Potential Huge Problem.... 2010 Camaro Nose Cracks (UPDATE: NOT A PROBLEM AT ALL!)

[stovt001]

Anyway, back on topic, I think the title of the thread represents this properly. This is a potential huge problem. Maybe it is a one time fluke. Maybe it is abuse. Or maybe it is a problem. The only way to know is for other owners to look out for this (maybe even try it themselves, on a closed course, obviously ) and let us know if anyone else has encountered it. If it is widespread, then Houston we have one heck of a problem.

[camaro5]

Not the WEIGHT debate...

[ShnOmac]

Originally Posted by camaro5

Not the WEIGHT debate...

gotta can of tapeworms??? This thread needs to lose some fat......

[dirtdog67]

Originally Posted by stovt001

I hate to take this off topic but that's not a reason at all. The Mustang gets 5 star safety ratings and it is much, much lighter. 4,000 lbs does not equal "safe". There are plenty of lighter cars, including RWD sporty coupes, that weigh less and are perfectly safe. I'm not buying that at all.

Actually, the Mustang with the V-8 gets the 5 star rating. I believe the V-6 does not; I could be wrong.

[Beechdoctor]

Wow...did this one start a fire!! I haven't read the whole thread either, but I'm doubting that 150 mph air pressures alone did this.

Probably assembly or more likely handling issue would be my best guess...I wounder if tape on wheel wieghts will cure this issue too???

[2010 SS RS]

I really think some of you guy want there to be an issue.....lol What kind of motivation could you possible have? I suppose since I was looking at a V6 and it was a different facia anyway that could be why it did not crack too. So out of curiosity and wanting to get to the bottom of this I went and looked at on myself. At least I took the initiative to do so before posting that there are issues and saying something negitive that is pure speculation. 9Ball at least was there and he reported what he saw and speculated as to the cause. One thing that I also noticed from his report and other pics was "This is a production car" I would love to know the Vin # because when I viewed the pics and then edited them to focus on the front facia specifically, I noticed the paint mismatch that was previously noted in pre-production models. I could not blow it up enough to view the vin myself but I also noticed the strange tag right where CTF cars were marked (lower drivers side windshield). Bottom line here is I for one am not going to freak out. If there is a problem GM will make it right for us. By the way....no I did not shake it violently....lol I should have taken a airboat on my trailer and created a 150mph wind but that was not practical. At the end of the day, I feel very confident that the front end is solid and well engineered and free of manufacturing defects. This is not the first plastic facia that GM or the manufacturer has built and I do not feel that this is the problem.

[wildpaws]

Originally Posted by Nine Ball

I feel people have a valid right to complain, are we supposed to be happy about this? I even hesitated about posting the pics, but then I'd feel like a huge jerk if someone went out and did the same thing to their new Camaro. Hopefully, this IS a weird occurrence and nobody has to suffer it. Anyway, the cat is out of the bag on THIS car, and it is up for the rest of us to decide how we feel about it or what we can do to fix the issue.

Like I said, it didn't change my excitement over the car, mine is still on the way. I might even take it up to 155 just to crack it, because I know several pansy owners will not.

Were you driving the car when it happened?? No, you were not, so you really don't know for sure what happened, you are simply relying on second and third hand information. Unless someone knows for sure what happened (i.e. they were driving the car or witnessed the "speed run" where it happened), then I think it is totally irresponsible to post pics and the "story" as fact.
Clyde

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by motorbuff69

theholycow.. How do we not know that there is damage in the middle of the bumper, he is not showing us pics of the whole front of the car.

He did examine it. Is there any reason to think he was lying?

It might be good to see some more pics, though.

Originally Posted by tsg1391

i find it hard to believe that the bumper is that thin, but what do i know?

Bumper covers are that thin. The next time you see one abandoned on the side of the road where it was left after an accident, stop and look at it.

Originally Posted by CamaroSpike23

not necessarily. I've stepped on my bumper on the 94 numerous times, front and back and have yet to have spiderweb cracks.

Have you stepped on it hard enough to crack it like that?

again, not necessarily. depending on what it hit and the angle it hit, if it was soft, yet dense enough to bend the plastic fascia, it might not chip the paint at the point of impact.

What could it hit that would be that soft and put enough even pressure on the whole thing to crack it at the ends but not bother it anywhere else? Air. I can't imagine what else it could hit that would leave no trace except those cracks.

its a tricky thing, more than likely it is due to high speed wind stress, but why this one? why not the other camaros that have gone past 150?

Either someone overtightened something, this particular one wasn't as strong as the others, or just dumb luck that this one is the first. I'm not here arguing that it was definitely caused by wind or that it is something every owner should freak out about, I'm just trying to apply as much logic as possible and hoping that GM is giving it enough attention.

Originally Posted by stovt001

Notice we have mountains of evidence showing that if any other consideration conflicted with design, design won. That's why we have bad visibility, a goofy oversized steering wheel, a shift knob that was designed by someone who never once saw a human hand grasp a knob, and a front fascia that has some properties that are by nature not aerodynamic. A wide, open, inset grill with an overhang is just asking for drag issues. Surprisingly the Camaro's cd is pretty nice, but you have to imagine there are downsides to that design.

Its cd is awful for the modern, sophisticated, efficient sports car that Chevy wants it to be. It's decent for the classic muscle car that a lot of Camaro5.com members want it to be, though. That parachute-shaped front end, as ballsy and classic as it looks, is probably most of the reason. Well, the car will never have any problems getting enough air to cool the engine, that's for sure!

[Number 3]

Originally Posted by stovt001

I hate to take this off topic but that's not a reason at all. The Mustang gets 5 star safety ratings and it is much, much lighter. 4,000 lbs does not equal "safe". There are plenty of lighter cars, including RWD sporty coupes, that weigh less and are perfectly safe. I'm not buying that at all.

1 The Mustang is a much, much smaller car. Scale up a Mustang and see how much it might weigh. The Camaro is a BIG car. Based on Zeta architecture which includes the Holden Commodore and Buick Park Avenue which are HUGE cars.

2 Mass wins in any collision. For example the much, much lighter Mustang will lose every head on collision with a Camaro. PERIOD.

3 The safety numbers provided by the government and IIHS are from hitting a WALL. This means the "head on collision" was with a car of exactly the same mass as the test car. Bigger, heavier cars win. Sorry but it's physics. Side impact testing is different as the moving barrier has the same mass for all tests.

4 That being said, most modern cars are very safe. And all companies are including a large amount of safety equipment and structure in their new designs. Which is why all cars are weighing more and more and costing more and more.

Oh and I did just go out pull up hard on the nose of 296. Yes, it does flex over the headlamps. It is possible this is all that happened to cause the cracks, but I am skeptical. Don't know the history of the car. Don't know if there was an "impact" or misuse prior to the test. I know that we test to the max speed and we certainly don't let some magazine run out be our first test at the max velocity of the car, let alone a customer.

[2010 SS RS]

Originally Posted by wildpaws

Were you driving the car when it happened?? No, you were not, so you really don't know for sure what happened, you are simply relying on second and third hand information. Unless someone knows for sure what happened (i.e. they were driving the car or witnessed the "speed run" where it happened), then I think it is totally irresponsible to post pics and the "story" as fact.
Clyde

[TomServo]

But I hope this was caused by "human" error after delivery and not a design/manufacturing defect. I'm leaning towards human involvement after delivery.

[fazm]

Originally Posted by Zabo

I'm wondering if anything like this was also found on Shelbys and other Mustangs during the intial 05MY runs? As said before, it could be a flaw inherent in the design of that nose style.

the hood on the s197 mustang dances like crazy at high speeds, many have reported of hoods lifting, and some cases of them flying off (including a grand am cup mustang, which even had hood pins)

[qbert48]

still gonna buy one,after much ado about this no one else has another issue so i count this a one time deal with a car that is being raged on hardcore by an outfit i don't trust

[b4z]

part of the reason why the GTO's top speed was significantly higher than the '05+ mustang. The GTO is ultra areodynamic and the Mustang has that protruding hood that catches air.