Camaro ZL1 Thoughts/News
 

Am I the only one excited for the upcoming release of the camaro zl1? I mean
Pros.
1. The numbers this thing are putting out are pretty sweet. 0-60 in 3.9. 1/4 in 12 flat! And top speed of 184. Those are pretty impressive if you ask me. And to me the by far most impressive number is the nurburgring lap time of 7:41.27. Which is amazing to see from a car of this price and weight.
2. The styling is awesome. Really, really aggressive. Everything form the rims to the hood is aggressive.

Neutral.
1. Interior. I'm not sure if I like it or not. I mean it's definitely above the likes of corvettes. But it sort of still looks like a rental car. Not as much as it used too but still kinda. I think the Z has a lot better interior but thats mostly because of the gauges/wild styling.
2. It's a camaro. As stupid as this sounds, camaros don't get a lot of respect where I live and I don't know if the aggressive styling of the Zl1 is enough to differentiate itself from the already aggressive camaro.

Cons.
1. WEIGHT! I don't care how much HP you put into a car I don't like heavy cars. Heck for the size of the 370z I would prefer it to be around 75-100 lbs. lighter. But I know that would probably be impossible with the 370z's price. But I honestly don't care about the weight if it can beat a Z06 around the nurburgring.
2. Ok I'll say it... It's a chevy. 'Nough said.

What are you alls thoughts on it? To me it's a great middle between the 370z and GTR and it sorta beats the z06 in every category especially since it's 20k cheaper... Oh and the reason I didn't mention the mustang in this comparison is because I would never consider buying a mustang (Unless it's a classic) for a number of reasons.:stirthepot:
And i'm :excited: waiting for this car!

It is a beast. My wife works in the plant that builds them.

Anyhow, another Con - the price! I personally think it's too expensive.

I wouldn't consider buying one. It's still a chevy. I would rather a used GTR or P-car. Actually I wouldn't even trade my Z for it. But that's just me.

2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 vs 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca - Comparison - Motor Trend


'nuff said

I'll admit, I've never been a Ford guy, but I love the look of the new style Mustangs...

nice car. it's quite refreshing to see americans making cars that won't fly into a ditch at the first sign of a corner. but for the price, i wouldn't get a boss or zl1. I'd get a used corvette z06 which i believe is the most track-ready of the bunch. as for the interior, i think they all suck equally, so that's not an issue.

Good car, but the problem is they are taking a heavy car and throwing power at it. While they have done extensive work on the suspension and weight balance to help, you still have a fat heavy car. Now, the GT-R is heavy and fast, but it was designed that way, where the Camaro was more or less not.

Also, who loved the slap in the face Ford did when GM announced the ZL1 and Ford then released all the GT500 specs for next year. :stirthepot:

My girlfriend currently has a Camaro 2SS 6-speed. We will be considering trading in for ZL1 in the next 1-2 years. I myself will be in the market for the C7 Vette around that time, unless Nissan wows me with the next gen Z. For now my 370z is enough. The GT-R is the next logical choice for me but with no true manual tranny I'll probably be going domestic for the first time

Road and Track just tested it against the 2013 GTR ( not that that made alot of sense)

http://www.nagtroc.org/files/attachm..._2013_GT-R.pdf


iver seen it range from 13.0 to 12.1 in the 1/4 from different mags

13? Did they do it in reverse? :icon17:

yeah i know.. if you look at the chart it was at 4400 altitude.. that couldnt have helped


and then there was this....

:shakes head:






but then like i said motor trend got a 12.1 @117 with a 3.8 0-60... thats about what i had expected...

this thing has some sort of launch control and maybe some arnt doing it right i dunno... from the reviews so far it doesnt seem to be very consistent

I was waiting for him to total it :icon17:

oh no i would have used a better smiley if so... just real bad drag racing

i thought this article described the launch control well ...seems interesting.. its a no lift to shift manual in that mode too

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/01/24/2...-drive-review/

It's priced around the same as the GT500 no? GT500 is a better car imo, esp if the price point is similiar.

Better how?

more hp and tq, 200mph top speed, i think a bit lighter weight, probably not much tho.

Subjective, the 'stang interior is the best out of the pony cars.

if its priced similarly, the 13' GT500 will most likely beat it performance wise in every respect, better deal IMHO, I mean, 650hp and 600 ft/lbs on a bulletproof block with unlimited mod potential is pretty damn hard to beat.

I'm guessing (nothing to back this up) the GT500 price will go up. Also more horsepower doesn't always equal more performance especially in handling. I've also have not been a mustang lover. Primarily because they are all over the place where I live. Having said that, I would take the Boss and GT500 (old and upcoming) over the ZL1 in the looks department. I like the route GM went but the car just looks heavy. I like sleek looks more.

The current GT500 had an MSRP of about $49,000 for the basic model and about 53,000 loaded. Unless it goes up quite a bit, it's pretty close to a wash on price.

If you like straight-line speed. Too big and clumsy to be worthwhile on windy roads IMHO. Plus, build quality... well you know... it's a G.M..

To be fair, it is being built in the #1 plant for quality and productivity in North America. The initial quality is there.

What worries me is the after purchase service. GM service is horrible. For me after sales service is one of the major factors in my decision when buying a new car. Even with an employee discount, it's not worth the headache I get from GM service to be bothered with their cars.

You didn't read the Motor Trend head to head between the Boss and the ZL1. It beat the Boss in all categories except price. The ZL1 with the weight handles pretty darn good. GM did a very good job on it. Lots of people have knocked GM's reliability. It is mostly a thing of the past. I did not own a domestic vehicle from 93 to 05. I leased all my vehicles, so in that time frame I drove a lot of different non domestic brands: Volvo, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Infiniti, and Honda to name some of them. Since 05 I've drove 1 Dodge (Magnum with Hemi), 1 Saturn (Sky Redline), 2 GMC's (Acadia, Terrain both wife's cars). The only issue I've had with anything other than the Sky was a Nav issue with the Terrain which is Pioneer's fault. GM replaced the head unit with no problem. The Sky had several issues but was also a first year release. I guess what I'm saying is I've had no more issues with the domestic vehicles than I had with the non domestic vehicles. People need to move on.

As far as the ZL1 goes, it looks to me like thay used a good deal of Pontiac's G8 guts in it. That should translate to a pretty tight vehicle. As far as after sales service, there are some good dealers in Central TX. I am sure that it will be pretty good. The price tag scares me though, lol!

I refuse to buy a new Chevy, but this car sounds impressive.

ZL1 performance is impressive. It's going to be cool when they can do a ZL1 vs. 2013 GT500 shootout.

:werd: That's the only one that matters with the ZL1

Point taken. But I will never defend GM's build quality. And for that reason, I'll never buy another GM again. To each their own.

:iagree:Probably a killer in straight-line performance.

The funny thing is that I always thought Camaro's were pretty small. Which I wondered why they weighed so much when they were so small. Just looked at the comparison between it and the GTR and can't believe that it's heavier and bigger than it! Really shocked me.
EDIT: And I still think the exterior of a camaro destroys the exterior of the mustang. To me the mustang is below the camaro and challenger in looks. Besides the rear taillights. I do like them :p

And in corners, which isn't new.

I really don't understand the GM-bashing. Pretty sure you could take this to the track without the brakes exploding. :p

I personally don't like Camaros, but I like Vettes, and I'm still hoping for a Cruze SS.

If my GMs had a 370z interior, I would have never left them!

Oh and since were talking about GM cars and stuff heres something hilarious. Kelley Blue Book
Scroll down to the interior section...
The corvette only uses the "highest quality parts and trim" ahahaha. I found that hilarious :icon17:

The Z06 laps the 'ring in the 7:20's.

My issue with it is purely looks. I think the GT500 is a much sexier car.

While we are talking about being a ****, scroll down until you see the description of the 370Z's "slick shifting manual"

Kelley Blue Book

HILARIOUS!

:rolleyes:

That comparo made ZERO sense to me. Of course a car with 130hp more would pull ahead in the straights. The best comparo will be when it competes with the GT500 which is in the ZL1's price/class range. I've heard that Ford has tweaked the suspension up a bit (electronically adjustable Bilstein yada yada yada), the SLA complaint is null and void. Have you seen the new GT500 btw? Looks waaaay more impressive IMHO.

heres a nice little writeup on all the GT500's goodies.

2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Official Photos and Info – News – Car and Driver

I saw a nice looking car.

I also read a bunch of rubbish about something weighing over 3700# with skinnier tires than a 370Z Nismo that comes in RWD only and has 600# of torque with a table-top power-curve.

It may well compete with the ZL1, but it doesn't have anything for the Z06 even in its wildest dreams. The Z06 is a driver's car, not a drag-strip bottle-rocket. The GT500 will never be what the Z06/ZR1 are. Not until they do some suspension work that involves a real tire, trim some fat, etc.

Also, the physics of IRS vs. SRA cannot be denied. You won't see it show up on a skidpad or a track, but take it to the street and introduce pot-holes and the like, and the SRA cannot help but have a smaller contact-patch when one tire dips into a pot-hole. It's just simple physics at that point.

never compared it to a Z06, two completely different animals.

I understand and agree with you. They are both great cars IN THEIR CLASS, but the article you linked did directly compare them.

:icon18::icon18::icon18::icon18:

:iagree:

The Mustang in all its variations and trim levels has improved a lot. Easily the most improved car of the decade. But it still has some way to go before being considered a true sports car.