This interesting passage from Patrick Bedard's column on road test cars he's fallen for in the March 2004 issue of Car and Driver:


" I, too, have played the broken-hearted fool. When the 1970 1/2 Camaro came around, it was a looker, all Euro smooth and Pininfarina tidy of line, but I was in love with the tappety-tappet mechanical intensity of the previous, solid-lifter Z28s and the raw behavior of the old flexy chassis. Oooeee, baby! And Mark Donahue had won alot of Trans-Ams in those chunky Camaros. The new one seemed too refined, too subtle, too reserved, too unwilling to breathe hard and get sweaty: 'The Z28 is not as thrilling as it once was', I wrote in May 1970.
I was in love with the old girl, but love is a conflict of interest for car testers. I had to learn to love ' em and leave ' em. "

 

Interesting read.

 

That was Then this is Now.

Though they always perferred the 4th Gen. Camaro over the Mustang.

 

It really irritates me how most mainstream magazines ( car & driver, consumers guide, etc. ) only focus on certain aspects of a vehicle. I remember reading the Consumer Reports review of the Vette and it was something like.... No room, lack of refinement, interiort too cheap for a 50K car. I didnt see one mention of "its a blast to drive and it performs as well as cars that are several thousands above it in price. I wont get into what they said about the camaro.

 

We have too many cylinders and they don't like that it seems.... They're wacky sometimes, anyone remember when C&D compared the Mustang GT, Monte Carlo SS, and the Stratus RT and the RT got first although it was the slowest.... They have different priorities.

 

That comparo wasn't really about 0-60..... It was about,... which is the most liveable, comfortable, daily driver coupe, for about $25K.

There wouldn't be much need for any type of road tests if 0-60 were the only criteria. If it were....Viper would be better than any vehicle of any type in the world.

Minivan comparo: Viper Wins!

Econo car comparo: Viper Wins!

Truck of the year: Viper Wins!

Why wouldn't Viper win? It'll beat them all in 0-60 and has the most cylinders.

 

I agree, but it seems they want "ALL" vehicles to meet the "SAME" criteria...roomy, useable trunk...large comfortable seating...refined = smooth ride...cheapest $$...
If Cadillac would lower its prices it would win all catagories as you say the Viper would...
It seems, since the mid '80's most New Car mags have had thing for *** cars, and everything gets compared to them...tho most of them, like the Ford "Taurus's" aren't considered so great when they get some miles and neglect on them...and they usually will not tolerate as much neglect as a comparable Domestic...

The point is tho, I believe, it's impossible to use the same measuring stick for every type of vehicle, disregarding its intended use...

(Like the Pontiac Aztek, we think it's ugly, but J.D.Powers rated it as the No.1 loved SUV by entry level SUV buyers...go figure..)

 

I think it was C&D that had a comparo of various 2 door convertables, from Solara, Startus, Eclipse, and a Z28 Convert. I think they liked the Solara and Startus for comfort and interior quality, but they gave the Z28 first place because it was the most fun to drive. I remember they mentioned that alot of drivers thought the Z28 was scarier to drive and required more attention.. but they countered it by saying it was because the Z28 was able to carry more speed thru the turns, accel alot faser and brake faster than the rest.. so of course its going to be more of an eyeopener! lol

 

Yeah, Consumer Reports is the worst, they worship imports. I remember one time they called the Corvette a big, heavy RWD coupe that uses alot of gas. then again I think they called every American RWD car that over the years.

 

Going through most of these posts, it's pretty obvious to me that many of you have never read Car and Driver.

Let me remind everyone, that when all the other mags had long since given up on the 4th gen...C&D still had positive things to say.

Car and Driver has always been very good to the Camaro...and whenever their was some constructive criticism doled out...I always thought it was done in a fair way.

 

exactly! i don't see why C&D gets such a bad rep on this board. I always thought it was an excellent mag. I would actually say they have a sore spot for the general having read it for 6 years now. and doubtless its the best car mag on the market as far as accuracy of information, style of writing (except Yates, though he too plays a role in flavoring of the mag) and features and articles. CHP, etc are all nitch mags with nitch agendas. they don't review hundreds of cars a year...

I don't ever read consumer report and don't see why anyone on this board would. Its sterile. They are not "car guys" and they don't write for "car guys". Its expected that they will approach the car as we approach the refrigirator then, isn't it? Nobody is forcing you to read it, but you have to appreciate their point of view before you bash them for what they write.

If you think about it, if you're not into computers and you're one of those people who uses it for the email and word, then you'll obviously think everything else is useless fluff, but there are people who love many more aspects of computers than you can appreciate. to each his own.

 

Yea how can they get away with lies like that! We all know the back seat is huge and very confortable. The interior is one of the best ever put into a production car and these things hold their value so well.

 

And now that's all they rave about. Chassis stiffess and suspension isolation is everything. I'm admittedly in the big minority here, But I love the 70-1/2 models year(s). Sexy curves, crease line down the side, steeply raked rear glass, IMO better than the '69, although I thing the '69 had slightly better proportions (the 70-1/2 hood I think is a little too long.)

I'd like to se the 5th gen an evolution of this body style, which was what I was trying (unsuccsesfully it seems) to do in my concept skectch.

 

 

Tim, you're not alone in your love for the '70 1/2...especially with the split bumper front end. Whenever I see one....I nearly melt.