Sat in Camaro today, some disappointment

[TJ91]

Yeah it had some wheel hop, they said that they were still working on it.

[ArcAngel]

ohh man whats with the black and white was it still wrapped for the spy shot crew

[TJ91]

Yeah it even had the pre-pro lights haha

[ArcAngel]

ohhh is that why the interior is all a mess

Originally Posted by bobby35ny

While you read this you must know I bleed Chevy blue, however I refuse to drink the fanboy koolaid.

My past cars that I've owned:
1969 Z-28 DZ motor etc.
1970 1/2 Camaro RS
1970 Chevelle SS
1972 Chevelle SS
1983/84 Camaro Z-28 305-ho LOL!!

After those years I felt the Camaro's got bloated and sticker graphic busy. However some of the motors ran like raped apes...


Fast forward to the past 2 yrs. I wanted a muscle car. To me there are only 2 to choose from, the Chally and the Camaro. The Mustang just felt like a tin box when I drove it. Still being a Chevy blue guy all my life I could not bring myself to buy a Chally when the Camaro was coming out a year later.

So I waited.......Pre-order program started and I ordered just like the rest of us. We went by pictures and looking at the car from a distance at the shows.

Until today I only had 2 gripes with the Camaro, and gripes from pictures.

1-Gas filler on the wrong side of the car.
2-Black wire loom in the trunk.

TODAY was the BIG day!! I left the wife and kids at home so I can have peace and quiet so I can soak up all the Camaro juices...Sitting in the car brought back the good old days. There are TONS of positives about the car that we all know and agree on but there are some things that SCREAM "CHEAP" about the Interior.

Remember, I bleed Chevy blue and I will call a spade a spade. I thank the God above for my family, health and good fortune thoughout my life. I'm blessed and done well. I know the value of a buck and if I wanted a vette I would have bought one. To me 38K is alot of money. Don't tell me, "oh hey the car is cheap, its only 38K".

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

1-The ip is hard plastic, not like the cushion dash like most other cars today like the Malibu.

2-What were they thinking......If you are sitting in the passenger seat and want to let the person in the back seat out, its a 2 step operation. Even the colbalt has a 1 step slide. Make matters worse, the passenger seat is half power, only power is recline. Don't tell me the back seat is only for show, if its only show why put it there? It has a back seat and I want to use it otherwise I'd buy a Vette.

3-No light for vanity mirrors.

This car costs 38K, how much did Chevy really save by the above cost cutting measures?
Bean counters say if we save a dime here times 80,000 cars thats alot of profit. but guess what, you can cut costs TOO MUCH and there will be no volume...:(

I will return to the show tomorrow for a second look and sad to say I will spend some time in the SRT-8.

*******

=bobby

i agree with you .speak your mind.im just as pickey as you .gm cuts a lot of corners to save money. i owned 4 escaledes ..every year they cut something out and raised the price .this years headrests have no cadlillac emblems .and no arm rests .stuff most people do like.

[fbodfather]

Originally Posted by fastball

I knew I had coming what many of you are saying to me. I felt it must be said though because there are too many people who don't look at this objectively. Remove your devotion to GM and pretend for one second you don't work for them.

Then you just might understand why GM has the perception it has all accross America.

I sorry if I don't agree with the people here, but if I were to take my rants to a forum where everyone agreed with me than that would be like preaching to the choir.

And I think some of you conveniently pass over the many times I've posted I'm actually buying a Camaro.

Fastball --

Let me first say that I'm glad you're buying a Camaro -- and I also know that you've been on this board for some time and have been supportive.

I guess I'm gonna turn this around and ask you why you make the statement:

QUOTE: I felt it must be said though because there are too many people who don't look at this objectively. Remove your devotion to GM and pretend for one second you don't work for them. UNQUOTE.


I'm not sure that anyone's the expert on "objectivity" -- and just because some don't agree with your assessment does not mean that they're being "subjective" or have "drunk kool-aid"

I CAN tell you (again) that we had many many people involved in the execution of this car -- from our Disciples (and trust me -- they're objective to a fault....) -- to owners of Mustangs and Chargers (Challengers weren't out yet) and Qs......

Thousands of people looked at various materials and finishes -- and I must tell you that the numbers were very high on what we finally used.

Will everyone like it? Nope! Not gonna happen as long as human beings are individuals who can make their own decisions....

.......but just because someone loves the way the interior looks and feels - why does this mean they "Drank the Kool-aid?"

It seems that with the advent of the Internet:

1...people can experience being 'Walter Mitty" (and no, I'm not accusing FastBall of doing this....)

2...everyone's an 'expert'

3...it becomes a 'Badge of Honor" to some to 'put people in their place' -- or to attack people or organizations or businesses-- regardless of whether or not you've ever been in, say that particular business. You can be 14 and pretend you know what you're talking about -- and the implication is that everyone else is just full of it.....(did that come out right??)

As I say -- I would never attempt to tell a Computer Expert HOW to fix something - I would not tell a Health Care Administrator how to conduct his or her business....

Now - I'm not saying that people should not voice their opinions. (Trolls not welcome, by the way...) -- But what I AM saying is that when there are rational reasons for decisions made -- perhaps the people making the decisions have the data to back up that decision.


Now -- let's get back to celebrating the rebirth -- only a few hours now....

[stovt001]

Originally Posted by FirstLSK

For any that are having feelings like this, I think the bottom line is to wait until you get to test drive YOURS before making the final judgement. Then, and only then, should you determine whether or not GM has lived up to what they promised in YOUR 5th gen.

BTW, don't forget to stick your foot into the accelerator and rail a corner so that you know what really makes this a quality car.

That's exactly what I intend to do. I was careful to say "if". This is really subjective, so I won't know at all if it meets my standards until I can sit in one of those dealer demos soon. And you'd better believe I'll be balancing that against the rest of the car. I don't mind if it isn't quite as good as the new Mustang's interior because frankly the Camaro could drive circles around it. On the other hand, if it isn't still significantly better than the Cobalt, that may be too much of a sacrifice to make.

Optimus Prime, I'm sitting in stop and go traffic moving inches at a time, stopped for long periods of time, for 2-3 hours every day going to and from work. I have a lot of time to get very intimate with my car's interior, so yeah, the cheapness does bother me after a while. If you're not spending as much down time in there as I am, it might not bother you. But after seeing the difference in my mom's Mazda3 from a similar price range, I know my commutes would be much happier in that cockpit.

Edit: Fbodfather, glad to hear the interior received high marks from both Camaro owners as well as owners from our competitors. That eases my mind. In regards to objectivity, I know a problem I've run into here is that there are inevitably some fanboys and kool-aid drinkers here. There's bound to be plenty in any fan group. They can't see things objectively. All things Camaro = good and all things not Camaro = bad. So knowing that people like that are on this site, sometimes you have to be a bit skeptical when someone is defending something that others have criticized. There's no way of knowing whether they have an informed dissenting opinion or are just blindly defending their object of worship. Will the skeptics sometimes go overboard with the skepticism and throw out the baby with the bathwater? Yup. That too is inevitable.

[ArcAngel]

I just want to state that I never wanted to offend anyone and I was just stating my opinion, I do love the Camaro just because I also like other cars does not make me the enemy! I hope all you guys know this

[zebra]

Originally Posted by fbodfather

...Now -- let's get back to celebrating the rebirth -- only a few hours now....

and thank you for (once again) reassuring us as to why the decisions that have been made came about.

[RT21]

Originally Posted by rolnslo

Seriously? Those are your gripes - non-padded dash, poor access to the backseat and no lighted vanity mirrors? No offense but OMFG!

EDIT: I was going to type more but in light of gtahvit's post, I won't.

True that! I was first with a firestorm to SLAM...deleted, so I'll let you all do the slamming...I'll be sitting quietly in the corner.

Originally Posted by SandiCandi

DITTO - what he said ! ! ! !

Originally Posted by rolnslo

Bad choice for your argument. I worked for Microsoft in the Windows Division from 1999 to 2005. They do fund their employee's healthcare out of the company's own pocket. They use a third party to administer the coverage but all of the healthcare costs, insurance premiums, and overhead are paid directly by Microsoft. It was the best healthcare coverage I have every had - 100% coverage, no copays, no deductables - didn't cost me a single dime for me and my family, including the $30k+ bills for the births of my two kids. When I left MS to move to Texas, it hit me just how great the health coverage at Microsoft really was - the COBRA payments were $1600/mo if I wanted to continue with the same coverage.

fastball - I understand your position on this but, quite frankly, I'm getting tired of your GM bashing, as I'm sure many others are that aren't willing to speak up. If you don't agree with how they do business, then go take your money and give it to some other company. You made your points early on in this thread and they've been heard and responsed to appropriately. You are starting to sound like 70COPO and his never ending complaints about the damn stripe length now....

PS: I hear they have great deals on Challengers right now - why don't you take your money and go buy "that perfect car" from Dodge instead...or better yet...go buy a Prius.

Peeps should do a little research before posting

[fastball]

Originally Posted by fbodfather

I CAN tell you (again) that we had many many people involved in the execution of this car -- from our Disciples (and trust me -- they're objective to a fault....) -- to owners of Mustangs and Chargers (Challengers weren't out yet) and Qs......

Okay, please don't shoot me.... I have a few bullets lodged in me as it is. I just have one simple question on that, and then I will completely leave it alone and go back to getting ready for tomorrow's big day......

Did you ask any Japanese or German car owners what it would take for them to buy a Camaro?

Just a simple question, I'm not trying to stir anything up, just currious.

Okay, now back to our regularly scheduled program.......

Camaro production starts tomorrow!

[ArcAngel]

Actually thats a good question fastball

[fastball]

Originally Posted by ArcAngel

Actually thats a good question fastball

Thank you. I guess that's the whole point of everything we said - whatever needs to be done to pull all the Japanese and German owners back to GM must be done.

[ArcAngel]

I concur and that was the only reason I was saying it. I mean in my 11 cars I have only once owned a japanese car and it was for a year. For me to even consider one is Amazing so for me to say what I say is because I want GM to be the best!