From Dictionary.com

Anecdotal: Based on casual observations or indications rather than rigorous or scientific analysis: “There are anecdotal reports of children poisoned by hot dogs roasted over a fire of the [oleander] stems” (C. Claiborne Ray).

Survey 100 G35 owners, see how many of them would be willing to cross-shop a Camaro, and then we'll talk about this lunch thing

 

The longer the wheel base, proportional to width, the better handling the car should be. I'm all for a longer wheel base. 50/50 weight distribution is easier to attain. As much as I long for straight line performance i.e. LS2, I'd also like to surprise a few of my friends when i throw them into insane turns...

A few will say that a Camaro was never meant to go through the twisties, but hey, this car should EVOLVE, so handling should come into play. I voted 185-187 because when other people sit in my 4th gen, they go "how the hell do you park this thing."

 

The longer wheelbase will RIDE BETTER too, which is important for this car. People DON'T buy Fbodies because they ride rough, which makes them tough for non-enthusiasts to drive on a daily basis.

Longer WB lets the car handle well and ride well, rather than having to emphasize one over another.

 

????

 

NOW we're talking about ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY INCHES LONG?!?! *passes out*

 

If there is an over-bloated Camaro mafia, there is also a sport-compact Camaro mafia. I don't see why people think the Camaro must be so small. There have been plenty of larger cars that were awesome performers. All it takes is the right engineering.

 

Hmm... thankfully they're not into 4-door coupes. YET!

 

My 4th gen with air bags, metal gas tank, subframe connectors, an iron block blah blah etc etc came in around 3400. And I think 4th gens were a bit too big. So you mean to tell me they cant make a slightly smaller car with an aluminum engine and plastic gas tank and yada yada to get it to 3400? I certainly think its attainable, I just dont think they are willing to do it. Add leather, power everything, 1000watt 10 speaker systems, convertible etc and the weight goes up, but as a value/performance model v8 with moderate options, that weight is certainly reasonable and sell-able.

I think some common ground between the size, weight, and look of a 1st gen and 3rd gen would do great. Keep it simple, make it appeal to as many as possible, and enable it to do what it does best.

 

Around 180" would be good.

 

i posted that as in 170-179
not just 170.

 

Yeah, but that v6 is a Dohc design which makes it heavier than a simpler pushrod LsX v8. That and the G35 is a luxury car. Alot of that weight can be attributed to the fluff and luxury options. By comparison, a 350z enthusiast-trim which it shares platforms with weighs in at 3,197. But it's a 2 seater so we'll just add another 100lbs and assume a 2+2 variant would come in a tad under 3,300lbs. Another comparison, and car that'll be in the camaro's mid to upper price range is the Rx8, and it's a 2+2 with 2 small doors and that thing weighs 3,029lbs. I don't know the weight of the rotary vs conventional gasoline engine, but an Ls2 can't be more than 200lbs heavier than the rotary engine. And then the Sn95 which is listed above. An Sn95 GT manual coupe with it's iron-block listed in at a tad bit under 3,300lbs.

So why can't GM pull off a 3200-3350lbs camaro z28? 3,500lbs+ is a whole lot of weight imo. I remember looking at the Sn95 vs 4th gen weight figures, and it was depressing when the v6 4th gen with its pushrod 3.8 weighed more than the sn95 GT with its more complex Sohc 4.6. A sign that the 4th gen got too big? And that trend looks to continue with weight getting into the 3,500+lbs range.

 

I'm with you Gold Rush.

The notion that it would be acceptable to have a 3,700-3,800 lbs Camaro really scares me.

 

If we can have a 193" long LT1 Camaro with an iron block, metal gas tank, and dual air bags that weighs only 3400lbs, I am certian we can have a 181"(one foot less length) come in at less than 3400lbs. Now days we are using aluminum engine blocks and plastic gas tanks, which should save some weight. We do not need excessive sound deading, power seats, subwoofers for our radios, 18" or 19" chrome bling bling wheels, and other luxury fluff if we plan to sell a V8 Camaro for 25K. I would be dissapointed if the car weighs any more than 3400lbs, but it wouldn't keep me from buying one unless it became ridiculus(more than the current GTO).

I think one of the key things with this new Camaro will be efficent use of space. I went car shopping with my sister today and we looked at an Acura RSX. The thing is only 172" long, but has way more usuable interior room than my Camaro. The trunk is huge, and there is even more space with the rear seats folded down. I really think that inefficent use of space was one of the things that did in the 4th gen cars, along with the crappy interiors and rattles.

 

This weight thing....

True, modern cars are under more pressure to be heavier. More luxury content. More safety regs. Better rigidity. But weight can be controlled. Alloys, like aluminum are commonplace, and more exotic materials like titanium are beginning to appear in GM cars....in structures, for example. The C5 Z06 even used a titanium exhaust system. We'll see more titanium in the future...in things like brakes, valvetrains, brackets, etc.

If we can apply the Corvette's relentless effort to drive out weight,......sometimes one pound at a time, in both materials and design... into the next Camaro, we should be fine. Think about it. The C6, with lots of content and 400 hp comes in under 3200 lbs....depending on options. The 400 hp figure is worth mentioning because, lots of hp, means lots of heavy duty drivetrain and chassis components to support it. There's at least 200-300 lbs there, vs a Corvette which only has...say...200hp. C6 is amazingly light for what it is. Z06 will be even lighter....while supporting another 100 hp. C6/Z06's weight saving methods, will end up matriculating throughout GM's car lines.

As far as wheels, 19's will soon be commonplace, as will 20's. The OEM's are spec-ing all of them to be forged aluminum, vs cast. Because forged is stronger, (but weighs about the same as cast)....wheels can be designed with less mass to reduce weight.

I just wouldn't be into a 3,700 lbs ponycar. Weight kills everything performance related. And you can't simply make it up with horsepower.

If a Z/28 coupe comes in much above 3,400 lbs....I'll be disappointed.

 

Im liking the idea of a 186" wheelbase with an average model line weight of about 3450lbs. This means the Z28 would weigh a lil less, and the SS would be a lil more, with the V6 being almost at that weight.