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Login to post Forums » Off-topic discussion » New Camaro

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March 22, 2009 1:31 p.m. confuZion3 Dork

Man, this new Camaro thing is pretty friggin' sweet! I'm looking at Chevrolet's site though and I noticed that almost the entire side of the vehicle's sheet metal structure is one GIGANTIC piece of stamped steel. From 5 inches in front of the door, above and below the door, and to the rear quarter; all of it is one piece of metal. So, what happens when you get bumped in the parking lot by Suzy (or Carl) in her Escalade? You can't just replace a small piece of metal, you seem to need to buy a whole new side of your car! $$$

Still, this thing wreaks of bad-assery!
March 22, 2009 2:48 p.m. Appleseed Reader

They've only been taunting us with the thing for 2-3 YEARS! Its hard to keep up the lust if you see a new "leaked" photo each month in every car mag except Super Street. Nonetheless, I hope it's truly retro, in that you can order really different combos, I.E. LS7 with radio delete and crank up windows.
March 22, 2009 3:25 p.m. mad_machine UltraDork

a lot of cars are that way... most actually
March 22, 2009 3:30 p.m. DirtyBird222 Dork

they had the dale jr. edition at sebring and it was pretty damn cool, minus the wheels it's a package i would purchase, to bad i am in no way financially to buy one :( I will love seeing them on the road. Plus one of my buddies will be getting his in July (well thats what they say) because of the cyber gray metallic color.
March 22, 2009 3:46 p.m. confuZion3 Dork

All of the colors are gorgeous!

So what is the word on this thing? Will GM make them? And when?
March 22, 2009 3:59 p.m. Apexcarver UltraDork

http://www.chevrolet.com/allnewcamaro/?seo=goo_|_2008_Chevy_Retention_|_IMG_2009_C...

I think the factory has started popping them out, you can build your own on the site in this post.

It is a good thing that it is being made again, but they have messed up on a few things..

wheels... with the V6 having 18's and the V8's 19's and 20's.. cant get good aftermarket tires in those sizes. the DUB thing has now crippled the car for most amateur racing where you have to keep factory sizes.

weight, damn near 4,000 lbs.. perhaps less then the challenger, but more then the mustang.

EDIT looking at the site.. the minimum diameter you can get on a V8 looks like a 20 inch rim with 21's optional..

looking at racing tires.. all i can find are Michelin Pilot sport cups for $433 a tire.

I guess they are going to start offering bigger sizes as an industry, but i find this DUB trend is getting to dumb proportions. 20" rims STANDARD!?!
March 22, 2009 4:05 p.m. jrw1621 HalfDork

confuZion3 wrote:

GIGANTIC piece of stamped steel.

My idea of a gigantic piece is the rear fender of a '70 Plymoth Fury 2 door.
March 22, 2009 4:26 p.m. Salanis UltraDork

Apexcarver wrote:

I guess they are going to start offering bigger sizes as an industry, but i find this DUB trend is getting to dumb proportions. 20" rims STANDARD!?!

It seems really wrong that pretty soon real enthusiasts might start having to go to -1 wheel upgrades.
March 22, 2009 5:15 p.m. Will Reader

Appleseed wrote:

They've only been taunting us with the thing for 2-3 YEARS! Its hard to keep up the lust if you see a new "leaked" photo each month in every car mag except Super Street. Nonetheless, I hope it's truly retro, in that you can order really different combos, I.E. LS7 with radio delete and crank up windows.

Not a chance. I got a look at the options sheet and it's typical option package stuff. I may be mistaken but I'm not even sure it's possible to get an LSD with the automatic. If I'm wrong on that someone please correct me.
March 22, 2009 6:49 p.m. carguy123 Dork

Saw it at Daytona as well. Man that thing is HUGE!

There was a Challenger running in the Koni Challenge that didn't do too bad for a first time out. They had lots of bugs but were running consistently mid pack and not giving up much on the straights or the corners.

I wouldn't want either as they are imposters. They want to capitalize on the pony car idea but both are full size Sedans.
March 22, 2009 7:06 p.m. gamby UberDork

jrw1621 wrote:

confuZion3 wrote:

GIGANTIC piece of stamped steel.

My idea of a gigantic piece is the rear fender of a '70 Plymoth Fury 2 door.

Such a rad car.

As for when Suzy (or Hayden/Brayden/Kayden) bashes and SUV door into it, I guess paintless dent removal comes into play.

...or it gets dinged like every other door out there. shrug
March 22, 2009 7:09 p.m. mad_machine UltraDork

the SUV might loose against the Fury
March 22, 2009 8:46 p.m. Wally UltraDork

mad_machine wrote:

a lot of cars are that way... most actually

A quarter panel on a Taurus runs all the way to the firewall and has both door openings stamped into it, but you can replace just the back part of it. The Camaro is probably similar.
March 22, 2009 8:53 p.m. Volksroddin HalfDork

I hear it ran 8-some thins at "the ring".
March 22, 2009 9:16 p.m. ww Dork

I just can't believe how friggin big these things are.
March 22, 2009 10:58 p.m. Appleseed Reader

If you guys drove an old cop car, you'd hesitate to call anything huge...
March 22, 2009 11:18 p.m. ww Dork

Well, I am considering picking this up for the daily 1 hour commute:
March 23, 2009 6:54 a.m. stumpmj Dork

carguy123 wrote:

Saw it at Daytona as well. Man that thing is HUGE!

There was a Challenger running in the Koni Challenge that didn't do too bad for a first time out. They had lots of bugs but were running consistently mid pack and not giving up much on the straights or the corners.

I wouldn't want either as they are imposters. They want to capitalize on the pony car idea but both are full size Sedans.

Well the new Camaro may be bigger than the old one but the new Challenger is a bit lighter and smaller than the original. Just throwing that out there.
March 23, 2009 7:17 a.m. fastEddie Dork

I'm holding judgement until I see one in person but this was a good read (sorry for the other reference here) -

The all black V6 model was my favorite I think, well, that and the Penske car.

And, yeah the $1.3 mil Mustang was kinda dumb. Cool for sure, but not 1.300.000 clams cool.
March 23, 2009 7:54 a.m. gamby UberDork

stumpmj wrote:

Well the new Camaro may be bigger than the old one but the new Challenger is a bit lighter and smaller than the original. Just throwing that out there.

The new Challenger outweighs the old one by almost 1000lbs, doesn't it???

Side by side, the new one is much larger.

http://alvespucci.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/challanger.jpg
March 23, 2009 9:47 a.m. P71 Dork

Gamby is correct, new Challenger is larger in every way and nearly 1,000 Lbs heavier than the original. It's so big it mirrors a Crown Vic in every dimension except length yet actually weighs more. A silver V6 showed up to autocross over the weekend, it was like watching the Nimitz on maneuvers...

The new Camaro isn't a featherweight either, but it is smaller, lighter, and more powerful than the Challenger.

The lightest V8 muscle car since 2005 has been the Mustang GT, followed by the GTO! The Shelby (S/C GT500), Camaro, and Challenger are all toying with or are over 4,000Lbs.
March 23, 2009 1:25 p.m. Chris_V SuperDork

Well, to be fair, even Civics outweight their "original" versions by quite a bit. And the fact is, even with the added weight, the new versions are better cars than the originals in pretty much every way, too. More power, better handling, better braking, fewer emissions and better fuel mileage.

And yes, we've been seeing this thing since the concepts rolled around a few years back. That's the problem with this internet age: people demand instant gratification. It's ALWAYS taken years for cars to go from drawing board to production. it's just that, in the past, we haven't seen that process in action from the outside very easily, if at all.
March 23, 2009 1:27 p.m. Wally UltraDork

The cars also come out alot closer to the concept cars so it seems like they've been around longer. Concept cars used to just be vague representations of what could be, not an accurate representation
March 23, 2009 1:36 p.m. neon4891 SuperDork

GMPP will be selling unpainted body shells for $7,000. Add powertrain, suspension, and interior of your choise. The info i have is from the new issue of Car Craft, FWIW
March 24, 2009 9:53 a.m. autoshowfanatic New Reader

this is supposed to be one of the first reviews in the world of the new camaro http://autos.canada.com/news/story.html?id=1410869

sweeeeet gallery. hot car!

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