Wow, I don't think I've had to deal with this much blinded bias since my last confrontation with Master_Yoda, so here it goes:
331 Boss
Mustang.. all the way.
Camaros and Firebirds are great, but in thier last year of production, they got spanked royally.
The king of the Hill 35 Anni SS and T/A got straight whooped by the 2003 Cobras.
Umm, the last year for production on the F-Body was 2002, and up untill then, the Camaro Z/28 and the Firebird Trans-Am were laying a whooping down on not only the GT, but the SVT Cobra as well. Not only where they cheaper, they handeled better, and had better fuel mileage.
And while Camaros where introduced later, they wheren't as good sellers. Ford Msutang is the best selling car in America, period. It has sold the most of any car in this country. The new 05+ are nothing short of awesome, and the new GT500s are set to raise the bar very high for the Challenger and Camaro.
I belive that as a startup vehicle, the Camaro and Firebird surprised Ford just a bit with their rather quick sales figures. The Camaro nearly hit a million models by the end of the first generation, add the Firebird to the mix, and well, you outsold the Mustang.
And what exactly did the GT500 raise the bar on? The Corvette is cheaper and faster, and it does so without forced induction, thus down 100 BHP. Hell, if anything the GT500 was underwhelming in the performance category, with the bad understeer and the "pushy" feeling with the big 5.4L hanging off the front axle.
And the Shelby mustangs, they where above the Camaro's of the time, the Shelby's where meant to take out the racing vettes. And they did.
And watch the current Grand-Am Racing series, last season the Mustangs cleaned up pretty well. Even with an SRA while the BMWs and Porsches had IRS....
Ha, that one made me laugh! Hey, remember that time when the Mustang BOSS 302 was the dominant car in Trans Am and then the Z/28 showed up? Ohh yeah, that was embarassingly funny. Oh, and the COPO 427 Camaro? What was that? It not only could turn left and right but had a healthy 450+BHP V8 under the hood, and it was what? Made of aluminum?
Seriously kid, you might want to learn a bit about the history of the racing models before you go blabbering about. Granted, Shelby made some quick cars, but the Z/28 and SS models were just as fast, and you cannot count out the COPO 427 either.
I remember I drove my first stang, it felt like a car with heritage, with something behind it.
My first Camaro, it felt like a quick consumer car. Nothing more.
Ah, but you see that is your opinion. There are plenty of folks who would disagree, and I'd say the Camaro (atleast in it's later generations) was far better equipped on the inside than it's Fox compeditor. Of course, you have to compare apples to apples here, thus V6 RS' aren't in the same league as GTs and SVTs.
As for the new Camaros beating on the new stangs, I don't see it happening.
Granted the Gt500 is pricey, but 500 hp, GM own't make a camaro with similar hp to thier vette....
and the mustang GTs are priced very well. For $26,000 you get 300 hp, .90 on the skidpad, 5 speed, and a load of fun.
I dont' think Chevy will be able to touch that.
Plus there is one word that sums it all up.....
mullet.....
It wouldn't take much for Chevrolet to beat up on the Mustang, quite frankly. Given that nearly every V8 that is theoretically possible to install in the Zeta-bodied Camaro makes not only more power than the 4.6L mill, there would also be a 6-speed manual or automatic behind it, making it a VERY tough car to beat not only on a track, but at the strip as well. And I wouldn't count out a 500 BHP Camaro either, as it will be heavier than the Corvette, thus it won't be a performance threat. Added to that, there is that whole 600-650+ BHP "Corvette Blue Devil" thing, yeah, the one that was confirmed a few months ago. Yeah, that would mean the LS7 would certainly be going in the Camaro.
...And if you want to talk pricing, well, Chevrolet is ready to play hardball there. Chances are, base V6 Camaros will start right around $20K with a more powerful V6 and a more complicated 6-speed manual or automatic. We are talking about anywhere from 240-270 BHP V6 here, so it would allready be knocking on the Mustang GT's door there. Then there would be the mid-range Z/28, presumably packaged with either the 325 BHP Vortec 5.3 DOD V8 or the 350 BHP L76 6.0L V8 with either a six-speed manual or automatic, again trumping the Mustang once again. Then there would be the SS, starting around $30K with the 400 BHP LS2 V8 from the Corvette, same transmissions as before, and presumably would be able to knock on the "Special Eddition" Mustangs that are supposed to have more power. Then, of course, the $40K-ish LS7-powered Camaro ZL1s with 500 BHP on tap. Not only would they be ligher and faster than the Mustang, but cheaper as well.
Mullets? You do realise you are defending the Mustang right? There are pletny of trailer parks that are littered with Mustangs on cinderblocks, mullet-haired owners and all. The Camaro and Mustang
BOTH represent some part of redneck culture, so that isn't even worth bringing up there.
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BTW: JCE3000GT, I think we've found our flame war we've been looking for!
