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

[hv92]

but uhhh..

the mustang will weigh less... have shitload more hp..?

[ShnOmac]

Originally Posted by hv92

but uhhh..

the mustang will weigh less... have shitload more hp..?

Yep.... its all about power. Nothing else matters.

[Scarrzz]

Originally Posted by hv92

but uhhh..

the mustang will weigh less... have s[**]tload more hp..?

It's a Mustang.


Therefore, it's not for me.

[daveagogo1]

Originally Posted by GoldenBear

Just to satisfy my curiosity, how do you know that GM did not anticipate that Ford would announce a 650 hp GT500 during the Los Angeles Auto Show?

Those that work at GM have been around the block before, and do understand the competitive nature of the business.

What i meant by that was the timing of that announcement being dropped was huge and i'm pretty sure caught GM way off guard the same as the rest of us. If it weren't you wouldn't be seeing this letter from Mr. Al O. the very next day. Now i'm certain GM knew Ford would step it up as they have little choice. Do i think that they were fully aware that announcement from the oval would be dropped and splashed all over the web pushing the HIGHLY anticipated ZL1 pricing to the back pages the same day? No i do not.

Now i'm not bashing anything in any way nor have i ever towards the 5th gen. In fact i am delighted with the "war" We all win. But, i call it as i see it. I'm no fan of Ford. In this instance though i do have to say....

Well played blue oval.. Well played.

[Anniecamaro]

After i bought my first camaro in 1996 never look back ,and i had 5 mustangs 5.0 chevy is been good to me

[dave7378]

Originally Posted by fbodfather

Because while he reads this site, he is in Los Angeles talking with media -- and trying to do his job.....he asked me to post the letter for him, but i was in the air over the United States and could not do it....thus, we asked Guillermo - who was kind enough to post it at once.

Thank you. We appreciate and respect your presence on this forum.

I absolutely love my 2SS. It is the most fun I have ever had driving a car. I can only imagine how much more fun the ZL1 will be. Quite frankly, I couldn't care less what Ford is doing except to say that we all benefit from car companies trying to outperform each other. Keep up the good work.

[ShnOmac]

Originally Posted by NicolasKL

Personally I'd prefer to have the option to not have the added weight and expense of things you don't need. If you're never going to twisty track your car you really have no need for a diff cooler. Most of these cars (both GT500 and ZL1) are never going to see VIR, they're going to be street cars and some with occasional trips to the drag strip. Saving 6 or so grand and not paying for stuff you don't really need or care about seems like a pretty good idea to me.

It's just a matter of opinion I guess. I find it hard to believe that anyone spending this kind of money on a high performance vehicle is not going to take it to the track. I know some will not but I think they will be in the minority. JMO

I guess Ford will not be able to claim it as a track ready car......

[Milk 1027]

Originally Posted by NicolasKL

Personally I'd prefer to have the option to not have the added weight and expense of things you don't need. If you're never going to twisty track your car you really have no need for a diff cooler. Most of these cars (both GT500 and ZL1) are never going to see VIR, they're going to be street cars and some with occasional trips to the drag strip. Saving 6 or so grand and not paying for stuff you don't really need or care about seems like a pretty good idea to me.

and no one really needs 650HP, but yet here we all are.

[ShnOmac]

Originally Posted by Milk 1027

and no one really needs 650HP, but yet here we all are.

So true......

[BATMAN!]

Originally Posted by ShnOmac

It's just a matter of opinion I guess. I find it hard to believe that anyone spending this kind of money on a high performance vehicle is not going to take it to the track. I know some will not but I think they will be in the minority. JMO

I guess Ford will not be able to claim its a track ready car......

Im curious as to why you think that? You will just have two options it can either be track ready or not.

[tooslow]

Originally Posted by ShnOmac

It's just a matter of opinion I guess. I find it hard to believe that anyone spending this kind of money on a high performance vehicle is not going to take it to the track. I know some will not but I think they will be in the minority. JMO

I think the opposite, unless the GM buyers differ a bunch from the GT500 owners I have met. I've spoken to dozens of them at local cruise ins over the past few years and, so far, I've only met two that have put their car on any track, and only one of them was an open track/road course.

[GoldenBear]

Originally Posted by NicolasKL

Personally I'd prefer to have the option to not have the added weight and expense of things you don't need. If you're never going to twisty track your car you really have no need for a diff cooler. Most of these cars (both GT500 and ZL1) are never going to see VIR, they're going to be street cars and some with occasional trips to the drag strip. Saving 6 or so grand and not paying for stuff you don't really need or care about seems like a pretty good idea to me.

The ZL1 is intended to be a track ready car. If one doesn't intend to take the car to the track and drive it on twisty roads, maybe the ZL1 is not the right car for him or her. The ZL1 is not intended to be a car that's main use is drag racing. If the drag strip is one's thing, then maybe the COPO Camaro would be a more appropriate choice than the ZL1.

[ShnOmac]

Originally Posted by BATMAN!

Im curious as to why you think that? You will just have two options it can either be track ready or not.

A base GT500 will not be track ready compared to a base ZL1.

Originally Posted by NicolasKL

Think about how many 50,000+ dollar performance vehicles are sold in the US every year. If the majority of them were going to VIR or Willow or Laguna Seca there'd be a thousand people on every track at any given point in time.

I bet it's less than 5%. Probably a lot less than 5%.

Originally Posted by tooslow

I think the opposite, unless the GM buyers differ a bunch from the GT500 owners I have met. I've spoken to dozens of them at local cruise ins over the past few years and, so far, I've only met two that have put their car on any track, and only one of them was an open track/road course.

See below... GB is always better at wording than I.

Originally Posted by GoldenBear

The ZL1 is intended to be a track car. If one doesn't intend to take the car to the track and drive it on twisty roads, maybe the ZL1 is not the right car for him or her. The ZL1 is not intended to be a car that's main use is drag racing. If the drag strip is one's thing, then maybe the COPO Camaro would be a more appropriate choice than the ZL1.

To me the ZL1 seems like a completely different creature than we have ever had in the Camaro stable.

[mike25]

Originally Posted by HEMI DAVE

Yeah......they really got out of the way with the 392........

It's laughable if you think Dodge is not gonna come back with something even faster......

I love the chally..but man its big. They have alot of work to be even close to staying in this game..right now, its a chevy vs ford war, and dodge is patiently waiting to be called into the game.