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General Motors says it will retire the Chevrolet Camaro next year, leaving the classic muscle car with an uncertain future as the automaker continues a broader transition away from gas-powered vehicles.
The Camaro is one of a line of automobiles, including Dodge’s Challenger and Charger and Ford’s Mustang, known for powerful, rumbling engines and muscular styling. Chevy, owned by General Motors, sold and introduced its first Camaro in 1966 latest, Sixth generation models in 2016.
The last Camaros will roll off the assembly line in January, Chevy said Wednesday, although it is teased the possibility of a later introduction of a new version, with Global Chevrolet Vice President Scott Bell adding, “This is not the end of Camaro’s story.”
Chevy spokesman Trevor Thompkins said the company “is keeping hope alive for a new generation,” but declined to say whether any new releases would be gas-powered, hybrid or all-electric.
General Motors, like other long-established automakers, is exhibiting gas-powered vehicles. It pledged to do so by 2035, an endeavor backed by a proposed $35 billion investment and upgrades to manufacturing facilities in Ohio, Tennessee and Michigan.
The transition to electric vehicles has left an uncertain future for longtime fans of the company’s gas-powered cars. The muscle car in particular is known for the characteristic roar of its engines. The engines, typically six or eight cylinders, embody speed and power.
Dodge, whose Challenger and Charger muscle cars are phasing out this year, opted for an all-electric release with the Charger SRT, converting the roar of the engine into an all-electric format.
Alton Freeman, curator of the Wellborn Musclecar Museum in Alexandria City, Alabama, expects Chevy to follow Dodge’s lead and get his muscle car back on the market.
“I think they’re going to take this Camaro and make it an electric vehicle, that’s what it’s all going to come down to,” said Freeman, who sees it as a tactic to coerce longtime muscle car enthusiasts into buying an electric vehicle.
But the experience isn’t the same, he said.
“With a muscle car, it’s a pleasure to get in and hear the engine and feel all that power,” Freeman said. “You get in an electric car, all you feel is nothing.”