Rumors have been swirling for months that Chevrolet was reviving the Camaro nameplate as an EV-only, four-door sedan. The latest scuttlebutt suggests that while Chevrolet does appear serious about bringing the Camaro back, it won't be EV-only. In fact, current reports point toward a rear-wheel-drive, internal-combustion Camaro, with a turbocharged four-cylinder likely serving as the base engine and a V-8 available in higher-performance versions.
There's been speculation that GM's new-generation small-block V-8 could find its way under the Camaro's hood, although exactly which engine it would be—and how much power it would make—remain unknown. I've heard nothing credible about the twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6 currently offered in the Cadillac CT5-V being part of the Camaro lineup. The latest musings out of Detroit also suggest that an EV version isn't part of the immediate plan, despite all the earlier rumors about an electric Camaro.
The real kicker is that GM appears to be hell-bent on making the next Camaro a four-door, with no definitive indication that a traditional two-door coupe will accompany it. Right now, "they're saying" the new Camaro is expected to ride on an updated version of GM's rear-wheel-drive Alpha architecture, share its underpinnings with the next Cadillac CT5 and a forthcoming Buick sedan, and enter production at Lansing Grand River in Michigan. The latest reports put it on track for the 2029 model year.
Seems like a last-ditch effort to revive "the automobile" as we once knew it. If this thing fails, my money is it will, looks like future highways will be filled with nothing but "trucks"
Based on these A.I.-generated renderings, Chevrolet is going back to the "retro Camaro" well yet again, something it first did with the fifth-generation Camaro introduced for 2010. That car deliberately channeled the 1967–69 first-generation Camaro, particularly the iconic 1969 model. The sixth-generation Camaro, introduced for 2016, was essentially an evolution of that design rather than a clean-sheet departure.
The styling of the fifth- and sixth-generation Camaros has always left me flat-footed, though. I find them cartoonish in ways the first four generations of the Camaro simply weren't. Maybe that's just my old-car bias talking, but there's something about those later Camaros that never quite worked for me. They're great cars—my older son has a 2017, and despite its shortcomings, it's an amazing ride—but in terms of "look back at it after parking it" appeal? Meh. Not so much.
Don't tell him I told you that. I need him to pick out a nice nursing home for me.
The auto industry is interested in one thing above all else: making money. Automakers aren't interested in nostalgia and tradition for old-time's sake. If they can move "units" because of a retro theme or design, they're going to do it. If they can't, they won't bother.
And the best-selling vehicles in the country don't have a shred of throwback about them. The Ford F-Series, Chevrolet Silverado, Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V are about as modern and utilitarian as it gets. The Toyota Camry, America's best-selling traditional passenger car in 2025, isn't exactly dripping with nostalgia, either.
And then there's Dodge's new Charger, which supposedly oozes old-school charm. I don't get it. Whatever nostalgia Dodge was shooting for, buyers haven't exactly been beating down the doors. Dodge sold 7,421 electric Charger Daytonas in 2025. There were also 2,141 gas-powered Chargers reported for the year, although that figure included some previous-generation cars still sitting around on dealer lots. The new gasoline-powered Sixpack arrived so late that it had essentially no impact on 2025 sales; production began in December.
I'll bet you a nickel the big sixer has little impact on sales.
Alas, stylish two-door cars, which were a staple of my car-crazed youth, have been falling out of favor for decades. Once pillars of the industry, today's surviving two-doors are mostly niche products—and many are expensive ones. Chevrolet sold 24,533 Corvettes in 2025, Ford sold 45,333 Mustangs, and Dodge's new Charger Daytona managed just 7,421 electric sales in its first calendar year.
Back in the 1970s, the combined sales of the Chevrolet Camaro, Pontiac Firebird and Ford Mustang could approach 900,000 in a single year. In 1979, for example, the three totaled roughly 864,000 sales. That's still an astonishing number compared with today's market, but it wasn't quite the million-plus figure my memory wanted it to be.
Frankly, the world didn't end when Ford labeled its first EV crossover "Mustang" back in 2021. Although, if I'm not mistaken, most people call it the "Mach-E" anyway. And "Mach"—a nod to the iconic Mach 1 Mustang—somehow seems less offensive than calling what's essentially a four-door crossover an actual Mustang. Ford, for its part, explicitly positioned the Mach-E as an expansion of the Mustang family and an all-electric member of the Mustang stable.
So, in the end, the world will be just fine if Chevrolet comes out with a four-door Camaro, even if it doesn't offer a two-door version. It doesn't necessarily mean Chevrolet will move a lot of Camaros if they have four doors, two doors, three doors, or if you have to jump through the sunroof to get inside them.
The market has moved so far away from sedans that it may be too far gone to come back.
The rational side of me totally gets it. The Camaro-lover in me, however, wants to jump out a window.
I mean, they can't be serious, can they? Newsflash, Camaro-boy. They can be.
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