I know what you mean, Scott.

If Camaro makes it downunder, rumour has it, it will be priced out of my reach... AU$60K is bearable, but AU$80K is too far out of reach for a young guy with a young family - that places Camaro above HSV's current flagship model (GTS).

 

I don't care if the interior is 2 milk crates, just give me the 6.2 supercharged in a car that weighs under 3700lb's. Just think what this thing would run, the 03-04 Cobra's are still kicking @ss on the streets and this is an even more powerful engine combo. I would really like to see another 1SC package like my old one but I don't think that is gonna happen anymore according to Scott.

 

Scott, I find this to be an extremely interesting comment since my wife has a 2005 Nissan 350z. I think the interior of that car is very nice - the gaps are small and the materials just demolish my '99 WS6. There is a great deal of plastic, but it's actually softer plastic than in my boss's 2006 BMW M3 - no kidding! I even thought the 350z was nicer insider than the Charger SRT8. Are you saying the Camaro will be *nicer* than the 350z?? I would *SO* thrilled!!!

And to everyone else reading this - keep in mind the 350z is around $30k. If GM can outdo the interior and provide better performance for around that price in two years - they'll sell every last one of them! Things are looking very good.

 

I had a 2004 Nissan Titan that I shamefully traded my 02 1SC Z28 in on, the interior was horrible, the controls on the steering wheel didn't light up, the controls for the windows are on top of the door and water pours right onto them shorting them out, the fabric was cheap and tore easily, came loose, etc.. I eventually sold it after 6 months because it squeeked to high heaven, I had to actually drive with a box of kleenex to stuff the dash and instrument cluster to try and stop it on long trips. Dealer would fix one and then I'd get another somewhere else. Sad thing is when I traded it in on a Dakota, the salesman and even the owner of the dealership were in awe of the truck, It actually held it's value well just because it was Japanese. Worst thing was the owner drove the Titan home that night saying how much he liked it. The only good thing about that truck was the motor. After reading the truck comparison by Edmunds, GM better get with it on their programming of these motors, they said the Silverado wouldn't give you full power for almost 4 seconds, maybe Scott has some more info about this, I'm sure it wasn't that long, probably a second delay. A 6 liter shouldn't get smoked by a 5.6 and a 5.7 by that much in the quarter.

 

Will you guys forget about the interior?! I'm wondering what/why Houlihan was trying to say.

 

Yeah, good idea...

So what do you guys think? Strategic structural mass removal? Lighter materials? Symmetrical torque reduction?

Yeah, I made that last one up...

 

Getting the lead out will get my attention. 2006 GTO-like weight will not.

Then again, I readily admit to being part of a different kind of majority.

 

Magic. I'm pretty sure they are doing it by magic.

 

One of the knocks on the GT500 (and the Mustang generally) is weight -- it's heavy for what it is.

If you're a guy who spends his professional life thinking about how to build a product that will out-do Mustang, weight is something you'll be thinking about.

Maybe they've come up with an affordable way to reduce weight. Or maybe that's just what's on his mind right now and they've called in some internal experts.

 

Yeah, that's the thing. People say things for different reasons. Maybe as a joke. Maybe not as a joke. Is this a breakthrough or BS. If you know them personally or are present, you can get a better impression of their true meaning.
I met Doug Houlihan very briefly in Detroit last year, but I really didn't get a chance to talk to him or get to know him, (Doug Harden and his crew were pretty much hoggin' him ).

I will say that I have tried to speak to anyone and everyone possible, who might have any influence on the Camaro - and who will listen - regarding my obsession with controlling weight/size/mass on the Camaro. In fact, I had a very long, enjoyable and interesting phone conference with the VLE of the program last year, (GREAT GUY!!), regarding my input into the Camaro. This was just one of the messages I pressed home with him - and also on different occassions, with Bob Lutz and many others. I think if I mention it one more time to our buddy Scott, he's going to punch me in the forehead.

Anyway, weight is an issue which everyone I spoke to is concerned with regarding the Camaro, and GM has set some very optimistic target weights. On the other hand, Zeta is a generally very heavy architecture to start with, and upcoming crash standards will only exacerbate the "weight issue".

So, was Houlihan just making an off the cuff remark - or was he serious? Maybe Scott can chime in, not on specifics, but on Doug Houlihan's intent.

 

im just hoping the interior quality is similar to my new gto, holden has kept the materials all high quality. silver plastic, soft touch dash plastic, fabric covered apillars, all while keeping it relatively simple

 

Oh don't worry Charlie.

As a card carrying member of the Z/28 club, I made it a special point in my conversations with Doug to keep the car nimble and light weight...and hard core.....and fast.....and a Z/28!!!

 

True,I had a Nissan frontier pick up and It had the crappiest interior.

 

Maybe we should get some cool cards made up.

 

Yeah, and if we can put something on it to the effect of "Possession of this card certifies that bearer is more attractive, successful and intelligent than the average joe" it'd just be icing on the cake.