Quote:
Originally Posted by Red2014SS
I don't think the Camaro and Mustang even share identical markets. They may have in 1967, but a lot has changed since then. Yes, muscle car guys love both... but I think that's where it ends. The Camaro has the identity of a race car, serious sports car, and pure retro muscle car now. The Mustang is the "cool car" of choice for Mom when the kids move out. You can throw teenage girls in there too. They seem to love the Mustang. They don't even care about HP or handling. They like the pony on the grill and it reminds them of the 6 cyl 1966 Stang that grandma drove to high school.
There is a segment of the market that buys Mustangs without even considering a Camaro.
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The Camaro does not have the identity of a race car (the Mustang doesnt either), nor does the Mustang "own the market" on gender roles and "the car mom goes to when the kids move out" no more than the Camaro is a "me too" car for people who want a "muscle car" . Such views are overly simplistic and reeks of brand blind loyalty.
Here in Portland I see pretty much an even mix of genders driving both cars, both GT/SS's and V6's. I do not have preconceived notions as to who or what gender is going to be behind the wheel. Might be a man, might be a woman, might be old, might be young. Could be a true performance enthusiast, could be a image only kind of person.
I think Number 3 said it over on the Camaro6 forums, that we who inhabit these forums, in the Mustang, Camaro and Challenger world are a very small fraction of the 4-10,000 people each month who buy these cars. The majority of the people only care about comfort, styling and image.
In terms of Motorsports all three of the brands cars have seen success in certain realms. The Camaro is doing really well in the CTSCC series, especially after taking strong positions at Sebring. Meanwhile the Camaro is not really competitive in the PWC and is usually outclassed by Mustangs that cost less than half as much and are more restricted. The Challenger Drag Paks often do very well in NHRA FS/C and FSS/C classes (Factory Stock and Factory Super Stock) and are very consistent cars with Gen3 426 Hemi's or 392's. A few of the 2011's still run with the Vipers V10, usually running in FSS/E.
But for 95.5% of the people do not give a rip about those factors. Does it look good? Is it fast looking? Is it in fact fast? How will people look at me with this car? Those are the decision making factors for those people, the rest comes down to brand loyalty.
Put a NHRA Comp # or SCCA info on the windshields with a bunch of stickers, a loud exhaust, performance looking tires and a majority of people will think "OMG RACE CAR"..about any of them.