Why?

First they are the ones who can afford them.
Second they are the ones who can afford the insurence.
Third, they like them.

Personal experiences:
I really liked Corvettes when I was a teen, and would have bought one if given a chance.
When I was on my own & had some $$, instead of buying a used Vette, I bought Mustangs.
In my 30s, I got Thunderbird SC fever. I also started picking up Camaro habits. Again, Corvettes were off of my list.
2 years ago, I started to buy a GTO. Again, no Corvette on my list.
Now that I'm a bit older, Corvette is on the edge of my radar. Not quite on my "next car" list, but I'm far more aware of them than I was a few years ago.

Not that I'm some "old guy" yet, of course.

 

If the GM dude chimes in I'll fix the quote to add his name.


So if you want some info on the Camaro it might be cool to start looking at who/when/where the exhaust dba and tires noise will be tested.

Personally I think it would be an awesome advertisement to be a picture of the rear of the Camaro, with the camera on the ground so you can see the 12 inch wide tires on the Z/28 (magazine). Then have the car launch for the commercial.

 

You're assuming the blondes and "retired old farts" dont like a nice exhaust note. One of the better drivers at MIR a few years back was a hot blonde who drove a 10 sec 3rd gen Camaro, and another who drove a 69 Charger. Either one ate most guys alive at that track and both hot. A few of the enthusiast who raced there were retired. One guy had a C4 convertable self dubbed the "Red Barron" who took the purse for the night on a regular basis. The first C6 I saw in a parking lot was an older guy. He had owned quite a few Vettes. Ive learned watching other people, retirement is supposed to be when you enjoy yourself. Be it a Muscle car with a nice Exhaust note or a Harley.

 

But the ones you're referring to are still classed under the "enthusiast" category, not your average day-to-day "Joe (or Jane?) Q Public" .

 

The pass-by noise test procedures are SAE tests (J986 and J1470) and are mandated at the federal level. 80 dBa is the federal limit, but the manufacturers usually require vehicles to be one or two dBa below the limit to make sure all will pass. The 986 test involves approaching the trap at a set speed and going WOT at a predetermined point. The point where the engine hits max rated engine speed (MRES) will determine which gear the test is required to be run in. The vehicle is run several times in each direction through the traps and the results are averaged.

The 1470 test is similar but the microphones are closer, the traps are a different length, and the WOT portion is shorter. There are other details to both tests, but a passenger vehicle must certify to one of these procedures. Heavy trucks certify to a different procedure (J366 I think).

80 dBa isn't very loud for a performance vehicle so OEM exhaust sound will never be very prominent since it really can't if it is to certify. OEM exhaust is however, very robust and now it's always made of stainless steel.

 

Women enthusiast are definatly still women. This is still an enthusiasts car. In my opinion it should have a nice mild rumble that opens up at higher RPMs similar to that of the Vette, or GTO. The car wont be a volume car any time soon. It should wow you and turn heads to build the Chevy name up. Besides, if you take too many teeth out of the Car for people who just like the design, you could end up with something like Charger Jr Avenger.



But thats just my opinion...

 

Why does the Camaro have to be an enthusiasts car though? Why can't it sell in high volume?? These are the old stereotypes (and reality ) that need to CHANGE. The point I've been trying to make is that the Mustang is driven by lots of people who are NOT enthusiasts, who could CARE LESS about ~200 HP or ~500 HP, probably DON'T care for loud exhaust, and they are the "volume customers"!

"In your opinion" the exhaust should have a nice rumble ... I agree 100%! But that's in YOUR or MY opinion. "WE" enthusiasts apparently don't buy ~100k+ muscle/sports/performance cars every year. Not to say that the cars don't sell, but many people just care about the "image" (even though "we" don't buy into that kind of "what's hot / what's not" crap ).

If a fast, quiet car will sell to the masses, that's fine by me ..... I'll just be swapping out those factory mufflers in a hurry!!

 

I think that 100k will be reached regaurdless of exhaust.

 

there was a press release or something that said GM would have to sell 100k to make it worth their while. What are you talking about not being a volume car?

 

maybe Im wrong but I got the impression Impala and Cobalt numbers were alot more than that...

 

Exactly!..

And it all depends on the mufflers... an 60 or 80 (if they make 80's) series Flowmaster will be VERY quiet!

Were the stock present day camaro's TOO loud?? Granted it was not a true dual. Are the stock GTO's too loud? like said before this post..w ere any factory true duals too loud? Besides, what enthusiast complains about exhaust note? Or what person would test drive the car and not notice the tone and buy it anyway, then complain about it..- Well, it has happened.


THANK YOU! My borla is starting to sound quiet..

 

It can have 2" exhaust and the quietest mufflers ever made for all I care as long as it is true dual with an X or H so I can fit the exhaust I want under it. I can almost promise mine wont have whatever exhaust GM puts on it for more than 30 days.



And that sound test is done in the "lowest selectable gear" at WOT. That is why the auto Fbodys with 2.73 had no "1" on the gear selector, because it didn't meet the requirement when put down in 1st but did in 2nd gear.

 

Only true for LT1 4th-gens .

 

True duals are a must in a new Camaro.