Discussion
I popped into town yesterday to take a look at the new Camaro with a view to it being a possible replacement for the 'Ro when the time came.
It's a stunning looking car with buckets of presence and menace. It's a big car too with what I'm guessing is the same floor pan as the R8. So from the outside it ticks a lot of the right boxes including the one marked 'Not European'!
The inside however wasn't such a great story. In the past Camaros' have been prone to american plastic syndrome (cheap materials, badly fitted), but the 2010 Camaro doesn't have any such worries. The materials are pretty good (not german standard but heh!) and the styling would have the germanophiles tutting, but as aftershock said the other day , it's good to be a bit different. Where the car really lets itself down though was with interior space. I'm not particularly tall (5'10") but I couldn't get into a driving position where my hair wasn't brushing the roof lining. The car has a long bonnet and by the time I was in a reasonable position the front end seemed like the far horizon.
So far as the rear seats' go, well, unless only carry very small children or friends who are both double amputees' you've no chance. At least with the Ro you can get three mates and all their gear in and have no comfort problems with say a drive from London to Glasgow. This brings me on to the boot. It's tiny. It also has an opening like a letter box. I seriously doubt that you could get a modern hard bodied suit case in there, a couple of soft bags at best.
So, is it the new 'Ro. No. Where the 'Ro gives you loads of Chevy muscle and real world practicality the camaro fails in the space stakes. Which begs the question, if you were buying a weekend warrior with a big V8 why would you buy the Camaro when you could buy a Corvette, or a TVR, or something really individual like a Melling Wildcat for the same money.
One things for certain though it shows just what a bargain the VXR8 is!
It's a stunning looking car with buckets of presence and menace. It's a big car too with what I'm guessing is the same floor pan as the R8. So from the outside it ticks a lot of the right boxes including the one marked 'Not European'!
The inside however wasn't such a great story. In the past Camaros' have been prone to american plastic syndrome (cheap materials, badly fitted), but the 2010 Camaro doesn't have any such worries. The materials are pretty good (not german standard but heh!) and the styling would have the germanophiles tutting, but as aftershock said the other day , it's good to be a bit different. Where the car really lets itself down though was with interior space. I'm not particularly tall (5'10") but I couldn't get into a driving position where my hair wasn't brushing the roof lining. The car has a long bonnet and by the time I was in a reasonable position the front end seemed like the far horizon.
So far as the rear seats' go, well, unless only carry very small children or friends who are both double amputees' you've no chance. At least with the Ro you can get three mates and all their gear in and have no comfort problems with say a drive from London to Glasgow. This brings me on to the boot. It's tiny. It also has an opening like a letter box. I seriously doubt that you could get a modern hard bodied suit case in there, a couple of soft bags at best.
So, is it the new 'Ro. No. Where the 'Ro gives you loads of Chevy muscle and real world practicality the camaro fails in the space stakes. Which begs the question, if you were buying a weekend warrior with a big V8 why would you buy the Camaro when you could buy a Corvette, or a TVR, or something really individual like a Melling Wildcat for the same money.
One things for certain though it shows just what a bargain the VXR8 is!
+1 I was seriously tempted and in fact set aside a wad of cash for one. However after seeing the lack of space at SEMA a while back I ended up buying a VXR8 and using the USD I had saved to buy a stroker. Eminently more practical all round. If you want a Monaro replacement just buy a vxr8 and set the kiddie locks on the back doors or have them welded up 
If you want a coupe buy a Corvette.
For mega space check out the Dodge Challenger. Shedloads of room as its on the 300C platform. You can get 426 strokers as well
If you want a coupe buy a Corvette.
For mega space check out the Dodge Challenger. Shedloads of room as its on the 300C platform. You can get 426 strokers as well
Would the left hand drive of the Camaro be a bit of a pain in this country? I hear they are 'restyling and retuning' it for the European market, but it is unlikely to make it into the UK. For right hand drive, one story I heard was they might be converting it for the Australian market which could be imported I guess?
Glyn84 said:
Would the left hand drive of the Camaro be a bit of a pain in this country? I hear they are 'restyling and retuning' it for the European market, but it is unlikely to make it into the UK. For right hand drive, one story I heard was they might be converting it for the Australian market which could be imported I guess?
'restyling and retuning' it for the European market - Does that mean cutting it's b**ls off to meet the environmental lobby and doubling the price over the US market?If there is hope for the RHD V8 it lies down under. Come on Aussies do the honorable thing and build the Coupe 60.
rickf_uk said:
'restyling and retuning' it for the European market - Does that mean cutting it's b**ls off to meet the environmental lobby and doubling the price over the US market?
That's all they said, but they did reveal the price, and yes, it has shot up to just over £40k. I think what they mean by restyling is raising the nose slightly for our 'if you hit a person walking down the road they must live so they can sue you' b
ks and retuning is giving the car some suspension springs and not jelly in a tube. That's just my guess though, the article didn't say for definite.Glyn84 said:
rickf_uk said:
'restyling and retuning' it for the European market - Does that mean cutting it's b**ls off to meet the environmental lobby and doubling the price over the US market?
That's all they said, but they did reveal the price, and yes, it has shot up to just over £40k. I think what they mean by restyling is raising the nose slightly for our 'if you hit a person walking down the road they must live so they can sue you' bks and retuning is giving the car some suspension springs and not jelly in a tube. That's just my guess though, the article didn't say for definite.rickf_uk said:
Glyn84 said:
Would the left hand drive of the Camaro be a bit of a pain in this country? I hear they are 'restyling and retuning' it for the European market, but it is unlikely to make it into the UK. For right hand drive, one story I heard was they might be converting it for the Australian market which could be imported I guess?
'restyling and retuning' it for the European market - Does that mean cutting it's b**ls off to meet the environmental lobby and doubling the price over the US market?If there is hope for the RHD V8 it lies down under. Come on Aussies do the honorable thing and build the Coupe 60.
You have to remember that the Camaro was only a styling exercise and wasn't intended to make production - so the lack of space is purely a trade-off for those looks (which are pretty good!).
I've read that the restyling was limited to the rear for lighting reasons and wasn't drastic - and again, we're unlikely to get it.
I'd love one - but I'm not paying near-on Corvette money for a car in a perceived market below - I'll take the Vette.
I've read that the restyling was limited to the rear for lighting reasons and wasn't drastic - and again, we're unlikely to get it.
I'd love one - but I'm not paying near-on Corvette money for a car in a perceived market below - I'll take the Vette.
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