Sat in Camaro today, some disappointment

[Jason@JacFab]

I jump on the poor interior band wagon... The first thing I look at when I look at a new car is the interior. Granted the exterior has to lead you to the car, but if you jump in a new expensive sweet ride, and its got cheap plastic interior, that's a major turn off.

I was hoping for something that would be very similar to the GTO interior quality. Saw it back in the first few pages, and I'll say it again... My GTO has the best interior out of every car I've ever owned. I'm not a big fan of plastic dashes, and door panels reminds me of newer silverado junk interior... I'm still waiting for the demo car to show up at my local dealer so I can judge for myself, but from what I'm reading it's not looking good.

If I had it my way (and if it were possible), I'd just buy a Body-in-white, and a wrecked 04 GTO, jerk the body off and put the camaro body on it. My perfect Camaro. Camaro body, GTO drive train, and interior. Granted the Camaro drivetrain is "supposed" to be magically better, I could really care less personally.

[songsj]

My thoughts are, I hope this model is around for several years and they will probably make some improvements each year. That is usually the way it goes. I'm a tad turned off by a plastic dash, but could care less about the visor light and back seat access. I stopped getting in the back seat of my Camaros in my early 20's if you know what I mean. I have no kids so it's not an issue. Just my 2 cents.

[SummoneR]

Originally Posted by zebra

if you actually read through that thread, you'll see why those two got banned. they did nothing but say condescending things towards other members - all of which started when they commented (in a thread about how the V6 was very impressive) that the V6 owners would later wish they'd bought a V8.

just a note... if you are previous member using a new account to address this situation, the mods can still find your original account.

Oh nice... Yeah I saw the V6 thread I think I had some comments in there... there seems to be a lot of bashing in this forum, sounds like the Mods are cracking down. That's good! This forum will become even more useful once the Camaro is in our driveways and on the streets! Can't wait.

[OUR72GTO]

Originally Posted by songsj

I stopped getting in the back seat of my Camaros in my early 20's if you know what I mean. I have no kids so it's not an issue. Just my 2 cents.

Well maybe if you had gone back there you would have kids!

[SummoneR]

Originally Posted by bigd1276

Speaking of the Chally, I did get to sit in that and I wasn't impressed at all. Just my opinion of course.

I don't like the fact it looks just like a Charger, or a Magnum or 300C inside... they couldn't have made it look different?

My FJ's interior is all plastic... easy to clean, but kind of cheesy, it scratches too easy. I've had a Mustang in the past, 2000, I preferred the Camaro interior then... and now. Aftermarket may address this.

[Q8-CamaroSS]

i don't care about German,italian and japanese i have the $$ to own all off them but i must say all cars lose infront of american cars specially chevrolets cause they got the Soul am a chevy fan boy and i buy cars that i can feel and care about and i guess my sig. say it all

[Red Hot SS]

no lights on the vanity mirrors? let me respectfully say the threadstarter is a *****

[Dan1028]

I never quite understood the rationale behind the "2-step" access typical of F-bodies. If the seat is all the way back, tilting it forward doesn't do much for rear accessibility. On the Prelude, and most other Honda coupes I've sat in, the passenger seat (whether fully manual or fully electric) has a single lever at the base or top of the seat that someone from the rear can push/lift. Once pushed/lifted, the seat back tilts forward, and the seat either springs or electrically moves forward on its own. For anyone who's ever sat in the rear of a coupe, it's a big help to have the entire seat move forward, especially if you need to get out of the car quickly.

Newer cars typically have a memory feature for the previous location of the seat, and I've seen this on both manual and electric seats. On the GTO, I know it was also a two-step process that wasn't integrated into a single feature. You had to tilt the seat forward, then hold this < > button to move the seat (electric). I don't think it would be too difficult to design the thing to have this later, but with 5 generations of it being this way, I doubt the Camaro will change in this regard.

I like the look of the plastics, but generally would like the softer, more pliable dash plastics. My fiance's father has a RAV-4 with the same textured-type plastic for the dash. It looks good, but when you touch it, it's like a rock---not that anyone should be touching the dash, but hey, it happens. Not a huge deal, but would be nice. Otherwise, I don't think I really had anything to complain about with the interior as of yet. Again, little things electrically/integration-wise that you would expect with a mid-30's vehicle have me a little disappointed (auto climate control, etc.), but nothing I would lose sleep over .

[bobby35ny]

Originally Posted by Red Hot SS

no lights on the vanity mirrors? let me respectfully say the threadstarter is a *****

Part of the PERCEPTION!!! I'll be the better man and ignore the 2nd sentence.
=Bobby

[fbodfather]

Originally Posted by fastball

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!

Yes -- in fact we did --

What makes this car tricky to design, engineer, and build:

>How do you make a car that enthuses the Customer Base - AND -- (lemme say that once again ..) AND..........

.............appeal to a wider audience -- some of which are BMW/Acura/ owners????

One last thought about I.P. finish.............


Some of these cars will be owned for years and years - - I don't believe that anyone thought that the 1969 Camaro would become the classic it has.........

Interior finishes MUST last -- they MUST look good twenty/thirty years from now......

People buying Accords and Camrys-- and arguably Malibus and Impalas aren't thinking in those terms.....

Camaro owners ARE!

Think about it.....



I DO know this -- while we may disagree, I believe 99% of the people on this site want the Camaro to be the best ever - world class -- and something that everyone can be proud of..........

........and I can guarantee you that "Team Camaro" at General Motors feels just as strongly - if not more strongly - than that!

TODAY IS A GREAT DAY!!!!

MARCH 16, 2009-- THE REBIRTH!


(.....AHH......the sound of Camaros roaring to life can once more be experienced......)

*eyes leaking*

[O2BQIK]

If those three minor details are enough to make you look for a different car, I don't see how you feel you're a "fanboy". I don't mean that as an insult, I'm just saying. I'm a big Dallas Stars hockey fan. When the team is not playing well and is going to lose, I don't leave early. Why? Out of respect for the team and because i just like watching them play hockey. That's what makes me a fan. This is the same thing. It is not likely that any car will be 100% exactly like you would want it if you get heartburn over such minor details.

[Warghost]

Seriously, when does a wire loom in the trunk become a deciding factor when choosing a car? I'll never complain about the Camaro's trunk because GM was intelligent enough to place the battery in there, freeing up space in the engine compartment and helping the weight distribution in the car. There's also more carrying capacity back there than what I currently have.

I actually had to think for a minute and try to remember if my Mustang GT has lights in the vanity mirror. Guess what....it doesn't. I can't even tell you the last time I used my vanity mirrors! It's simply not something that's important enough to make or break a deal for me.

The dashboard might be hard plastic, but that's another moot point to me. Do I really care how soft and/or padded the dashboard is? I have seen the Camaro in person, and the dashboard looks much better than what is in the new Mustang and Challenger, from a design perspective. My only concern would be if it could easily be scratched, and I'm sure the R&D Department would not use materials that could happen to.

If you'd prefer to buy an SRT-8 that's $10,000 more than a comparably equipped Camaro SS, feel free. It's a slower car that gets worse fuel economy than the Camaro, but to each his own. I'm willing to overlook vanity mirror lights and the softness of the dashboard in order to get a far superior car that gets almost everything "right".

[GrnMchin]

Originally Posted by fastball

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!

I'm not sure what it might take? Good question. You would have to take a sampling of what Europeans wanted and I suppose that if they wanted a luxury sports car would the added cost drive market shares here in the US to a all time low, then killing the car. I know in the 90's Mazda killed the RX7 do to high cost and lack of buyers. The RX7 was an awesome car. I too choose to keep an open mind about all types of cars and respect the different manufactures for what they bring, but also keep in mind what market is the car appealing to. What's your thoughts and if they put in a more plush interior would it end up to costly and kill the car before it even got started.

[Angrybird 12]

I know I said I was through but I have one more comment...
I have owned 2 Saturn Skys since March 2006.. And you know something, I didn't notice until yesterday the top of the dash was HARD plastic... It looks soft to me and I never thought one time of pushing on it of knocking on it.. the only time I have touched it before was to wipe the dust off of it...and there was always a soft cloth between my hand and the dash... Oh the hood over the guages is soft....does that make it nicer? nope...

Hard or soft, it does not matter to me, if I like the way it looks and there are no rattles or squeeks that is all that matters to me....