Pruettfan

Yes, the Smart Car weighs 1600lbs. Take 1600 and multiply it by 2.5 since the Camaro is about 2.5x the size guess what you get?? 4,000 wow magic huh. Who would have thought that the smaller the car the less weight. I have actually read articles that say the reason the Smart car gets pretty much the same mileage as the Honda Civic is guess what? Weight.

diarmadhi

Hrmm.. why was this the first thing i thought of after reading that....





Oh it must be because that comment made about as much sense as the picture...

some people have no concept of reality..

Edit - fixed pic.. linking was screwed...

Pruettfan

What about the math?? Facts are facts.

teal98

It actually weighs more like 1800 pounds in U.S. trim (needed to get heavier to meet crash and equipment standards).

That's about the same as an early 80s Civic, which is a much larger car.

GTOJack

I'm not comparing the Camaro to the current Mustang, but to the 400hp 5.0 6 speed coming out in the new model. Ford is working hard to get 100 pounds out of it and if it comes in at 3500, Camaro owners are going to need a shot of nitrous oxide to keep up with it.

flowmotion

Even if you somehow eliminated all federal standards, the insurance industry is not going to take kindly to a 400HP car with poor safety. They killed muscle cars once, they can do it again.

Pruettfan

I suspect the new model Mustang will gain some weight. Only time will tell but because the manufactuers need to constantly improve the safety I suspect the new Mustang will gain some weight. Also they will need to beef it up for more HP. Wanna guess the weight of the GT500?? 3920lbs !!

TCMcQueen

That extra weight comes from the iron block + supercharger + brakes + other crap. The new mustang with 400HP will probably come in around 35-3600 pounds. They don't need to add anything to the chassis, that's already rated for around 600hp.

Freak

You're comparing the weight of a Camaro to a 2 seat, 3cyl, 1L, 70hp, 68lbft, car that does 0-60 in just under the time it will take the SS to run the 1/4 mile, and wont even be able to hit the speed the SS will run in the 1/4, and couldn't hold let alone reliably handle an LS3.

If that DOES make sense to you, there is absolutely no point in arguing with you about it because you clearly have no concept of reality. The same thing applies if you HONESTLY believe GM made this car heavy for no reason. Then again, you ARE the one who compared the SS to a $72,000 Z06.



You have a very good point.

Thing is, we DO understand that. We ALL KNOW it's not a good thing. Guess what? Knowing something is a bad thing doesn't change it. I know gas prices going up is bad, doesn't change a thing.

The problem is that some people complain that it could have been lighter, people try using logic on them to no avail, then after Scott explains why it's so heavy (safety, features, mandating the use of the zeta platform, keeping it as close looking as possible to the concept, and most importantly and also the one most of the complainers never seem to consider, even after it's pointed out, cost) people scream BS and start spouting off again about how they aren't gonna buy one cause it's too heavy. So don't. We don't care. Really, we don't.

And when those of us who have accepted the weight for what it is don't run around like it's the armageddon, some people act as if their only purpose in life is to show us the one true way.

STOCK1SC

Testify!

Liquid Slap

Oh, you've driven the 2010 Camaro? How did you come across such a privilege?

Dan Baldwin

One of the reasons you list is the critical reason: use of the zeta platform. That was a mistake from which recovery is impossible.
They should have allowed more time with Kappa to make it a multi-car platform.

When there are lifelong Camaro fans who won't even consider this car due to its size and mass, it does not bode well for sales, which are required to justify its existence. I don't see this car creating new fans, when the consumers are running away from oversized overweight overconsuming cars as fast as they can.

My only point is: It didn't have to be this way. The opposing point is: It *HAD* to be this way! We got what we got and we're lucky to get it! It is as perfect as it could possibly have been in this the best of all possible worlds!

Bob Cosby

With all due respect, isn't that exactly what you are doing?

ZZtop

Lets say the current 300hp 4.6L Mustang weighs 3,450 pounds.

The larger, heavier and more powerful engine in the 2011 Mustang will weigh more and so will its supporting equipment like cooling.

The ~100hp more powerful engine will likely require a larger, heavier, stronger driveshaft. The 6-speed transmission will weigh more than the current 5-speed tranny. Ford will want to maintain traction while keeping up with the appearance trends of its competitors, so look for 18 to 20" wheels with wider tires, again more weight. When you accelerate faster, you have to stop faster, plus you need to fill the void behind those huge wheels, so look for bigger, better, heavier brakes. Then there is vehicle content. If Ford is going to keep up with GM and offer higher content, it is going to add weight.

Now, the GT500 gets extra chassis stiffening at 500hp, will the Mustang GT get the same or similar at 400hp?

One way to look at it: A GT500 weighs 3850 without the Mach 1 stereo, subtract about 100 pounds going from the iron 5.4 to the aluminum 5.0L and maybe another 100 pounds for the supercharger, intercooler, and related components. That would be 3,650 and I could even see Ford getting it down to 3,600 (of course sacrifices will be made) but this 3,500 pound talk is wishful thinking.

Another thing you have to ask yourself, is Ford really going to take the Mustang from the budget pony car to a more modern muscle car and up it 100hp in one leap!?! And if so, what will that do to the price of the car. If a Mustang GT costs $30k+ when you can get a higher content Camaro SS with IRS and more horsepower for the same price, it will be a very different battle than in the past. Believe it or not, many of the buyers of these cars do not even look at the curb weight or even know what it is!

AdioSS

The GT500 is only heavy because all the badges and stripes added to it. They must be made of gold or something since they say SHELBY ...