I'm fairly sure the 5th gen Camaro is smaller than the 4th Gen F-body and the GTO.

 

It'll also be the size of the 05+ Mustang which will be it's main competition.

New Mustangs are within a hair of the 04+ GTO in width, length and height.

 

I've seen them at auction for high 20s, I just don't like the idea of 8 mpg when premium costs 3.21 in Hawaii.

 

Yes.........Jason's wrong about the Challenger being that 'small'....

 

I see nothing wrong with this at all.
They are doing what everyone else is doing.

(Would you please pass me another jelly biscuit... and a donut... and a soda... and the remote. Thanks.)

 

I think that this is what everyone has thought all along, isn't it? Assuming that the dimensions don't change radically from the concept, the Camaro will be about the same length as the Mustang, but wider.

But I see what Z284Ever and Dream 94 are saying. I've struggled with the thought that these cars are too big in "scale" to everyday passenger cars for quite some time. For example, the 1969 Camaro, a fairly small American car for the time, was 169" long while a full size Impala was 220" long. More than 4 feet longer than a Camaro. A 1969 Malibu is 197" (and that's a coupe rather than the long wheelbase sedan) - more than 2 feet longer than a '69 Camaro.

The Camaro Concept is 186" long and a 2007 Impala is 200" - only 14 inches longer. A 2008 Malibu is 191.8" or about 5" longer than Camaro.

However, I think that this is the only way these cars are going to be possible in the modern day since there aren't any small rwd cars to use as a starting point (at least right now).

 

Actually, I don't have any issues with the Challenger being the size it's going to be. I just think that Camaro should be smaller than what it's going to be.

And yes, the production car will grow slightly as compared to the concept. Zeta just couldn't be shrunk enough to match the concept's dimensions perfectly.

 

Just some fun facts:

98-02 Trans Am
wb: 101.1
ln: 193.7 (193.3 Formula)
wd: 74.4
ht: 51.8 (51.2 Formula)

1967-1969 Camaro SS
wb: 108
ln: 184.6
wd: 72.3
ht: 50.9

04-06 GTO
wb: 109.8
ln: 189.8
wd: 72.5
ht: 54.9

05+ Mustang
wb: 107.1
ln: 187.6
wd: 73.9
ht: 55.7

1965 Mustang
wb: 108
ln: 181.6
wd: 68.2
ht: 51.1

Definitely makes for interesting comparisons .

Chris

EDIT: 1965 GTO Specs for comparison
wb: 115.0
ln: 206.1
wd: 73.1
ht: 54.0

 

I guess I don't understand, then since a 1970 Challenger and a 1969 Camaro are roughly the same size. The Challenger is 7" longer than a 1970!

Is this since the Challenger is purely a retro machine where the Camaro is a modern interpretation of one?

 

The GTO's 189" long and just over 72" wide.

The 4th gen Camaro's just under 194" long and just over 74" wide.

The current Mustang is 188" long and just under 74" wide.

The Dodge Challenger is going to be over 195" long, and about 74.5" wide.

Challenger is decidedly much larger than the GTO.

Using the GTO as a size guideline, the 5th gen Camaro is decidedly smaller than the Challenger, as well as the 4th gen Camaro.

Don't see anything wrong with this picture, myself.

Roughly 2 inches in length and a inch or so in height.

Height was increased for occupancy safety standards and to improve entry. Length was increased due to the bumpers.

The "Zeta couldn't be shrunk enough" reason is hogwash.

Production versions of concepts have never and will never be matched "perfectly" once it's made to meet safety regulations and has improvements made for practicality reasons.

The Camaro won't be nearly as wide as the concept, however.

 

Me either.

It's probably time to let it go (at least until talk of a 6th Gen Camaro starts up).....the 5th Gen will merely be competitive in size and weight with the current Mustang, not significantly better.

 

You sure about that length? Comparisons of the spy shots to the concept suggest that the length has shrunk by at least 3-4".

 

Why would you say that's hogwash? With the Camaro concept, (unlike many concepts we've seen before), great lengths were taken to give a close representation of what a production car would be. You think GM didn't know what architectural dimensions Zeta had when they made the concept? Of course they did - and the concept was size represenative of that. The fact that the production car will grow, (vs staying the same or even shrinking), tells us Zeta didn't have the flex to get down to that size. Pure and simple logic.


BTW, length will be added on more than just the bumpers and length will be abit longer than what you've stated.

 

Yeah, I was under the impression it would be shorter than that too.

 

Uhh, unless I'm reading something wrong, your logic isn't logical.

On one hand you state the concept's designers knew exactly what size Zeta was when they did the concept, and then you state that Zeta didn't have the flex to get down to that size.

If they knew what Zeta was capable of, it would seem more logical that the concept is growing because of safety standards and other "production car" considerations, not because of any limitation to the platform.