Today we can report that Chevy has no plans for the 55th anniversary of the Camaro in 2022. Chevy always does some sort of anniversary special Camaro every few years. What’s so different about the 55th? Why is the 2022 55th anniversary Camaro not happening? Could it be that 2021 is the last year of the Camaro?

GM isn’t saying. It never gives any info related to future products. That’s understandable and expected. But there have been circumstances leading up to the 2021 Camaro that lead us to think this is its last year of production. 

The Camaro sold terribly last year

First, it sold terribly last year. Yeah, COVID-19 hurt all vehicle sales worldwide, but the 2020 Camaro was especially hit hard. Sales in the first half of 2020 were down 50% from 2019. But the segment is led by the Ford Mustang, which holds almost half of the market. Next in line was the Dodge Challenger, a car developed back when Fiat Chrysler was owned by Mercedes. 

Sales of the Challenger were off about 25%-not 50% like the Camaro. So the Camaro lags behind its two competitors by plenty. But there’s more.

We’re thinking Chevy decided to throw in the towel after 2021

The new Mustang is expected to debut later this year, although we’re now hearing that could be delayed. But with the knowledge that Ford was replacing the current Mustang for 2021, it means GM knows sales will more than overshadow the Camaro. We’re thinking it decided to throw in the towel after 2021. 

We know that the plan has been to let the Camaro ride into the sunset through 2023. But those plans were made when it was still selling enough to keep the lights on at Camaro’s Lansing Grand River assembly plant. 

Chevy has always used anniversaries for special edition Camaros. We got one for the 25th, 35th, and 45th in 2012. In case you thought that the 55th wasn’t a big enough deal to warrant an anniversary model. And Camaro fans expect this celebration to happen, even though that probably doesn’t factor into Chevy’s decision not to celebrate the 55th. 

The two-door, sporty, V8-powered pony car will soon be gone

With all of GM’s future plans focussed on EVs and autonomous futures, the classic American muscle car is on the way out. The two-door, sporty, V8-powered pony car will be gone. It is an anachronism in this jet-age electric car frenzy. Just that alone seems like a great marketing campaign for the last of the Camaros, last of the American V8, and last of the pony cars-at least from GM. 

Unfortunately, GM seems to run fast and loose with some of its iconic brands. But we feel that GM wants to shed as much old GM as it can. It wants to highlight its woke electric plans and juice up its stock dividends. It even changed up its logo last week and plans on creating a completely new division for its electric commercial delivery trucks. Killing off the Camaro now just seems like part of the “new GM” zeitgeist rampaging through the company. We’ll see what happens to the Camaro soon enough.