15th Jun 2009, 10:54

"Acuras, Nissans, Hondas, they just look and leave me alone, I guess they know why!"

Perhaps they leave you alone because they know better than to endanger lives by street racing.

15th Jun 2009, 11:16

Well, Car and Driver says go with the Mustang overall. But I'm a Camaro guy in general (already had 3 older style ones before). So I just couldn't buy a Ford after growing up racing against 5.0 guys. But frankly, the Chapter 11 and gov't ownership afterwards, it kind of bothers me, and dealerships are closing around where I live. Also, I've always believed it's not the best idea to buy the very first run of a brand new type of car... have to get the 'bugs' out in the first year or two oftentimes. But, we'll wait for the Consumer Reports reliability stats to find that out...

As for the new Camaro itself, in my own opinion, visibility while driving the new ones is pretty bad, and it rides on the rough side which gets annoying as a daily driver at my age, and frankly I don't like the gauges. I test drove a couple already (a V6 and a V8). But I guess what can you expect, a Caddy-type cushy ride? Other than that they look pretty cool.

The only thing is, why do they all look the same?? LS, LT (which are both V6's), and 2 types of SS V8's, and out of which I cannot tell any outward differences between any of them (unless you add stripes or ground effects or whatever). But if I were going to spend 42 - 50 grand on a Camaro (!!!) -- & yes that's what many dealers are actually getting (it's 10 or 15 over sticker) for the new SS's at least -- then I want it to look noticeably different from the V6 model!! Back in the day you could always tell which was an IROC or a regular Z and which was an RS or a basic sport coupe!

16th Jun 2009, 12:57

Yes! If GM cannot get this straight, that is poor marketing!

Why would someone want to buy an SS and have people confuse it with a V6 model? If you ask me, if GM doesn't differentiate their Camaro lineup, they will fail. I had a Trans Am in the late 80's and believe me, those of us who had a TA didn't want our cars to be confused with a Firebird V6!

1st Jul 2009, 00:00

May I ask how tall you are? I'm 6'1" and I tried to sit in one with a sunroof and I had no headroom. Basically had to recline the seatback gangsta style so far back I could no longer see over the dash before I could say I had head clearance... I can't imagine how I'm going to wear a helmet for track days =(

2nd Jul 2009, 15:45

GM did this with the last gen. of the Camaro as well. You couldn't tell a Z-28 from a V6 car unless you looked at the exhaust or the little badges on the sides of the car. They even offered the same wheels on both cars. I always hated that about them and it is too bad it hasn't changed.

I can't believe once again, the ridiculous markup on these cars. Why are people so obsessed with being the first one to buy something? Funny thing is, usually that something is buggy and defective until the second or third year. American car dealers are most known for this markup practice and it is just another reason they are suffering. I wish people would stop wasting their money on these overpriced cars and let them come down to reality after a couple of months when no one buys one. Must be nice to have money to burn, especially in this economy. I'd opt to do something better with it then hand it over to a dealer. Your car depreciates based on the MSRP so paying $10K over that is like tossing $10K into the trash (+ however much more depreciation occurs). Is it REALLY that cool to be the first one?!?

13th Jul 2009, 00:11

I'm the original poster, and was surprised and pleased to read good and bad things that have been written.

I finally sold the Camaro to one of my good friend after only 3562 kilometers, with not a single problem.

To answer some of your questions, I am 6'3" and 290 lbs, and was able to lean the dorsal to drive and feel comfortable.

I can tell you that every day and almost everywhere I had multiple thumbs up and everybody knew at first look it was a real SS, never arguing for an "ordinary" Camaro.

But this car has a real problem (for me at least!) that finally made my decision to let it go.. The Camaro SS is a "COP MAGNET"..I'm 47 years old and didn't have any tickets for maybe the last 20 years, and in less than one month I had 2 speed tickets (3 points each) and 9 registrations check-ups, I wasn't racing, just fool enough not to put cruise control while on highways, as I originally wrote you don't feel the sensation of going fast, lost 6 demerit points and 480 CDN $ worth of fines.. I assumed all of this, and you can now laugh at me, (Honda Acurs, Nissan owners.. LOL!) My opinion is during the last week, I felt and saw that many cops, not all of them, think that you're dangerous for the society if you drive a Camaro SS.. Maybe true for some!!.., while giving me tickets or doing check-ups, they were always telling me things like I was a little kid or yo-boys, then I told myself that's enough! I'm not in vacation anymore with this beautiful Camaro SS like I was in my Roadmaster, I am not driving anymore but always watching the speedometer, the indicated speed limit signs, or cop cars, which I NEVER did before!, And before I loose my license I regrettably sold it, I didn't lose a cent because I sold it with no profit 43000 CDN dollars, as paid.

And now I can drive and feel good being a nobody with my Buick. But the Camaro SS is an awesome car that I will never forget but regret, Just hope my friend will be smarter than me, he's living in a far small village... Don't ever come to Montreal with a Camaro SS.. Cops will be your "friends".. See ya!

21st Aug 2009, 22:21

There are no such things as "cop magnets". Policemen (and police women) are professionals and not swayed by a car's looks. I have friends and family who are police professionals and they laugh themselves silly over this urban myth. I've proven it time and again year in and year out myself. I'm a car enthusiast and usually own 3 to 5 cars at a time. I love bright colors and sporty cars. My current sporty car is a bright orange Mustang with wide black rally striping, hood scoop and louvers on the rear and quarter windows. I have never been stopped in it. My last ticket was received while driving my Ford truck. It probably had something to do with the fact that I was breaking the law. That's usually the case. You should have kept the Camaro and driven sensibly.