If Corvette helped kill Camaro... it took 35 YEARS for it to happen.

I just disagree... while they share a similar powertrain, they are two different cars, catering to two different buyers.

 

The Camaro is outdated, the public knows this, and no amount of advertizing will sufficiently change thier view. The demand for high-horspower, large displacement engines is weak, confined to a relatively small group of enthusiasts. The 4th gen is heavily based on a late 70's design, with really just new styling and sub-system re-engineering.

IRS is long overdue, 4th gen rides like a truck. The live axle is a major compromise for a sports car, with its high unsprung weight.

A smaller V8 needs to be standard on a Z28. The SS option is a joke, because there isn't a significant performance advantage over the Z28. The 5th gen needs a 4.8 or 5.3 for the Z28, and a 5.7 or 6.0 for the SS.

GM needs to focus more on the whole package, not just 1/4 mile, skidpad, and slolom. Most buyers drive their cars on the street, not the track. Streets with bumps, potholes, and other realities that will make a track star drive like a bus.

Mustangs continue to sell, primarily due to a good balance of adequate performance, frequent styling updates, and decent daily-driver characteristics. There is no reason GM can't provide these qualities, along with a significant performance edge via a SS model, for the limited market that demands it.

Let the flame wars begin!

 

The SS package wasn't a joke. If you've ever driven a Camaro SS on a track, you'd appreciate that it was almost as quick as a C5 Corvette, at least until the Z06 debuted. The power modifications were not tremendous, but they were useful enough and didn't impair drivability or economy. For people who missed the old IROC, the SS was the package to buy.

In any case, diminishing the Z28 to make the SS seem "faster" is both silly and expensive. Since there is no appreciable fuel economy penalty for modern performance, why offer a weaker engine? The savings in initial purchase price would be similarly miniscule.

 

The current 5.7 LS1 produces 305 hp - more than enough for the typical Z28 buyer. By the time the 5th gen arrives, similar power will be availble in the 5.3.

The Z28 doesn't need more power, it needs more refinement. Better street handling, ride quality, interior materials, etc.

It makes perfect sense to use a 200+ hp 6 cyl. in the base 5th gen, 300+hp 5.3 in the 5th gen Z28, while offering a 400+hp 6.0 in the SS.

The GenIV smallblock will first show up in 4.8 and 5.3 displacements, mainly because these are GM produces hundreds of thousands of these engines each year. The GenIV will have an aluminum block and D.O.D., increasing GM's CAFE. It is a logical choice to use one of these two displacements for the 5th gen, to cover the cost of development and further increase their CAFE.

 

the 4.8L seems like the forgoten displacement, I don't see many trucks with it and all the new mid size SUV's and the SSR are getting alloy 5.3L V8's

 

I agree a 5th gen needs a 2nd V8, but it seems that the only change you want is to give the SS a bigger engine. A 5.3 would be a great engine option on the base Camaro.

More power is not the problem with Camaro, and to think simple an injection of more power would cure all Camaro's ills isn't very realistic. Someone on another thread brought up a very good point. Camaro should be a great car without relying on the engine. A powerful engine should be the icing on the cake.

If the cake's no good, only the sugar addicts are going to want the cake. That's what happened to the 4th gen IMO.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by redzed
The SS package wasn't a joke. If you've ever driven a Camaro SS on a track, you'd appreciate that it was almost as quick as a C5 Corvette, at least until the Z06 debuted. The power modifications were not tremendous, but they were useful enough and didn't impair drivability or economy. For people who missed the old IROC, the SS was the package to buy.

It was a joke kinda, the Z28 wasn't far away from the SS's performance. The SS option might have been a little IROC-Z28like but it was an upgraded Z28 and it was known, it didn't become all of a sudden a different model like "SS." And then it had an option for a 350 instead of a 305 and it was the only model that it was available on.

In any case, diminishing the Z28 to make the SS seem "faster" is both silly and expensive.

You never know with GM in those times.

 

I agree strongly here. A 5th gen should have some sort of an "entry level" V8. And not necessarily just for price....but to make these V8 cars more approachable to the layperson consumer.

It could be something that today, could be comparable with a Mustang GT.

And not to start a big debate on this, but I believe it should be called SS.

After all, Chevy SS = Ford GT. We've established that, right?

 

Z28=Z06

 

It wasn't a joke....because what they did to the Z/28 to make the SS package palatable was a travesty.