Zombie cars are incredibly interesting to me. The term, which refers to out-of-production vehicles that sit on dealer lots unsold for months or years, gained popularity online after enthusiasts kept discovering brand-new, undriven Lexus LFAs and Vipers for sale at dealerships several years after their respective manufacturers ended production.
The zombie car of the moment? The Chevrolet Camaro. It’s been out of production for nearly two years, yet new-old stock has lingered at dealers across the nation since. According to my research, the Camaro’s zombie-car status is about to come to an end.
The End Of An Era
Source: Chevrolet
The last Chevrolet Camaro—a ZL1 with a six-speed manual—rolled off its assembly line in Lansing, Michigan on December 14th, 2023. Years of faltering sales, led by the buying public’s shrinking desire for all vehicles not shaped like a RAV4 or an F-150, meant the writing was on the wall for several years before Chevy made the official announcement in March of ‘24. To send off the car, it even launched a series of Collector’s Edition models.
It’s always sad to see a car discontinued, but the Camaro was an especially hard blow to the car world, having been in production since 2010 (and before that, from 1970 to 2002). It was the first of the big three pony cars to die, taking its fun retro-inspired styling with it. The Camaro was also the last manual coupe you could buy from GM.
Towards the end of its life, the Camaro became the driver’s choice amongst the big three pony cars due to its superior chassis tuning and incredible powertrain options. Though it was always the lowest-selling compared to the Challenger and the Mustang, I found it the most enjoyable from behind the wheel. That, plus knowing there’s no official replacement on the horizon, means these sixth-gen Camaros are getting more and more rare and desirable every day.
The Search Is On
Source: Fox Chevrolet
It didn’t take long for the Camaro’s nationwide inventory to dwindle once production ended. In February, GM Authority discovered there were just 37 new Camaros up for grabs at dealerships. Then, yesterday, they dropped a bombshell: There were reportedly just three new Camaros for sale in all of America. For die-hard Chevy fans, this would be the last opportunity to snag a brand-new Camaro, maybe ever. I had to know more.
I scoured Cars.com, AutoTrader, and Chevy’s own inventory search tool to track down the remaining Camaros on sale, using GM Authority’s reporting as a guide. Mostly, I just wanted to know how they hadn’t sold yet, and what the dealers planned to do with them.
Most of the Camaros listed as “new” on Cars.com were either actually used or already sold. Most of the dealerships I called told me the website simply wouldn’t take the listings down, despite the cars no longer being available. But one 3LT model, a convertible painted in red, matched up with GM Authority’s article. Better yet, it was still listed on the dealer’s own website. Sadly, it turned out to be a dud. I gave Fox Chevrolet in Rochester Hills, Michigan a call, and they told me the car had sold.
The next lead, a white Camaro 1SS ‘vert from GM Authority’s piece, seemed more promising. Unlike the last car, this one, for sale through DeVoe Chevrolet in Alexandria, Indiana, had real photos in its listing, both on Cars.com and the dealer site. I gave them a call, and it turns out this one was legit… sort of.
Source: DeVoe Chevrolet
The Camaro in question is technically new—it’s never been sold, titled, or registered, according to a representative for the dealership. But it’s definitely been driven.
“It was a previously stolen vehicle,” a salesperson named Rob told me over the phone. “So it’s technically still new, but it’s been stolen and recovered.”
He went on to explain that the Camaro was one of seven vehicles taken directly from the dealership lot over a two-year period. So while the car is still new as far as ownership history is concerned, there’s a big black mark on its vehicle history that has probably scared buyers away. It also means the car likely has some miles on the clock. So I don’t count it.
The Final Camaro Is Real… And Expensive
That left just one Camaro on GM Authority’s list. The pony car in question, a 2024 model year 2SS listed by Permian Chevrolet GMC Cadillac of Hobbs, New Mexico, had real photos on AutoTrader and the dealer’s site. It was also the only Camaro in the entire country to appear on Chevy’s nationwide inventory search tool. A quick chat with the dealership revealed that yes, this is a real, legit, undriven, unregistered ‘Maro. And the owner of the dealership knows what he has.
“It’s actually our owner’s vehicle,” a salesperson named Jeff told me when I reached out via phone. “He’s definitely willing to sell it, it’s just gotta be at the right price, just because of the kind of car it is … it’s never been driven; there are no miles on it. It’s never been registered. It’s never been titled. It’s been sitting in our showroom ever since we got it.”
Source: Permian Chevrolet GMC
In this case, the “right price” means a big, fat markup. Permian’s listing shows an MSRP of $59,205 and an additional “Upfit” charge of $20,000, for a grand total of $79,205. Despite the egregious markup, Jeff told me the dealership gets up to 15 calls a day inquiring about the Camaro. Not terribly surprising, all things considered. People have routinely paid gigantic markups for Corvettes in the past, so I don’t think this dealer will have a hard time finding a particularly passionate Camaro enthusiast to front the cash. It could be the last chance for anyone to do so, after all.
If you’re not the type who’s willing to shell out 20 grand just to line a dealer’s pockets (I’m certainly not), you can simply wait for the next-generation Camaro. There’s no word on if Chevy will greenlight such a project—Motor Trend seems to think it’s coming back next year as a crossover, but according to GM Authority, there are no concrete plans to put the car into production just yet. Personally, I like my colleague Thomas Hundal’s idea to turn the Camaro into a brawny, V8-powered sedan, a la the last-generation Dodge Charger. At this point, either idea is better than nothing.
Top graphic image: Permian Chevrolet GMC Cadillac
So on the photo caption of the very last Camaro made it was a 24 Zl1 1LE manual, not sure where it ended up. Apparently a COPO camaro was subsequently made as well but those are just a bodyshell and some interior bits so not a full car. Side tidbit production ended a tad earlier than some suppliers planned for so the spare parts, for bit of time at least, a bit better than expected. I’m dreading when mag ride fails on mine, which it will as the Zl1 punishes those shocks when driving it as intended. $1400 per oem shock at a dealer, few hundred less if not a dealer or diy…
Aaaah more dealer shenanigans with “for the right price”. Eh white auto, meh. Now was it a manual 2SS 1lE, or better yet an SS panther edition they might have some point there, Panther Zl1 edition got just stilly most just ended up in collections. That said one was at the Woodward dream cruise, dude actually drives it some, good on him for uh driving it as a car… Pictured on the Autipian car spotting discord chat, August 16th.
If they had a bit more visibility I’d have seriously been looking at a turbo or v6 1LE, but I think they stopped making those a couple years before the ‘Maro itself died.
If a new Camaro launches, my fervent wish is that it not be ugly as a pimple on a dog’s ass.
The sixth gen “facelift” (2019+) is one of the ugliest cars on the road.
More like a buttlift, with the butt lifted all the way to the ears. I mean no disrespect to the great Pete Millar (note to the Autopian arts and culture desk, where is that deep dive on CARtoons magazine anyway? This place has been going how many years now whilst neglecting to get that story out the door?) but the sixth iteration of the Camaro looked just like a Pete Miller drawing of the first generation Camaro.
Had some fun contacted the dealer. God it was awful. Found the car with the information put in a $35k based upon inspection offer. They asked if it was for the Camaro I clicked on. Then said they couldn’t find the asking price, then asked for contact info so a member of the sales staff could contact me.
Expecting people to pay an extra $20k for a poor low selling car that is previously owned by the dealership owner it is no wonder it hasn’t sold in 2 years and probably won’t in another 2 years.
“Most of the dealerships I called told me the website simply wouldn’t take the listings down,”
I’m calling bullshit on that. My guess it’s the DEALERS being lazy about taking listings down because getting more calls works in their favour.
RIP Gen 6 Camaro. The last manual, V8, RWD reasonably-priced sport coupe that our awful automotive press ruined.
Right……..the media is responsible for it’s third place sales numbers.
Absolutely. Our automotive press loves to play king-maker. It was, by far, one of the best handling cars on the market, amazing V8 power and offered a manual, but because pin head journalists have it out for GM, they would never shut the F about the supposedly bad visibility.
Have you driven one? The visibility is horrendous. Like…the worst I’ve ever experienced. If you’re trying to turn on to a busy road good fucking luck. I haven’t driven a Challenger but Ive had multiple 6th gen Camaros and an S550 Mustang as rentals over several days and it was exponentially easier to live with the Mustang.
On top of the lack of visibility the Camaro also has useless back seats and a trunk opening that’s so small it struggles to swallow carry on sized luggage. The packaging issues with that car are extremely real, it’s not a case of journos hating GM.
It’s one of the best cars I’ve ever driven, in both SS and V6 form. The chassis is sublime. The steering is lively. The engine notes are fantastic. It’s just ridiculously settled at all speeds, even when you go full monkey mode and mash the go pedal recklessly.
I’d love to own one…as a second car. I spent a week living with them full time twice and couldn’t give the keys back fast enough. One of my favorite driving memories is throwing an SS around like a Miata driving back down from Weimea State Park on Kauai. But as actual cars that you use everyday they’re miserable.
That’s why they were a flop, unfortunately. I don’t think anyone who’s ever driven one will deny how great of an experience it is…journalists included. Unfortunately they also suck at everything else cars are supposed to do.
I have driven them. Both the G5 and 6 and my neighbor has the G5. The visibility is not that much worse than any other sporting coupe. I am considering buying a G6 and started watching more videos of how the car stacks up in 2025 and almost universally the comments go along the lines of “oh, the visibility isn’t nearly as bad as I was lead to believe”.
And I hate to break it to you, but ALL these 2 door coupes have useless back seats. What’s the difference between having 2″ behind the seats or 5″? You’re still not going to fit back there. Only the new Charger has a real usable rear seat.
Most of these are bought as 2nd or even 3rd cars. I would NEVER consider it as my only car but I would as my 3rd or 4th car. They were not designed to be family haulers and yet too much they are judged as if they should be. If I didn’t already have a coupe and if I didn’t already have a fun sporty car I probably would have bought one already. My single biggest gripe about the car is not the visibility or storage space, rather the black on black interior which I refuse to do.
There was no supposedly about it. It was horrible. And again, if the car was so great why didn’t the Camaro lovers buy them?
No, it really wasn’t that bad. I already wrote a reply to the person above you explaining a rather curious coincidence when I started watching videos on the Gen 6 and if it still was a good car in 2025 (since I an considering buying a used one). Almost universally they said the same thing I said when I drove them – its not NEARLY as bad as what reviews made you think it would be.
I never paid much attention to the “visibility” complaints, personally. Then I rode in one – they weren’t kidding. You can’t see a damn thing out of that car. Definitely significantly worse than anything else I’ve driven or ridden in. It’s otherwise a great car, but the visibility was a genuine serious problem.
“having been in production since 2010 (and before that, from 1970 to 2002).”
Let’s not forget the ’67 – ’69 first generation Camaro’s, arguably THE most desirable of the nameplate.
And the stylistic inspiration for all 2010+ Camaros
Yeah, that omission is almost a cardinal sin. It’s the kind of stuff I expect from a possibly AI article on the old site these days.
Thank you for saving me from having to correct this. Definitely the car of my youthful dreams.
If it hasn’t sold/titled to someone, then that dealer has been paying the loan on it to GM for the last 2 years. Just to have it in his showroom. Or there’s some BS going on.
We’re talking about a car dealership, there’s always BS going on.
“Yeah, but that TruCoat!”
Unless they paid for the car themselves.
Some dealers don’t finance their inventory.
WHAAAAT?
Yeah – it’s true.
Typically there are rules on how long a new car can stay on the flooring. I think thats part of why the dealer says this is “his car” because he owns it for cash at this point.
Hope they choke on their $20K bull$$$$. (And pay taxes on it?)
Not a fan I would not buy it if it was $20k off sticker. They aren’t decent cars being built on 20 year old chassis.
1. No manual, no care.
2. Don’t feed trolling dealerships. Let them sit on it. Assholes.
“It’s actually our owner’s vehicle.”
This is extremely disingenuous and misleading. He owns the dealership. If I owned a dealership, technically all of the cars in the lot would be mine until they were sold.
My dude, just move the damn metal. It’s a fucking automatic Camaro.
100% agree with your sentiment, but it is extremely likely the dealership is a separate entity from the dealership owner. He does not own the cars, the dealership does. If he treats the dealership assets as his own, he runs the risk of losing any personal liability protection from using the corporate form.
True, which is why I added the word ‘technically.’ 🙂
All I can tell you is that the owner of dealership I work at picks out the most expensive vehicles, drives them for a couple thousand miles and then we sell them as demos. Rinse and repeat, ad nauseam.
My experience as well
True, but if it’s never been titled, I suspect that he only owns it because he moved some assets out of the business for bookkeeping/tax/paperwork reasons (maybe he even “bought” it to hit a sales quota for GM incentives). I’ve seen some shady gun dealers pull similar shenanigans to sell some of their stock as “private sales” at gun shows and not have to deal with NICS checks.
“It’s a fucking automatic Camaro.”
And not just an automatic Camaro… an automatic Camaro in a boring non-colour white.
But look at those really cool black wheels and spoiler!
/s
Better to focus on that than the hideous face.
New car dealerships generally don’t own the cars that are sitting on their lots, they finance the cars in the inventory, and technically the cars are either still owned by the manufacturer or by the bank that provides the dealer’s financing. In this case, the owner of the dealership probably chose to purchase the car outright instead of financing it. As long as he never titles/registers it, it can be sold as new.
How could it be the ‘owner’s vehicle’ when it’s never been titled or registered?
Dun dun dun, busted!!
My guess is the owner is saying that because the car is so old that GM wouldn’t provide a floorplan loan on it anymore, so he actually has cash out on this car. Stubborn owner who’s convinced the car is worth more than it actually is, and probably tells the sales guys he has to approve any deal on it personally.
This dealership owner’s knowledge of selling cars seems the equivalent of Jerry Jones knowledge of being a GM of a NFL TEAM
Stupid dealer shenanigans that are trying to appeal to the New Balance and jorts crowd. This is a totally mundane model and spec. You can literally find an identical 6th gens on rental lots. There is absolutely nothing special about a white, automatic SS. It doesn’t even have the nicer interior, which IMO is kind of a must with these because the base interior is really bleak. These things are like sitting in a bunker during a storm so the interior needs all the help it can get.
Anyway I agree with sedan the Camaro. They could pretty easily just reskin a CT4 or CT5 and de-content it. It wouldn’t even take that much effort. Dodge has already shown that you can make classic muscle car styling cues work on a sedan. Hell the 6th gen Camaro is already bigger than most sedans anyway. It just needs a little help with regard to packaging.
Oh and being able to see out of it would be great too. I absolutely love the way these drive but the sight lines and blind spots are just horrendous. Trying to turn on to a busy street in one is basically a Jesus take the wheel hope and a prayer situation…and I think it’s one of the reasons they didn’t sell well.
Usually I’m of the opinion that mainstream car journalists often overreact and are prone to groupthink but the “you can’t see out of this damn car” takes are absolutely accurate. Anyway if it comes back as a crossover we riot. We already have the incredibly stupid and outclassed Blazer as is and styling wise it’s a wannabe Camaro.
Agreed on how great these are to drive and how awful it is to try and see out of them. Amazing chassis, great engine, and an interior miles ahead of the mustang, though I agree its still not the best interior out there. Also, the face lift just made it look terrible so its a non-starter unless getting the first few years of the 6th gen, or getting a ZL1 since it didnt take the front face lift. My understanding is that GM could have used the CT4/5 as the base like it did on the earlier gen but they could not guarantee enough profit for it to stand on its own. They must have believed it would not sell that well and the dev costs would be subsidized by the CT4/5 which, my guess here, also doesnt have a huge profit margin to begin with.
More than once I have looked at getting a 6th gen SS but the inability to see out of it just dooms it.
As a 6G 21 Zl1 manual owner, you pretty much summarized my thoughts on this matter. But yes, the visibility out of it sucks, even after driving it for years since new, it still sucks. Since I have the camera mirror, backup cam, blis, side traffic alert this helps. At home I have the old school tennis ball and several pool noodles as a splitter guard for parking in the garage but yeah parallel parking it is no fun.
I was expecting my car to depreciate like a stone, like most Camaros do but even this past summer Carvana offered me only a few thousand less than I paid for mine all in with taxes, title, etc…
The CT5 V Blackwing has caught my eye and some do pop up locally at MSRP on occasion (base manual transmission, how I want it) but that’s still 100k… ehm no. I mean it is my car with 4 doors and somewhat nicer interior, but not way nicer like 100k nice interior.
I’d love to drive or own a ZL1. They’re absolute weapons and one of the truly great semi-attainable sports cars. But I could never live with one as a daily. It would have to be a weekend car for me and I’m not exactly in a financial place where I could make a $70,000 weekend car make sense lol.
I COULD make a do everything car that’s that expensive work if I really wanted to. But an M3 or CT4V BW or whatever isn’t going to be the same as a ZL1. For this reason I’m planning on using that much of a budget for a simple daily and a dedicated weekend car when it’s time.
I think I’d rather have an electrified daily and the best manual SS I can track down with what’s left than one super sedan, but that’s just me.
I drove a new-at-the-time ZL1 1LE back in 2018.
I was cruising up Angeles Crest in my heavily modified NB Miata when a Camaro ZL1 with a Golf R right behind it went ripping around a corner going the opposite direction. I made a U-turn and chased down the Golf R. Being on 200 treadwear rated tires, I could out-grip the Golf R no problem and he could not get away from me. After 5 minutes he pulled over and gave me a thumbs up. I then chased down the ZL1 who took the bait. With 650 hp, he left me in the dust on the straights, but he chose to brake much earlier than I did, so I caught up to him by the middle of every turn.
This went on for about half an hour until we reached civilization again. Turns out, the dude was the owner of a metal gate/fence shop and had the Camaro leased as a “company car” for tax purposes. He was so impressed with my driving that he offered to let me drive the ZL1 the next day.
True to his word, we went back through the hills the next day, this time with me in the driver seat of the ZL1 and him riding shotgun. I was nervous, but excited; the most powerful car I’d driven aggressively up until that point was a Honda S2000. I thought that 650 hp would feel absolutely nuts, but it felt very controllable. I thoroughly enjoyed driving a 8/10ths through the canyons, at which point the guy said this is the fastest he’d ever gone in this car. By the time we got out the other side of the Canyon, we’d used about 2/3rds of a tank of gas. Lighting up the tires from a standstill in the middle of a tunnel was a hoot as well.
Hell of a driver’s car.
“I absolutely love the way these drive but the sight lines and blind spots are just horrendous”
BINGO! I drove my friend’s 2013 ZL1 a few years back, and at 5’9″, I was having a hell of a time seeing out of the thing. It felt like a pillbox, but my god that car was fun.
I don’t believe the dealer principal has any desire to sell this vehicle. I’m guessing there must be some business-related reason they are forced to list it, but I don’t think they want to sell it.
Exactly. It has more value to the dealership sitting there than sold. Specifically, 20K of value.
My cars are always for sale. At the moment, it’s about 10K over private party value. Any takers????
Rick just said best he can do is about $42,500.
…was literally watching Pawn Stars as I read this ha ha…
… yet no one is willing to pay it.
If you’re getting 300 or more calls a month about something, and no one is willing to entertain that price, that should be a hint that no one is willing to pay that price.
I agree, that is the definition of “I know what I got.” Yeah, you’ve got dementia.
Unsold does not mean “The Last Camaro” this is a meaningless tag that amounts to a negative $30,000 (at least) the moment someone buys this as it no longer holds true.
This is gonna be like that guy that bought one of the first new Challengers and kept it in a trailer for fifteen years, and was then surprised when no one wanted to pay double the sticker price for it at auction.
You are much better off putting your money in dividend-paying REITs than buying a car with the intention of selling it for a fortune later. Compound interest is a wonderful thing, especially when it’s more than ten percent per year.
There are MANY better ways to earn a return on your money, putting it under your mattress is a more reliable way to use your money then clinging to an “I know what I’ve got” Camaro.
I guess it might be cool to own the last brand-new Camaro.
However, the second the car is titled in your name you are now the proud owner of a two-year-old used Camaro with a theft recovery history that sat for a prolonged period without being driven.
I don’t see that being worth a $20k premium.
I believe the hardtop in the images above has the $20k markup, and the stolen car is the convertible (of which there is just the one interior phot of), so two different cars. Still, the $20k markup is ridiculous.
D’oh! I misread that. They are definitely different cars.
The $20k markup is still ridiculous. I actually liked that car better when I thought it was stolen – at least someone had driven it. I don’t see zero miles as a positive for a vehicle that is at least one year old and probably closer to two.
I laughed hard at your comment of liking the marked-up car better when you thought it was stolen because I subconsciously agreed. It always bugs me seeing otherwise normal, mass-produced cars with zero miles, as it means no one got to enjoy them for their core reason for existence: to be driven, not simply looked at.
We get 15 calls a day, but it’s still sitting in our showroom after nearly 2 years should tell you something. Other than being new, it has nothing else going for it. It’s not rare or some limited edition. Crossover all the things. CMX-5 Miatacross incoming for 2026.
Yes if they are getting 15 calls a day and not selling it, then they don’t want to sell it. They must be using it to try and get the callers to come in.
Night Panel!
The brand known for throwing away model names roughly every model cycle only revives those model names when it’s the worst possible decision.
I wonder which platform it shares with.
I’d laugh my ass off if the platform mate was the Tahoe.
You say that like Ford hasn’t been doing similar things lately. And let’s not forget the ones that everyone loves to hate, the second generation Dodge Challenger and fourth generation Dodge Charger. And as someone else pointed out, there’s the ol’ Mitsubishi Eclipse revival.
I could see someone trying to get away with this shit with a ZL1 or something, but aside from the fact that it’s the “last new Camaro”, it’s not a particularly interesting or special car. I like it, but I don’t like it enough to spend $80k on it.
A crossover Camaro. Hmm. Will that inspire as much of a revolt as the Mustang Mach-E did? “Revolt” as in more sales than the original…
ReVolt sounds like the name of a Dodge EV, and not that bad of one TBH.
Time for you to trademark that name so no one else can use it without paying you.
Unless GM already did for a new Volt. Which a couple of people I know have owned and generally really liked.
Yep, GM killing the Volt was a hugely idiotic move. Pretty neat car.
Would be cool if Chevy hadn’t already used Volt.
A Camaro crossover? Oh God No. Please no!
Can I interest you in a new Mitsubishi Eclipse?
BUAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA