response through the press(ok, not that accurate a rating system) and some of us have had the pleasure of seeing the glazed over eyes of everyone who has seen the car in person. there is no "maybe" in any of this anymore, so why pretend?

[BigAls87Z28]

the more stuff i read about the "possible" future of GM's cooler concept cars i am starting to think they should change their corporate motto to "If Approved".
WTF? everyone knows they are gonna build it at this point. i can't remember the last car that had so much hype and fanfair to introduce the production model, much less a concept.

I do...

http://www.edmunds.com/media/roadtests/spinaroundtown/05.chevrolet.ssr/05.chevrolet.ssr.f34-2.500.jpg



Anyway, untill the money is inline, and paperwork is signed, they dont want to say anything. If they say they will make it, they still have to wait for funding. If they say "its just a concept" untill they get some capitol together, then the car can hit the streets as soon as it gets teh thumbs up.

[turbo96z28]

If they say "its just a concept" untill they get some capitol together, then the car can hit the streets as soon as it gets teh thumbs up.


and they can seemingly "surprise" the general public with an announcement about the vehicle hitting the streets in less than a year!!!!!

[JL8Jeff]

GM has been paying the royalty to use the Trans Am name since 69 and it's no secret. But at $20 a pop it's not that big of a deal. They should have dropped it back when they introduced the 4th gen. I think Chevrolet had to pay a royalty to use the IROC name as well. I just hope they do continue with the rwd platform. Just make sure it has a V8 and keep the price close to $30K or less.

[BigAls87Z28]

No, they owned the name IROC since the 70's. They had to stop using it when they did not re-up on the contract.

And Jeff, they made V8 sedans for under 30k now. Id say that a RWD sedan will be around 27-28k for a 325hp 5.3, Camaro will be in around 25k.

[qwikz28]

i dont understand how gm got out of the whole building the camaro outside of the ste therese plant. i thought they had some sort of binding contract to build the camaro in that plant?

[JL8Jeff]

i dont understand how gm got out of the whole building the camaro outside of the ste therese plant. i thought they had some sort of binding contract to build the camaro in that plant?

The contract was up until 2007 and they've since levelled that plant. I'm not sure if they would have to wait until the model year 2007 or the actual year 2007.

As for the IROC name, the series started in 1974 with them racing Porsche cars so I'm not sure how Chevrolet would own any rights to the IROC name unless they paid for it. And when they stopped using the Camaro for the IROC series there was obviously no reason to keep the name with the Camaro.

[BigAls87Z28]

Ste.T was heavily underutilized. I belive Guy points out that the plant was only at 33% capacity, which is not what GM likes. The plant was shut down and demolished almost 2 years ago now. CAW is happy because they got tons of jobs elsewhere.

And yes, Chevy/GM had the rights to IROC after they convinced the SCCA or whoever is in charge of IROC that Camaros would be a better car to run in IROC. And the rest is history. They lost the rights in 1990, and GM/Chevy did not renegotiate for the series. Dodge picked it up, and there was that short run of IROC Daytonas.

[NJSPEEDER]

the use of IROC in vehicle marketing is a part of the general agreement to provide vehicles for the series. as of last year they were still running trans ams :) i dunno what they are going to be using this year.

[jims69camaro]

no trans am or firebird of any sort was built specifically for the series or had much of any success in the series.

makes you wonder why, considering the success of the #6 sunoco penske car.

daytonas were also adorned with the iroc name during the '80s, i believe. did they actually use those cars in the race?

[NJSPEEDER]

makes you wonder why, considering the success of the #6 sunoco penske car.

at the time there was now 5.0 liter engine available on the pontiac side of the f-body platform. by the time the rules opened up to allow larger engines(1971 model year) the f-body had grown to large and heavy to be nearly as competitve as they were with the first gen camaros

[JL8Jeff]

Actually, the 2nd gen Camaro was very competitive but GM would not allow any backing of race teams so they didn't really have a chance. There was a 1970 Z28 Camaro built with 4 wheel disc brakes to qualify for racing and they developed the tall 3 piece spoiler options specifically for Trans Am racing. It was COPO 9796 but it wasn't available until pretty late in the 1970 model year. Remember, the 1969 model year ran late into Nov 69 because the 1970 model was late.