Will the 2009 Camaro be a Good Car

In 1967 Chevy introduced the Camaro muscle car as a competitor to the Ford Mustang. Like the Mustang the Camaro was a powerful, good looking, and inexpensive coupe, but the Camaro was overshadowed by the Mustang's success and appeal. The base model Camaro had a 3.8L I6 with 140hp and the engines went up to a 7.0L V8 that GM claimed had 430hp, but actually had closer to 550hp. In 1970 the second generation Camaro came out. It was larger and more successful than the first Camaro. Again the engines started with an inline six cylinder with around 150hp, but the most powerful engine was a 6.5L V8 with 375hp this time. The 1970's oil crisis caused GM to start putting less powerful engines in the Camaros like a 145hp 5.7L V8 and a 120hp 4.4L V8. It was really pathetic that a 4.4L V8 could have less power than a 3.8L I6 made 10 years earlier. The third generation Camaro was brought out in 1982 and started with a 2.5L I4 and a 2.8L V6 that had 112hp (in 1985 it was raised to 135hp). The other engines were 5.0L and 5.7L V8's with 190hp and 215hp. This car's best strengths were its looks and good handling for a 1980's American car. The fourth generation Camaro was introduced in 1993 with a 160hp 3.3L V6 and a 275hp (later 285hp) 5.7L V8. Later those engines got more power, 200hp for the V6 (the V6 was 3.8L by that point), 310-325hp for the 5.7L V8. That car was never very good though. It was ugly and the looks were no longer as tough or cool as previous Camaros. Its other problem was a seriously outdated design.  In the 35 years (1967-2002) they made the Camaro it always used the GM F-body chassis with very few changes.

The new 2009 Camaro seems like it will be by far the best Camaro ever. The new Camaro is a replacement for the Pontiac GTO (2004-2006), because of its Australian Holden Commodore based platform. That Commodore chassis is the best part of this new Camaro.  It's the same chassis that the Pontiac G8 has. The G8 GT has been compared to the BMW 550i and Automobile magazine says it has better handling than the BMW. The G8 GT also beat the Dodge Charger R/T in a Motor Trend comparison.  That means the G8 based Camaro should beat its main competition, the Dodge Charger based Dodge Challenger.  The new Camaro has the retro styling down as well.  I think it looks much better than both of its retro styled 60's muscle car remake competitors, the Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger.  In fact I think the Camaro has a good chance of being the best looking American car in a long time. The Mustang's two worst flaws are two of the Camaro's three best strengths.  Those are the Camaro's thoroughly modern independent rear suspension versus the Mustang's ancient rigid axle. The other weak area for the Mustang is engines, the V6 is gutless and the V8 should have 30-50 more horsepower. Chevy has great engines in the Camaro the 3.6L V6 has 304hp thanks to direct injection. The Mustang GT has a 4.6L V8 with less power than the 3.6L V6 and will get much worse gas mileage. For a V8 the Camaro has a 6.2L V8 with 400hp or 420hp and that V8 will manage good gas mileage for such a large, powerful engine (if you need proof the 2008 Corvette with the same engine is rated at 26mpg highway by the EPA). The Dodge Challenger is good in all those key areas, but the Camaro is better in all but interior space. Ford does have one way they could beat the Camaro. They need to make a Mustang with a FG Falcon platform and the efficient, but powerful 360hp 4.0L I6 turbo engine from the Falcon. They would need some more powerful V8s as well, but it would work. Until Ford makes a better Mustang the Camaro will be the best new muscle car. There is a Camaro convertible as well, but it doesn't look nearly as good as the Coupe.