Open Letter from Al Oppenhieser to the Camaro Nation and Ford.

[Heaven_is_inferno_orange]

What a great letter from Al. I believe in the car the Camaro team has built. This is our halo car! Look at how advanced and beautiful she is! I love every piece of machinery the camaro nameplate has graced but this one, the ZL1, is something more special than that. This is a car that 10 years ago we never thought we'd see again, let alone setting the standards for future pony cars. I think this car has everything it needs to be a winner and I believe when its finally put on the track against the gt500 that it wont disappoint. We should be proud to see the competition scrambling to compete. The 5th generation is the best generation yet.

[Scarrzz]

Originally Posted by Heaven_is_inferno_orange

What a great letter from Al. I believe in the car the Camaro team has built. This is our halo car! Look at how advanced and beautiful she is! I love every piece of machinery the camaro nameplate has graced but this one, the ZL1, is something more special than that. This is a car that 10 years ago we never thought we'd see again, let alone setting the standards for future pony cars. I think this car has everything it needs to be a winner and I believe when its finally put on the track against the gt500 that it wont disappoint. We should be proud to see the competition scrambling to compete. The 5th generation is the best generation yet.

Very well said.

Originally Posted by Weezerj

I couldn't agree more....

Weezer, that's a beautiful sig.

When my IBM ZL1 gets here, I may just have to follow in your footsteps.

[Indpowr]

Originally Posted by fbodfather

The name Camaro means "friend" -- "Pal" --- or "Comrade" - and there are those of us who have tried to keep the Camaro community intact for many years. We've watched people try to divide and conquer. There are moderators on this site that work into the wee hours of the morning - so that we can have this place to come and talk about the Camaro. (..that's why it's called Camaro5 - )

Scott, it is nice to see your passion coming out . Car people are very passionate....

------------

On a side note, I have read a lot about the GT500 on here and one thing that I noticed is that Shelby is "not" a factory built car, it is built by Shelby, the ZL1 is a FACTORY car, to me it is more comparable to the SLP Camaro.

This is a quote that I read in a Mustang forum.
[IMG]No matter what you say a shelby mustang is NOT FORD BUILT. It is SHELBY factory built. The camaro ZL1 is CHEVY/GM built.[/IMG]

I still have mad respect for the GT500 and mad respect for ZL1

[bandier]

Very nice

[Z4me]

Boy some heated posts here. We all have our opinions
obviously, with some of the it seems being very biased.

I have to say in my family we have owned more mustangs
then camaro's over the years starting with my dad's 67
v6. I have owned a couple mustang gt's over the years.
My brother owns 2005 GT currently, which in my humble
opinion was a decent looking car.
But I have to say first off these mustangs they've been
producing over the past what years or so are butt ugly.

The other thing being the mustangs over the past years
have had a horrible time keeping Thier back end stable.
Now there going to have 650hp, let's hope for safety
reasons that car is stable enough to endure a wet street.

This will be my very first camaro, when I first saw these
5th gen camaro's on the roads. I said damn what was
car I just saw me past me? I said to myself that's the
style I want in my next car. I guess alot of America
felt the same way as me! GM has it out of the park
with the 5th gen camaro, and the mustang could learn
a few lessons from it. HP is nice but it's just one piece
of the puzzle in making a complete full package of a car.

The ZL1 is the total package, and I'm going to enjoy
it every day I'm on the drivers seat cruising down the
highway.
Thank you to everyone associated with the production
of the ZL1 a reality for many of us to enjoy.
In closing long live the pony wars, because with out them
there's no motivation for the car manufactures to push
there game to the next level!

[Shurenuff]

Originally Posted by Indpowr

Scott, it is nice to see your passion coming out . Car people are very passionate....

------------

On a side note, I have read a lot about the GT500 on here and one thing that I noticed is that Shelby is "not" a factory built car, it is built by Shelby, the ZL1 is a FACTORY car, to me it is more comparable to the SLP Camaro.

This is a quote that I read in a Mustang forum.
[IMG]No matter what you say a shelby mustang is NOT FORD BUILT. It is SHELBY factory built. The camaro ZL1 is CHEVY/GM built.[/IMG]

I still have mad respect for the GT500 and mad respect for ZL1

That's incorrect, the GT500 is factory built by Ford, it just uses the Shelby name.

[Kluch]

Originally Posted by Shurenuff

That's incorrect, the GT500 is factory built by Ford, it just uses the Shelby name.

+1. Shelby GT500=built by Ford. Whomever says differently is incorrect.

Great letter from Al to "rally the troops." This is why I'm a die-hard GM guy and always will be. I have faith they will continue to answer Ford's every move. Perhaps they already have in this case? The horsepower number gets a "wow" but its not the end of the discussion. And yes, I realize Ford did more than just up the power. Let's see if they release some Nurburgring times.

[Houston94vert]

Clearly a reaction from Chevrolet. Which is fine but I think he's giving themselves too much credit on the developments of the mustang. Specially when everyone saw testing zl1 on their private course with a performance packaged gt500. Everyone saw this. The zl1 was created because of the Shelby. The current Shelby and ford saw this coming.

I'm afraid this is just smoke and mirrors for Chevy as they are now back to the drawing board.

[ffrcobra_65]

we were all so excited and can't wait for the arrival of the ZL1 and now we can't wait for the GT500 comparo to put all this to rest. Win Win!
Edit: I contemplated the letter and thought, Al better be right. Those were some very bold and absolute statements. I hope he doesn't end up eating his words and losing trust from many of us.

[tooslow]

Originally Posted by Kluch

Let's see if they release some Nurburgring times.

They've already said they would not:

Originally Posted by Jamal Hameedi-SVT chief nameplate engineer

SVT was simply doing suspension tuning at the track and wasn’t completing laps for times.

Back on topic, I'm not sure how I feel about a letter like this going out before the car has even been released. Being in marketing, I can understand why Al might want to do it, just not sure if it was the wisest thing to do. Sure makes for keeping all the automotive forums hopping!

[orbitearl]

18436572 cut me i bleed chevy orange fomoco will always be blue

[Indpowr]

Originally Posted by Shurenuff

That's incorrect, the GT500 is factory built by Ford, it just uses the Shelby name.

Thanks for clearing it up..

[BATMAN!]

Originally Posted by Indpowr

Scott, it is nice to see your passion coming out . Car people are very passionate....

------------

On a side note, I have read a lot about the GT500 on here and one thing that I noticed is that Shelby is "not" a factory built car, it is built by Shelby, the ZL1 is a FACTORY car, to me it is more comparable to the SLP Camaro.

This is a quote that I read in a Mustang forum.
[IMG]No matter what you say a shelby mustang is NOT FORD BUILT. It is SHELBY factory built. The camaro ZL1 is CHEVY/GM built.[/IMG]

I still have mad respect for the GT500 and mad respect for ZL1

It is built buy Ford along side every other Mustang.......

Shelby and Ford returned for the 2007 model year with the Shelby GT500. Introduced at the 2005 New York International Auto Show, the GT500 uses a 5.4 L (330 CID) Modular 500 hp (370 kW) supercharged V8. Features include the Tremec TR-6060 6-speed manual transmission, suspension tuning, a body kit, and 18 inch wheels.
Deliveries of the Shelby GT500 began in May 2006.[19]
A collaboration of Ford's Special Vehicle Team (SVT) and Carroll Shelby, the GT500 was produced in limited quantity for three years (approximately 10,000 units per year) on the line at Ford's Flat Rock, Michigan (AutoAlliance) assembly facility.[citation needed]
Ford's Special Vehicle Team (SVT) also released a small series (687 units) of GT500 using the S/C from Saleen. These cars had the 5.4L engine and were equipped with a 3.55:1 final drive. The GT500 has 500 hp (373 kW) @ 6000 rpm and 480 lb·ft (650 N·m) of torque @ 4500 rpm.

[Indpowr]

Thanks Batman, you can tell I am not a Ford guy, owned over 35 cars and not one Ford...lol