GT350 to ZL1 1LE or GT500

Like a couple of others on this forum, I'm getting the itch for more and a change. Was planning on heading down to the local chevy dealer and looking at a ZL1 1LE they just got in. But then...news leak GT500 rumors. I'm not a Chevy of Ford die hard (just an American muscle fan). Wait for more details on the GT500? Jump into a ZL1 1LE? Ford cons - I HATE the darn Ford dealers in my area - HUGE ADM's and even when I was finally able to work a deal on my GT350, I had to go out of state and the dealer sure made me feel like they were doing me the favor of giving them 60K worth of business. I'm assuming the GT500 will be just as bad or worse. Chevy cons - Sure seems like the Camaros just tank in value (Incentives and discounts already on the ZL1's). Why is the demand so low vs GT350? On paper the ZL1 is an absolute beast, and having owned many Chevy's/Ford's I'm of the opinion that the ZL1 has better build quality (but I do prefer the looks and styling of the GT350).

Because, contrary to what the magazines and Jalopnik would like to have everyone believe, very very few people buy a car based on the stats.

Good news is, cash on the hood makes it a buyers market and hopefully you'll have a better experience than when you bought your Shelby.

This is subjective, but I think the Camaro has a lower image than that of the Mustang. This generation Mustang especially seems to have adopted a "European sports car" take on the muscle car. I'm not Bob Lutz fan, but he's spot-on with this article:

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cul...on-why-the-new-ford-mustang-beats-the-camaro/

I don't know why Chevy's have to be given away to make them sell, nothing seems terribly wrong with them.

I was just reading the other day that their truck sales are the same way. They are selling less of them than Ford, with less profit per truck as well. It's a double whammy.

Whenever the GT500 comes out, good luck getting one at a decent price. Might as well go ZL1. And im not even a fan of them, i think their meh.

But the up coming GT500 if it is one bad ass mofo will command skyhigh ADM.

I love muscle cars as well, although I could never bring myself to owning a Chevy no matter what it was ever again. I gave it a try with 3 trucks and I had nothing but issues with all of them. This is just my story and what happened to me.

I have to say the new 1LE seems to be a pretty bad ass car though, if you do wait you can see what the GT500 has to offer and if not I am sure the 1LE will be less expensive by then.

Good luck on your decision!

Get the 1LE and then trade it for the GT500 and have the GT500 owner suck up the ADM. Ford is a better manufacturer, but their dealers suck penis.

Yep, I'd love to care about the gt500, I really would. But the ADMs just suck the life outta me. I'd get a ZL1 or throw a blower on a 350 and have a one of a kind looker

I grew tired of looking for an R at or near sticker, going to pull the trigger on a ZLE this week. At that 70k price point it's a hell of a package, and no silly ADM game.

I agree with the others - buy the Chevy and wait on the GT500, because the ADMs will be crazy for quite a while on the GT500. Since we haven't even gotten official notification of the GT500 I'm guessing it will be a year before it comes out and then another year probably at a minimum with super high ADMs.

Hack said:

I agree with the others - buy the Chevy and wait on the GT500, because the ADMs will be crazy for quite a while on the GT500. Since we haven't even gotten official notification of the GT500 I'm guessing it will be a year before it comes out and then another year probably at a minimum with super high ADMs.

Click to expand...

Has there been confirmation that it will be a supercharged 5.2L as indicated by that leaked oil spec doc on the GT500 thread? If so I totally lost my HALO boner anyway.

ZAMIRZ said:

Because, contrary to what the magazines and Jalopnik would like to have everyone believe, very very few people buy a car based on the stats.

Good news is, cash on the hood makes it a buyers market and hopefully you'll have a better experience than when you bought your Shelby.

This is subjective, but I think the Camaro has a lower image than that of the Mustang. This generation Mustang especially seems to have adopted a "European sports car" take on the muscle car. I'm not Bob Lutz fan, but he's spot-on with this article:

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cul...on-why-the-new-ford-mustang-beats-the-camaro/

Click to expand...

I looked hard at the ZL1 before buying the Shelby. Aside from the overall unimpressive styling (IMHO) the car seemed to be designed by a group of people determined to make the damn thing as impractical and unusable as possible: visibility out of the side windows and back window was horrible, trunk access seemed purposefully designed to make it as unfriendly to large objects as possible, rear seats were comically even more useless than Mustang seats.

Then there was this.. A few days ago I was talking to the owner of a highly regarded race shop in Northern Fl about a project or two and during our discussion, mentioned the ZL1. He told me that they do a lot of track time and that I made a great decision to take the Shelby as they had personally seen a lot of track-related ZL1 problems.. And they are not a Ford shop, actually they are best known for their work with Porsches.

On paper the ZL1 is a great car. From reviews its a great car. I have even said it should be a great buy until....... I have a friend who buys Chevy...a lot. He was not happy with the ZL1 or 1LE package. Lots of little issues pop up that he feels should not. He said if he was a Ford guy he would get a GT350 and add F/I. Better yet he would do turbos, and run low boost.

I have not driven the Zl1's but I know from sitting one I did not like it. The feel and visibility is not exaggerated. It is really hard to see out of and their our blind-spots that I do not have in my GT350.

I've thought about the ZL1 a lot because I'd like more low-end torque for daily driving than I do now in my GT350. (18 GT level would be fine) I don't want to go the FI route with my GT350 because I think that gets away from the whole purpose of the car. At the end of the day, I just can't get past the ZL1's styling. It's kind of average. I'm holding off to see what the GT500 or whatever it will be finally called brings.

I strongly considered both the ZL1 and GT350. I like both cars, though they certainly have their own pluses and minuses. Had I found an M6 ZL1 in the right spec, I may have gone that way since I’ve never had a car with a blower motor. However, I was well aware that the GT350 would be easier to live with for much the same reasons listed in the post above. I ended up going GT350 and have no regrets. Truth is, however, there’s really no dog in this race. Both cars are fantastic, and I would enjoy driving either.

Why don’t they sell as well? It is a GM product and for the Chevy crowd at that price, get a vette.
I wonder what the sales numbers for Camero and Vette combined are?