It’s not like we didn’t see it coming, but yesterday Chevrolet made it official: the Camaro will be sunset at the end of the 2024 model year. The reasons are well known: GM is leaning heavily into EVs and there just isn’t enough room for a two-door, four-seat coupe that packs a V8 punch. They don’t sell, not even on nostalgia. But that isn’t going to stop GM from taking one final swipe at Camaro heritage before they move on.
For 2024, there will be a “Collector’s Package” for the RS and SS models and a limited number of ZL1-equipped cars in North America. According to GM, “The Collector’s Edition pays homage to Camaro, resurfacing ties that date back to the development of the first generation Camaro in the 1960s, most notably the program’s initial code name: Panther.”
“As we prepare to say goodbye to the current generation Camaro, it is difficult to overstate our gratitude to every Camaro customer, Camaro assembly line employee and race fan,” said Scott Bell, vice president, Global Chevrolet. “While we are not announcing an immediate successor today, rest assured, this is not the end of Camaro’s story.”
It’s hard not to be skeptical and cynical about what Camaro’s future can be. The Camaro nameplate was resurrected in 2010, eight years after the original F-body had been put to bed. In order to do that, the Zeta platform that Holden was using for the full Commordore range was shrunk enough to underpin the new car. Since Holden got the “Old Yeller” treatment in 2017, what’s left for Chevrolet to use the name on?
Speculation has many answers, but it will be up to GM to provide something that will properly live up to what the nameplate stands for. Given what we’ve seen from the General over the last few years, we aren’t holding our breath. We’ll offer a proper mea culpa if they do, but for now, wave goodbye, remember the good times, and go save an old Camaro that was cast aside years ago, back when we never thought the party would end.
