The Camaro Homepage Interview Series #2

Camaro Product Manager, Cheryl Pilcher Part 2
by the CHpg Staff

Camaro Product Manager, Cheryl Pilcher, with the Camaro Convertible Concept at the GM Milford Proving Ground during a mid-May event for Camaro enthusiasts where Chevrolet received guidance on product and marketing issues. Image: Campbell-Ewald.

This week, the Camaro Homepage presents the second installment of our three-part interview with Camaro Product Manager, Cheryl Pilcher. In the first part of the interview, Pilcher mentioned that, at car shows and other events where the Camaro Concept cars are displayed, a lot of younger people who may have never seen a 1969 Camaro show interest in the cars. We were interested in exploring that issue with her in more detail. Camaro Homepage: Ok...you're talking to 20-somethings at shows and many of them have never seen a '69 Camaro. Some of them may not care about "inspirational" styling in new cars, yet, they're saying the car is really cool. Gimme an example.

Cheryl Pilcher: It’s always fun to stand by the Camaro on display and to overhear what’s being said. Usually I hear simple words like “cool” and “wow” and see them staring at the car, taking it all in. That obviously puts a huge smile on my face.

Chpg: Mainstream shows? Detroit, L.A., New York? Are there a lot of 20 year old people there? 

CP: First, the big wheels and tires. They notice the proportions, the sleeker, aerodynamic look. They notice the, um--I mean this in a positive way--the "mean" look that it has. It looks mean in a very good, powerful way.

A lot of 20 somethings know Camaro, especially enthusiasts. They're the ones who seek-out the Concept Car at shows and really study it. Interestingly, those who just pass by and maybe don't have a strong interest are positive about it, too. I'm really pleased if we can get both folks in their 20s and older adults like ourselves.

I've had lots of requests from children. There was a ten-year-old boy who was doing a project for school, so he contacted Chevrolet. He was doing a special report for his teacher on Camaro and he wanted any materials, papers, posters, anything we had on Camaro that he could supplement his report with.

CHpg: It's cool that that Camaro motivates kids like that. Ok, a shameless plug: When that happens, send 'em our web address: www.camarohomepage.com

CP: Ok. I'll do that.

CHpg: You have people between 45 and 60, who are really going to understand the '69 Camaro inspiration. You have people in their 20s--and even younger--who may not know Camaros of the past but, clearly, appreciate the Camaro of the future. Then, you have another group, the thirty-somethings, who identify with 3rd and 4th Gen cars. The new car looks nothing like a 3rd or 4th Generation Camaro. So, how do they know that's a Camaro?

CP: I think there are still cues. It's very low to the ground. It's got a wide stance, has that menacing 'look'. I think those say, subliminally, "This is a Camaro."

CHpg: What are you hearing from 4th Gen owners about the Concepts?

CP: They love it. A lot of them were so disappointed when we didn't have a 5th Generation right away. They're anxious, just because they love Camaro, to have one now.

CHpg: West Coast, Southern California in particular, had to buy a lot of Camaros.

CP: Yes. It was a high volume market.

CHpg: How often do you go to the West Coast and see what's happening out there--talk to the enthusiasts?

CP: The regular sports segment--Mustangs, Camaros, Firebirds, Mitsubishi Eclipse, Hyundai Tiburon, Saturn Sky, Pontiac Solstice--has been a pretty solid segment, but as the Camaro and Firebird exited, it declined a bit. It's being forecast right now to remain constant, if anything, to slightly increase. It's roughly 400,000 units a year.

CHpg: How far back? Early in the decade, '01-'02?

CP: No. Back then, in 2002, it might have been more like 325,000 units. So, it's been seeing a slight increase. As we look at market trends and forecasts and monitor where the business is, it looked like a great place to be back in.

CHpg: That 400,000 is North America?

CP: Yes. We don't see any great decrease, which is maybe what your concern was earlier when we were talking about fuel economy and things like that.

There's always going to be a market for a regular sports vehicle. (We're) going to have to be cognizant of fuel economy, make the right powertrain choices, add the right technological features that can help improve fuel economy.

I wish I could give you the exact sales volume. We certainly have a forecast. We want to be competitive and a big player in the segment.

CHpg: Can you share the number?

CP: I'm sorry, I can't.

We want to make sure the car is attractive to general buyers, too. There's, also, gonna be folks who, when the Camaro exited the market, had to buy something else. I hope they'll come back. Hopefully, our Firebird friends will come back to Camaro, too.

CHpg: You have information showing that may happen?

CP: Many people give us input, "I've got my deposit down at my local Chevy dealer." or they ask, "Where can I get on the wait list?"

CHpg: Tell 'em to come to www.camarohomepage.com. We have a wait list. Ok--what's your take on the long time between the end of the 4th Gen and the beginning of the 5th Gen?

CP: I think the right things needed to happen and some time needed to pass. It was important to see how this regular sports segment was gonna go. Was it going to be a declining segment?

CP: Well, I can't get that close. We certainly haven't announced pricing of the Camaro--we haven't announced a lot of the details--but expect it to be priced competitively. 

I'm thinking between $23,000 and $24,000 is the right point. I look at the competition and where the market is and that's a good spot for a V6 with great performance and mid-level options.

Obviously, Ford enjoys great success with the Mustang. They are the lion's share of the segment, today, but we're hoping to take away quite a bit of that and...

CHpg: ...it becomes a kitten's share.

CP: Yeah, a "kitten's share". I like that. That's very good. The V6 is gonna be a good performing vehicle. Yes, we'd all like it priced less, but recognizing the competition, you have to price it where your competitive benchmarks are.

CHpg: You read the Autoextremist?

CP: I agree. It's easy and fun to work on the V8, but what we really need to pay attention to, from the marketing and engineering perspective, is that V6.

CHpg: What else does your market research say about V6 customers?

CP: We've talked a already about styling, but again, one of the primary reasons for purchase is that it's a good lookin' car. For a Camaro, it still needs to be a performance car, even with a V6. There's a bit more bias towards fuel economy. Sometimes, those buyers, especially women, are a little bit more worried about safety. So maybe you'd have a bit more safety features. Maybe a V8 buyer would be less-concerned--not that they wouldn't benefit, of course. V8 buyers are willing to pay a higher insurance rate because they are buying the V8 and maybe a V6 buyer can't take that on.

Other than that, they're similar buyers. The V6 is still a good alternative but they'll say, "Don't take away my styling, my good performance, I still want that."

CP: V6 buyers who seek-out a more performance-tuned suspension are a small minority because folks who are that geeked on the best suspension are going step-up to a V8 model.

GM Accessories, through Performance Parts, has done a few (suspension) kits for the Cobalt to take the car to different levels of racing. My desire is to work with our performance parts team to develop some of the packages that you're talking about which might enable somebody who wants to race or somebody who just wants a stiffer suspension to have that on an aftermarket basis.

CHpg Now, what about that V8? Where will you price a high-end, six-speed Coupe?

CP: Looking at where the competition is today and knowing that we want to price the Camaro competitively, I’d say between $27,000 and $29,000, MSRP.

CP: It's obviously going to be a challenge. And it's tough to make performance trade-offs that might be required. In our mind, the Camaro is a performance car. We've talked about some of the technologies that are potential enablers, whether it's active fuel management or others, that will come from Powertrain. We're going to do everything we can to make the V8 the performance car it needs to be, yet, deliver best-in-segment fuel economy.

CHpg: We spoke briefly with Sam Winegarden (Executive Director for Engine Engineering and GM Powertrain Division) during a recent media briefing on the '08 Vette's LS3 engine. We asked him a similar question. He mentioned AFM. He also mentioned direct injection. Is all that on your radar screen?

CP: I'm not the powertrain expert. We take a lot of guidance from the Powertrain engineers. As they're doing the development work, they see what works best and what, maybe, doesn't work as well. If you were talking to Sam, he's the guy that would know for V8s. I would rely on him to give our team guidance as to the best solutions.

CP: The Concept Car has the LS2 at 400 horsepower. I'm sure everybody "wants" more, but I didn't hear a lot of people say that. I, also, didn't hear anybody say, "That's not enough."

         
We'll be back in 2-3 weeks with the final part of our interview with Camaro Product Manager, Cheryl Pilcher.

Click Here for Part 3 of this Interview