AL,

Let's not open that can of worms again, but just think of the Z/28 as a limited edition model that doesn't mean it's "Top Dog".

I still don't think the SS and the Z/28 will not share the same engine though......I think the 5.3L mid level will be for an LT or RS model.

 

Looks like I got the 5.3 SS right. It's going up against the stang GT for the volume performance market, mid $20Ks-up.

The Z/28 will be a low $30Ks 6.0 up against the Mach1/Boss 5.4

 

Ok, Im gunna get this out. Please dont follow with a debate over it, this is just my opinion.
As an avid Camaro enthusiast, and die hard Camaro lover since the age of 3 when I convinced the dealer to sell my dad the Camaro I drive today, I speak from the heart and from what has history dating back from the first Camaros.
I dont belive that the Z28 should be top dog or a limited run or anything. The Z28 to me was a race car that could be had at a low price that made good power with small cubes. The Z28 was never top dog really as long as there was an SS or a special edition, i.e. IROC. The Z28 to me is the best bang for the buck out of the Camaro. The SS added the muscle with the big blocks. On top of that, with Chevy's recent rebirth of SS models, it seems to me that the SS model is the top trim level. The Z28 was only the top dog when nothing else was out there. I guess times can change, but in my eyes the Z28 is the bang for the buck car that is low key, stealth, but has the power to show tail lights to anyone it comes against. Its the low key car.
That is just me. Please dont debate with me here. If you need to debate, you can contact me over email, IM, or PM. Continue with the 5th gen talk. Lets be productive and not negitive, cool? Ill even tell you the story of how I got the dealer to sell the car to my dad for the price he wanted.

Alex.

 

Wah? I can wait until 2007/2008 for the Camaro to return, but 1-2 years after that for a Z28? Boo frigadee hoo

Although it maybe still too early to get into specifics, especially with all the speculation on the engine, but I would love to see some discussion on what options they may offer inside. Not the defaults (Leather seats, power drivers seat, etc...). This may just be the geek in me but it'd be cool if GM actually got a little technical in the sense of the entertainment. I don't want an LCD screen that pops out of the dash or anything but it'd be *really* cool if GM would offer a Carputer or something along the same lines. This may seem like a very expensive, geeky thing to do but it'll attract the rich geeks of the world and if enough engineering went into it they could build it cheap. Just something that can do GPS, MP3s, wireless internet access to the computer when the car is parked in a hot spot etc... I plan on doing this in my 2000 Z28 soon (once I find an LCD that fits perfect in the dash). This of course would not be standard but it'd be a really cool option and would improve bragging rights just that much more

 

Well, I am just glad all of the evidence points to the car being made However, I will reserve judgement on the car until I see how it looks. If it passes the "eyeball test" , then I will be happy and will hopefully be in position to buy one. If not, then I am sure there will be plenty of other good choices for me to consider Engine choices do not really matter to me either - I am sure I will be able to make it as fast as I want it to be, no matter what is in the engine bay

Glad the Z28 designation will live on too.

.....still heartbroken that no plans for a Firebird are being made The GTO is not for me (at least in it's current form).

 

I don't care which trim level gets labeled "top dog", just as a long as it's still a Camaro.

 

One thing that does trouble me...

The original Camaro SS was used to introduce the world to the 350 c.i.d. small block Chevy.

Throughout its history, the Camaro SS has had at least 350 c.i.d. or 5.7L.

By using the 5.3L V8 in the 2008 Camaro SS, GM would be breaking with tradition.

Hmmmmm.

 

I agree with what someone else said, I don't think the 5.3 will end up in the SS, I think it will still be the 6.0 LS2 and the 5.3 will be a different model.

 

Gee. Whining about an engine that may have "ONLY" 350 horsepower.

How spoiled is that!

Never mind that we don't know how much the new car weighs, or what type of axle ratio it'll have, or what it's torque curve is going to look like, or that it will still have perhaps 20 horses or more over the Mustang GT (based on current guesstimates).

350 is alot of horsepower. If it isn't, pony up and pay for the version that will have more.



That brings me to the prices. I wrote last year that because a large number pounced on loaded $33,000 WS6s and $30,000+ Camaro SSs instead of $25,000 Trans Ams and $23,000 Camaro Z28s, that's the direction future performance was going to go price wise.

The Dodge Charger super Hemi is going to be in the area of the $32,000 GTO and the $35,000 Mustang Cobra in price. I would expect top Camaros to be in that territory as well.

Cars that we consider quick today (or rather, last year), will continue to be quick and slightly quicker. But there will be cars waaaay quicker & faster in the very near future... And we'll be paying a small premium for them. This is no different than the 1960s when you had to pay a premium for performance cars. Sure, a base Chevelle SS, GTO, or Road Runner was affordable to the upper edge of the average buyer of the day, but to get an LS6 Chevy, or a Ram Air IV, or a Hemi in these cars, you were talking about jacking up the price of the car 1/4 to 1/3 of the base price. Things won't be as extreme this time around.

In the 1980s, Monte Carlo SSs cost a healthy premium over fully equpted MCs with nearly the same 305 V8. Turbo TAs cost serious bucks over regular TAs. Grand Nationals cost almost as much as Corvettes, with the GNX taking it over the edge. Typhoons & Cyclones cost a couple of suitcases stuffed with $100s. Supercharged Thunderbirds cost a ton of money over other birds, and the Impala SS of the mid 90s cost up to $26,000 when loaded Caprices with the exact same engine and powertrain cost about $22K.

Base Z28s at $23,000 were a steal (or even underpriced).

Yet, younger guys bought $25,000+ V6 RSs for the ground effects, monsoon, and t-tops, and the rest of the buyers seemed to go for fully loaded SSs running over $30,000. Mustang GTs sold like hotcakes to the broad middle (more men brought GTs than bought all F-bodies combined!).

I'd suspect GM took all this info when laying plans for the F-body replacement.

 

true, but in the same thought, the Z28 shouldnt be a Z28 without a 302, and there is no more 5.7 even if a SS was still to return. Hell, the Gen III 5.7 isnt even a 350, so tech. the last SS ruined traditon.

 

The Z-28 however only had the 302 for 3 years. When GM got the SCCA to drop the 5.0L limit for the sedan class for production models, the dropped the 302 and went with the 350.

Also notice I said at least 5.7L. What's wrong with sticking the 6.0L in the SS? Not that the Gen IV 5.3L won't be able to make bigger power numbers than the original SS-350, its just that if I'm shelling out $30-40K for a fully loaded Camaro SS, I want the biggest motor GM puts in their production autos.

 

I know, but Im just saying. Actualy, the 6.0 has 1 tie in with the original 350 in that it has a 4 inch bore. The 5.7 had a 3.89 or something.
And if im shelling out 30-40k for a car, its not gunna be a Camaro, sorry. Id move up to the GTO at that point. If I had my way, Id pick up a Z28 with an LS2 and 6spd trans. Give me XM, 6cd in dash, 3.42 rear, big brakes, 18 inch rims, and in red. I hope that the Z28 gets a cool hood and leave the blank hood for the RS model. If its just blisters like on the 91-92's that would be cool. leave the scoop for the SS.

 

What if the car you want has Z/28 emblems on it instead of SS?

 

i don't remember who said it, but i know that someone said a while ago that the SS would be the top model. guess they were wrong? oh well

i dont see a problem with the z28 going from a 5.7 L to a 6.0 L... but i do see a problem with the SS going from a 5.7 L to a 5.3 L. What would be so hard in just leaving it 5.7, or even giving it a 6.0L like the z28?

i honestly thought that GM would make the z28 the sports car everyone wanted, while designing the SS to be a pimp version of the z28 (same engine, but better interior and better exterior)... guess im wrong and i'll be proven wrong with the camaro comes out, lol

 

That's my impression as well, except that...

The SS will come in two flavors.... Base Camaro SS and Camaro SS Supercharged... both with the 5.3L Gen IV.

The Z-28 will be a different animal altogether, only offered in a coupe (i.e. no t-tops & no vert), with some variation of the base Vette motor, and perhaps with AWD as an option.