First Look: 2010 Camaro
The local TV ad said, "Come by and drive the
New Chevy Camaro!" I was in the area, and so I did. The dealer had three brand
new 2010 Camaros on the lot, but all were already sold. There was a black
one, a dark gray example, and a yellow SS with black stripes. All were locked, so I
could not get a good look inside. Of course, driving one was out of the
question. And the real irony? The Camaros were going to 16-year-olds.
But I had a chance to look the cars over and talk to a salesman and two service writers. Already the stories were coming in--how they had just replaced a red passenger's side mirror (another 16-year-old), how they had calls saying that the next Camaros were sold before they were even dropped off of the transport truck, and how people would pay anything just to have one.
My favorite feature on the new car is the
four optional gauges in the floor console. That makes a total of
eight instruments--speedometer, tach, fuel, temperature, then on the floor console, oil pressure, oil temperature, volts,
and transmission temperature.
I walked around the cars to look at how they were put together. This is the same dealer that had (and still has) the Cobalt I wrote about a few months ago. All three cars were just about perfect--the body panels fit together nicely, all paint surfaces, including the bumpers, matched, and the paint was very smooth and even. Then I saw a window sticker that had been removed and left on top of the dashboard. The "bottom line" price was just over $37,000.
That
surprised me until I remembered that last summer's new muscle car, the
Dodge Challenger, was about $40,000. The Camaros were much better looking
and better detailed in their finish. I would have believed that the
Challenger had already been damaged and repaired. I saw no rough paint or
misaligned panels on the Camaros as I had seen on the Mopar.
The Camaro's grille still has not won me over. It seems to be a square peg in a round hole design. From the brochure pictures, I think the dash could have been more smooth. The illustration of all the car's deployed airbags looks more like a fine mattress store display than a car interior. Let's hope we never actually get to see them deployed.
The muscle car war has heated up. Whether you like bow ties, ponies, or crosshairs, there may be no losers, just personal preferences. But if you see a new Camaro in Williamson County, Tenn., please beware ... a 16-year-old is probably behind the wheel.
This visit to the dealer was unplanned, so I didn't have a camera along. The salesman was more than happy to give me a brochure, so I got the images here from that.
--That Car Guy (Chuck)
Cookie the Dog's Owner on July 30, 2009 at 08:08 AM
I had much the same reaction to the ones I saw at the Cleveland Auto Show--GM absolutely nailed the design. Glad to hear that the build quality is up to standard. If the driving dynamics are good, and the thing doesn't hand-grenade after 10,000 miles, it'll be a winner.
The only other question is, is this the beginning of GM's renaissance, or is it GM's version of the Avanti, a valiant last stand before the darkness?
Dave on July 30, 2009 at 08:39 AM
I love seeing new Camaros, Mustangs and Challengers sharing the road again. For my money, of the 3 new designs, I think the Camaro is actually the weakest. There's something about the design that looks too busy and not fully cooked. It's too modern looking to be a retro design but it contains too many classic styling cues to be modern if that makes any sense. And there are things like the vents near the rear wheel, the flared out sides and fog lamp areas that look tacked on. If these little rough edges were smoothed out, simplified, and the underlying curves were allowed to breathe more it might be a real looker. Maybe they'll figure that out for the 5-year refresh.
Of the 3 new muscle cars I think I like the Challenger the best. It seems to be the most complete and thought-out of the 3 although I admit that may just be my 40-year-old point of view which is largely colored by the classic designs. Which may also explain why all the new Camaros are being bought by 16-year-olds.
Hey, as long as they keep those things offa my lawn I'm all good. And pull up those pants! ;-)
Nicholas on July 30, 2009 at 12:51 PM
I had a 89 Camaro and a 98 Firebird (just died). I won't buy another GM product ever.
KenB on July 30, 2009 at 01:08 PM
I once had a '68 Camaro, which I loved (3 on the floor, as best I recall). A long time ago, and I'll never buy a Government Motors car.
CharlieB on July 30, 2009 at 01:26 PM
A friend's father bought a '66 or '67 Camero red convertible. I will have to concede that it was one of the best looking cars that I have ever seen. Of course my friend totaled that car along with another one before he began buying his own vehicle.
TODO on July 30, 2009 at 01:41 PM
What kind of moron spends $37,000 on shiny metal wrapped around 4 wheels? The Auto-Dope Syndrome: If you build it they will come.
Defective, leaking egos desperately in search of a pump. What fools these mortals be.
John on July 30, 2009 at 01:54 PM
I've been a Camaro owner all my life.
77 stock
91 RS
96 Z28
No one was more annoyed than I when they discontinued the model several years ago.
Nice to see it back, but they still need to tweek it a bit. Chevy has never got the styling right the first year after a retool. The grill smiles to much, the back end is to narrow to match with the front.
Make the rear beefyer than the front, and get rid of the stinkin smiling grill in favor of a wide open one and they'll have this nailed.
hoipolloi on July 30, 2009 at 01:57 PM
The ones I have seen driving around look kind of cool. But 37K???
Geo ATL on July 30, 2009 at 02:01 PM
I am a GTO fanatic from an early age. A 1969 GTO Convertible Liberty Blue with white interior and hide-a-way headlights.
I ran across one a long time ago, but the guy sold it to an auction house for 1/4 what he was asking. He lived so way out, no one came to look. It was in Hemmings and before the age of internet.
When I saw the Mustangs come out, I had hoped for a GTO comeback! I was sure of it and was ready to go car and not SUV for the first time since 1992.
When I saw what Pontiac did in response to Ford's retro-Mustang, I was less than disappointed, I was flummoxed.
An Australian something or other masquerading as a GTO? Blech!
I bought a 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 (since sold--two kids later).
After owning an SRT8, I don't know how the Camaro can come close to a Challenger SRT8.
Now Pontiac is gone for good. Still looking for the Goat in the barn someone forgot about.
DensityDuck on July 30, 2009 at 02:20 PM
Thirty-seven THOUSAND dollars for a car that looks like a Challenger that got left out in the sun and started to melt.
****
"...they had just replaced a red passenger's side mirror."
I didn't know that commies came with mirrors on. Learn somethin' new every day!
Virago on July 30, 2009 at 02:23 PM
Er, looks like a Mustang to me. Where's the originality?
Lee L. on July 30, 2009 at 03:36 PM
After spending a lot of time inspecting the interior of the 2010 at the Atlanta International Auto Show, Chuck should pass on getting into a Camaro, as he will be disappointed. Still crappy GM interior plastics, but it looks like they're finally trying. The Challenger interior is better (I've been in an architect friend's model a couple of times for short trips) and the 2010 Mustang interior is way better than both.
As for the exterior, the Camaro, although a nicely-integrated-overall design, looks more "bloated" than the Challenger in the flesh, and both are overly large cars. The Mustang has the less visually exciting exterior design, but the overall look and size of the car is far more pleasing.
Count me as another car nut that will never again buy a GM. I finally gave up after 1976, after owning two '65 Corvairs, a '66 Buick GS 400, a '74 Corvette 454 roadster, a '75 Trans Am, a '75 Eldorado, and a '76 Anniversary Trans Am. Innumerable GM company cars and trucks, as well as rentals, over the years since have only reinforced the wisdom of my decision over 25 years ago.
Alan Schwarz on July 30, 2009 at 04:43 PM
I've seen several new Camaros around town and I think the proportions are a bit odd. The taillights are kinda squinty looking not being able to decide if they are square or round.The front grill is just weird. Needs to be straightened out and cleaned up.Chevy should buck the halo trend and bring back disappearing headlights.
Ford screwed up its Mustang this year by gimmicking-up the front and rear fascia of a once clean design.
Let's hope GM can clean up this Camaro.
ZRegime on July 30, 2009 at 05:37 PM
I own an '05 Stanger V-6 and an '06 Stanger V-8...but the look of the new Camaro, especially from dead in the rear about 20 feet back, is amazing. GM nailed this. The nice tight dual taillights, the somewhat recessed pipes (which are gonna get aftermarketed like crazy) and then the curve of the trunk as it recesses like a woman's waist into the cabin area...it's sexy as hell. I'd bed this car if I could. Except...
Like one of the previous commenters, I am just not down with buying a car from a company majority owned by the government. Too reminiscent of East Germany and their Fartburgs. Worthless autos. I wish I could be put in touch with a Camaro line worker and find out what the attitude is right now. Are they working like crazy to save their company, or are they just mailing it in 'cause Obama's got their back? If the former, I would (and likely will) buy this car...trading in my V-6 for 95 more horsepower and a boner every time I walk out to her. Oh yeah...
iron330 on July 30, 2009 at 06:12 PM
With all do respect, I think the Camaro is the worst- by far, of the new bunch of retro-moderns (Mustang, Challenger,'Cuda) I've seen a few on the road over the last month or two, and I'm just not seeing it at all. I'm sorry when I say that its a big FAIL for the new Camaro.
California Bill on July 30, 2009 at 06:58 PM
Folks, just get behind the wheel and have some fun! Let the past stay in the past. Turn it over and move on!
CJinSD on July 30, 2009 at 09:20 PM
I live in San Diego. The rental lots opposite the airport are already full of 2010 Camaro V6s. Clearly, the dead wood is alive and well at GM.
Tommy's Dad on July 31, 2009 at 12:58 AM
/pre-rant note: actually, on looking at the posts again, I only saw one comment that really had anything at all to do with what this rant is about. So this might be a bit ill-timed and ill-aimed, but hey, it's a rant! Since when did rationality or reason enter into this? Rant on!...
I really don't get all the GM hate. I mean, I understand no one likes the idea of government ownership, but it's not like the government has or is telling GM what cars to make- everything GM has recently launched or is launching in the next year or two is already planned and being prepared and has been on the drawing boards since well before the gov got involved. And don't even try arguing that the new incoming CAFE fuel efficiency standards are the gov dictating things to GM, since that's industry-wide, and it's not like we haven't seen this happen before.
Anyways, GM hate...Like I said, I don't get it. Ok, so understand about me, I come from a family with a strong tradition of buying Japanese cars and trucks. An 80-something Corolla, an 89 Nissan pickup, 2 4-Runners, and a very basic 01 Tacoma. And those are just the ones I can remember and know about, they've had others. My current cars are a '99 Camry and an '08 Forester. The only domestic I've ever owned was a Mercury Topaz, and while I loved that car as much as anyone can love their first (beater) car, there's no way I'm going to say it was anything but an econo-crap-box. Hell, I sold Mazdas and Subarus for a few months (not successfully, but that's another story). So yeah, I shouldn't have any particular affection for anything GM or any other domestic maker brings to the table. Not like they've ever given me any reason to like 'em, right?
But still...I don't want to see them fail, either. GM and Chrysler just got a new lease on life after clearing through their bankruptcies, and I'd really like to see them make the most of it. It's a damn shame they were mismanaged to the point of needing help, but it is what it is and no measure of hating on them now is going to undo it. Better to wish them well and hope they succeed- Chrysler so they can bring some good Fiat and maybe Alfa Romeo lovin' here to the US, GM so they can hurry up and buy themselves back from the government and repay all us taxpayers for the second chance we've (indirectly) given them.
So I'm a Toyota/Subaru guy, but I'm not going to bash on "Government Motors" (ugh, makes me gag just typing that, like all those goobers that type M$ instead of MS). I wish them well and hope they succeed, and succeed big. My lease on the Forester ends in April of next year, and if we don't keep it after that then I'm going to keep GM in mind as much as anyone else out there. A Malibu? An Equinox? Maybe...Maybe an Aveo? Nahh. I'm ok with domestics, but c'mon, I still have some standards!
/spontaneous, probably unwarranted, misguided, mistimed rant over. We now return to your previously scheduled new Camero conversation.
CJinSD on July 31, 2009 at 05:41 AM
Tommy's Dad,
Once you've owned a GM product, you will probably understand the resentment. Be careful though. Often times a GM product will end up owning you, when it is worth a fraction what you owe on it and needs constant expensive repairs. The fact that GM is now an employment project for some of the worst Obama voters is merely icing on the cake.
Cookie the Dog's Owner on July 31, 2009 at 06:16 AM
Tommy's Dad: I can't speak for anyone else in particular, but I come by my own hostility to GM quite honestly. I had a 1978 Chevrolet Monza, the tale of which has been told in painful detail on these pages (http://www.carlustblog.com/2008/07/car-disgust--19.html). To make a long story short, it was a poorly-assembled car with a propensity to sudden inconvenient mechanical failure, built by my friends and neighbors at the Lordstown Assembly plant.
The Monza's numerous faults--not to mention my family's other unhappy experiences with 1970s-vintage Detroit iron--were enough to put me off General Motors for *decades*. Up until a couple of years ago, the only GM vehicles I would even remotely consider were Geos, and only because they were built in Japan.
As to that latter point: I knew quite a few people who worked at Lordstown, and they truly were friends and neighbors. Overall, they were good and decent people. They were also quite handsomely compensated for their services. The more senior guys made more than a lot of college graduates. There was simply no excuse for not putting in all the screws, or not making sure the panels all lined up--but there were also a non-trivial number of them who all but bragged about doing a half-assed job. They seemed to consider their paycheck as an entitlement, and work as something to be avoided. Now, this wasn't a majority of the group by any means, but there were enough people at the plant with that attitude that the cars were coming off the line with pieces missing, screws not driven in, panels misaligned, soft drink cans and cigarettes in various cracks and crevices of the unibody, and so on.
That wasn't GM's only problem, however. Even if those Lordstown cars had been assembled with the fanatic build quality of a base-model Honda, the Vega's aluminum engine would still have been under-engineered and hopelessly unreliable, the 3.2 V-6 in my Monza would still have been a shameful chapter in the history of American mechanical engineering, the Cimarron (http://www.carlustblog.com/2009/02/cimarron-by-cadillac-19811988.html) would still have been an overpriced, tarted-up joke, and so on. For most of my time on this Earth, GM has had a dysfunctional corporate culture from top to bottom. It tends to come up with products that are, at best, monuments to the mediocre; there are occasional flashes of brilliance (C4 and later Corvettes) but even the good (or at least creative) ideas routinely get bollixed up in the execution (Corvair, Fiero, Buick Reatta, Aztek). One cannot help but notice that nearly all of GM's difficulties are the result of GM's own mistakes.
Now, that doesn't mean I *want* to see GM fail, or I *want* to see so many people I know or used to know thrown out of work. However, it bugs me that the government is taking my taxes--and taxes collected from more successful enterprises, including GM's competitors--and using them to, in effect, rescue GM from itself at the behest of politically connected people who have a stake in maintaining the status quo at GM. It's hard to see how this will encourage GM to change its ways.
Most people don't work for "too big to fail" enterprises with the political "juice" to arrange a multibillion-dollar no-meaningful-strings-attached government bailout. Those who own their own small or medium-sized businesses know that they couldn't have spent decades foisting GM's unique combination of arrogance and negligence on their customers and gotten a goodie check from the Treasury as a reward. I suspect a lot of what you call "GM hate" is a perfectly understandable reaction to all this.
Dave on July 31, 2009 at 08:17 AM
It's really too bad that a post about resurrecting a classic American muscle car sparks so much corporate hate. In particular all you folks who swore off GM decades ago: Get over it! GM may have their issues but I'll guarantee if your experience with American cars ended when Jimmy Carter was in office you'd be very pleasantly surprised what is being produced today.
Tommy's Dad on July 31, 2009 at 09:48 AM
You know, having read the posts following my rant and now that my brain isn't so utterly tired, yeah, I can understand the GM hate a little better. I'm a youngster compared to a lot of the folks here (late 20s) so I missed a lot of the worst sort of crap GM, Ford, and Chrysler put out in the 70s and 80s. My '92 Topaz was reasonably well built and survived all my college-days abuse, even if it was woefully underpowered and unrefined. I also have to reconsider that although my folks have owned mostly Toyotas that I can recall, odds are they or their families owned domestics that did not serve them well; it's not something I've really ever asked them about, but might make for a good conversation some time...
The other thing I have to keep in mind is that I'm really quite late in coming into my car lust, or really any strong emotions at all when it comes to cars. The hand-me-down Nissan truck I drove (and then stupidly, stupidly wrecked) in high school was a great starter vehicle, and somehow endured my learning to drive stick on it; my Topaz was a decent first car but mostly memorable as an enabler of college shenanigans; and the Suzuki Forenza after that was probably the first car I've had to inspire genuine, persistent emotions (hate, frustration). I'll even give this blog some credit for inspiring my recently-developed love/lust for cars, because everything written here is done so well and with such enthusiasm for the subject (even if that enthusiasm takes the form of blood curdling hate as with some of the Disgusts!), one can't help but be swept up in it a bit.
Anyways, back to the topic at hand. Given that until relatively recently I've had little reason to think of cars in anything other than a utilitarian sense, and at any rate I'm pretty much a late comer to cars as a whole, my view of GM is primarily colored by their most recent efforts of the last few years. I look at GM and don't see the hideous Monza of Cookie The Dog's Owner's experience, or the X-cars, or the old rental-car Malibu, or Chris Hafner's SL2. I see generally competent, well built and good looking vehicles like the newest Malibu and Equinox, or most of the Cadillac lineup. But I can understand for folks who've endured ownership of those older disasterpiece models a certain hesitance towards the newer stuff. I guess only time will tell if the shock of bankruptcy and massive downsizing of factories and workforce will have a positive effect on the folks that are still there.
Ok, derail over! New Camaro! I've only seen one, at that was at the Cool Desert Nights car show from last month. Tough to make much of it with all the folks crowding around it, but it seemed nice enough. Be curious to see how it looks driving around- I've only recently started to see the new Challenger in any numbers, and I've got to say, it has NOTHING on the old one. Too big, too chunky, too fat all around. The original is like the Clint Eastwood of cars- lean, mean, and steel-jawed tough. New Challenger? Think John Candy trying to look tough in a rhinestone cowboy type outfit. I can only hope the new Camaro fairs better.
Anthony Cagle on July 31, 2009 at 11:00 AM
I don't really like the look of it myself. Or the Challenger, to be honest. They just look too big and clunky with the sheet metal just sort of draped over everything. I liked the Mustang and the 2010 I think cleans up a lot of what I didn't like about the previous years'.
Just too much of everything.
John B on July 31, 2009 at 03:57 PM
I'm not a fan of the "chopped" look common to the Camaro and Challenger.
IMHO, Chrysler took a huge step backwardswhen they ditched the "cab forward" look for the Gansta new 300.
...m... on July 31, 2009 at 04:54 PM
...i realise this will probably come across as cantankerous, but - sixteen-year-olds buying $37,000 cars, really?..it's a stretch for me to spend even three-quarters that twenty years later, and i drive a lotus...