I think it's obvious initially strong sales of the Camaro was due to the years of pent up demand from Camaro enthusiasts not having one available for years. If it was only due to "power advantage" then their V6 sales wouldn't be so strong.

And that pent up demand contrasted with the slump in sales from all other vehicles that had been readily available - like Mustangs and their non-stop 46+ yr production. A slump starting with 08's $4 gas from our Saudi "friends" and into 2009 from the Great Recession and lending crunch.

Further proof:

Vehicle registrations drop in Portland area, ripple throughout Oregon

Updated: Sunday, June 13, 2010, 11:44 AM

Southeast Portland resident Matthew Bowers shed his 1990 Acura Legend last year, tired of maintaining a car used so rarely that it sometimes wouldn't start.

In going auto-free in 2009, the Sacramento native contributed to the largest drop in registered vehicles in recent state history, one-third of which occurred in Multnomah County. Statewide, nearly every county saw decreases, totaling 32,334 fewer registered passenger vehicles in 2009 than in 2008.

Transportation officials can't pinpoint the exact reasons for the dip but say the global recession probably has something to do with it.

Nationally, auto dealers sold a record low in new inventory last year: slightly more than 10 million new autos and trucks versus 16 million to 17 million every year for most of the decade, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association.

In Oregon, the auto association reports, 125,000 new vehicles were registered in 2008, down from nearly 163,000 in 2007 and more than 170,000 in 2006.

The decrease in vehicle registrations makes sense to Marie Dodds, a spokeswoman for AAA Oregon/Idaho.

"Two years ago, we went through record high (gas) prices," she said, "and then right after that, we saw the economy come crashing down, so I think there are fewer cars on the road. Who knows: Maybe people still have their cars but aren't driving them."

David House, a spokesman with Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicle Services, said he's careful not to read too much into the statistics -- saying only that the decline is probably related to the economy, fewer auto renewals and fewer new car buys.

Still, he said it's noteworthy that registrations in Oregon never stopped climbing before, even after the 2002 recession. The numbers just went up at a slower rate.

"This time," he said, "it actually declined, so it indicates a more severe recession."


http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/i...s_drop_in.html

 

The Camaro is already getting an interior overhaul for the 2012 MY. Not sure if anything else, but there isn't much they can do at this point to steal sales back in their favor. I'd personally like to see some with gear options, as well as a possible Z/28 (which GM engineers have told me IS still in the works but is very hush-hush at this point) and make it an equally matched game. I think we'll see about 110K Mustangs and roughly 80-85K Camaros sold this year.