help me get past this concern...

[bulldog]

Let me state that I am very excited about the 5th gen Camaro. I loved it when the camaro was redesigned in 1993 (up until they changed the headlights towards the end of the 4th generation) and am very excited about the 5th generation Camaro.

A little background first so people can understand where I am coming from. I am not trying to pic a fight or start a hate fest or anything...so just hear me out. I grew up on chevy's and GM. My family had several Suburbans and a custom van while I was growing up. Overall my experience at the time was ok. but we did have one very bad apple that tainted my opinion of GM. There is also some other things that happened with the other vehicles that didnt help much either. My dad had to replace the rearend on one vehicle (that he bought new) 13 times over a 3 year period. He took it back to the dealership each time and the problem never got fixed. Needless to say, I bought a Honda CRX in college and didnt have any problems until the clutch went out at 150k miles. Pretty good in my opinion. I have owned a total of 3 Hondas/Acuras and have been really pleased, but have been wanting to change to something different.

I have been keeping my eye on the Camaro since the prototypes and Transformers came out. I had my heart set on buying a 97-98 Toyota Supra until I saw the Camaro in person. Now the Supra has gone on the backburner and I have had a rebirth of excitement about American made cars (well...Canadian now, so lets say North American made cars, lol)

There are things i can live with that have been subtle disappointments that can be fixed. the exhaust note isnt as cool sounding as the mustang (the only thing I like about the mustang), so I am paying close attention to exhaust sound clips and products coming out. I wish the trunk space was bigger and had a larger opening, guess a second vehicle will be a truck for me, so probably irrelevent anyways.

But after all this gabbing, my concern that I need help to get passed...I was in the dealership and I was really impressed with all the body panels and how solid they felt...with one exception. The front bumper. I lightly pressed up against the front bumper and I felt it flex very easily. I didnt think to get under the car, but I think it sits so low to the ground that I wouldnt be able to see much anyways. Plus the undercarriage covers may prevent any visual inspection anyways. I am concerned about destroying the front end of the car in a low speed collision. It felt almost like there was very little support on the front bumper, if any. I am genuinely concerned about the frontal impact and sturdiness of the car. has anyone heard about the crash test rating of this vehicle on frontal impact? is there anyway to reinforce the front bumper so it is more sturdy?

[stovt001]

GM designs front bumpers to the 5 mph standard. They're as good if not better than anything else out there. Honestly, in a collision that would cause damage to these bumpers, you'd want the bumper to crumple and take the impact, protecting the rest of the car. Better to replace 1 part than 10.

[bub]

Simple.

Just don't run into anything...you are at fault for rear-ending anything anyhow.

But seriously, there is a bumper there as well as energy impact absorbing foam blocks.

Welcome back to the world of American cars. Better late than never I suppose.

-CKB

[JPAYORK]

Not telling you what to buy by any means but check up on the 2011 Supra if you're a fan. Hopefully it'll become a reality. On that note I'm definately buying a Camaro, we'll see in a few years when the new Supra comes out where my heart lies.

[camaro5]

The front fascia is simply a bumper cover.

It is painted with flexible paint which allows it to take a 5mph hit with no damage as required by law.

The flex you experienced has NOTHING to do with the bumper structure hidden behind that pretty face.

[mbavenger]

I don't know of a test, but there is a thread about a rental car company in dallas that rented a camaro, it came back crashed, I think the front end/frame of the car stood up pretty good from a front impact, the plastic was trashed. They have been a few others as well. All in all the camaro came out looking the best after an accident.

[JJ#48Racing]

From what I've heard the camaro was engineered to get a 5 star crash rating. And as far as the bumber goes, you want flexibility for low speed impacts. The bumper will just bounce back to it's original shape. This is commom in a lot of cars. The car will take a lot of damage from a moderate impact, but you want that too, it absorbs the impact so your body doesn't have to.

[Brokinarrow]

Dunno about the Camaro, but my Focus has a pretty flexy front bumper as well. This fact actually ended up saving me some money when I hit some black ice on a corner and slid onto the curb and got stuck (lots of snow). The front bumper bent right in the middle, thought I was going to have to replace it. But soon as we got her off the snow bank, it went right back to where it was, no cracks or scratches at all

[speedster]

The Camaro has a 5 Star crash rating (and then some based on the early accident photos on this site). The front fascia is cosmetic only. See for yourself.

[SRVFAN]

Originally Posted by speedster

The Camaro has a 5 Star crash rating (and then some based on the early accident photos on this site). The front fascia is cosmetic only. See for yourself.

The picture kinda looks like the transformed Bumble Bee's face, doesn't it?

Sorry 'bout the accident, tho.

[Brokinarrow]

Originally Posted by SRVFAN

The picture kinda looks like the transformed Bumble Bee's face, doesn't it?

Sorry 'bout the accident, tho.

that was immediately what I thought of

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by stovt001

GM designs front bumpers to the 5 mph standard. They're as good if not better than anything else out there. Honestly, in a collision that would cause damage to these bumpers, you'd want the bumper to crumple and take the impact, protecting the rest of the car. Better to replace 1 part than 10.

Most manufacturers abide by the minimum standard of 2.5mph impact-resistance. So comparatively....you're golden, and have nothing to worry about. Though...not hitting something is your best defense.

Oh, btw -- ever press in on the rear-end of a C6 Corvette? You should try it sometime......

[MaroSS]

Originally Posted by SRVFAN

The picture kinda looks like the transformed Bumble Bee's face, doesn't it?

Sorry 'bout the accident, tho.

Lol that wasnt an accident it was a guy getting custom bumble bee stripes on his car and took off the front Fascia.

[SSOOCH]

All new cars are like Tupperware. If you want a Camaro with a solid bumper, buy a 1969!