Both Ford and Chevrolet have to make a decision and it can't be an easy one. Where do they take the Mustang and Camaro next?
It's the kind of question that keeps executives staring at the bedroom ceiling at 3 a.m. trying to think of an answer.
Other automakers have similar issues. BMW doesn't dare mess up its 3-series and if Porsche makes a misstep with the 911, there will be heck to pay.
Chevrolet has to be careful with the Corvette, but that doesn't seem to stop the company from making drastic changes. Perhaps that has to do with the fact that the current Corvette has been around for close to a decade, so you can't really have anything other than drastic changes, hence the gorgeous new 2014 model.
The Ford Mustang and the Chevrolet Camaro are different, though, because they are what I would call "full-circle cars."
Instead of progressing the brands in new directions, the two automakers chose to cherry-pick the best of the past and create modern interpretations.
This is where the term "retro" comes from.
We got a very good taste of retro back in the late 1990s with the New Volkswagen Beetle. And although the Chrysler PT Cruiser and the Prowler weren't based on a given model from the past, they both pulled at our nostalgic heartstrings.
There are others, but for Americans, the Mustang/Camaro loyalty is the stuff of fist fights. As these loyal buyers get on in age - the people who might have owned a 1960s Mustang, or at least pined for one for decades - Ford and Chevy are giving up younger buyers who don't really connect with the originals upon which the new retro models are based.
And that's really ironic when you consider that the originals really spoke to a generation of young buyers.
So, I guess that leaves two problems, doesn't it: where do you go after retro; and how do you interest younger (or just more) buyers when you do it?
Chevrolet might know, but it's not sharing what the next Camaro will look like.
Just to be clear, I've loved the current car since I first saw concept photos back in 2007, as well as the various models that have been unleashed over the years to keep it fresh, whether it be the convertible, the ZL1 or the upcoming Z/28.
Ford has also been adding models to keep the Mustang fresh, from the Boss 302 to the GT 500, and it surely doesn't want a repeat of the 1974-'78 Mustang II debacle - a car viewed as vastly inferior to its predecessors - so when it finally does break away from the retro theme, for the 2015 model year, it will have to do it in a big way.
I suspect the logic goes something like the following. Since the 2005 retro Mustang was launched, there are literally hundreds of thousands of these cars on the road.
There's basically enough supply out there to keep the retro enthusiasts neck deep in cars for decades to come, while aftermarket companies can help them personalize their rides in whatever manner they like. Forever.
If Ford steers clear of the classic look, which it fully intends to do, there will undoubtedly be cries from the faithful, so why do it? The obvious reason? There's more to gain than lose, or we wouldn't even be having this conversation. Sales were about 166,500 in 2006 and in 2012 . they were about half that.
OK, so what will the new Mustang look like? The Evos concept car is sort of like a bunch of future cars all glued together, but the word is that it will provide the styling inspiration for the new Mustang. One of the things that Ford has to do, at least the way I see it, is build a car so good that the critics will look like bitter fools stuck in the old days if they come down on it. And if the Evos is any indication, the faithful might actually want the retro version as well as the new 2015 model. Now that would be an interesting business strategy.
The Evos looks like a two-door car, but it actually has four and it also has a grille shape that's similar to cars such as the Fusion sedan. The new Mustang will apparently still have a V8 option (which implies it will be a rear-wheel-drive car), but I've seen reports that there will also be a 350-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder as well as a base V6 engine.
But the real question is, what do you think, since you hold the keys? What should Ford and Chevy do?
Courtney Hansen is the author of The Garage Girl's Guide to Everything You Need to Know About Your Car, the host of Spike TV's PowerBlock and a writer with Wheelbase Communications.
