The LS1 and the somewhat tighter build quality are the only redeeming factors of the 4th gen in my opinion. It'll be remembered as the "steroids and crackpipes" generation as I've said before. The design that strayed so far out of the previous designs as to be alien to us, unrecognizable and unique in its ugliness. If ever there was a jellybean F-body, the 4th gen was it. There's nothing salvageable about their fat look. I know that upsets many, but we all have our opinions. I think it really *was* the generation that killed it off. I only hope that the ones that end up in junkyards have their engines and transmissions plucked and dropped into something better looking, because the performance is undisputed. That performance aspect may lead some into collection / restoration, but I strongly believe older F-bodies (1967 - 1992) will be the long term collectible / restorable ones.

 

I still think the 4th gen T/As are one of the best looking f-bodies. I liked thems so damn much I bought one. 3rd gens did nothing for me styling wise.

Like others have said, 4th gens will be remembered for their bang-for-the-buck performance/value, slightly (but tasteful) over-the-top styling, and as the cars that ushered in a new performance era.

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-Joshua
1997 Bright Red T/A WS6 M6
I was thinking dagger. -Steve Nash

 

Well said.

 

We're playing this game now?

The third gen Camaro almost turned into the GM80, but the fourth gen Camaro actually did end the line.

 

Well I'm going to add on to the "I grew up with this car" line. I’m 18 now and ever since I was about 14 or 15 I knew I wanted a 4th gen Camaro. I just loved their look and still do. My parents helped me get a 95 V6. This car doesn’t even have the sot after power train, but it has a lot of sentimental value to me. When I get out of college I plan to buy something new or newer and then start the total restore on my 95'. New paint, new motor (v8), new everything. I love these cars. I love all Camaros. But pretty much I love the 4th gen the most because its what I Know. I’m also way more into the idea of modern muscle cars. The power and performance of yesterday but with the style and options of today. I also don’t think the Camaro killed itself, GM killed it. It was their decision, they could have improve it and solved it problems but they didn’t. I don’t know just my 2 cents.

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Stefan

1995 3.4L Camaro, Mystic Metallic Green, M5, 3.23’s, T-tops, every option except the V8

Ignore the future mods on my site, my plans have changed.
See my car here:
http://members.tripod.com/stars101010/

Best time: 10.7 @ 63mph in the 1/8 mile

[This message has been edited by stars1010 (edited June 29, 2002).]

 

I agree. Ever since I saw a model of a 93 TA, I've wanted a 4th gen. I made my dad take me to the pontiac dealer in the summer of '94, I sat in a black formula I beleive (I was 9 at the time). That was the coolest thing ever, I so wished my parents had one. I love the picture on the '95 pontiac brochure too. On the front cover (it's for all pontiac cars) it has a picture of the top of a TA, it's so cool looking, it looks like a big red bullet. My first car is an 88 formula, but my friend has a 95 formula, it's soooo much cooler then mine. I hope I can sell my car next summer, maybe buy an M6 93 TA.

The 4th gen will be remembered by me doing lotsa smokey burnouts in my TA when I buy one

[This message has been edited by Big_Z (edited June 29, 2002).]

 

I sometimes wonder if GM had "signed off" on GM80 in the late '80s, would the Camaro been better or worse off now.

Don't get me wrong, a FWD/AWD Camaro is completely unacceptable to me...and I revelled the day I heard GM80 was cancelled....but it's hard to imagine that the Camaro would have been worse off than it is now.

 

That is what I don't understand. Large size? Unusual driving position? The 3rd Gen is just as guilty. Don't get me wrong the 3rd Gen Camaros were very nice looking cars but it seems like people will glance over the fact that they were just as long, just as wide (within an inch or so) and had the same driving position as 4th Gens. I understand that the styling of the 4th Gens leaves you cold. That's really all it is, so it's ok to come out and say it...

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Mark

94 Z28, Red, A4, 3:23
Lone Mods--LPE CAI, !Lapeer Dragway.
(Hey, I'm a college boy I can't afford gobs of bolt-ons!)

Best time: 14.658 @ 95.1
with SES light on and Driver off! (First and only time at track)

The F-body will NEVER die.

 

Ok...you've routed me out; it is the styling ...and a whole lot more.

When I say driving position, I don't really mean the position of the seats...it's really the long dash and steeply raked windshield.

When I drive a 4th gen I feel like the helmsman on the Battlestar Galactica...OK if you're a starship pilot but not a performance car driver.
Sometimes I feel like a German machinegunner peering thru the gunslit of a pillbox on Normandy beach...OK if you're a Wermacht trooper about to be handed your a$$ by the 1st Infantry division...but not the effect I want when driving a Z/28.

The 3rd gen Camaro was feeling and looking pretty big in'92...the slightly larger '02 looks literally HUGE by today's standards.



[This message has been edited by Z284ever (edited June 29, 2002).]

 

...on a roll:

Ride height and wheel wells.

In '93 I spoke to various people on the Camaro team. They were dissapointed with the 4th gens ride height. You see, the nose is so low, that to meet bumper ht. requirements the ride ht was raised.

So even if someone at Chevy would have said..."how about...just for the heck of it..let's try some good looking wheels for a change of pace"...the required ride ht would still had given it an ungainly stance.

...but good looking wheels would at least have been an improvement.

[This message has been edited by Z284ever (edited June 29, 2002).]

 

I agree with the things Z284 said.

They were uninspiring cars until the LS1. Ad no1 likes working on them, thats not good for used desirablility.

 

The 3rd gen. Camaro was, you know, sufficiently different mechanically--drivetrain and suspension--from the second and the second was different from the first. The fourth seemed so stopgap from a technical standpoint that it seemed like it would leave everybody anticipating something in very short order to replace it.

We have a third gen with a modified-ish front suspension, to accept a rack and pinion steering, raised ride height for some odd reason (now I find out it's for crash safety), and new styling. Same dimensions, bolt-in swappable rear suspension between 3rd/4th, and the exact same floor pan, with the exact same gas tank and catalytic convertor protrusion. So yeah, it could be argued there's a technical reason to have a grudge against GM for the 4th gen. (They're still great cars, mind you...)

The styling includes strange elements that I'm not really sure about. The long, pointy bumper, the double-curved side, and the 'mirror scoops' on the fenders...

I guess that's the defining factor of the 4th gen. The previous cars has simpler styling, and this one was certainly more, uh, modern. Don't get me wrong, it's a wonderful car that's fun to drive, but it's just strange. Not to mention changing spark plugs!

 

As a current owner of a 4th gen, and previous owner of a 3rd gen, I have to say I totally don't understand the whole 'intimidating dash' arguement.

Yes, when you first look at it, it might look intimidating... actually, I LIKE that. But more importantly... What difference does it make if the length of the car that is in front of the driver is part or the dash or not? The length from driver to nose would be the same!

The BIGGEST arguement I can think of against the dahs would be that it blocks access to the back of the engine... otherwise, I dont really understand the problem with it.



[This message has been edited by Darth Xed (edited June 29, 2002).]

 

The biggest problem with the intimidating dash is that it is too intimidating.

True after driving it for a while it is no longer intimidating, but, if someone goes for a test drive and the car feels "wierd" to them for the short time they are behind the wheel they walk. No way they are going to drop $20k+. The only people who will buy the car are those who will accept something wild.

I wonder how many people went to the car lot, sat behing the wheel and said "No way". It does look cool to us but it a sale killer.

 

I really don't see where the 4th gens ride heighth is an issue. Every 4th gen I see looks to be sitting pretty low. As for wheels, the ZR-1, and Pontiac five-spoke are some of the best wheels ever put on an f-body period.

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-Joshua
1997 Bright Red T/A WS6 M6
I was thinking dagger. -Steve Nash