Rumor - The GT500 thread

machsmith said:

The Camaro just doesn't sell as well as the Mustang. Look how many last gen z28s were sold. Want a rare car? Can get that one cheap. It's not about a car having mechanical problems, it's just that they don't sell as well as the SE mustangs. I don't know why that is, but I have a good sense it's the asthetics. To each their own but I never cared for their look, except the 60s versions, those are appealing.

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machsmith said:

The Camaro just doesn't sell as well as the Mustang. Look how many last gen z28s were sold...many of them sat on the lot reduced 10k.
Want a rare car? Can get that one cheap. It's not about a car having mechanical problems, it's just that they don't sell as well as the SE mustangs. I don't know why that is, but I have a good sense it's the asthetics. To each their own but I never cared for their look, except the 60s versions, those are appealing. If the Camaro looked as appealing as it's performance, I'd have this new zl1le on order today. Unfortunately for me to buy it's gotta be all of what I like. I can deal with the mechanical shortcomings.

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ttime500 said:

The issues with the Z28 is they thought it was a larger niche market and that gutted race track inspired car doesn't sell well in large numbers. If they would've sold it like the gt350R and done really limited numbers it would've worked alot better. It probably comes down to a few things, asthetics for one and the other in my opinion is the Ford does not have another option for its loyalist beside an SE mustang where as for the chevy loyalist alot of them move up from the camaro to a corvette so they "loose" a sale (not really though cuz the money still goes to GM!!). Think about it alot of chevy loyalist have the choice of a SE camaro for 60-70k or they can spend a bit more or look for a lightly used Grand Sport or Z06. You don't have that option with Ford.

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ttime500 said:

Honest question, what are all the issues with the Camaro? I'm sure if I search the ford and camaro forums you'll come up with plenty of issues for each. Also as of the last reading I saw GM wasn't offering much discounts until recently, and as I recall Ford has been offering incentives since the release, so whats your point. The GT350R is seling for over msrp, but from what I can see you can get a standard 350 for under msrp. The ZL1/1LE pretty much dominates the 350 in the performance category as of now. Now the companies will never tell us the profit margins on these cars, but remember its not how many cars you can sell, it's how much can you make.

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Hack said:

First caveat is I haven't driven one yet, but I plan to do it once the weather gets nicer. There are definitely quite a few to choose from on local dealers' lots!

The exterior styling is an issue for me and many. From the front it looks too much like the last gen Camaro. Also from the side it looks too much like the last Camaro. Chevy should have freshened up the styling more to make the car different and cool so more people would want it just due to styling. The exterior styling of the rear of the car is not good at all IMO. Chevy made the car look super bland from the rear. So there is one potential issue - styling IMO is not good.

Second issue is the interior. The gage pod in front of the driver is too high and the roof is too low. Many people who have sat in the car agree that it is difficult to see out of. Also, the rear roof pillars are not improved from what they were before. So it's hard to see out of the front and it's hard to see out of the rear.

Whether a car is quick or not, ugly and hard to see out of are issues that an owner would have to live with every day.

I've also heard that the angle of the screen in the interior is poor (it gets too many reflections and is difficult to see) and I don't like the positioning and appearance of the vents in the dash. Maybe they are better in person?

IMO the ZL-1 raises the bar on dumb looking with the canards, huge front splitter and the goofy shapes in the grill. Very hateable. I'm not sure whether I could own that car. I would be embarrassed to be seen on public roads driving it. Who knows, maybe the performance is good enough to make the pukable looks worth it? Or maybe GM will discount the price a few thousand like they have been on the other Camaro models to try to get some sales?

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ttime500 said:

There's plenty of mustang GTs to choose from as well, and like I said with the exception of the 350R can all be had at discount. Honestly looks are subjective to some extent. mustang forum is generally going to say the don't like the Camaro look. And the camaro forum is going to say the opposite. Interior styling is kind of the same deal. I have sat and drove both I really don't think the Camaro is any harder to see out of. I do however love PDR in my vette and really hope Ford adds something like it. Very cool and fun feature to have. Also the recaros in the camaro are much better, provide power and are htd/vented. I personally think you guys are right the Mustang is a better looking car but could use a bit more refinement, I feel they're very close.

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Hack said:

Hey - you're a Chevy guy - it's all good. :cheers: I was just answering your question. If you want someone to blow sunshine up your keister about the Camaro this might not be the first place I would choose to ask.

I didn't say the Camaro was ugly.. I said it looks the same as the last gen from most angles. You can take that to mean it's ugly if you want. Edit: well I did say some features on the car are ugly.. I just think the car doesn't have that new, cool feel when it looks very similar to the cars that have been out on the road for the past few years.

I agree the cars are pretty close. If you love Chevy you can definitely figure out reasons to want to buy a Camaro.

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Hi-PO Stang said:

I just read the interview in the April issue of Motor Trend,page 32, of what Raj Nair had to say in response to a question about Ford producing a competitor to the ZL1. Nair implied that the 5.2 liter GT350 will have more life in it and will be capable of producing more horsepower. Sounds to me like Ford may be ready to boost the horsepower of the 5.2 liter GT350 engine.

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ttime500 said:

My point was it seemed your issues with the camaro (besides looks) were very picky issues and without ever driving one seem petty. I would defend the mustang if a camaro guy was saying the same things without sitting or driving one. With that said if two cars are pretty equal performance and fit and finish wise absolutely go with the one that you feel looks better, you'll always be happier. I'm not really a chevy guy, I'd consider myself a car guy. I have no real loyalty to any brand. If Ford builds an awesome SE mustang I'll buy it. I almost bought a'13 shelby gt500 but I decided a wanted a bit more luxury so I went with a CTS-V. Since then I think they brought the S550 to much more complete car, specially the interior. I really hope they do bring out a SE Mustang that is a complete package or at least offers an upgraded interior that competes in the 75-90K range. I do like the idea of a new Cobra code name Predator!!

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Hack said:

From your post I can tell you and I have very different priorities for a car. I prefer a cheap interior with all the money spent on a cool drive train and chassis. I find it irritating when I have to pay for a nice interior.

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