2023 Camaro ZL1, An American Classic’s Phaseout Is Happening – Goodbye Camaro

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There will be no seventh generation of the Camaro and that makes some people mad. Get ‘em while they got ‘em; if you wait too long you will miss out on owning the last of the brand-new Chevrolet Camaros. Ever since LBJ was in the White House, the Camaro has been a staple in the muscle car world and a driver’s favorite for many years since.

Fast forward to now and both Ford and Dodge have already ventured into the realm of electric muscle cars and know that it is the future, however, GM has not been able to pull the trigger on electrifying its most popular muscle car just yet. We will just have to wait and see if they decide to tap into this segment and have another of their vehicles run on sustainable energy. If it wanted to, it could pull it off. It could be that the fear of poor sales numbers they received a few years ago is what is stopping them from doing so.

 

1967 was the first-time people experienced this new heartbeat of America, and it has been a constant in the race and muscle car communities since its inception. Well, all good things must come to an end and after 2024, General Motors will no longer pump out any versions of the famous Chevy Camaro; leaving drivers and fans to look elsewhere and at other alternatives for their speed demon fix. Over its five-decade-long run, we saw some truly spectacular versions of the Camaro.

With Camaro gone, one place where they might look to is their competition Ford, they produced the Mustang Mach-E GT and have the vision of electric vehicles in their sight and produced just that. Let us be honest though, that is not a true Mustang, no matter what badge they plaster on it, one thing is for certain, it is an all-electric SUV made by Ford.

 

On the other side, GM has decided altogether to stop production of the Camaro after the 2024 model rolls off the line. There will be no electric Camaros gracing or degrading any streets in the United States; it depends on how you look at it. This is surprising since the sales of the Camaro have risen and the car is more popular than ever, but GM is committed to extinguishing the lights in the eyes of Camaro lovers by not bringing this baby back. To this, we say “BOO GENERAL MOTORS”.

A 63 percent jump in Camaro sales from 2021-2022 was not enough for the bosses at General Motors to decide on keeping the Camaro in production. Chevy did reach out to Camaro owners with a survey to get their take on the possibility of future hybrid options, and ended up with mixed results. At the end of the day, Chevy must still have the bad taste of the pre-pandemic sale numbers in their mouths and just want to get out while on an uptick. Numbers do not lie, and they show that Camaro has fallen behind Dodge’s Challenger and Charger in sales of American Muscle cars. Seems like the heartbeat of America is slowing down a little bit and the consumers cannot find their pulse.

 

Camaro enthusiasts can say their goodbyes to the 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 engine that comes in the new ZL1, which can top off at 200 miles per hour. This is the fastest Camaro ever made and there will be no more. Not just the fast and furious ZL1, there will be no Camaros period. It’s a shame, especially since this last model has improved so much throughout the years, not only in performance but in looks too. The 2023 model comes with a special option for a carbon fiber hood which makes the car stand out immediately.

It has extensive aero work all around and a rear spoiler on the trunk. The rearview camera is located directly underneath the spoiler and the parking sensors and the backup camera are located lower in the bumper. The ZL1 will also feature a carbon fiber lower grill that looks mean and gives off the “I’ll blow you away vibe” once you look at it.

A new performance car is expected to replace the Camaro, however, that vehicle will be fully electric and will use the new General Motors electric vehicle technology. It just won’t be the street killer the Camaro has been known to be and has been dubbed for all these years. The world has been steadily shifting towards electric cars to reduce our carbon footprint in an attempt to save our planet.

This will not be the first time that GM halts the production of the Camaro, there were none produced from 2002-2009, so if Chevrolet does have a change of heart and feels that its already weak portfolio cannot sustain the subtraction of its most popular muscle car, there is always that chance that they will bring it back. As of now, GM is planning on an exclusive farewell going away package planned for the 2024 Camaro. There are no details on that yet, only that it will be their swan song, and they plan on going out with a bang.

So, the direction the world is going in is clear. Save the planet, make everything with batteries, let us go green and all live happily ever after. However, that is not possible with the phaseout and ceased production of one of the most popular and iconic muscle cars ever made. So, until there are plans to bring the Camaro back permanently, General Motors will have to deal with drivers shifting over to the Challenger Hellcat to get their need for American Speed.