Stinger GT to Camaro SS

[Maljey]

I'm actually eagerly anticipating what GM will do with the electric Camaro. It's pretty much inevitable at this point. Given how well their chassis tuning has been, I fully expect the electric Camaro to be a great handling car, even given the constraints of lugging around heavy batteries.

They just need to make it affordable and stick to the same 'cheap speed' recipe that has made the pony cars successful--cars that punch way above their price point for straight line (and handling) performance. There are going to be a lot of fast electric cars from other manufactures, so GM/Ford/Dodge will need to ensure their offerings are cheaper than the competition, just like they always have.

 

[stoopid]

... But the draw to me for a muscle/pony car is the V8 sound.

As with most things in life, everything is subjective. Not everyone wants a loud car. Even people who like cars/driving. TBH I'm looking forward to leaving the gas powered world. EV whisper quiet and quick is fine by me.

This isn't to say the guttural growl of a nicely tuned big displacement engine isn't something to experience, but I'd kill myself hearing it day in and day out. I listen to music in my car, it's become a time for relaxation for me. Especially when it's bumper to bumper, I aint going anywhere fast anyway.

 

[Mike810]

The automatic Camaro SS has cylinder deactivation, so it basically turns into a 4cyl on the highway and gets well over 30mpg. The major doesn’t have that, so I average 19.5mpg. My stinger averaged 21, so I can’t complain.

The cylinder deactivation is interesting and very cool. I would get an automatic in my case anyway. 19.5 mpg is very good for a 6.2 liter engine. I am sometimes surprised that the Stinger only gets around 20 mpg with spirited driving considering it is lacking 100 hp on a Camaro SS. So basically I would be paying the same for gas with a Camaro SS and have a faster car. Appears I am not too bright considering my main priority is straight line speed when I want to have fun. Lol.

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[RM7]

The vast majority of pony cars being sold are non-V8 versions. That's why the big 3 can afford to keep the V8 cars in production. They have been making non-V8 pony cars since literally the beginning. Like 60+ years? So the non-V8 cars are just as much part of the pony car heritage as the V8s.

The non-V8 cars also fill a specific niche here in the US--affordable (sub 30K), RWD coupes. There's a very short list of new, affordable RWD cars. You only have the Miata, BRZ, 370Z, and the pony cars. The pony cars offer some added utility over those others, being larger. IMHO they are better suited for daily drivers, while still being capable in autocross or the track with some light modifications. Just pretend they don't say 'Mustang' or 'Camaro' on the car and look at them for what they are.

This.

But this is also the big problem for the Camaro. Purists know how capable the chassis is and in the higher trim levels, the SS 1LE, ZL1, ZL1-1LE, it's absolutely fantastic. There are some compromises, but it's the real meal deal, crazy good handling that can eat up tracks. The lateral Gs that GM is getting from these is just amazing. The SS isn't far behind, besting the previous M4 GTS.

But after that, it does drop off quite a bit. Unless you go for that V6 1LE with the ideal of competing in AutoX, you make some big compromises for not much benefit. In other words, the lower end Mustang and Challenger have less compromises, whether it's visibility or rear seat room, whatever. Most of the people that buy these lower level cars are going to buy an automatic and are generally not concerned much with handling and chassis stiffness. These do make up the bulk of the sales though, so it's the number 1 reason that the Camaro struggles to sell, vs. Challengers and Mustangs. Ford has struggled to make competitive models at the higher levels, for years refusing to put the kind of rubber (width), brakes, cooling and suspension on a Mustang GT that is required to harness the power. They have finally gotten there with the Mach 1, but it's been years to get there. The challenger has never gotten there. We had a Scat-pack widebody at the last autoX and it was just laughable trying to move that weight quickly around turns. But for sales...this all doesn't matter, the lower end cars sell more and these cars have less compromises at those levels. An educated buyer going for a more capable car for carving turns may go with the 1LE or ZL1, but these are just too few drops in the bucket. And then there are the ones that only care about straight line (future EV drivers). The Camaros aren't straight-line cars, they weren't designed for it.

 

[RM7]

As with most things in life, everything is subjective. Not everyone wants a loud car. Even people who like cars/driving. TBH I'm looking forward to leaving the gas powered world. EV whisper quiet and quick is fine by me.

This isn't to say the guttural growl of a nicely tuned big displacement engine isn't something to experience, but I'd kill myself hearing it day in and day out. I listen to music in my car, it's become a time for relaxation for me. Especially when it's bumper to bumper, I aint going anywhere fast anyway.

A guy in a ZL1-1LE pulled up next to me the other day. It's loud. Even with my exhaust fuse pulled to keep my flaps open all the time, mine is nowhere near as loud as that and it's never intrusive. That ZL1-1LE was way, way louder. I couldn't live with that level day to day. If you are throwing straight headers on and an exhaust, yeah, it's going to be loud.

 

[87and66]

A guy in a ZL1-1LE pulled up next to me the other day. It's loud. Even with my exhaust fuse pulled to keep my flaps open all the time, mine is nowhere near as loud as that and it's never intrusive. That ZL1-1LE was way, way louder. I couldn't live with that level day to day. If you are throwing straight headers on and an exhaust, yeah, it's going to be loud.

I have to say, my SS has a Borla ATAK catback, which is the loudest Borla you can get for the Camaro. So, it has volume, for sure. But inside, it’s quieter than my stinger with just an MBRP, which is a pretty docile exhaust. At least until I get above 4000rpm. Even then, it’s not loud inside and there is 0 drone. The 6th gen Camaros have some really good sound deadening. Cruising on the highway, I can barely hear it. With music, I can’t hear it at all.

Edit: just realized I replied to the wrong person and I’m preaching to the choir. Oh well haha