The Chevrolet Camaro Is The Hottest Used American Car Right Now
Used car prices continue to fall from their historic highs of recent years, but not all of them.
A new study from iSeeCars.com found that electric vehicles are leading the way with an average drop of 24.7% to $26,893 overall, while hybrids are down 6% to $29,759 and pure internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles down 4.4% to $30,292.
In August of 2023, the average sale price for a used electric vehicle was 12.4% more than an ICE model.
The Tesla Model 3 saw the biggest loss in value by 24.8% and was followed by the turbocharged V6-powered Maserati Levante and then several EVs, including the Kia Niro EV, Nissan Leaf, Hyundai Kona Electric and Chevrolet Bolt. Another American-made car fared much better.
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Used Chevrolet Camaro values increased 8.4%, according to the report, which was the highest of any vehicle from an U.S. brand. The Camaro went out of production in December, taking with it the last of Chevrolet’s front-engine V8-powered models.
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When this story was published, there were less than 140 new Camaro listings left on Cars.com and all of the top of the line 650 hp Camaro ZL1 models appear to have been sold. The only other model from an American automaker in the top 15 was the Jeep Wrangler, which was up 5.5%.
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At the top of the list was a car that is also facing extinction, at least in internal combustion engine form. Porsche is planning to end production of the 718 Boxster and Cayman sports car in mid 2025 and replace them with new all-electric models.
The frantic rush to pick up one of the last examples of what is considered by many to be among the greatest sports cars ever made has pushed the average price paid for a used one up 21.4% over the past year to $99,293.
It’s a different strategy from the one Dodge chose for the replacements for the Challenger and Charger that ended production last year. They are jointly being replaced with two-door and four-door versions of a new car that will be offered as the all-electric Charger Daytona and ICE-powered Charger.
Meanwhile, Ford’s CEO has been adamant that there will never be an electric version of the two-door Mustang and that the V8-powered model will remain in production as long as it is legally possible to do so.
As for the future of the Camaro, Chevrolet has suggested the nameplate is merely on hiatus and will return on a new vehicle someday, but the likelihood of that being a V8-powered pony car appears to be slim. GM President Mark Reuss told Motor Trend he thinks it might be good to bring it back as an affordable four-door electric sports car.
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One Camaro fan who just got his hands on one of the last ones is also probably the top Camaro salesman in the world. Kyle Larson races a Camaro for Hendrick Motorsports in NASCAR that’s primarily sponsored by HendrickCars.com, the online portal for the 95 car dealerships run by the Hendrick Automotive Group.
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Hendrick celebrated the team’s 40th anniversary in NASCAR by building 40 custom Camaros to offer through its showrooms and Larson picked one up this week. There’s one left that Hendrick will be giving away through a sweepstakes and a handful more that are still listed on the HendrickCars.com website among the 16 remaining new Camaros.