How will the Camaro stack up...

Hi guys, I am fairly new on here but have been reading the forums since I saw the Camaro concept at the Chicago Auto Show.

I was just wondering if anyone had any opinions as to how the Camaro will stack up against the Challenger. I read on this, and other, forums about how people expect the Camaro to compete against the mustang, but I think the true competition will be with the Challenger. I will be 100% honest, I don't have a whole lot of technical information on what the plans are for the Challenger but i think i did hear that they anticipate it having around 425-450hp!

Anyway, i just thought I would see what you all thought. Look forward to hearing from you guys.

I think the only thing anyone can say with any degree of certainty at this point is that GM is going to do whatever it needs to do and can do to make it run well with its competition.

Gee...I could have been a GM spoksperson. :)

Seriously, almost everything is conjecture right now.

i would think the challenger would be a larger car more toward the luxury end of the spectrum. more competition for the goat (if we get it) than the camaro

I don't really consider the Challenger as much of a threat. Yes, it may have 435hp, but it's a going to be heavy. A beautiful car....don't get me wrong, but DCX seems to have a hard time getting their weight under control.

I think the Challenger will only fight the Camaro in the top model market. The Camaro should outsell the Challenger though overall.

I would expect the Camaro to outperform it……. But like Robert said everything is pretty much conjecture until we start seeing these cars out on the street.

the challenger is also going to be priced much higher

Here is the latest Challenger scuttlebutt:

Chrysler announced that the Dodge Challenger will be produced as a coupe, to arrive in dealerships in 2008 (as a 2008 model year car), and to be built on the same line as the 300, Charger, and Magnum. Chrysler assures us that the production car will be practically indistinguishable from the concept. We have been told to expect a price of about $31,000.



According to sources, Chrysler is trying to decide on which strategy to follow: a high-price, low-volume run, or a high-volume, lower-price run. Also in flux is the question of engines - restricting to just the Hemi, or allowing both the Hemi and at least one V6. Chrysler announced a manual transmission will be available along with an automatic, each having five speeds; an SRT-8 version will have the 6.1 Hemi while the stock Challenger will have the 5.7 Hemi (no, they will not have the new crate Hemi, nor did we expect them to). At this point we believe there will be a first-year run of about 50,000 Hemi equipped Challengers, possibly with automatics, followed by a smaller run of Hemi Challenger SRT-8 cars with manual transmissions. Rumors are flying about a 6.6 liter Hemi, but we believe that is speculation at this point.

CanadianJeepYJ wrote that, according to a Chrysler rep talking informally: “Cars should start rolling off the line in January-Feburary of 2008, hitting the dealers by March. There will be a SXT model with either a V-6 or a 4.7 V-8. The first hemi R/T's will be all autosticks. The SRT-8s will be the 6.4 Hemis putting out 500-505 HP. The story right now is the manual trans is still up in the air, he said there is a faction that wants only autosticks, and another wants the 6 speeds. He's backing the 6 speed availability.”

Buddy (of Mighty MoPars of Orlando) wrote: “At the MoPar Nationals, they were conducting a survey asking what you would like your Challenger to have. Color, dual exhaust, muscle car graphics, complete gauge package, type of transmission, must it have a Hurst shifter, type of engine (3.5L V6 was an option), if autostick which direction - side to side or front to back, must it have 20 inch wheels front and rear, etc. Seeing the car in pictures does it justice but seeing this thing in person is UNREAL! Check out the detail on the brake caliper. Notice the name "Challenger" on it?” (Buddy’s photo)

LY is the platform code for the second-generation LX cars (an unfortunate designation!); this basic platfom, which like the LX uses a Mercedes-style suspension with Chrysler engineering for better driving dynamics, higher reliability, and strong cost savings, will be used on the Mercedes E, CLS, and R classes, starting in, depending on the model, 2010 to 2012 (according to a supplier).

The Challenger may ride a shorter wheelbase to decrease weight, but on the other hand, it may simply be a two-door variant, much as the original Dodge Charger was a two-door version of the Coronet.

may be a beast :)

So basically now that sales have taken a nice dip they have decided they may need to make money off Challenger; as such they are offering a V6 to eat cost and drop the price.

I cant imagine it will have any performance over Camaro in the low end and certainly not the high. This thing will be a cruiser, and no more real competition to Camaro then the Charger.

Increase the numbers you'll gain low end people who want a cruiser but loose high end people who wanted something nominally collectable.

Even though a large coupe is something I would consider, it would not be at the expense of a sedan that was an inch longer and ten pounds heavier. How many people want a car thats MORE RETRO than the Mustang but also rather esoteric?

i wouldnt call 425hp and a 6-speed that does the 0-60 sprint in 4.5 seconds a luxury car...plus with talks of the Super Stock Challenger(complete with big hood scoop, rear spoiler etc) possibly being revealed at the SEMA show in Vegas with an estimated 580hp, i would consider it more than a threat...i'd call it downright scary!

the musclecar wars are really gonna heat up if that car is shown, hopefully the Camaro will see a similar road racing trim along with the shelby, and we could have another Trans-Am series!