What direction do you think you would go if the 5th gen only came with a live rear axle. Let's assume for the purposes of this poll that the car meets your criteria in every other way.

 

Only solid rear axle I will take is a beefy 9" Ford with a the tq arm/2 lca, and panhard/watts link setup. Basically the strength and options of a 9" Ford rear end, with the suspension design thats generally held as the ideal suspension design for carving corners for solid rear axles. If they make it Live Rear Axle, then it better be completely bulletproof.


Only other substitution would be perhaps a 8.75?" 12 bolt with axle ends like the 9" Ford (so no C-clips or no c-clip elim kits) (but I rather have a 9" Ford still for the extra strengths and diff options).... or _maybe_ a 8.5" 10 bolt..

then of course either way no matter what they go for, they would have to persuade me that its much better than my current 99 Z28.

 

If it outhandled the Mustang, as well as outpowerd it, I would get over it and buy a Camaro. IRS would have made the deal sweeter IMO, but live axle would do.

 

If by "Meets my other critera" you mean "doesn't bruise my kidneys," then it really doesn't matter to me one way or the other. Obviously more than a few people agree.

 

I'd rather have IRS (at no more than a $1000 premium) but as long as the over all car is kick *** it is not a big deal to me. There are a lot of other features that I care more about (removable top, paddle shift auto, Hot 18" rims)

 

I'm more concerned that it looks, feels, drives, handles and performs like a "Camaro". If it does all that, I'll be happy regardless of what the suspension is.

 

IRS would be nice... but it's not a deal breaker. The live axle setup when done right (and GM has had plenty of practice tweaking it) still works pretty good. Using better quality, stronger pieces would help. The 4th gen f-bod setup is markedly improved when you go to aftermarket pieces for the torque arm, rear tariling arms, the panhard bar, bushings and some subframe connectors. Heck even Ford tossed their hat into that ring an went with an f-body style setup for the new Stang and after riding in a co-workers GT I have to say it's not too shabby at all.

 

"Won't happen" isn't an option.

IMO GM will not package protect for a live axle. It makes no sense.

 

What Al as well as others have said. As long as it is priced competitively, and does well in the areas i expect it to do well, i'll be all over. My single concern with the rear isn't the way it is suspended, but the overall durability and peformance.

 

I think most of us would agree with that, but I also think Chevy needs to sell the car to more ppl than just we diehards, who allready own the car that was beat to death by the auto press (4thgens). I would like to see all those things you mentioned, however improving on some of these other areas will give it a better chance at taking away atleast some of those Mustang sales. I also realize its gonna cost more than 20K! It must appeal to the masses to sell not just those on this board. The Mustang may be an icon for some, but for many others it is still the competition.