Will there ever be another GM

[trinacriabob]

I was looking around at pictures of mid-80s Cutlass Supreme coupes today. They were beautiful...from every angle. For at least 10 years, 1976-1986 +/-, no other car captured the heart of America the way this car did. That's why they were everywhere.

Do you think there will ever be another mid-size personal luxury coupe? Can't the market handle just one...either at a Cutlass Supreme price point or a Riv/Toro/Eldo price point? Or is this a matter of timing where the market has to take a break from this genre and then come back to it?

What do you think?

[Satty]

Camaro or CTS, take your pick because I doubt Buick will get a coupe anytime soon.

[Intrepidation]

What he said.

[Oracle of Delphi]

Mid 80s? You mean way back when Reagan was President and women and men had big hair?

[Satty]

Mid 80s? You mean way back when Reagan was President and women and men had big hair?

We already have members who think it should still be 1959 or 1968 or 1977, why not have the token "guy stuck in the 80's"?

[Robert Hall]

Just like their will never be another RWD full size BOF GM car, there will never be another personal lux coupe. That world is gone.

Rob

[Robert Hall]

We already have members who think it should still be 1959 or 1968 or 1977, why not have the token "guy stuck in the 80's"?

Nothing wrong with the Big 80s...I still love a lot of the music, cars, and movies of that era...growing up then, it was an important time of my life...still enjoy my '80s cars. But I also enjoy the here and now..

Rob

[Oracle of Delphi]

Just like their will never be another RWD full size BOF GM car, there will never be another personal lux coupe. That world is gone.

Rob

Poppycock!

[trinacriabob]

I'll be stuck there...no problem.

My '84 Cutlass Brougham coupe was more comfortable on long interstate trips than anything I've had since then. My 2 newer cars have been more reliable, though.

Edited August 11, 2009 by trinacriabob

[Oracle of Delphi]

Nothing wrong with the Big 80s...I still love a lot of the music, cars, and movies of that era...growing up then, it was an important time of my life...still enjoy my '80s cars. But I also enjoy the here and now..

Rob

The question is, do you still have big hair?

[Robert Hall]

The question is, do you still have big hair?

No hair now...

Rob

[trinacriabob]

The question is, do you still have big hair?

The answer is: you have enough hair to lend ...

[loki]

I'll be stuck there...no problem.

My '84 Cutlass Brougham coupe was more comfortable on long interstate trips than anything I've had since then. My 2 newer cars have been more reliable, though.

hey, i got an 83 regal wagon passed down to me as a first car.....you can put me there too. hehe i'd take another gear or 3 for that and an engine with more punch, but it was a great car.

those gen cars stood out, still do.

[SAmadei]

Just like their will never be another RWD full size BOF GM car, there will never be another personal lux coupe. That world is gone.

Rob

BOF GM car? No. GM ceded that market to the imports.

But, quite frankly Mercedes and BMW have some nice CPO personal luxury coupes.

[Robert Hall]

BOF GM car? No. GM ceded that market to the imports.

Ford is the only maker of such cars (Panthers) today, AFAIK. All full size imported cars are unit body construction, AFAIK..

But, quite frankly Mercedes and BMW have some nice CPO personal luxury coupes.

Those are high end models, though.... I specifically meant GM mass market midsize coupes like the Cutlass, Monte Carlo, etc. I don't expect to see new GM coupes of that sort, RWD or FWD.

Rob

Edited August 11, 2009 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Blake Noble]

Am I the only one that thinks that GM should have held off on an F5 Camaro and instead put a new Monte Carlo on Zeta that would return the car back to it's "personal luxury coupe" intentions?

[Robert Hall]

Am I the only one that thinks that GM should have held off on an F5 Camaro and instead put a new Monte Carlo on Zeta that would return the car back to it's "personal luxury coupe" intentions?

Such a car could definitely have been interesting, but I don't think it would sell anywhere near as well as the Camaro may sell... the Camaro is a much bigger image product for Chevy.

Rob

[Blake Noble]

Such a car could definitely have been interesting, but I don't think it would sell anywhere near as well as the Camaro may sell... the Camaro is a much bigger image product for Chevy.

Rob

True. But as far as the F5 Camaro's size and weight goes, it's dimensions are much more suited to a "personal luxury (and performance, in the case of an SS model) coupe."

And the old G-Body Monte Carlo was one of the better selling generations of the car. I think with the correct support, the Monte Carlo could have had a much improved image and would have proved that it could sustain sells better than the F5 Camaro. I can see maybe the 2011 or 2012 model outselling the 2010 Camaro because, by that time, the convertible will have debuted and that will help to sustain sales. But after the convertible debuts and the dust settles the year after, everyone who wanted an F5 Camaro will have one and sales will drop off sharply.

That's the cost of having an image car.

Maybe someday GM will return a personal luxury coupe to flank its flagship sedan ...

Edited August 11, 2009 by YellowJacket894

[Intrepidation]

Am I the only one that thinks that GM should have held off on an F5 Camaro and instead put a new Monte Carlo on Zeta that would return the car back to it's "personal luxury coupe" intentions?

Could be, although I thought you used to love the Camaro?

[Intrepidation]

BOF GM car? No. GM ceded that market to the imports.

What are you on about? There are no cars besides the Ford Panthers that are or have been BOF for many years.

[Blake Noble]

Could be, although I thought you used to love the Camaro?

I love the car's design and personality and still do. But once I began to see where GM went wrong with the car, I realized I didn't like what was beneath the car's wrapper. I'm looking forward to the F6 model. That will be the generation of Camaro that will bring it all home.

[regfootball]

the 010 shelby mustang i sat in last week had a luxurious interior. there is your personal luxury coupe. or who knows which special edition mustang it was. it sure was nice inside.

[2005 EquinoxLS]

People are looking more practical now. A 2-door in a lot of peoples eyes isnt practical. I wouldnt mind one someday too. We will have to see.

[ocnblu]

Monte Carlo/Grand Prix/Cutlass Supreme/Regal... what a powerhouse quartet that hit the market just right, and held it for years, despite glancing blows from Chrysler with the Cordoba/Charger and Ford with the Thunderbird/Cougar.

A new Riviera has the best odds, imo, of coming to market to fulfill your want. You can always tell Fritz, if he's not too busy re-grilling Saturn Vue piglets into Buicks (not a fan of rebadging, my ass.)

[z28luvr01]

Am I the only one that thinks that GM should have held off on an F5 Camaro and instead put a new Monte Carlo on Zeta that would return the car back to it's "personal luxury coupe" intentions?

That may have been the original intention for Zeta - to be a home for the Monte Carlo or possibly a Chevelle. But it was later decided that making it into a Camaro would be the car's best chance of selling.

Given the fact that everyone in GM works for Fritz, the closest thing we'll ever get to a modern day G body is a production version of the Opel GTC concept.

[Camino LS6]

You have to have individuals to sell personal luxury coupes to, and all we have left are sheeple.

[SAmadei]

What are you on about? There are no cars besides the Ford Panthers that are or have been BOF for many years.

Apparently sleepy and distracted by my throbbing knee. The first part of that post was missing about 15 words. It sounded good in my head (at the time) but didn't get translated to the fingers.

I meant that GM has ceded the luxury coupe (and coupe market for the most part) to the imports.

Don't worry, when awake, I am well aware of who is still BOF today.

[SAmadei]

You have to have individuals to sell personal luxury coupes to, and all we have left are sheeple.

FTW.

You will submit or the sheeple will laugh at you!

[trinacriabob]

Monte Carlo/Grand Prix/Cutlass Supreme/Regal... what a powerhouse quartet that hit the market just right, and held it for years, despite glancing blows from Chrysler with the Cordoba/Charger and Ford with the Thunderbird/Cougar.

A new Riviera has the best odds, imo, of coming to market to fulfill your want.

Right...Chrysler and Ford couldn't touch the GM opera-windowed quartet. Their styling was odd. It works with my belief that clean, slab-like styling trumps over bulbous (Cordoba) or overstyled (T-Bird) every time.

Yes...a new Riviera would be nice...but a slightly more upright one, where it still looks and smells like a coupe, but people can get into the back seat easily without having to train as astronauts.

[regfootball]

the opel version of the coupe would be the best bet to succeed. we already have the camaro for the smoy burnout crowd. the opel design would hold up well against the current starch coupes.

[daves87rs]

You have to have individuals to sell personal luxury coupes to, and all we have left are sheeple.

What he said.

[NINETY EIGHT REGENCY]

The thing to have a coupe like this is to have the buyers and the market. There must be a need for the vehicle. I own a personal luxury coupe. I enjoy it too. It is nice to switch up from a sedan and be able to drive a coupe. It handles better than my sedan I own too. It is stylish.

The import car makers have coupes in the market. The Americans do not. They are focused on survival and making products that sell and bring in volume. Coupes are low volume cars. They just do not dominate the market like they once did.

The Europeans have been doing 4 door coupes. Maybe GM can do something like that at Cadillac or Buick.

[knightfan26917]

But as far as the F5 Camaro's size and weight goes, it's dimensions are much more suited to a "personal luxury (and performance, in the case of an SS model) coupe."

You are not alone in you're thinking.

As far as the size and weight, a friend of mine snapped a pic of his 4th gen MC next to the Camaro ... quite interesting indeed. Almost appears as if the Camaro should've been a Monte Carlo or Chevelle instead.......

Monte Carlo/Grand Prix/Cutlass Supreme/Regal... what a powerhouse quartet that hit the market just right, and held it for years, despite glancing blows from Chrysler with the Cordoba/Charger and Ford with the Thunderbird/Cougar.

AMEN! The styling of those four was unique enough to capture different tastes, much more so than the competition from Dodge and Ford, imho. Especially where the Ford Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar are concerned, those 2 really looked the same, from what I remember anyway. However, GM's MC/GP/CS/Regal group had enough differences between them that you KNEW which one was which just about right away, unless you were only seeing part of the car, such as the windshield, etc.....

Cort | 35swm | "Mr Monte Carlo"."Mr Road Trip" | pig valve.pacemaker ...RT 66 = Sept 5-16, '09

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

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