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I agree, the biggest problem with the Camaro, and modern cars in general, is the weight gain from all of the safety features and comfort options now standard on every vehicle produced.
Hopefully, this will be addressed when the gen 6 with the Alpha platform comes to market. When the 4th Gen was released, everyone raved about the car, but complained about the weight gain over the 3rd gen. When the 5th gen was released, it happened again. Hopefully the 6th gen will remain closer to the weight of it's competition. Weight is the main advantage that many cars, including the Mustang and Z, have over the Gen 5.
That being said, the 5th gen does an outstanding job of hiding its weight when you are behind the wheel. Prior to the release of the Gen 5, the Camaro would NEVER have been compared to a BMW 3-series, or Infinity G35/37, or any luxury sport coupe, they were a V8 muscle car or a V6 poser. Now it has become a legitimate competitor to cars in several sales categories and markets. I didn't buy my LS because it was a street fighter muscle car, I bought it because I see it as a low option CTS coupe at half to 2/3 the price.
I think todays HP wars are going to start to draw to a close, just like they did in the early 70's. In todays political and economical environment, it is getting tougher and tougher to justify 400+ HP to the non-enthusiast driver, regardless of how economical and emissions/ environmentally friendly they have become.
The focus is going to shift to further improving economy and reducing vehicle weight, while keeping performance at the levels they have currently reached. We will see the V8's shrink in displacement, while keeping close to current power output, with smaller displacements and or forced induction becoming much more popular across the board.
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