I've always loved Chevy's counter to Ford's Mustang. The Camaro/Mustang debate rages to this day on websites, forums, and talk rooms. Conversations like, "Camaros suck...Mustangs rule!" permeate cyberspace on a daily basis. The Camaro really seemed to pulled ahead in this rivalry in the late 70's and early 80's when the Mustang morphed into what looked (and performed like) a Pinto on steroids. A 1975 era Mustang was pathetic-looking during those dark days. Especially considering 60's era Mustangs are still the "bomb", and one of the vintage autos I will drive some day. Specifically, a late 60's GT Fastback model...maybe a dark green, 390, 4-speed like the one Steve McQueen drove in bullet.
Fortunately, for Ford, this Iococca concocted marketing coup from 1964 1/2 has managed to survive. The newer Mustangs are really cool, having retro-designed their look in recent years.
Back to my beloved Camaro. I believe 2002 was the final year it was made. The Detroit genuises in the three-piece suits decided to "shit can" our baby for a few years. Throwing out the baby with the bath water seems to be appropriate here. Why didn't they just roll the new design back then? Dumbasses. Not a brain amongst them.
One of the appeals for the Camaro (and the Mustang) is its price point. They were relatively cheap to buy. The later model Z28's and SS's were packed with Corvette engines (the H.O. version of the 5.7 liter Chevy V-8). My SS also had a 6-speed manual transmission, T-Tops, and leather seats. Beyond the leather seat option, Chevy didn't bother too much with fancy interiors. They made them simple, almost cheesy, putting the lion's share of the cost into rack and pinion steering, a nice stiff suspension, a sleek, elegant body design, and that Corvette V-8. We loved our Camaros! Fast and friendly and affordable...unless, of course, you needed some work done on the engine. But that's another story altogether, ie, $200 for a spark plug change!
Fast forward to 2008. Chevrolet will again offer the public a Camaro line. I won't go into any technical details right now since the information I have is minimal at this point. I will tell you that the biggest engine will now be a 6 liter version. Whether or not that is a good thing, who knows? People who want to drive a muscle car aren't concerned with the price of gas...then or now.
I will reserve my opinion on the new Camaro until after it comes out, that's only fair. But judging by the photo of the new convertible, this former Camaro fan was a little disappointed. The one thing I didn't want to see is something like Pontiac tried to do when they resurrected the GTO. Itlooked like just another passenger car...like a Camry, or an Accord, or a Pinto for the New Millenium. Nasty, nasty, nasty. Shame on you Pontiac!
Well, the new Camaro (at least from that angle) looks like those annoying, animated, talking cars from the Chevron commercials. My gosh...it looks like a cartoon car, maybe something from Roger Rabbit. I wonder if it is going to have a talking grill with the headlights blinking like eyes? So, for what it's worth at this point, here is the convertible version of the 2008 Camaro...
Perhaps it will look better in person. Perhaps it will have a great "personality". Perhaps Chevrolet has attempted to bring back the Camaro look of the 60's. Perhaps they should have left it alone!
