12th Jun 2011, 10:06
I'd rather have a car I can see out of, and that is a comfortable daily driver like the Mustang. Having driven it back to back with the Camaro, it is like night and day. The Mustang was a much easier car to live with. It is a quicker car in both GT and V6 form, and the sound of the new 5.0 is unmatched by any of the competition.
The Camaro, as you said, is very claustrophobic. They totally ditched comfort for looks in its case. It would be fine for a third car that you put maybe a couple of thousand miles on per year, but I would never own one as a daily driver. I never felt confident in seeing out the back or knowing what was around me like I did in the Mustang. I just wasn't blown away by the Camaro overall. I too hate the dash. It looks too retro to me. I know obviously they were going for that, but let's be honest, some 60's styled dashboards should have stayed in the 60's!
I still don't understand why anyone thinks Ford ditched the retro style of the Mustang with the newest version. The front end looks more like a '67-69 style Mustang than the previous one ever did. The rear is slanted the wrong way, yes, but it isn't ugly to me really. The interior is pretty similar to the last generation, only better quality materials were used, so it is now even quieter and tighter.
Overall the newest Mustang is a big improvement over the last one, so I can look past a couple of minor design quirks. As far as colors go, I like a darker more sleeper looking colors anyhow. Loud colors only attract attention, both good and bad. I love the Kona Blue and Candy Red colors. I will always be a fan of a black Mustang too, so that is always an option. I saw a brand new V6 yesterday in black, and they have such a presence. What a sweet looking car.
I buy my cars for the all around performance, look and feel of daily driving. The Mustang has it all. I will never spend $25K to $35K on a vehicle just for the looks. It has to offer more. To me, looks are for everyone else anyhow as you really can't see more than your hood from the drivers seat. If that is what you want, then you just want to be seen in it. Being happily married and in my 40's, I could care less about being seen, especially when it compromises my comfort and the performance of the vehicle I am driving, as the case is in the Camaro.
I have yet to drive the Challenger, as dealers around here don't seem to want anyone to take one out, even when there are a dozen in the front row of their lot. I have driven Hemi powered Chargers though, so I can only imagine it would be very close, other than the obvious 6 - speed manual, which is a mandatory option for me on one. To me, the Challenger is the plush ride of the three. It is a larger, heavier, cruiser that you could take cross country trips in. I too love the looks the most out of the three. Hopefully I'll get to drive one at some point, so I can make a better judgement of it against the Mustang.
14th Aug 2011, 00:24
But in the defense of the other poster, if you are buying a car for PERFORMANCE, you are saying "hey look at me too". What good is that high of a performance in a Porsche when we are all regulated by the speed limit anyway. So people are saying "hey, look at me" either with a car with a great design, or a car with extremely high performance. So yes, performance people are vain too.
15th Aug 2011, 07:12
I drove a friends Porsche Turbo Carrera, and hope I can answer that. Great handling performance up to the 70 mph legal speed limit in Fla. And there are track days.
Also as far as the looking aspect, so what. I do car shows and enjoy kids and families that appreciate my car. I spend a lot of time keeping it up. I had a dream to one day own a 1969 Camaro SS. And I bought one. I was one of the same admirers once myself. I actually enjoy most all cars today, especially the ones that people brought back to life and are survivors.
15th Aug 2011, 19:32
I buy all my cars now based strictly on looks. Since you can't use the potential of any car legally on the street, and I no longer race, I refuse to waste money on useless ego-tripping over a monster engine. If people choose to, that's their right, but it makes zero sense.
I swapped a high-output V-8 Mustang with high-performance suspension and lower rear-end gearing (all of which was useless on the street) for a 4.0 V-6, and then spent the extra money I saved on a nice vacation and custom mods. The V-8 was a plain-Jane and never got a single comment. The V-6 literally draws crowds and turns heads wherever I go. Not once has anyone even asked what engine it has. Driving it into the arena at one car show it got a standing ovation. That show featured several GT-500's, but they were bland colors and exactly like the ones on any Ford lot. Mine stands out... big time. I prefer that to horsepower I'll never use.
I was so turned off by the bizarro styling and lack of sporty colors in the 2010-2011 Mustangs that I looked at some V-6 Camaros and Challengers.
I like the Camaro, but find the interior very claustrophobic because of the low roof.
The Challenger is the best retro design of the three ponycars, but it is big, heavy and not overly fuel efficient.
Both the Camaro and Challenger are offered in several very sporty colors, but Ford still only offers the beautiful Grabber Orange on the big-bucks Boss 302 and GT-500, both of which are totally impractical as daily drivers.
At this point, I'll just drive my Mustang until hopefully Ford comes out with less oddball styling and more color choices.
4th Apr 2018, 00:27
Not sure how 'American' the Camaro is. It was designed in Australia and built in Canada.
4th Apr 2018, 12:00
Right, a Camaro is an import. Honda and Toyota are domestics with that logic.
As far as engines, you can easily exceed the speed limit in most all new vehicles. Even with puny powerplants. We have motorsports tracks in many areas to enjoy our nice rides. Often go with car clubs. Life is far from over.
11th Jun 2011, 14:52
As a Mustang owner, I have been totally turned off by the horrible new styling that totally destroyed the retro look that I liked so much in 2005-2009 Mustangs. I am also upset that except for basic red Mustangs (except for the over-priced Boss 302) come in totally boring, old-lady colors. Today I went out to look at the new Camaro. Although it, to me, is nowhere near the real retro look, it is no worse than the 2010 and newer Mustangs.
I found the Camaro to be an incredible car, with great build quality, solid feel, very acceptable ride, and plenty of performance even with the 6. The range of color choices is great, and the RS package is a very good value in my opinion. My only real complaint with the Camaro is the rather odd dash and the very restricted glass area. Sitting in the car is very claustrophobic, and the views out are pretty bad in all directions. Still, it has done a great job of giving the ever more boring Mustang some much needed competition.
I plan to test drive the new Challenger soon, as it has by far the most authentic retro look. I put far more emphasis on looks than performance, so looks are generally my main motivation to buy a car. Since Mustang dropped the retro look, I am definitely looking to other manufacturers.