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Opinion: The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro RS

From Derek Kreindler, Featured Contributor
Posted on May 29, 2009
Filed under GM, General Motors, Coupe, Chevrolet, Camaro

Want to know what its like to drive the new Camaro? Take a look at that. That's the lookout port of a Syrian machine gun nest on the Golan Heights. I've crawled inside and looked through it, and I can tell you that the Camaro's view out the windshield is not much better.

syrian gun port

Visibility from the Camaro isn't great…

I'm sorry to dissapoint my dear readers, the American public, the rest of the auto journalism corps and my good friend George, GM Canada's PR rep, but the new Camaro is just not very good. The interior is only so-so, the driving position is annoying, and there's novocaine running through the power steering lines.

More…

Granted, I drove the V6 automatic, the least exciting version. Anyone who's driven a V6 and V8 Mustang knows that there is no real comparison between the two, and that the V8 will always be vastly superior. I'm hoping that's the case for the new Camaro as well. The 'Maro V6 may have as much horsepower as a Mustang V8, but equals they aren't.

The hype surrounding the Camaro is understandable, but I take issue with the rest of the press corps treating the Camaro like the second coming of Christ, with lines like:

"The car's precise handling rivals the best from BMW and Audi, but for thousands of dollars less."

The crack epidemic must have hit Detroit hard because there's no way the Camaro handles like a BMW 3-Series.

(Aside: The quote above is the reason why nobody under 25 trusts American auto journalism anymore. We will pay $12 for a good car magazine, so anyone who tells you "content needs to be free" is a Prius-driving pinko tech-nerd).

Is the chassis bad? Not completely. Even with the traction control on, I could get the tail to slide out a little bit. But it still felt flat-footed and slow to change direction (and believe me, I tried). I could write a separate post about what it lacks relative to a BMW 3-Series, but again, the fact that its rear-drive and has a 306-horsepower V6 does not make it the equal of a 335i, let alone a 328i.

The car that doesn't lack that is the Camaro's sister car, the Pontiac G8. Its basis, the Holden Commodore, is practically Australia's national car. For the same price as a V6 Camaro, you can get a V8-powered G8 that is far more practical, slightly better appointed inside but far less stylish outside — nobody will be reliving their high school memories in a G8 unless they lusted after a 1964 Catalina Super Duty. But you can tell people with a straight face that its handling rivals a BMW, because it truly does.

Despite its sporting pretensions, the 'Maro will be a hit with its target market. My uncle is looking to buy one and fits the demographic perfectly; mid-40s, law enforcement officer, classic rock enthusiast who grew up driving a 350-powered Caprice. The most aggressive driving they'll do is cruising down the main strip with Van Halen blaring, and the Camaro (in V6 guise) will do that just fine. It looks great, it gets good mileage (better than a Camry V6) and despite the sub-par interior, its seemed to be quite solidly built. You could much worse — but — but — GM could have too.

The Camaro is not the car that will save GM. Cars like the Malibu, the CTS, the Enclave and the Cruze are what should be. The Camaro is a synecdoche, a symbol of the new, vastly improved GM. But like the GM of old, the Camaro engineers forgot to put in that last little bit of effort that would make the car great.

The all-new, second-coming-of-Christ Camaro is a symbol of that, too.

Derek Kreindler is a featured contributor for vLane.
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Comments for this article

Displaying 1-8 of 8 comments
  • Flag
    From Anonymous
    Commented on July 25, 2009

    I don't know why I didn't comment on this previously. I really enjoyed the round-about way this story was written.

    Kudos.

  • Flag
    From Anonymoose5
    Commented on July 27, 2009

    Another horrible v6 Camaro review.

    "Anyone who's driven a V6 and V8 Mustang knows that there is no real comparison between the two"

    And if you knew anything about cars, you'd know that the performance of the Mustang is inferior to the Camaro in every respect, for both the v6 and v8.

  • Flag
    From Anonymous
    Commented on July 27, 2009

    I think that your comments are quite arrogant and very inaccurate!! Sounds like you have sour grapes towards GM. I think it is time you went back to car school.

  • Flag
    From Anonymous
    Commented on July 27, 2009

    @Anonymous: I have no sour grapes towards GM. Take a look around my profile, google my name etc. You'll see a wealth of articles praising the great work they've done on the G8, Malibu, CTS, Cruze and many other cars.

    @Anonymoose5: I bet you have a "Calvin-peeing-on-a-Blue-Oval" sticker on the back of your Envoy XUV.

  • Flag
    From Derek Kreindler
    Commented on July 27, 2009

    @Anonymous: I have no sour grapes towards GM. Take a look around my profile, google my name etc. You'll see a wealth of articles praising the great work they've done on the G8, Malibu, CTS, Cruze and many other cars.

    @Anonymoose5: I bet you have a "Calvin-peeing-on-a-Blue-Oval" sticker on the back of your Envoy XUV.

  • Flag
    From AreYouSerious
    Commented on July 28, 2009

    Funny you say the G8 handles like a BMW, but the Camaro doesn't even come close. Weight you say? Well considering you're comparing the V6 Camaro to a G8 (V8), I can tell you it is most definitely not a weight issue. The G8 weighs a couple hundred pounds more than the V6 camaro, and over 100 pounds more than a Camaro SS. Funny though how they're both built off the same basic chassis platform. Huh. So let me get this straight, the G8 handles better despite being a 4 door sedan which weighs more than and is built on the same platform as the Camaro? Sounds to me like you just can't drive. Step it up, drive an SS, really push it, and see how it feels, I mean if you actually have a driver's license. This review sounds like it was written by a 6th grade student. "OMG the Camaro is so big and heavy, the Mustang is so much better. I'd rather have a BMW any day." Grow up and grow a pair.

  • Flag
    From Anonymous
    Commented on July 28, 2009

    Thanks for posting at camaro5.com, Derek. I can understand why you'd be upset with comparisons to BMW re:handling, but that's not really the point of muscle cars anyway. While the Camaro does handle well for it's type, I think more people are looking forward to taking it out on the highway. Big, fast cars are really preferred if you do a lot of highway driving, and here in Texas it's all highways.

  • Flag
    From Derek Kreindler
    Commented on August 1, 2009

    @Anonymous thank you for being the first respectful commenter. I'm not even so dissapointed about the handling. I know what American muscle cars are all about, and I can deal with it; unfortunately this car was billed as the annihilator of every other 2 door car close to its price range, and sadly it isn't.

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