Sat in Camaro today, some disappointment

[LS3SSRS]

wow, this is a lot of reading so I'll just say my few things... Interior quality.. i finally got to sit in one at the car show a few weeks ago(2ss/rs) and i was impressed by it. Gauges look awesome and the seats were sooo comfy, and yes, the dash was a little hard. But big f-ing deal, I will be comfy while crusing and have some nice gauges to look at, what do i care about if the dash isn't soft? The rear seat doesn't fold forward in a push of a button. whoooo.... once again, what do i care? I'll never be in the back seat anyways. And lighted vanity mirrors? Honestly? I look good, my girlfriend looks good. If she wants makeup, she'll put some on before we go for a drive. I for one have never owned a brand new vehicle, so this will be a step up, and past anything i've ever owned or driven. This car to me isn't all about having a soft dash with chrome and special seats that fold themselves, it's about owning a f-ing LEGEND all while having a faster/better handling ride than both the mustang or challenger.

i'll say we all have opinions and this is just mine, so don't hate. either way, flame on....

[KoTToN]

Well i certainly hope GM takes notice of this. Maybe the next generation cars can have soft radio knobs, water bed back seats, and soft plastic trunk panels.... Also im sure my gf would appreciate those UV lights in the armrest so she could dry her freshly painted nails.

seriously why would a dash need to be soft? The only thing that concerns me is the seats being hard to fold forward, but that could have always been user error.

[EllwynX]

Originally Posted by Lakailb87

I can't wait to sit in it and see how it looks with that hood. I helped my friend restore his 68 camaro all through highschool and man did I love that hood when sitting in the car, really made you feel you were in a muscle car.

I could only barely see the hood when I sat in the new Camaro. And that was only the back edge where it rises up.

Keep in mind I lowered the seat as far as it would go and leaned the seat back a little.

I'm 6' tall.

[CanadianCamaro]

Originally Posted by bobby35ny

...Today, after I sat in the car at the Ft.Lauderdale show I have 3 more gripes....

=bobby

Well... quite frankly - I think you're wrong. I say that in the most respectful way of course. If you think the Camaro interior is cheap, just look at the SRT interior. I'll admit, I didn't spend a lot of time "touching" the SRT interior, but I didn't need to. In my personal opinion I think it looks cheap and plain. Period. No style. It is truely as retro as the outside of the car. Which is fine, if that's what is trying to be achieved. But GM has gone on record MANY times to say the Gen 5 is NOT a retro car.

The only other thing I'll say is I also respectfully disagree with your comment re: price. We all want lots of bank for our buck and I think everyone here would love a fully loaded Cadillac for $25K. Not going to happen. If you want all the little frills, bells and whistles, unfortunatley you have to pay for it. Don't get me wrong, I think the camaro has lots of high-tech features. But we have to remember that every single little thing has a cost associated with it. Even the smallest things. Broken down each feature doesn't cost much. Add 100's of them together and the cost adds up.

Sorry to hear your disappointments. IMO I think they are somewhat small all things considered. But if you choose to not get the Camaro then it just means more for the rest of us.

See you on the streets

[DerbyChamp06]

Haven't sat in Camaro myself yet, but from what I'm hearing, sounds like is on par with my 06' Impala, which is good enough for me.

When I last purchased, also checked out Toyota Camry and Accord. And the Impala was on par with them/better in some regards.....In fact the Camry had flimsy entry door handles (wiggled easily with the slightest of up/down pressure) , which was a big turn-off. Impala's (same style as new Camaro) are much stouter.

[kylepo]

I want to know why people get off to feeling the ip whats the deal with that?

[OUR72GTO]

My wife and I had 2.5 hours all in and over the car this week in Vancouver.

We have had 20 new cars in 35 years.

If we thought it looked "cheap" we would have said so. On the contrary it measures up very well with our new Silverado, our best fit /finish yet. The gaps are perfect with superior design details most people will not even notice.

It not only looks good ... it was built good.

[fbodfather]

Originally Posted by trm0002

Sorry, I'm not trying to derail the thread here but I'm watching Scott get upset because people don't like some aspects of his child. That's how you have to look at it- like you're picking on his kid. That's how important this is to him. People do the best they can to raise their children; Scott has done the best he can to raise the Camaro from the ashes. Is everyone happy with EVERY aspect of the car? Of course not. But to say you should have put a Cadillac interior in the Camaro? Come on- be real.

How about applauding him for all he's done RIGHT instead of picking on him for all the LITTLE things you don't think were done right?

well- -God Bless ya.......

Yes -- it IS important to me - -but I need to make something very clear......

Yes -- I would not let the Camaro name die -- yes, I brought it up at every possible meeting - -yes, I continued to wear my "Camaroabilia" daily - yes, I continued to ask you to "keep the faith"
BUT.......

.......a lot of talented people worked very hard to bring you the best Camaro ever -- and let me tell you -- this car is going to embarrass cars costing thousands -- make that tens of thousands of dollars more.........

I am but one voice.

I am not the Chief Engineer. (that would be Al Oppenheiser -- he's far better experienced than I am - and he's an engineer by profession -- I am not.)

I am not the Vehicle Line Director -- (that would be John Santilli -- he's got the experience to ensure that the Camaro will be everything you've wanted in a Camaro -- and more........)

I am no longer the Product Manager -- (Cheryl is - and she's an engineer-- I'm not -- she is the PERFECT person for the job...)

I am not the marketing Manager -- (John Fitzpatrick is -- he has a lot of distribution experience -- and he far exceeds my ability to work with numbers -- and he's more 'rational' than I. )

There are a couple of thousand people working in unison to bring you this 5th gen Camaro -- I'm but one voice...........

.......but I will NEVER stop bringing your thoughts and concerns to the team.

Again - thank you - -sincerely - for 'keeping the faith!"

[fbodfather]

Originally Posted by djsnoflake

I was waiting for Fbod to chime in again. He took some shots that were pretty uncalled for IMO. He makes some great points, especially about something as rediculously unimportant as vanity mirrors.

I propose a new rule: Unless you actually are high up in management of an international manufacturing company that has to meet different regulations for the same product sold in different countries, all the while kepping the product appearing the same and appeasing fans of past generations of said product, you cannont comment on 'how easy' it would be to do something.

There's my .02 and I'm out for awhile to take a walk or something, cause this is getting rediculous.

I truly believe that we need to listen to every enthusiast -- at least once!

If you don't speak up - we don't know what your expectations are!

That said -- I think it's important that everyone -- EVERYONE - -ME INCLUDED - THINK -- before we post. I have posted some real "doozies" -- only to go back and undo them -- change them - or delete them-- because, you see-- it's too easy to type something in the privacy of your office or home - and NOT think about HOW it sounds.

I just want people to know that we've nearly killed ourselves for this car.......

We nearly killed ourselves to bring it in at an affordable price.

We nearly killed ourselves to make this car far exceed peoples' expectations............


...........and when someone says "did you even drive 'Brand X' " -- well -- it upsets me to no end.

I do not mean any ill will to the people who ask that question -- but I say to everyone: we are not idiots.

Now -- let's celebrate the rebirth of an American (and Canadian!) ICON!

We have more in common than not!!!!

*breaks out the champagne*

:happ yanim:

[DerbyChamp06]

The new Camaro is thee thoroughbred of modern Musclecars!

[OUR72GTO]

Every Championship winning coach has had some armchair Monday Morning Expert say the game could of/should of been done differently. Their opinion is lost 30 seconds later for ever while the coach goes down in the history books. Thank GOD Scott was the coach this time......

[Beechdoctor]

We all may be going bust together, but least we still have our differences to debate!!

Although I have yet to see the new Camaro in the flesh, the car is what it is, and I think its a cool breath of fresh Chevy air!

To the OP...I would also like to see the tank filler on the drivers side and, for that matter, chrome bumbers again too. Vanity mirrors...never used in all my cars and I doubt many of us would miss them anyway. I'm surprised that seat bases are not power, but not a deal breaker. I suspect that had something to do with give and take for headroom versus roof height for styling to accomodate those of us over 6'4". As for the hard dash...perhaps one of those dash carpets they sell at AutoZone would do the trick??

Corvette gets pounded all the time about interior finish and seat design. Personally, I think they are acceptable when considering all marketing factors and the broad demographic they had to be design for.

March 16th is just around the corner...let's just celebrate and enjoy the return of the "F" body!

Perhaps Camaro will save GM like the Caravan and K car saved Chysler in the 1980's...I know, bad comparison!!

To Fbodfather...enjoy your day in the sun come Monday morning...assuming its a sunny day. I hope you can post pictures of the first few cars rolling off the line.

[DerbyChamp06]

Originally Posted by OUR72GTO

Every Championship winning coach has had some armchair Monday Morning Expert say the game could of/should of been done differently. Their opinion is lost 30 seconds later for ever while the coach goes down in the history books. Thank GOD Scott was the coach this time......

Ditto!
I applaud Scott for being so accessible to discuss these things!

[Hylton]

Originally Posted by fbodfather

OK....sorry -- but do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?

It's kinda like saying -- well -- IF I could play the piano like Billy Joel -- and IF i could sing like Billy Joel and IF i had as much money as Billy Joel - then I could have slept with Christie Brinkley.

You only need Billy Joel's money to be able to sleep with Christy Brinkley.....