Come to papa, ********.

And I'm only a 346.

 

Wow, this thread has spiraled out of control! I dont think the Ion was made to be an SRT-4 fighter. For what it is, its a nice package. Cheap, sporty, decent hp numbers, and probably highly modifiable.

Actually that award goes to Chrysler. With help from Shelby, back in the mid 80's, they made Shelby Chargers and Omni GLH's and GLHS's. Light *** cars (like 2000lbs) with turbo 4's. The scary part was when Shelby started the program his target car was the Shelby GT500 Mustang . Crazy quick little cars. So its kinda fitting that Dodge is getting back hardcore into the turbo thing.

 

While I wasn't directly challenging you, I'm game.

I hope you've got a power adder or heads/cam.

 

Ohhh Game on!!!

I would like to simply throw my imput on this pile called a thread.

The Gm cars don't have to beat the SRT-4 in the 1/4 or around a race track. Although I am sure the Redline ION and Cobalt SS will put the SRT in its place on the Ring. All they have to do is beat it in sales. Because quite frankly that is all that matters.

Now quit complaining the more money them make off these little boogers the more that goes into the 2007-2008 Chevy sports coupe.

Resume flame war.

 

Well I gotta admit that I was at the top of the list o people that thought the General would TOTALLY F*CK UP on the import tuner segment with the Ion Redline and Cobalt SS, but they actually did a pretty good job on the Ion's motor.

197rwhp is pretty damn good for a 2.0. Like the article says the rev limiter and the tranny keep the car from being a mid 14 sec car. Those should be corrected by next year.

Even if the Cobalt comes with the same engine, they oughta get the gearing right and the rev limiter/valvetrain right to make it a puncher. The 2.2 would be great.

Course they came nowhere close to the benchmark, the SRT-4, but it was a damn good try.

 

Try both.

 

Congrats. Why exactly do you want to race me?

 

oh no...sounds like someone is on a vteck power trip

anyway, to add to my last post, I dont think that GM dropped the ball on the Ion in the power department. I think that any kick to the junk of the import dominated sport compact world is fantastic when it comes from a domestic car. The SRT4, Ion RL, and Cobalt SS are just the first of probably many SC cars to do battle with the slow-to-catch-up imports...now they have to realize that the imports are behind and keep them there. They cant be like they were in the 80's and totaly dismiss the imports. If the Mazda gets 200hp, we need to keep 5 steps ahead.
Now for some negitive stuff. I think GM dropped the ball not on the Ion, but on the selection of power adder. Turbo 4's to the SC culture is like the big blocks and hemis to the muscle car generation 35-40 years ago. I think they should have used the turbo 2.0 from the Saab.

 

Wasn't it you that wanted to race in the first place?

 

Really, the numbers aren't bad and are what I expected (I didn't anticipate SRT-4 range). When you consider the $20k price, it's ahead of RSX Type-S and Celica GTS while being just as good a performer. And while not glamourous, I'd wager the interior bits are a bit nicer than the SRT-4s.

You've gotta be glad GM is at least making an attempt at this market!

 

Not him. I was just responding to the guy that said "Give me $5,000 blah blah blah 4-bangers slow blah..."

 

As an ’04 GTO owner, I have to call you out on this.

1) The reason the F-Body died was due to it’s poor sales. It’s poor sales were a function of marketing but more importantly, aside from the great LS1 and it’s drivetrain/chassis (despite the notorious 7 & 5/8ths inch in a 10 bolt) the rest of the car is a P.O.S. I own one before you jump all over me, a built LS1 as a matter of fact in my ’98. The car is great for what it does, GO FAST! But it is short on comfort for myself and passengers, has slow power windows (that like to blow their motors), virtually non-existent power hatch release, warping rotors, Catalytic converter hump, cheap plasticy elongated dash and center console that look on par quality wise with my 1983 S-10 Blazer, and numerous other defieciencies. It howls, whines, belches, farts, etc, etc. No one wanted them except for the few gearheads like us.
2) The sport/compact is the hottest market right now aside from trucks/SUV’s. Period, nada end of story. Ford is laughing all the way to the bank with the Focus. Dodge the same with the Neon SRT-4. Basically, GM got caught with their pants down and their cheese out in the wind. They are foolish to NOT compete in this market whether you like it or not.

One point of contention I do have to make is your comment about the GTO being underpowered. Here is a comparison between my Camaro and my GTO.

Stock Camaro: 283 rwhp
Stock GTO: 314rwhp

Stock Camaro: 312lbs-ft of torque
Stock GTO: 334lbs-ft of torque

Camaro weight: 3,460lbs
GTO Weight: 3,780lbs

Stock ¼ mile time Camaro: 13.7 @ 101mph
Stock ¼ mile time GTO: don’t know yet, tracks are closed. But it is noticably quicker than my Camaro was.

So yes, I do pay a weight penalty, but no more than a fully decked out WS6 or convertible F-Body owner does. My GTO, stock for stock, feels infinitely quicker than my Camaro, and for a few bucks more than the same fully decked WS6 or Convertible F-Body, I have a car the is infinitely better in terms of quality and still has V8 power and RWD performance. I liken it this way. It has the ***** and performance of my Camaro with the polish, quality, and refinement of my Aurora.

 

It seems like every car forum I visit I have to listen to idiots arguing back and forth bashing imports or bashing domestics.

Chris`s85Z28, the SRT-4 may not be your kind of car and I can accept that as personal opinion, but for someone to call an easily modified $20,000 car that can run 14 flat in the quarter a "POS",... well, I just don't think you're a real car enthusiast if you can't get over the SRT-4's econocar roots to see that it's a bargain for new-car performance. Who cares how many cylinders it has if it delivers the goods?

 

Also, if the price trend on new V8 performance cars continues ($33K for a GTO, $30K for the new Dodge Magnum SRT-8, $30K+ for the last Camaro SS) I can see compact 4-cylinder performance sticking around for a long time.

 

I agree nearly 100% with what you said, except for the part with a GTO and Camaro running similar times. The Camaro is going to be quicker.

Lighter, better rear end for launching (if it doesn't explode), VERY similar power (SS's would routinely hit 310-315 rwhp).

If you're running against an SS, you then have a significant tire disadvantage to deal with as the SS's all came with 275's, and could have to contend with a lid, suspension and exhaust upgrade also.

The top Camaro was quicker than a GTO is.

That being said, the GTO has a radically different mission. RWD, fast, comfy, 2 door Aurora is a great way to describe it.

I'm a former Aurora owner also, and loved the car.