A Skeptic Finally Sits in the Camaro

[stovt001]

OK, skeptic may be too strong a word. However, after reading countless reviews of the Camaro, I had a few concerns that it isn't quite what I was hoping for. I did hedge all of my worries with "of course, I'll withhold judgment until I've sat in it for myself". Well the dealers got their demos, and I had a few free hours until I was to wish my mother a Happy Mother's day, so I finally got my long-awaited chance to sit in one myself. The good news is, most of my concerns proved to be no real problem. However, I did find a few problem areas...

Before getting to my impressions and pictures, I want to plug the dealership. I went to Sierra Chevrolet in Monrovia, California. The staff wasn't pushy, just let me sit and poke around the car as much as I pleased. They seemed fairly knowledgeable about the product and how many cars were ordered and how long it would take to get one. Best of all, without even having to ask, the salesman spoke up: "I know a lot of dealers are charging markups for this. We don't do that. We're strictly MSRP here." So add Sierra Chevrolet in Monrovia, CA to the list of non-markup dealers. They were so good about everything I let them know I'd plug them. So here ya go guys. Thanks a lot.

The car was a Yellow 2LT with black interior, automatic, sunroof, and no RS package or any other options.

OK my impressions. First the good:

View out was indeed restricted, but it wasn't awful. It is all the same type of visibility issues you expect in any coupe, just taken up a small notch. The roof is low, and the view out the front windshield did seem like a bunker, but a large gun slit bunker at least. The window sticker was on the front windshield and took up about half the height of the windshield. The view over the hood was a pleasant cross between the view from a Corvette and the view out of my old 1970 Cutlass. It felt both muscular and sporty. Width perception seemed about the same as a Vette too. Autocrossing is absolutely out of the question, but front visibility isn't too bad. I don't think it would be too much for the twistier parts of GMR, as long as I don't go past 7 or 8/10ths or so. Side visibility isn't a problem. The beltline isn't nearly as bad as they made it out to be. I'm a short guy, and it was about shoulder height, but I at no time felt like my view out the side windows was restricted or like I was lying down in a bathtub. It felt good, honestly. The side view mirrors are absolutely perfect. Rear quarter windows are small and almost pointless, but no more so than any other coupe. They're ever so slightly worse than those in my Cobalt coupe. Because of the superb side mirrors, it won't be an issue. The view out the back is small, but unless you get the high wing spoiler (I sure wouldn't) it is good enough. Since my Cobalt has a mid-height spoiler, I found this to be a bit better actually. Note this car had no spoiler, but I don't imagine the lip spoiler would be noticeable at all.

The steering wheel and driving position were great. First the wheel: most reviews say it is over-sized and oddly shaped. In pictures it looks huge, especially with me behind the wheel. In person, it looks a bit bigger than average. Holding it in my hands, it felt fine. If I could, I'd shrink it down some, but since I can't it really isn't a problem. The shape was just fine and it fit nicely in my hands. The driving position was just fantastic. The tilt-telescoping wheel allows you to position it just right. I have long legs relative to my tiny little T-Rex arms, but I was able to position the wheel and chair to my favorite position: upright, legs slightly bent, heels on the floor, ankle movements controlling the peddles, arms bent with the wrist able to flop over the top of the steering wheel. It was magical. However, with my upright position my head was almost touching the roof, and I'm 5-8. The sunroof is a definite no for me. One gripe about the wheel: sound system controls are on the right, cruise on the left. I adjust the sound system more than the cruise control, so I'd rather do that with my left hand, which is on the wheel more, especially in a stick-shift car. Minor, minor gripe. Otherwise, the shift buttons were perfectly placed and gave nice crisp pulls, and the texture was good. Unfortunately, I can't be as kind to the shifter. Whoever designed it has apparently never held anything in his or her hand, ever. It isn't ergonomic and it doesn't look good either. I honestly don't know what they were going for there. If the manual shifter is anything like it, I'll be going Hurst or aftermarket.

Interior materials were acceptable. This was a huge worry for me. Yes they are hard, but the graining is OK, and they feel very solid and durable. Except for the area over the passenger airbag that flexed (obviously) it was solid as a rock, unlike my Cobalt where I fear the dash will crack and snap if I give it a smart rap, and simply seemed high quality. No, it isn't the priciest stuff you can get, but given where the rest of the money on this car was spent, it seems to be an acceptable trade-off. The leather seats also seemed very durable. I was going to go for cloth for durability reasons, but I think I'll go for leather now.

Seats were a let-down. They were comfortable, lacking only in thigh-support, but they were clearly designed for large, cheeseburger-eating, beer-drinking, middle-aged American males cruising down the boulevard or highway and not for small, thin, 20-something males hustling around a twisting mountain road. I'll depend on the dead-pedal to keep me in, but that will kill my knees. Bolstering was about on the level of my Cobalt: there, and you could feel it if you leaned from side to side, but ultimately useless for holding me in one position. Sigh. One bit of good news: unlike so many head restraints today designed to reduce whiplash, the headrests actually did not push your head into an awkward and painful position. They were actually sorta comfortable. Cheers!

Misc interior: Controls and switchgear felt nice. Not the best, but certainly acceptable and a step up from my Cobalt. Acrylic panels were nice, but the dark silver with the black interior was a bit too drab. The aftermarket should have a field day with faux-carbon fiber and wood trim, brushed aluminum, and colors. That will be a perfect opportunity to personalize. 4-pack gauges are functionally pointless, but they do break up the interior monotony and look good. Auto-headlight light-sensing bulb is in the middle of the dash, so it won't be blocked by the A-pillar as in my Cobalt. Much appreciated. Leather armrests on the doors were soooo comfortable. Center console armrest was less-so. Gauges were legible but I can see how the SS gauges might look cluttered. Vent contols worked well. My 5-10 wife, who grew up in an import-worshiping household, daughter of a Honda tech, liked it. Good.

Exterior: Only thing I have to note on the good side that isn't already obvious: The 19 inch wheels look much better in person than they do in pictures. They are certainly more reasonable than those ridiculous "dubs" forced on SS and RS buyers. They maintained good proportions, didn't make the brakes look like tea-cup saucers, and I'm sure are cheaper to buy tires for. Since I'll likely get an SS or RS-equipped V6 model, I'd be interested in swapping wheels with anyone who gets the 19s. Does anyone know if they'll fit over the SS Brembos?

OK now for the bad:

Three strikes on build quality. Yup, that's right, despite endless delays, pulling cars away from delivery to fix things, etc, the battery cables, mismatched fascia paints, cracking fascias, and wheel weights on the brakes did not become the final quality defects solved by the time production units hit the dealerships. Keep in mind these were examples of production build units GM deemed high quality enough to ship off to dealers to use as demos trying to pull non-Camaro and non-GM enthusiasts in from other brands.

First, passenger side A-pillar trim had a HUUUUUUUUUUGE gap and alignment issue, revealing the painted metal A-pillar underneath. The A-pillar trim on my bottom-rung Cobalt fits like a glove. A piece of hair wouldn't fit through the gap between the trim and the headliner. Not so on this $30,000 Halo car. Pics follow below.

Also, the passenger side dark silver door panel trim had a rough patch. It felt like it had been scuffed, but there were no scuff marks. It was a manufacturing flaw.

Finally, the paint on the driver's side door had a big flat spot. It looked like they missed a layer of clear coat on that section or something.

These things aren't dealbreakers because they are build quality issues, not design errors. I simply wouldn't accept delivery until they built me a car correctly. Be very careful, and check every square inch of your car before accepting delivery.

[stovt001]

Oh also notice in the last picture above and in the attached picture, there is some really nasty orange peel.

[ControlFreak]

Wow that's preatty terrible...


I like the unbiased review though, it seems that not even the looming bankrupcy can get all the panels and paint on right.

[Camaro_Corvette]

EDIT!

Thank You number three for the info!

Originally Posted by Number 3

Second, gap in the rear seat is where the pull tab for the folding seat comes out. IT IS NOT POOR QUALITY IN THE STITCHING. Someone clearly pushed it back in. Look at any other photo on this site including mine and you'll see the pull tab coming out of the slot.

[lakers171]

Can i take you when i get my car i know i will be to excited to care whats wrong so i might need you to point these things out to me. but wow this is bad

[LS3SSRS]

oh man... i dont like the looks of all the defects on this one

[stovt001]

Originally Posted by lakers171

Can i take you when i get my car i know i will be to excited to care whats wrong so i might need you to point these things out to me. but wow this is bad

Take my wife. She noticed the door trim and paint issues. I noticed the A-pillar trim and didn't even notice the back seat problem until I uploaded those pictures.

[Nexus6]

You guys just loooooove to give sites like jalopnik ammunition,dont you?

[ShnOmac]

Maybe it was a early production like a CTF?

[PQ]

Pretty bad. I can't deny but I'll wait and see what mine looks like. It is hard to beleive they overlooked this. But so many people were screaming "Just send us our cars" that maybe this is the result. Window sticker indicates a production unit. I hope somehow it's not.

[stovt001]

Originally Posted by Nexus6

You guys just loooooove to give sites like jalopnik ammunition,dont you?

I wrote this to say that my time in the Camaro was almost completely positive. However, there are build quality issues that should be fixed as long as we bring them to GM's attention (and the public's attention). If we ignore them, GM ignores them. If we don't, and the media doesn't, then we should get a properly produced product. There is very little wrong with the Camaro design itself, just the assembly.

[ShnOmac]

I really dont see how that got through any QA division..... has to be a ctf or something
What was the VIN?

[DGthe3]

Stov, its nice to hear that things generally aren't as bad as you thought they would be. A lot of the stuff was somewhat subjective but I think if they're good enough for you, then the general population shouldn't have a problem

Originally Posted by stovt001

Who built this thing?

people at a plant with one of the best build quality records in North America ...

[TJ91]

The back seat bump, are you talking about where they have the strap to pull to fold the seats?
If your talking about the lump, thats where the strap is fold the rear seat.
But i do agree on the pillar, and the paint, well thats got me nervous!