Mustang Camaro Challanger Article

[70monte]

I think the Mustang is still the best bang for the buck out of the three. The Camaro is quite a bit more expensive than the Mustang. One of the local dealers had a fairly loaded V6 Camaro that stickered at almost $40,000 and a similar equipped SS is $5,000+ more than that.

I've driven a new SS and while it's a nice car with a lot of power, no way am I paying the price.

My one negative I've had with Ford is that IMO, their warranty service sucks, much worse than I've ever experienced with GM. I may never buy another Ford because of it.

Wayne

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[bluebeastsrt]

I'm sorry, but these sales discussions really make me laugh. Who cares which car is selling better than the other? Were unit sales numbers a factor when you were in the market for a new car? They weren't for me, the performance numbers were. Would it be good for Mustang Guy if GM killed off the Camaro again? I doubt it.

While I'm perfectly happy with my 15 GT I have no brand loyalty and I am considering a 17 SS. The performance is incredible, the light weight platform is impressive, and I'm not trying to (ridiculously) haul a family of four around in a sports car. If the 18 GT refresh is still getting its ass handed to it I will be jumping ship for a better performing performance car. If the refresh leap frogs the SS, then Ford would earn my money again.

The funny thing with the sticker price argument is I can lease a $42k SS for less I than my $32k base GT and the SS leases aren't that great right now.

Enjoy the new Camaro.:shrug:

 

[Genxer]

The gearhead stuff is great but as someone else already said the Camaro has no soul. People DO make decisions based on looks at least in part. The Camaro still looks boring and uninspired to me, same as the last 5th gen. I liked the earlier roundish taillights, at least they looked different than all the other plain vanilla Chevys. I thought the Stingray was a homerun style wise, but the Camaro? Maybe that body doesn't lend well to an update. It never had as much pure style to me. Ford was fortunate to have several big exterior design elements that made the Mustang iconic. The gills, the tri-bar taillights, the fastback roof. The rear reminds me so much of a '69, part of the reason I like the 6th gen.

 

[EcoVert]

The gearhead stuff is great but as someone else already said the Camaro has no soul. People DO make decisions based on looks at least in part. The Camaro still looks boring and uninspired to me, same as the last 5th gen. I liked the earlier roundish taillights, at least they looked different than all the other plain vanilla Chevys. I thought the Stingray was a homerun style wise, but the Camaro? Maybe that body doesn't lend well to an update. It never had as much pure style to me. Ford was fortunate to have several big exterior design elements that made the Mustang iconic. The gills, the tri-bar taillights, the fastback roof. The rear reminds me so much of a '69, part of the reason I like the 6th gen.

I love my Mustang when I set in her she talks to me. The Mustang has soul and causes emotional response's

 

[racer24crm]

chevy is making the same mistake they did with the SS. They are pricing it out of its own market.

yes vehicles have gotten more expensive with inflation and what not, but it's still seen as a camaro, not a bmw.

however, in MT's head to head they put a camaro SS against a BMW that was double the price and the performance and features of the camaro exceeded the beemer.

They need to lower the entry price by about 5k and it'll sell.

I take anything MT says about a GM product with a grain of salt. GM has been paying bills for MT for years now by buying all their ad space. I'm no fan of BMW but to sit there like they did and imply that a 40k camaro is gonna have the same build quality and refinement as an 80k BMW is ridiculous. Sure, the numbers don't lie (unless MT made those up too) but don't sit there and tell me the that riding in a camaro feels like riding in a BMW, it's not even comparable. No one would ever say that about our mustang's either.

The latest generation of all of GM's products seem to have lost their soul, like others have said. It's like GM is trying too hard to trick us into thinking their cars are more than they are. I hate that chevy malibu ad where they remove the badges and the people try to guess what it is. Of course, they have the British woman say it's an 80k car because, you know, she's British so she has to know what a high end and fancy product is. Get real.

I love corvettes and I think the new ones are incredible cars but in a way I like the C6 more than the C7. You looked at a C6 and it was a vette, you look at a C7 and it looks like a vette that is trying to be a ferrari but failing. The new Z06 is insane but it looks like a car that had parts tacked onto it to look like a track car whereas the last gen Z06 simply looked like a track car, but hey, that's just my opinion and I'm sure plenty disagree.

 

[Raven15]

I love corvettes and I think the new ones are incredible cars but in a way I like the C6 more than the C7. You looked at a C6 and it was a vette, you look at a C7 and it looks like a vette that is trying to be a ferrari but failing. The new Z06 is insane but it looks like a car that had parts tacked onto it to look like a track car whereas the last gen Z06 simply looked like a track car, but hey, that's just my opinion and I'm sure plenty disagree.

Excellent post. And, I agree with you on the subjective opinion about the C6 looks versus the C7. I've had two C7s and while there are certain angles the car looks really good from, I still like every angle on the C6.

Even the C7Z - it does look too tacked onto if it has the aero, etc. The lines on that car do not flow like those on a Ferrari which is the look they were hoping to emulate. For me - and this is just my opinion - there are too many angles in the body work. There seems to be no fluidity, no sense of smooth linear motion. Every line/crease is abrupt and stops the 'flow' of sight over the car. Look at a C6Z and it is smooth and looks fast just sitting still.

I get that they are style lines, etc. They just aren't my favorite style. I think the lines on the new Mustang are sinewy and taut/muscular and they flow much better.

Just my opinion of course and there are many things I do love about my C7. But its looks are just not at the top of my list.

 

[Bay1Stang]

If I was shopping for a car today instead of 2014 I would definitely consider the new Camaro. The exterior is better than most people give it credit for I think, but it does have that toilet seat hood thing going on. Not as sexy as the Mustang but the exterior styling wouldn't put me off from it. IMO it's interior looks nicer than the Mustang's at least in pictures.

Thing is I could easily see why it's not selling well. First thing is the price. $32k or $37k asking would have to be a hell of an upgrade over the competition to even consider for me. And apparently it isn't. It'd also be my daily driver so if the visibility is as bad as everyone says that'd kill it for me, too. I think I remember seeing a video that mentioned the Camaro was designed based on customer feedback, and most customers preferred the styling of the Camaro over visibility. They made the mistake of trying to hold market share instead of expanding.

 

[timd38]

I think I remember seeing a video that mentioned the Camaro was designed based on customer feedback, and most customers preferred the styling of the Camaro over visibility. They made the mistake of trying to hold market share instead of expanding.

Ford said the same thing about the Edsel in the late 50's and we know how that turned out.

 

[bluebeastsrt]

I was a Camaro owner and remember a lot of forum members wanted a more open 3rd gen styling for the new car. The usual suspects that run the forum all wanted a faster 5th gen. They all ran out and bought the new car as soon as it dropped. Now what? The usual suspects are the guys with the laundry list of excuses about why the Camaro is faltering in sales compared to the 5th gen! GM might want to quit paying attention to the forums. And figure out what the buying public wants before it's to late.

 

[HappySquirrel]

This is the first gen of camaro that I've actually like the looks of on the exterior. The interior is just bad, and like thousands of others have noticed, you can't see anything out the windows.

My thoughts exactly. I hated the last Camaro, but the new one looks sweet! But that interior! Too Transformers-ey for me. And I sat in one at an auto show and the visibility...it felt like looking out the visor slit of a tank.

Between the visibility, the interior and the high price I think those 3 things are killing Camaro sales. Which is a shame, because it sounds like it is an awesome performance car (and good looking).

As for the Challenger, I would imagine that that car's extreme age (and size) is finally catching up with it. I can't believe we still haven't even heard of a replacement for the current Challenger and Charger. I think the Hellcat kept them alive for a while, but I would imagine most people with the means to buy one have by now.

FCA needs to get their shit together. They can't keep living only off of gas guzzlers forever, especially with increasingly stringent emissions targets (and gas won't stay cheap). They sure as hell aren't going to make it up by selling tons of Fiat 500s.

 

[5-OH]

As a Mustang guy I'm kinda happy the Camaro isn't doing well, but I also realize competition drive designers to make a better Stang so torn I am. On a side note the new Camaro is ugly it's often said a cars have faces that thing looks Chinese

 

[EcoVert]

My one negative I've had with Ford is that IMO, their warranty service sucks, much worse than I've ever experienced with GM. I may never buy another Ford because of it.

Wayne

I have been buying new Ford's since 1982 and have run into this but on the whole I have dealt with some very good dealers over the years. The dealer I am with now is very good. We got my wife a 15 Edge and unfortunately it was one of the water leak cars. My dealer went to bat for me with Ford and got the Edge replaced. We got another 15 Edge with more options and my wife is very happy.

 

[EcoVert]

As a Mustang guy I'm kinda happy the Camaro isn't doing well, but I also realize competition drive designers to make a better Stang so torn I am. On a side note the new Camaro is ugly it's often said a cars have faces that thing looks Chinese

Ford has always made the Mustang better. Even when the Mustang killed the camaro in 2002 Ford continued to improve the Mustang.

 

[Bluemustang]

As a Mustang guy I'm kinda happy the Camaro isn't doing well, but I also realize competition drive designers to make a better Stang so torn I am. On a side note the new Camaro is ugly it's often said a cars have faces that thing looks Chinese

I've seen cars that way. When I was a little kid, every car was a face and many had a unique smile almost. I learned early on to point out all the cars I saw. The door handle IMO is an often overlooked small piece of the body and always stood out to me. It gives the car it's personality in a way, at least that's how I feel. I agree with you something is off about it.

The Camaro looks like a transformer to me. It's like a robot. All these sharp boxy lines. I like this one a bit better than the previous gen, only because it looks a bit sleeker. Before I bought my 2013 mustang V6, I looked at a Camaro and I wanted it.. Until I sat in it. I brought my father with me bc I wanted his opinion. He was like ,"You can't buy this car. You can't see anything in it, and when I go to sit in it, I feel like I'm laying down." And literally he was right, even though at the time it was hard for me to realize how bad it was. I had a predisposition to like Camaros. But after I drove the 2013 Mustang, I was like, "I've got to have this. I like this car." In the Camaro I felt unsafe and it seemed like I would crash into something at any moment. Obviously the visibility is no better than the previous gen, and that's the main reason it's not selling.

Folks would pony up an extra $5K for that performance. If you're buying a brand new sports car/muscle car, I have to believe 95% of the people would pay a little more each month to get what they want, and a better performing car...Except, that you can't enjoy yourself because you can't see anything and everyone will think you're a DB. When I saw the 2015 mustang GT, I fell in love with it. As others have said, it evokes emotions befitting a Mustang pony car. The sloped roof reminds me of a 68 fastback. I might as well be transported back to the 60s except with a 435hp engine doing 0-60 in 5 seconds. People see my car and say, that's bada$$. But that's not why I got it. I don't care what people think. I like it and I want to enjoy driving.

Ford went back to design board for the current generation and made a completely new Mustang, with both old and new. This is going to be an attractive car IMO for many years. I love my Mustang and that's why I decided to make it my own and just enjoy driving. GM recycled the new Camaro IMO and slapped on some better performance parts. If they made it better looking and more importantly better visibility inside, they would sell much better. Now that I've had 2 Mustangs, I can definitely see myself buying another and yes brand loyalty is important to me.

 

[Freedom]

I might be totally alone in this argument but I feel the Camaro has no soul. It's not a camaro, it's a Cadillac chassis with a corvette engine with some (awful) Camara sheat metal.

Then you have the Mustang gt and it feels so special to me. The special built 5.0 engine that is full of history and I'd plenty capable. Hell the Mustang even has a purpose built chassis.

Idk I guess it might not matter but I'd rather drive a purpose built car instead one that'says frakenstiened from other great cars

This super fanboy style attitude really #triggers me.

As far as I was aware, the Coyote is an evolutionary step of the Modular family. Nothing particularly special. Hell the pickup trucks use the "special" 5.0

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