Here we have a tale of two pony cars that have already gone their separate ways and look to get even further apart. On one side, the Chevrolet Camaro. Motor Trend spoke to GM president Mark Reuss about what a future Camaro could look like — emphasis on the conditional “could.” Prime considerations were an affordable price, being fun to drive and wide appeal. A pony car returned to its roots, as it were. He mentioned an MSRP in the ballpark of the 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV, which starts at $43,295 with destination. Given a federal tax credit, that would put the Camaro’s price below all of its competition, assuming performance to make the entry-level trim worth it.
Of course there are catches, plural. One, this would be a battery-electric pony built on an Ultium platform. Two, this pony would have four doors because coupes, at the moment, don’t really help pay the electric bill. And three, this dream is a long way off potential fulfillment, GM still working on scaling up production of its Ultium-based range, especially the mass-market offerings like that Equinox EV. At least we haven’t mentioned the initial SUV, right? Anything is possible, but right now, we’re only talking about what Reuss would like to see.
Across the Michigan suburbs at Ford, CEO Jim Farley gave Autocar his thoughts on what might be possible with Mustang. Stressing the authenticity necessary to any approach that tries to expand the Mustang fold, he said, “We will never build a Mustang that isn’t a Mustang. For instance, there will never be room for a small, two-row Ford SUV with a Mustang badge stuck on it.” It got less quizzical after that. Although he thinks a four-door is possible “as long as [it has] the attitude of the original.” However, there isn’t going to be an off-road version, and there will not be a pure-electric Mustang under his watch, but a hybrid has potential.
Good bits come in Farley saying he’d like to see the ‘Stang get lighter, and apparently there are teams on the case. Ford claims the base EcoBoost coupe weighs 3,588 pounds, the base GT coupe 3,827 pounds. There’s more to come from in the direction of high-end performance the GTD represents, too, Farley calling the $325,000 track-day runner “a down payment” on what’s ahead. Rumor is that Ford’s considering a “lite” version of the GTD with a price around $100,000 or below; separate from that, the Mustang7G forum posted a pic of a Mustang development prototype wearing a GTD-style trunk and dual intakes. There’s also an RTR version of the new Mustang coming next year, and the GT500 shouldn’t be too far out, either.
Whether you dream of electric Camaros or hybrid Mustangs, check out the interviews from two execs with the power to make their dreams happen.