There's definetly a difference. There are 2 sides but I like being with the more "true" side.

 

Hmmm....

So I love my SS less because I'm a Corvette nut too?

Nah. Not buying into that one.

 

I guess I see the point there.

 

You may love it a bunch....but I don't know if your automotive universe revolves around it.

 

My Borther (he says the Z a lot) gets that a lot he always answers "Yeah I got one. A 350ci Z28 thay is!"

Anyway, I can't stand camero! I hate it! About the whole vette v. camaro thing, I would rather have a camaro, the corvette is just to "proper" and "refined" for me (though I do like the Z06)

Another little grip, the Camaro is a pony car not a muscle car.

 

What precisely would be one's automotive universe?

Furthermore, even the most addled Camaro enthusiast has to realize that the Corvette is the lynchpin for Camaro's existence. Powertrains, technology and dealership traffic from Corvette (even if folks just look at the Vette, never intending to buy because of price, insurance or the fact that it only has two seats, the salesman's next line is... "You know, you can get 95% of the performance of the Vette in this fine Camaro over here...").

In short, one is a terrific car, fully worthy of our admiration - while the other is the benchmark for American Performance cars, which has wiped out every challenger for the last 50 years... and now has Viper and GT squarely in it's sights.

I wonder how many Camaros were sold over the years for the simple fact that Corvettes happened to be in the same showroom.



One final note...

I would submit that one's "automotive universe" extends no further than their pocketbook.

Money talks.

 

This one, is sort of a tough one for me to explain, PX. It's not black and white and precise....it's sort of a Gestalt thing.

I'll take ME for example. I really love cars. Lots and lots of cars.I love old Alfas, Triumphs, Mopars, American Hot Rods, Ferraris, old Jags and Aston Martins, essentially any Muscle Car and most Oldsmobiles built before 1980. I have an affection for Lambos, Datsuns, Dodge GLH's, any Pontiac from 1958-1970 and any Trans Am built before 1982.

I could go on and on. But in the center of it all....the nucleous, so to speak...is my love for Camaro. My formative memories of Camaros are my hallmarks. The first time I saw a brand new '67 RS. The first time I saw a brand new 70 1/2 split bumper Z/28. The first time I saw a new 3rd gen.

I love lots of cars...many of them (****, maybe most of them) are better than Camaro. But Camaro is my "home base"....my reference point. A Camaro that makes my jaw drop...is worth more to me than a $250,000 Ferrari.

Can't really explain it any better....maybe I need therapy.

 

Well...OK...it would really, really need to make my jaw drop.

 

Count me in the same boat. I will drive ANYTHING. I dole out the respect and compliments for Mopars, Chevys, Buicks, and anything else at shows and races. I'm always eager to learn about them too - often enjoy great conversations with guys/gals about other brands. But when it comes down to the car that feels attached to my insides... well you know what it is.

I drive my '89 LX several days a week, and there's hardly a time I don't drive it without generating a smile. It's a turd. It's never as clean as I'd like it. Starting to get pin holes in the H-pipe so it's puffing at me a tad at idle. Got 202k miles. Rug is dirty (that way when I bought it - can't get the stains out). BUT - it's dependable, reliable, fun as dookie, economical to operate, and rarely fails to get looks/comments at a gas station or parking lot. People LOOK at my car (even when it's nasty). Maybe I "connect" with the car because it's kinda like me!

I was bullied quite a bit as a kid because I was a year ahead of everyone else in my grade, so I was smaller. Then in middle/high school I ws the "egghead" because I graduated at 17. Maybe I am scarred from all the abuse (until I filled out at 6'1" - 200#), but I also seem to bond with the Muskrat because it has been the underdog, the cheap ride, the econobox - whatever has been asked of it, but it just keeps hangin' around askin' for more, ya know? It's had it's **** handed to it. It's been a Pinto wannabe. It's d@mn-near been a Mazda, and a probe. It's been a whale. It's been riced. It's been raced. It's been pimped. You name it... but it's still hanging in there, giving people what they ask for.

So yes Z284ever, I know EXACTLY what you are saying.
I'm doing rather well for myself, and I could drive just about any car I want to. But what do I drive? An '89 LX 5.0. Or a '71 Mach 1. Or a '91 SSP. Or a '78 King Cobra. Or a '66 Sprint 200.
Being seen in a $60k Z06 or a $70k Viper just isn't me - despite the respect I have for those cars.

Nice post Charlie. You are indeed human, and emotional.
Not a DAMN thing wrong with that!

PS - Wife has said MANY times that I need therapy! My affliction with cars (especially Muskrats) is comparable to gambling or alcoholism!

 

We'll start a support group Greer.....maybe we can get some Federal funding.

 

That is one of my biggest pet peeves. It's not hard to say the whole damn word.

 

The reason people say the Camaro is the poor man's Corvette is because there used to be ads saying: "The Chevrolet Camaro: The closest thing the a 'Vette, yet!"

 

the poor mans corvette thing doesnt bother me at all....

but the mullet thing absolutely drives me nuts! I have yet to see someone with a mullet driving one so I guess thats why I dont get it.

I have owned a handfull of Camaros and I still have the first one I owned since Jr High.

I must say I would like to own a Vette but its just not practical for me...too much money and too little space, and the value drops like Enron stocks.
My plan is to take the money that would be spent on a Corvette, and spend it on my Camaro to improve its performance and its appearance. Maybe a nice ghost flame job.

So its my poor man's Corvette, too but the thing is, I could own a Corvette, but I choose to drive my Camaro and improve upon it. So its really not my poor man's Corvette.

I wouldnt trade my first Camaro for anything...not even a brand new Vette(If you dont believe me...make an offer) Too many memories and too much sweat in that car to ever give it to anyone. Im saving it for when one day I have a son, he can experience the same thing I did in it (minus the fenderbenders, i hope )

Every time I get in that car I smell the remnants of the burnt oil and all the other smells and it reminds me of the high school days when stuff was more simple than it is now. Sometimes I put on my old leather jacket I still have, to give me even more aromas to smell, and that just tops it off for me.
I used to wear that jacket and that Camaro everywhere. Its not about the look it gives me, its about the smell and the feel that associated with it.

So to me, the Camaro name is more that a number, statistic or whatever...its a feeling and a status that a Corvette cant give me because I didnt have one when I was younger.

Now if I had a Vette in high school my love would be for Vettes...but for most of us...its the Camaro.

Hope that made sense lol..its late and I gotta move on to my other love: reading!

oh btw i hate the "My cousin's SS is sooo much faster than your Z28"
lol I've surprised quite a few after saying that.