Is the S550 a disappointment?

[e30og]

The S550:
- Added (and nailed) a heavy IRS while keeping weight gains modest
- Introduced a damn good turbo 4 that isn't the penalty box most 2.0t's are to their respective V6's (who does that?)
- Took styling to another level in this genre (and on the road period). everyone stares. Camaro is a looker by being angry and butch, this car is just beautiful
- Established a successful platform for a new generation high performance models
- Fleshed out a very airy and tasteful interior (another shocker for this class)

Oh yea, and engineered all of this amidst one of the worst financial states in Ford's history, without bailouts or buyouts, or a big brother (i.e. Cadillac) to toss it nice hand-me-downs, which is all the Camaro is now. S550 also has a big 'effin trunk.

If this car is a disappointment get a Tesla.

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[JohnDoe]

Not at all for me. I haven't truly loved a car since 2008, and I can honestly say, I am in love all over again. More than ever before.

 

[midnite9150]

Well, first my '10 GT (315hp) beat the new back then Camaro 5 (426) in quite a few comparisons. My car weights around 3,500 lbs and has the track pack. Second, with its torch red paint, it's still a headturner believe or not and a lot of people have asked me if it's new. They can't believe it's a 2010. This is the car I want to start learning how to track. I bought mine back in January because I couldn't afford the S550 premium GT/PP and I was dying to drive a V8 (I always loved the exhaust sound of the 2010). In a year or so, I'll be ready for a $40k plus car, but the mixed performance reviews and the quality issues people are having here in the forum has got me thinking twice.

be prepared to be beat by miatas on track :lol:

 

[04SloSnake]

The only thing disappointing about the S550 is some of the people and arguments it attracts.

 

[lazarus870]

I'm going to explain things from my perspective.
In the 90s, GM's F-body cars (Camaro & Trans AM) ran circles around the Mustang. The V8 Mustang in the mid 90s was about as fast as a V6 Camaro.
The V8 Camaro outbraked, outgunned the Mustang GT to 60, 1/4 mile, handling, slalom, even MPG.
But many more people bought the Mustang and the Camaro/Firebird were discontinued.

There's more to a car than its 0-60 time or its 1/4 mile time.
It's about the whole package. Mustang was always the better whole package.

I'll tell you - I went to look at the Mustang randomly. At first I thought the S550 was ugly. But I sat in it, drove it and was immediately impressed. Then I went to the GM megadealer down the road, and asked to see the Camaro (2015). I was much more excited for the Camaro; 6.2 pushrod, gorgeous styling, etc. I am much bigger of a Chevy fan than a Ford. The Camaro was my #1 purchase, I just needed to drive one to confirm that I loved it as much as I thought I did.
They found one in their massive collection of hundreds of cars. I climbed behind the wheel and sat in it and...
I just felt...blah. The interior was very...
Okay, the Mustang interior looked like somebody designed it and then Ford made it for the Mustang.
The Camaro interior looked like GM went to the Camaro team with a giant bin of loose parts and said, "Pick some buttons and parts out of this bin. We have Impala parts, Volt parts, Corvette parts, Silverado parts, Cruze parts. But that's all you get. And try to use more Cruze parts and less Corvette parts."

That and...I was honestly scared to drive it. Not that it was all mighty and powerful, but I couldn't see out of it. I was so worried I'd hit something in the parking lot. Or not see the red light turn green because of the sloped windshield.

I left, hurt because the Camaro I always wanted turned out to be such a disappointment.

And now the new one has an AMAZING LT1 V8 and 8 speed auto. And it's insanely fast.

But the rest of the car, the car I'd be driving 99.99999% of the time within pretty legal ranges on public roads, would drive me nuts to live with.

And that is what you WON'T get with dyno numbers, with magazine numbers, with 0-60 numbers. How's the car to live with when you're not flooring it at a drag strip or weaving through cones?

How's it to live with when you're in downtown traffic trying to parallel park, or merging onto the freeway, or going for a long road trip. How does the car make you feel when you touch the buttons, or slide behind the wheel, or fire it up, or look at it?

I'm a Chevy guy, and I always wanted a Camaro since I was 12 years old and I'm almost 30 now. I never owned one and suddenly I had the opportunity to buy one. And I went with an S550. Your mileage may vary but just don't get hung up on magazine times.

 

[Trackaholic]

The Camaro interior looked like GM went to the Camaro team with a giant bin of loose parts and said, "Pick some buttons and parts out of this bin. We have Impala parts, Volt parts, Corvette parts, Silverado parts, Cruze parts. But that's all you get. And try to use more Cruze parts and less Corvette parts."

That part right there was awesome!

What's funny is that even the Vette had that same feel (finally fixed with the C7 - although now the Vette and Camaro share the same wheel). I remember looking at the first C6 steering wheel, and it looked like it came directly out of the Cobalt.

Cobalt:

Vette:

-T

 

[minjitta]

That part right there was awesome!

What's funny is that even the Vette had that same feel (finally fixed with the C7 - although now the Vette and Camaro share the same wheel). I remember looking at the first C6 steering wheel, and it looked like it came directly out of the Cobalt.

Cobalt:

Vette:

-T

I would be pissed if I am a c6 owner after seeing this....

 

[cyril185]

Troll

 

[Double]

5k for 15hp and 50tq?

WooHOO! When you look at it like that. Those performance numbers are huge for the paltry money spent!:lol::doh:Or just buy a $400 dollar tune for the Mustang and call it a day.

But do those $400 dollars produce a 4.0/4.1 0-60 with AT/MT ?

 

[04SloSnake]

But do those $400 dollars produce a 4.0/4.1 0-60 with AT/MT ?

It will produce at least a 1.7x 60ft, which is much more important.

 

[Double]

You can also see it like this.

Ford releases the S550 with some room to spare because they do not know what 6G Camaro will be doing . So with MY17 or 18 Ford gets their serious hat on and bumps up the Mustang in a few a major ways. (Pure speculations). They are in the money making business after all.

Would you then consider the release of the S550 to be a disappointment knowing they held back, and wanted to get a good early lead selling the Mustang for a whole year "without any competition" ?

 

[Simmons-Racing]

The biggest disappointment for me is the small gas tank.

I like the rest of the car, and it's hard to keep me interested in a car. I have owned 125 cars so far.

Simmons

 

[Excelerater]

test drive the camaro....the S550 is much more fun to drive

 

[MaskedRacerX]

Simply put...to my eye...the S550 Mustang is a better looking vehicle!

The new Camaro is a nicely engineered package...but the exterior styling is just too boring...looks to much like the previous model...

Just my 2 cents!

Same here. At the end of the day, I went with what was +way+ more appealing to me from a design/looks standpoint, because the performance numbers are close enough that I don't care

I was also interested in trying a Ford, I think they're building pretty outstanding cars (and I know where I stand on GM ...)

 

[Chameleon]

Yes there are alignment issues and yes qc issues but that is a small fraction in the grand scheme of ones built. Overall, It's a home run.


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