2023 was a rough year for the muscle car and the people who love it. Dodge escorted its long-running Challenger out the door. Chevrolet announced the end of the Camaro. Ford was left to hold down the fort with a new generation of the Mustang.
2024 is shaping up to be a bit better. Dodge introduced a new 2-door Charger, available first as an electric vehicle (EV) but coming later with a turbocharged inline-6-cylinder engine.
Chevrolet has all but confirmed the Camaro‘s return. A new report may give classic muscle lovers mixed feelings, but one of the traditional big three pony cars is not gone forever.
A $35,000 Target
General Motors President Mark Reuss told Motor Trend that he wants the Camaro to “make a comeback as an electric car — not an electric crossover — designed around athletic dynamics and a low price point rather than huge horsepower and track-slaying performance.”
Reuss says his first car was a 1967 Camaro, and MT says he wants to see the name “return to its roots as a pony car with broad appeal beyond hardcore enthusiasts.” He said he would like to target a price similar to the $34,995 base model of the Chevrolet Equinox EV.
While muscle car fans might not love the notion of fewer horsepower, Reuss did tell MT he wanted the car to be athletic, and the man knows automotive history.
The Spirit of the Classics
In some ways, today’s high-horsepower muscle cars are out of tune with the classics that inspired them.
The original muscle car formula didn’t involve factory-built cars with jaw-dropping power figures. The formula started with inexpensive coupes that shade-tree mechanics could boost to jaw-dropping power figures.
If Chevrolet gives the world a low-cost sport coupe they can modify, they’ll have returned the muscle car concept to its roots. The tuners of 2026 might use laptops more often than wrenches, but they’ll be working in the same spirit as the hot rodders of the 1970s.
If you still love the Camaro and want a gas-powered one, the factory has stopped building them, but dealers still have plenty of 2024 models on their lots.
