It's not a rhetorical question. I've been a Chevy guy forever and have been planning on buying the top model 5th gen. Camaro when it's out, but...

Across the street from my local Chevy dealer is a Dodge dealer. I stopped in to look at the Challenger SRT8 Saturday. It is a beautiful car. 0-60 is reported at under 5 seconds bone stock.
The Dodge dealer told me that while the '08s are going for over MSRP because of limited production, (the one he had was presold to someone in Alaska for $5K over, and he had subsequent offers for $20K over), the '09s can even now be ordered for MSRP OR BELOW. He was willing to order me one right then if I'd been ready to buy.

I have to admit I'm tempted. This Challenger has everything (but the name) that I've hoped for in a 5th gen. Camaro: great looks, awesome power, and affordable price NOT over MSRP.

I'm wondering if the Camaro is going to be able match all that.
The Challenger may even have a slight edge in looks due to the smooth sides, rather than those unfortunate Mustang-like molds on the Camaro.

Don't call me a heretic or flame me off. I've been "keeping the faith" for years now on the Camaro. I've also been reading of dealer's plans to mark up the 5th gens., or the top model being limited production and so unavailable without paying a premium. This would be a deal-killer for me.

What I really want here is some assurance that I won't be sorry if I wait for the Camaro top model because it will be better than the Challenger SRT8 at a better price.

From someone who knows, preferably. I bet I'm not the only person who's looked at the Challenger and wondered if Camaro will be worth the wait.

The MSRP on the one I looked at, BTW, was $41K, including gas-guzzler tax, and it was fully loaded including Nav. and sunroof.

 

• Looks are subjective. If you like what you have seen so far, you won't be disappointed.
• Power (and fairly decent economy) is expected. We'll know more in a week.
• MSRP? Don't forget what the S in MSRP stands for. That is up to the dealer and the dealer alone. GM cannot intervene in the markup and has nothing to do with it the price other than what they put on the sticker. A dealer can charge whatever they want, and the buyer has the decision to go to a different one. Refuse Camaro Markups.

 

i saw the new SRT-8 at a recent car show in northern NJ. i was NOT impressed whatsoever. the seats were HUGE, bigger than the ones in my monte carlo ss. when the guy turned the car on, it had NO exhaust sound. nothing. for 400 hp muscle car i was expecting a really nice roar, but i could get the same sound out of an impala SS or the monte as i heard in the challenger. 2 thumbs down

BTW, the guy paid 30k over sticker for it. sticker was 41k. sooo lets see....dodge challenger for 71k or a new corvette Z06 for 71k...hmmm....decisions decisions.....

 

One thing the Challenger offers that I only hope the Camaro offers is IN DASH Navigation. You can keep that On Star turn-by-turn crap. I want Navigation WITH a map in my Camaro.

 

He paid over what? he pretty much could of gotten a ZO6 way better then any dodge. Keep in mind at the end of the day that its a dodge. I'd rather drive a 02 ss then Viper hell I'd rather get a SVT Cobra then a Viper.

 

I have to agree, the SRT-8 Challenger, especially with a 6 speed is a very tempting car. It all depends on which you like better after driving etc. For what it is worth, the 6 speed Challengers get a revised exhaust, supposedly at the mandated limit for drive by noise. Also, all '09's get LSD standard, and the SRT8 has hid's standard. I will be interested in test driving the SS and the SRT next spring when I am ready to buy. I like what I have seen so far from both, neither are perfect, but both are very tempting.

 

what difference does it matter if you wait? do you think all 09 challengers are going to disappear?

 

Any engine GM going to put in the Top model Camaro I can assure you that it will get more mpgs than the 08 Challenger. Now I don't know if you are talking about the SS or Z/28 any of them would do good against the SRT Challenger and stated in other post that the Z/28 will be an over kill. I suggest to you if you had your heart set on the Camaro then I would just wait. Any way it wouldn’t hurt if you just wait until you can test drive them both at least that would give you a much clearer choice.

 

I dont think you lose on either car. Hell, I could not wait for either and bought a mustang............

 

It's pretty simple really. If you're struggling about what to do, then Challenger hasn't quite reached out and grabbed you fully. Therefore, if I were you I would just wait a bit longer and see how Camaro stacks up.

I mean, you worry about dealer markups on Camaro but mention the markups on Challenger....just as quickly as markups fade on Challenger, they will fade on Camaro.

Looks are all subjective, so no faulting you there.

I wouldn't doubt that the "top" Camaro will beat the '09 SRT8 Challenger in any performance category you wish to compare, but if the top Camaro is the supercharged Z28 you'll be paying at least the $41k the Challenger is going for.

 

If the Z28 comes out with the LSA or LSA-like engine at around 550hp, I think you can expect it to smoke the Challenger SRT8 in every performance measurement, for about the same MSRP (Challenger is 42k). I think the SS (at around 30-35k) will be an easy match for Challenger, and will beat it in most (if not all) performance criteria.

 

Build an Impala SS on Chevy's website....I would expect the options to be very similar. I don't think they'll have a whole lot of additional options for 2010, but I'd love a surprise or two.

 

One of the strengths of the Camaro is that you won't have to have the "top dawg" supercharged Z28 to beat the SRT8, the "lowly" LS3-level SS should compete quite favorably w/ the STR8 for less money. The STR8 looks like it will be heavier and have similar power to a LS3 powered Camaro (assuming the projected powertrain estimates for the Camaro are accurate, guess we'll find out).

I say wait for the Camaro, if you're patient and shop around I have no doubt you can get a Camaro SS without paying extra markups.

 

I honestly doubt that the Challenger will be faster than any v-8 Camaro. But one thing I think people on this board forget, speed is not the be all end all of a car. The Challengers are capable and fast cars. (Yes they are big, no argument there) I think the key factor for many will be the obvious retro influence. Personally, I am looking forward to testing the cars and deciding which best suits my needs (which I admit is mostly in cruising and the occasional 1/4 run)

 

In answer to your question, a blown Z28 will absolutely destroy a SRT - 8 Challenger. I expect it will be ~1 second quicker in the quarter and almost a second quicker 0-60. Most likely it will have as good or better handling and probably very similar braking. If the CTS-V is any indication of the performance of a Z28, then it is going to be an absolutely bad *** car. For that matter, I fully expect the SS will be several tenths faster than the SRT-8 in the 1/4 and 0-60, based on having a LS3 and a couple hundred less pounds (according to conventional thought on the SS). I have no clue how the SS will handle in comparison to the SRT-8, but I would bet fairly comparable. I also echo the sentiments to wait until you can test both cars.