New Chevrolet Camaro

you're not insane

way to go

Way to go! Glad to hear you didn't sell out!

Hang in there Harry. Your car is out there.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by DeLoreans and DeTomasos:
Went to the dealer yesterday to look at an SUV for my wife and there it was... a yellow SS. It was really nice!

I do not think you are insane.

However, I have decided that it is much more financially safe and prudent to invest my hard earned dollars in the Pontiac Firebird version instead.

Unless, of course, some kind of news pops up that would cause me to re-evaluate my decision.

Kerry,
Are you referring to the fact that GM just announced the death of Pontiac? Maybe the Camaro looks better in person. But the pics suggest that GM missed again.

The Challenger is in MHO the closest to the original muscle car.

None will ever be a wise investment. And will depreciate large $$$.
But certainly a fun daily driver.
Jeff

Yeah, I probably should have inserted a few 's after my post.

I knew Kerry. Just trying to build my post count

PS: The Prius is the wife's car right ?

quote:

Originally posted by Pantera 4134:
Kerry,
Are you referring to the fact that GM just announced the death of Pontiac? Maybe the Camaro looks better in person. But the pics suggest that GM missed again.

The Challenger is in MHO the closest to the original muscle car.

None will ever be a wise investment. And will depreciate large $$$.
But certainly a fun daily driver.
Jeff

Unfortunately GM may not be far behind.....I agree-the Camaro leaves a lot on the table. While the Challenger looks most similar body wise I think the Mustang picked up many more styling cues and nuances from the first four generation 'Stangs than either Gm or Mopar products. I think the new 2010 Mustang goes even further with the body cues......but then I could be biased.

I've owned-
'66 coupe-first car
'68 coupe-father/son project and still have
'71 Sprint coupe
'72 Mach 1
'73 mach 1-second car
'05 GT

They all look boxy from the front coming down the road, they just don't look sleek. Almost as if they put a shell over another car, the Mustang looks that way and its heavy. Just my 2 cents.

Mark

The Camaro in person looked extremely menacing and the proportions looked right although, I am not a fan of the rear styling or the front. Something does look unfinished and not well executed in my opinion. The car as a whole looked real aggressive though and it's profile was spot on! They were getting $20,000 above sticker of $33,000 I believe. I could see paying sticker for 425 horses but not more just to be the first on the block.
Ultimately as far as balls out baddest car on the planet the widebody Pantera will always do it for me!

quote:

Originally posted by DeLoreans and DeTomasos:
They were getting $20,000 above sticker of $33,000 I believe. I could see paying sticker for 425 horses but not more just to be the first on the block.

Is what you really meant to say either?:

They were TRYING to get $20000 above sticker for the car

-OR-

some idiot paid $20000 over sticker for the (mass produced and we will build as many as we can sell) car?

They are asking $20K over the sticker.... and have people in line. I was told they were going to wait until the new transformers movie was out before they made any deals on the one they had.

quote:

Originally posted by Pantera 4134:
Kerry,

The Challenger is in MHO the closest to the original muscle car.

Jeff

Did you know that there is some type of strange logic that locks out gears (2nd gear I think?) in the six speed transmission? It won’t let you shift into the gear unless you are going a pre-programmed speed or RPM.

That sounds like the same system that Chevy has used in the Corvette for years, if not decades.

I think that if you drive with a light foot you shift from 1st to 4th and skip 2nd and 3rd gear altogether.

quote:

Originally posted by DeLoreans and DeTomasos:
They are asking $20K over the sticker.... and have people in line. I was told they were going to wait until the new transformers movie was out before they made any deals on the one they had.

too bad chevy has decided not to do any promotional advertising in regards to the movie. However, I am glad that the dealer can get that much over for the car. Typically, the window to get this kind of premium is for a very short timeframe.

I like the new Camaro for what it is. An inexpensive sporty car. Even at $30K it is pretty cheep and, thusly, I try to set my expectations at a fair level. I haven't driven one yet, but I think it looks great. They do look better in person than in photos.

My personal opinion: only an idiot would pay over sticker for any Camaro. Pretty soon there will be three at every stop light.

- Robert

Although the styling and performance of the new Camaro is decent. I wouldn't have another GM product if you gave it to me! I have supported GM as a customer over the years, and because of that, felt inclined to purchase their vehicles. They have never stood behind any of their products, and maybe they will try to now and treat their customers better, but I gave up on them about a year ago. Most of my family members have switched to Ford products and are much happier with their cars and service. I will be buying only Ford's in the future. So long GM, hello Ford!!! Just my 2cents!!! Thank you for allowing me to vent!

quote:

She says I can buy the Camaro on the spot if I give up on wanting a GT5S and get off the forums.

Harry, that's the part that confuses me.

Now is the time where you put the kid to bed, make dinner (or order some) share a bottle of wine and tell her something like this...

"I look around me and what do I see? The economy in shambles, the future unknown and a lot to worry about. People are getting sick and dying all around us. You really never know when your number is up. But here we are. Happy and in love.

And the only way to stay that way and get thru the stress of life is to try to make each day count.

You and the baby are the most important things in my life. You give me the strength and motivation to get up every day and fight. You have made me complete. I now have almost everything I've ever wanted ...everything except a nice fat GT5 sitting in the garage.

If I don't pursue this dream now when will I? The time will never be right. There will always be excuses and reasons not to do something selfish and rewarding just for me. So take a deep breath, remember how much we love eachother and forget this dumb Camaro and let me spend the same money on my dream. And make my dream fulfilled."

We were all in the same place as you at one time or another. We convinced our wives. Some, like me and Jan and Mark and Hudson and many others on this board have wives that let us fill our garages with toys. They want us to be happy. Happy men don't chase women. They chase parts.

If she's ready to let you spend $20k over sticker that means she's giving you authorization for $53k+. With that and a little more you can pretty much get your dream car. Even if it’s short of $100 for everything, at least you have it and its yours to make perfect over time, with small investments each year.

C’mon Harry. Time to take the plunge, Make it happen.

David, I am memorizing that speech! I don't know what came over her... I used to own a few IROC-Z Camaros and Formula Firebirds back in the day and she hated them. She likes this one though. Basically, the jist I got was just buy the damn thing now so you don't perseverate any more and get back to reality. I know just about where every wide body is located, there are 2 that I'm seriously interested in but the owner's aren't ready to part with the cars.
I'm not anticipating getting a car for myself in the immediate future anyway, but I have certainly gained a dangerous amount of knowledge about them as a consequence. The new kid and business venture are pre-occupying alot of time presently anyway. I'm going to run that speech buy her though... I promise!

I saw a new Camaro today.

It is HUGE!

When the Mustang, Camaro, Challenger, etc. first came out they were called "pony cars". Perhaps this was a compliment to Ford's Mustang or a reference to the size of the vehicle.

The Camaro looks as though a 4 door sedan has beeen reworked into a 2 door model with fenders with sharp edges attached.

IMHO, I find the car to be a disappointment. I am impressed with the HP and fuel economy that GM was able to get out of their 6 cylinder engine.

I can be sure no one will ever admit to me that they paid $20K over MSRP for it.

For those who are interested, Jay Leno featured the new Camaro on his website (His site is awesome!) which can be seen here.

I feel sorry for this guy...

Brand new Camaro SS, only had it for about 20 Hrs until some punk kid rearended him (pics in the link).

The kid who hit him, had no ins and no drivers lic...

Camaro SS, thrashed...

quote:

Originally posted by DeLoreans and DeTomasos:
The Camaro in person looked extremely menacing and the proportions looked right although, I am not a fan of the rear styling or the front. Something does look unfinished and not well executed in my opinion. The car as a whole looked real aggressive though and it's profile was spot on! They were getting $20,000 above sticker of $33,000 I believe. I could see paying sticker for 425 horses but not more just to be the first on the block.
Ultimately as far as balls out baddest car on the planet the widebody Pantera will always do it for me!

not quite $20K over sticker but good news for GM nonetheless:

JUNE U.S. AUTO SALES


New Camaro outsells Mustang for first time since ’93

Richard Truett
and Jamie LaReau
Automotive News
July 1, 2009 - 3:10 pm ET
UPDATED: 7/1/09 4:12 p.m. ET


DETROIT -- General Motors earned some good news in an otherwise dismal sales month in June: the Chevrolet Camaro outsold the Ford Mustang for the first time since 1993.

The reborn Camaro throttled the restyled Mustang, 9,320 to 7,362. The last time the Camaro beat the Mustang in a U.S. monthly sales race was October 1993, when Chevy sold 10, 985 Camaros and Ford sold 5,680 Mustangs.

The Camaro's success emerged as GM -- which has been operating in Chapter 11 bankruptcy since June 1 -- posted a 33.4 percent monthly sales decline in June and a 40.4 percent plunge for the first half of the year.

The last time the Camaro outsold the Mustang for a full year was 1985. That year, Chevrolet sold 199,985 Camaros, while Ford moved 157,821 Mustangs.

Mark LaNeve, General Motors vice president of vehicle sales, service and marketing, said nearly every Camaro sale in June was at retail, and sales for the month were nearly double the number GM expected.

Camaro was selling best in California, LaNeve said, and GM has only a six-day supply of the vehicle.

Some dealers have reported selling the cars right off the delivery truck, with some consumers paying as much as $500 over sticker -- making the sports coupe one of the few vehicles in the industry hot enough to do that.

Ford has restyled the Mustang for 2010, making it look smaller and upgrading the interior but keeping the same powertrains. The Camaro is all new and features a base V-6 engine that delivers almost as much horsepower as the V-8 in the Mustang.

Camaro's entry-level V-6 comes with direct fuel injection, 304 hp and an EPA rating of 29 mpg in the city. The Camaro's base price is $23,040 and the Mustang's is $21,845. Both prices include shipping.

quote:

Almost as if they put a shell over another car

They did, it's a rebodied Chrysler 300