Originally Posted by AronZ28

Maybe this has or has not been mentioned, but if GM really wants to grab the youth/enthusiast market, they can start by offering a manual tranny on every sinlge last one of their cars. And make the manual avaible with any engine combo. If GM would have designed all their cars/engines to work with both manuals and auto tranny's from the beginning, the cost would be negigilbe. BMW and VW offer a manual tranny with everything they build, and have a great repuation for building sporty cars. Imagine that

Originally Posted by 91_z28_4me

Every GM car can work with a manual tranny.

Originally Posted by 91_z28_4me

Every GM car can work with a manual tranny. But the fact remains that only about 5% of cars are ordered with a manual tranny, heck many people CAN'T drive one. Instead of GM paying the money for EPA certifying the engines with manual trannies they invest the money in better autos, which is why theirs (4 speed autos vs 5 or 6 speed from the competition) are some of the smoothest shifting, most efficient (definately exculing Mercedes) in the world.

Originally Posted by JoeliusZ28

Im 99.9% sure the Grand Am GT can not be had with a manual. Take away the GT emblem (more specifically get the 4 cyl) and you can get a manual, but whats the point of one without the other

Originally Posted by Jason E

Branden's thread he just started regarding ambivalence towards a new Camaro sort of goes hand in hand here with what I was thinking earlier. My Z28 is coming off the road tomorrow, so I took it for one last spin down to the nearest Mobil to throw in some Sta-Bil and a full tank of 93 before its winter hibernation in the garage.

On my way to the gas station I was on a 4 lane road and came to a light. A typical punk kid in a late '90s Saturn SC1 (not even an SC2 for crying out loud) pulled up next to me and began inching forward, like he wanted to race. Light turns green, I take off as normal, and I hear him winding the p!ss out of this Saturn to keep up with me...mind you, I'm not even trying to race him and am shifting before I even hit 3 grand.

I pull into the gas station and he pulls into the pump next to me. "Dude, how is that thing so fast? Its only a Camaro."

I was ashamed to even be associating with this idiot. However, he proves a point I've been coming too. Chevrolet is losing so much street credibility, its unreal. My first Camaro was a 2.8 '89 RS I received in 1998 from my mom, who bought it new. Being a lowly V6, it still had that presence on the road, that "don't mess with me" factor. I NEVER had some punk kid even try racing me unless he was in another Camaro, or a Mustang. I cruised around, and no one ever knew the difference. That car got me a ton of thumbs up from other kids who were around my age (18) at that time.

Originally Posted by redzed

For the average "youth," the concept of storing a car for the winter is unimaginable, and more importantly, unaffordable. Even I can appreciate how "wierd" it must seem that I'm keeping my Z28 off the road in the winter, while I drive a "winter rat" that just cost me far more than the Camaro did to begin with. Unless you're an enthusiast with multiple cars, a F-body just does make sense in the snow belt.