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......................and THIS post -- in and of itself speaks VOLUMES..........

--dying to know what business these 'big wigs' are in.............

 

Keep in mind that the car Dale Jr. drove was about a 60% car-- so it's really pointless to talk about handling..............

 

For your consideration:

We were threatened within an inch of our sorry lives that if we changed this car from the concept.............................there WOULD be hell to pay. I don't think anyone can argue (well.....I shouldn't say that -- one or two would argue that blue was green..........)..........that we kept this car as close as possible to the concept.

Interestingly -- had we kept a front suspension cradle from the G8, the car would NOT look like it does today. -- we actually moved the front axle forward -- to keep the look of the concept. Guess what? Weight.

Now -- not everyone loved the concept -- but what you CANNOT deny is that the concept took the world by storm. I don't ever remember a car getting this much attention -- I don't ever remember people bursting into tears when a car (or truck) was unveiled. I don't ever remember watching people of all ages just stand in front of the concept at any number of shows -- and just gape at it for minutes on end............

................now -- COULD we get the weight down? Well -- do you want a car that LOOKS like a Camaro -- or do you want a car that looks like a BMW. (oh -- wait -- that's right -- even BMW hasn't hit the target number that some of you have set.....using exotic materials!!!....)

And Charlie -- to answer your earlier question? You and I have talked about the same subject over and over and over and over again...it's the 'broken record' subject of weight -- and if you don't remember what I told you, it tells me you weren't listening! -- any of the times we talked!

 

I think much of the negativity some have will be gone once the car is available. Once they get the chance to experience the car in reality and not in the abstract. I don't think everyone here on this site ever intended to buy a new Camaro. I wish they would though :->

I have every reason to believe it's the best Camaro yet offered to the pervious fans and the new folks who will join in the passion.

Affordable is a very key point. It isn't enough to build a car people want. I know the Camaro will handle that part and people will want it. It won't be too long before it's clear the car will be the best in the segment and a big bang for the buck.

I share the big excitement with those that are anticipating their new Camaro, be it 6 cyl or V8. I can't wait to hear all the great times folks are going to have with their new Camaro.

All of the folks that I know at GM are huge car fanatics, passionate, particularly when it comes to cars GM makes.

This will be evident when the Camaro hit's the dealers and streets...

 

Great post! My sentiments exactly.

IMO, the key to its success is not the weight factor... it's the price (followed, IMO, by the build quality). I'll probably lose my wife over it but it might be worth it (assuming it arrives downunder)!

 

I think the Camaro would be a huge hit in Australia.

As for losing the wife? Try a nice necklace in the glovebox she can find on your first drive together in it.

 

Oh, I listened Scott. I don't know why you're getting mad at me. If after ALL of those conversations we had, if you thought a two ton Camaro wouldn't make me apoplectic, then you were the one not listening.

 

Now that's a great idea. I'm glad this website is more than just a car forum!

The key will be to price it reasonably... if it's priced at outgoing Monaro RRP, it will be a sellout!!!

 

The way I look at it is when Zeta was chosen it was gonna be a heavy car and that was that. Either Zeta or no Camaro. I'd rather have a heavy Camaro out there than none. It's been gone too long already. There'll probably be another Gen coming along for those that don't like this one for whatever reason. I'm sure we all have our complaints, I know I do.

 

In which dress? 2v, 3v or 4v? The 3v is the lightest of the bunch and IIRC about 20 pounds lighter dressed than the LSx, The 2v is obviously heavier since none came in all aluminum, and the 4v even in all aluminum trim is heavier than the LSx.

 

I used to feel like my "06 stang was much heavier than I liked,but ya know what?Its a featherweight now ain't it! 3500lbs is the new 3200lbs.

 

I am not buying all this weight crap. The Mustang is under 3500 pounds. How did Ford do it? I am no engineer but why would moving the axle forward add weight? Only thing I can think of is it might have not performed as well in crash tests so they added more strength to it, which would add weight.

 

No need at all to ask for forgiveness Scott! We appreciate and understand all the crazy hard work you and the rest of the crew at GM did in making this Camaro happen

It's a real shame some on this site keep going on and on about weight. I can relate to the desire for low weight - but I also fully comprehend the realities of making a car today with all its constraints and tradeoffs. And it sure looks to me, the new Camaro is the ideal result of good choices in all the tradeoffs of cost, weight, features, performance and marketability. Sure, I'd love a 3500 or 3400 lb 5gen. But it is simply not possible with today's tech, at a price point Camaro buyers (or even BMW buyers!) will go for. I wouldn't give up any of the features in the new Camaro's specs today, to shave off some weight. I want it all! Every last gorgeous cubic inch

You mentioned hearing the laments about 4gen brakes. It's wise to mention that - and I'm sorry to say, but I also have an anecdote. Brakes are very important to me in a performance car. I don't mean just "oh we all need good brakes". Everyone needs those. I'm talking instead about GOOD, powerful, well balenced and modulated, fade- and warp-free brakes. I have faith, based on the specs, the pix I've seen and other factors, that the new Camaro will have awesome brakes. Do these have weight impact? Of Course, as you well know. But it's clear, Chevy has decided to make sure the Camaro does not disappoint in this critical category, as you have mentioned. Anyway - let me mention my 99 Firebird Formula. I ordered and bought that car new, and loved it for 40k miles. But I am brutally hard on my cars. And I destroyed two sets of front brake rotors in the first year or two ... my dealer was kind enough to replace them all under warranty. But that car did not have what I would call awesome brakes. Good, but not great.

Fast forward to today. I have now owned a new 2005 GTO - that car had awesome brakes. I currently own a 2006 Grand Prix GXP - that car has awesome brakes and they have been holding up well to my lead foot. So I believe GM has it right now on brakes! And I simply Do Not Care if that has a weight impact.

 

Moving that axle line forward had the effect of adding to wheelbase. The ideal design, if one did not care about wheelbase but ONLY about weight, would have large overhangs and a short wheelbase. Why? because it's like a bridge design. Long, uninterrupted spans (like the floorpan between the front and rear wheelhouses) require a massive amount of structure to maintain longitudinal and torsional stiffness and integrity in a crash. So car makers used to 'cheap out' by having long overhangs holding engines/cooling components etc and a trunk in the back (the 4gens were like this). But long overhangs have other bad effects besides looking goofy. They also cause a sacrifice in interior cabin space, and have bad effects on handling due to polar moment of inertia being worse.

I WISH people would stop comparing the new Camaro, with 400 HP and an IRS, to the 300 hp SRA 2008 Mustang.

 

Let it rip Scott as too many here know how to remove B pillars make a car weigh in at 3200 pounds, get 40 MPG at 500 HP and make it all cost $19,000.

It is great to see someone put itr like it needs to be said.

If car building was as easy as posting on the web we would all be doing it!!!!

Now that we see the final production car you should be carving up the crow for many to eat. I think a few people should be posting in a "I am sorry Scott thread"

I can still remember the many post on how the white incomplete car just did not look like the show car complaints. Were are they now to say I am sorry I was wrong?