Drove A 2012 Camaro Today...And...

[Al K]

No,I'm not buying one. If I had that kind of jack,I'd put a 505 in Sabrina and look for a nice used Challenger.

Went to a UAW-sponsored festival and car show earlier today. Since I retired,I haven't seen some old buds,and here was a chance. They had various new GM vehicles there available for test drives,albeit short. My former supervisor was there(GREAT boss!),and after shooting some bull,she told me that she was one of the "co-pilots" and that I should give a Camaro a try. Figured "What the heck;go for it";so away we went. Guys,I've got to tell you,I was impressed. Solid car;in handling(wow),in build quality,but the 3.6L V-6 just seemed a wee bit underpowered. Not a slug,and it does have a near-4000lb. package to move,but we got on the X-way and had to floor it to merge with traffic. Wasn't sure we were going to make it. It's rated at 323HP;has good part-throttle response,but could use a blower or sumpin'.

What really surprised me was the handling. I'll admit;I've not driven many new cars,especially one with a l-o-w profile set of tires(I have trucks. And the 64.). Despite the mass,which was felt,there was minimal body roll(I tried),very precise "feel" at the steering wheel,and it was truly an enjoyable car to drive. My former supe looked over and asked "Would you recommend this?". First I asked "What's my starting salary?"-figuring this may be a job offer-LOL-and said "Yeah;I could." To be fair,I'd love to drive a Mustang and of course,a Challenger and compare,but I was truly impressed with the Bowtie . A shout out to the CAW workers who built this;it's a beauty,eh? Fine job!

Have any of you cats had a chance to drive a new offering from another brand/company,and what were your impressions?

Oh;the one I REALLY wanted to try-the Cadillac CTS-V:headbang:,with the Z06 Vette mill:grin:-was always on the road getting driven. Next time!

 

[Pops1967GTX]

Ok... calm down:angry9:.....walk away from that bright light.... Walk towards the Elephant Motor...It's a 426.......all is better now......:headbang:

 

[kev5696]

Test drive a Challenger; you can actually see out of it!!

 

[MalamuteJohn]

Yes Mr Al K, I have driven them. My impressions....

In the V6 versions, the Chevrolet wins hands down. The handling is impressive and the acceleration is darned good. Brakes are way above average . Petrol mileage [claimed] is fantastic for the power and mass of the car. Little difficult to see out of to the rear and 3/4 side view. The Dodge and the Ford are about equal in my opinion, my personal fave being the Challenger. The Ford gets better mileage, and MIGHT be just a hair quicker, but the Dodge looks a lot better, is more comfortable and you can see out of it.
In V8 guise, things arent so clear. Now, I have NOT driven the SRT8, the ZL1 nor the monster Shelby version, so I cant comment there. But with the 'regular' Hemi R/T , the SS and the GT, I personally would have to go with the Dodge. It and the Chevrolet 'feel' to be about the same powerwise. The Camaro feels a little 'tighter', but the Mopar is just more 'driver friendly' imnsho. Plus it looks better. The Mustang just doesnt 'do it' for me; maybe its just me, but I feel somewhat claustrophobic in it. Its certainly not as quick in 'standard' guise as the Chevy or the Dodge either. It IS cheaper tho! [when I last looked at least a few months ago]
Just my impressions - YMMV.

 

[Al K]

Test drive a Challenger; you can actually see out of it!!

The one I drove was a 'vert;view out the front flat-out sucked! Bloody A-pillars look a foot wide,and obscure everything. THAT I did not like. Interior was uber-comfortable;loved the seats and the seat/pedal/wheel relationship. Well done there.

 

[tpodwdog]

sleeping with the enemy,,,,HUH ???? **tsk tsk tsk ***

 

[Budnicks]

None of the 2012-13, In 2010 I drove 3, the "limited edition" Challenger Mopar 10 SRT-8, Shelby GT500 & the new Camaro all best offered V-8's, all highest HP & all with decent handling packages, the Shelby was pretty nible, but kind of a harsh ride & somewhat cramped interior, w/too small "feeling" for me, the Camaro was a pig, I wasn't impressed at all, other than color & style "I love the Hugger Orange & White stripes" {& I'm not a Chevy hatter either, I've had many Camaro's over the years}, the Challenger was a little heaver feeling for handling than the Shelby, but had far better ride quality & A/C, it was really fun to row thru the gears, the 6spds were fun, all were much better, than the old cars I was use too...

 

[Lowhound]

Since you have cheated on us we will take all your Mopars,parts & split it all up amongst ourselves. They say you never know what you got til its gone,so hand it over.

 

[Al K]

Since you have cheated on us we will take all your Mopars,parts & split it all up amongst ourselves. They say you never know what you got til its gone,so hand it over.

I just test drove it-LOL!! It's not like going to the strip club and running off with a hot young dancer and forsaking the old love. I wish Chrysler would offer something like that in this area(same for Ford) for comparison. A Hemi(or even a Magnum-equipped) Challenger could cost me my license-yes,the inner hooligan still lives-so a V-6 version,as a driver,would be a wise choice. I do like the current generation Mustang,styling-wise,but like Budnicks said,it's cramped in there. Hell,I'm 5'10"/180 with long arms,and sitting in a Mustang was not exactly "roomy". Comfortable(static),nice layout of wheel,etc.;but my elbows struck everything. Haven't driven one,so I can't comment there.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I own a '10 R/T Challenger & I like it very much. It is very roomy, but it really is supersized. If Dodge would come out with a 426 equipped Challenger or a supercharged 392, I would be all over it. There's rumors of them bringing the 'Cuda name back & I'm hoping that it would be a retro-styled car that's 7/8" the size of the Challenger with the same drive train.

I've driven a 500 hp Shelby Mustang & I like the performance & styling of the current models. However, while I really want to like a Mustang, here's just something about them that keeps me away from owning one.

 

[Stumper]

Last year my brother and I rented an SS Camaro for a week while were were on vacation. Needless to say we thrashed it about pretty well. I have an 08' Charger R/T for a comparison (albeit an SRT8 Chally would be a more appropriate comparison). The car had some power but honestly it did not feel like it was that much more than my R/T, even though they are supposed to have 420 hp. It handled better than my R/T on the curves but rode hard on the highway. Even having owned a low profile roof car for several years the visibility out of the Camaro was very, very bad - front sides - rear..
Rear seat is not for use by anyone older than 10. The HUD was cool as well as some of the other gadgets, once you figured them out. My biggest gripe - as with any and all GM products I have driven for rental cars in the past 20 years, the poor quality of fit and finish - noise, etc. was very evident. Any GM car I have driven (and I have logged thousands of rental car miles in the past 20 years) always looked, felt and sounded like a crappy made toy - albeit with a strong motor. I would not buy ANY GM product, period for this reason. My $0.02!!

 

[Revhendo]

I've driven the SS Camaro and I get ya on it. The power didn't seem all that impressive. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't impressive. (Well, until I threw the supercharger on it).
The 392 Chally was a blast to drive. I would've loved to see what it was like with a supercharger, but there appears to be computer issues with making that work on the '12 models.
I haven't had any experience with the Mustang, so no comment there.

Hands down my eye keeps going to the Caddy CTS-V. I'm 6'2" and this thing had room to spare. Good visibility all around, great creature comforts (for a creature like me), handles awesome without being harsh and MUTHAHUMPING fast. I drove an LS6 version that I had added a supercharger to (yeah, it's a theme, they're customer cars so who am I to argue). The new one with the LSA engine should be just as impressive. The LSA is also the engine going into the ZL1 Camaro, not the Vette's ZO6/LS9.

I gotta say though, I just drove a rental '12 Charger and I really really liked it. I had to thrash it a bit being the motorhead that I am. It was a base model, so no real wazoo stuff. Still, it handled great, rode comfortable and was pretty happy when you jumped on the skinny pedal. I was shocked to see that it only had a V6 under the hood. For an everyday driver, it gets my vote.

My only real complaints with new cars is the rear visibility on them and the monster A pillars that they all seem to have. I understand that it's probably a safety thing, but come on, it's like trying to drive while looking through a fat lady's thighs.

Oh, and the gadgets. I'm not really a big fan of all the gadgets. Buttons everywhere, touch screens, lighted and heated cup holders, sat nav, blue tooth, information centers, self parking, back up cams, proximity warning detectors, remote start, rain sensing windshield wipers (?)(Really? You can't tell when the big clear thing in front of you is wet?), and all of that. Doesn't anybody just drive anymore? It should be job #1.

 

[Diecastdeluxe]

You can wash the Chevy off of yourself with a stiff wire brush and some Johnson's Baby Soap. Don't scrub too hard, you'll turn into an AMC Fan.

 

[Revhendo]

You can wash the Chevy off of yourself with a stiff wire brush and some Johnson's Baby Soap. Don't scrub too hard, you'll turn into an AMC Fan.

Would that be the AMC's with the Torqueflite transmissions?

 

[Diecastdeluxe]

would that be the amc's with the torqueflite transmissions?

lol!!!!

 

[Budnicks]

That's funny

My only real complaints with new cars is the rear visibility on them and the monster A pillars that they all seem to have. I understand that it's probably a safety thing, but come on, it's like trying to drive while looking through a fat lady's thighs.Oh, and the gadgets. I'm not really a big fan of all the gadgets. and all of that. Doesn't anybody just drive anymore? It should be job #1.

That's funny, I don't care for too many bells & whistles either, Leather Bucket Seat Interior, A/C, Decent Stereo & Power windows are OK, I am getting older & like a couple creature comforts, but not all the other crap, that is over the top...

 

[Ron 73]

Never had the pleasure of driving the Challenger or Camaro, been in a buddies new Mustang he bought when he came home on leave.. Way to small for my taste, being 6-5, just not enough room if i did like it..

 

[YY1]

I sat in an "11 Camaro SS last year-
NO HEAD ROOM with the seat almost all the way back, all the way down and reclined.

I sat in a '10 Challenger 5.7 in 09-
Not enough headroom for me to seriously consider buying one.
Close, but for 20-35K, I want the extra inch that keeps me from slouching all the time.

I test drove an '05 v6 Mustang in 08-
Of all three cars, the smaller Mustang has the MOST headroom.
I was totally comfortable driving that car.
That's saying something at 6 foot 3 with a loooong spine.
Haven't been in a '10 or newer, but have to believe it's similar.
IMO the 215 hp v6 didn't do too bad either. Sounded good, too.