Well, I've succumbed to the urge to buy a Camaro SS convertible. Yes, I know, it's the porkiest thing on the planet, yes, I know, it's a big-driving car, yes, I know, it's got a crappy interior . . .

Or does it?

Here's the impression I had, after seriously shopping against a Mustang GT convertible and a Challenger (to see if it was worth waiting for a convertible, if Chrysler ever wises up and does one.)

Mustang GT (convertible, M6, premium, loaded, $41k). Dealers have good stock around here, and are willing to deal on these cars. Overall a very nice car--engine is strong and very refined, definitely more so than the LS series. Dash is the best of the three, with good materials and fit.

But . . . it was too reminiscent of the 2006 GT convertible I had. Faster, yes, better dash materials, yes, but still plenty wiggly (body wise) and floaty (suspension wise). Bottom line: been here, did that, don't need another one.

Challenger SRT8 (M6, $47K). Dealers are still treating 392s like they're made of gold. That's fine, but it's an expensive car. If you like the way the 300/Magnum/Charger drive, you'll love this one. It's big. Huuuuge. That's both good and bad, because you can fit real human-sized humans in the back seat.

If they made a convertible, I'd probably be able to look past the station-wagon dashboard just for the overall utility. I still really like the exterior styling, and I love the fact they're being adventurous in their color selection.

Camaro Convertible (2SS, RS, auto, $43k). Dealers have amazing stock of this car for a brand-new vehicle, so I suspect getting one won't be too hard, and dealing off the lot will start pretty soon.

The huge surprise was the interior, which everyone carps and bitches about. Well, guess what? It's really quite nice. Visually, the quality and fit and finish are equivalent to the Mustang. Switchgear is very high quality. There's none of that "holy hell, what kinda vacu-formed Bic-pen crap is this" reaction you get when opening the door of a 4th gen. Yeah, there's more hard plastic than the Mustang, but GM has figured out that shiny, 100-year-old-man-skin is not a good texture for a dashboard. It looks fine and fits very nicely. The interior "problem" has been completely overblown.

If you don't like retro, of course, you aren't going to like this interior, even if it's full leather and soft-touch materials. And if you want nav, well, there you go . . .

The other surprise was the ride and drive. The car is damn solid. Amazingly so. Of course, it should be, since it's a pig. But, in this case, I'm willing to take the pork to get the results GM engineers got. It really doesn't feel like a convertible . . . at all. Top-up, it's a lot quieter than the Mustang, and the rear seats aren't that much smaller. All in all, a win.

I came back and asked the dealer a single question: "If I order one, do you have allocation, will you meet (my price), and will you put it in writing?"

Another surprise. Without hesitation, they agreed. So we went in and ordered--and from what I've seen, I may have the only stripped 1SS/M6 convertible coming out of the factory. Yes, I'm cheap. And yes, I *like* cloth seats, especially in a convertible, and especially in southern California summers.

I'll follow up when it shows up.

But--bottom line--don't take reviewers' words as gospel. Go drive the cars yourself, and make your own decision.

 

Nice comparison, and thanks for sharing...be sure to post pics when it arrives!

On that note, I haven't seen a single convertible Camaro yet...that should change with the arrival of spring.

 

Yeah, but what color did you get?

 

The real bottom line is that you are happy with your purchase. Congrats, The vert is a sexxi car.

 

Summit White/Cyber Gray stripes/Gray+Black cloth interior. Stripes are the only option.

I tend to like bright blues and greens, but GM, in their infinite wisdom, canceled those (Aqua Blue and Synergy Green.)

So, this is a tribute to my '89 IROC convertible, which I also ordered new, and was M5/white/gray cloth/stripe delete.

 

<-------- Jealous guy (me, not Farva)

 

Motor Trend basically said the same thing about their test car.

Congrats! I want one too!

 

Yeah I just saw an Aqua Blue Camaro last weekend. It is a shame they got rid of that color.

 

Aqua Blue Metallic looks great in direct sunlight -- other times, it varies between boring and awful.

GM hasn't put a good bright blue on anything but Corvette in years.

 

I know it's been quite a few years now, but Arrival Blue on the 2005 Cobalts was very nice.

I thought the Aqua Blue Camaro typically looked better in person than in pictures and definitely better in sunlight. It was too much toward the aqua spectrum indoors at the auto show.

 

Agreed, nice. Not spectacular. I'm looking for colors like Electron Blue and Lemans Blue Metallic.

 

Electron Blue is the best blue GM has ever done. I loved it so much that I had my 85 Z28 painted EB in 2002. I was very upset when GM originally did not offer the SS in ANY blue, so I used the saved money to buy a new house. If GM offers EB or something very similar for 2012, I will be first in line to place an order.

 

I have some sympathy for colors that don't look great in all light since I have a Sunset Orange Metallic one, and it doesn't look all that great under cool color temp lights. But in normal white light or warm light it looks really good, IMO.

At any rate, I liked both of those blues you mentioned, especially LeMans Blue. I don't mind SuperSonic Blue either. Aqua Blue may not have been the best thing ever, but I liked it more than the alternative on the Camaro, Imperial Blue.

 

I thought the 392 hemi is new for this year in the SRT8 models?

 

I think Jetstream Blue would look really good on a new Camaro