The Ponycar Wars Are Heating Up

Camaro vs. Challenger

Posted March 27 2008 08:27 AM by Jim Campisano
Filed under: Super Chevy Comments, Chevy Small Block, Chevrolet Camaro

Just back from the New York Auto Show and I can tell you for certain: Things are getting serious out there. Even though gas is over $3.60 a gallon for regular in some parts of the country, the car companies are bringing out the heavy-duty performance artillery. Chevy trotted out the 620-plus horsepower ZR1 and after I was gone the Camaro concept made yet another appearance.

Dodge unveiled its entire line of Challengers, including the base 250-horsepower V-6 and the 370-horse Hemi RT, which will join the SRT8 model for the 2009 model year. Ford had a GT500KR with 540 horsepower, plus the 4.6-liter 3-valve-powered Bullitt.

People were going absolutely nuts when they pulled the covers off the trio of Challengers. They certainly didn't disappoint in the looks department, but man are they ever large. Based on the 300/Magnum/Charger LX platform, they are positively ginormous, but no one seemed to care. Even the backseat was usable, with seating for three.

• Get a Free Quote

• Find a Local Dealer

This is the 370-hp 2009 Dodge Challenger RT.

There seems to be a widening chasm among Chevy enthusiasts over whether the 2010 Camaro (on sale in January '09) goes far enough into the past. The overwhelming number of comments I've heard have been positive. I've seen adults see the Camaro convertible cry at its unveiling.

And I have also gotten plenty of hate mail from people who praise the Challenger and Mustang to the hilt for being essentially clones of early cars while criticizing GM for making the Camaro too futuristic looking. While it borrows some cues from the '69, it definitely has a more 21st century look than the Ford or the Mopar. This has caused some people a great deal of aggravation.

Chevy's take is they didn't want to just come out with a clone. It had to have design traits of the old car, but be a fresh new design. There are things I love about the Camaro concept and prototype (see photo) and things I am not crazy about (the taillights), but overall I think they did an outstanding job of merging old with new.

Where is is written that the new Camaro has to look exactly like a first-gen? What if Chevy did this in 1967 and made the first Camaro look like a '52 Chevy? Argh! The second-gen looked nothing like the first and was wildly successful, as was the third-gen. The fourth gen was the only f-body that looked like a previous car and it failed miserably in the marketplace. I wonder if there is a lesson there?

Ultimately all that matters for Chevy is if people purchase these cars and I think they will.

Share This

Reader Comments:

1. The point is, the '69 Camaro is probably the best styled Chevrolet ever. They are so popular that other companies are building entirely new ones! Why couldn't Chevrolet be smart enough to build their own version, especially given the wild success of the new Mustang? The Mustang is not a copy. It has no interchangeable parts with the '68. It simply honors the car that was the ultimate Mustang design. Chrysler did basically the same thing with the Challenger, although I agree with you that it is way too big a car; it simply doesn't qualify as a ponycar. Saw a picture of a new Challenger nose to nose with a '70 and the '70 looks like a scale model.
Back to the point: Chevy didn't have to reinvent the Camaro. What the people wanted was right in front of them in the form of the '69, and Ford's current 'stang. It would have been so easy, so simple to get it right. Why couldn't they?

69Ax - Posted March 29 2008 09:09 AM

2. 2. I never really liked the first gen Camaros. My favorites are the second and third gens. But why ALL OF A SUDDEN are the FINALY calling them pony cars again? All I have heard in the past 10 years are Camaro's are not Pony cars they are Muscle cars and the same about Mustangs. I think that if they based the new Camaro on the second gens then it would be soo far out of the competition's league that they couldnt come back. Just face it. The second gen Camaros were built ahead of their time and will always be marketed that way. The third gens were the best handling Camaros built with the meanest, sleekest, and lowest stock style a Camaro ever had.

1991RallySport - Posted March 30 2008 08:06 AM

3. OK everyone we all like one or another or all right.I have a 67 rsss but so much for that.I think somehow,were missing the point of the whole Idea!. We what our camaro back and we want it to be competitive or on top don't we? The car is big but they all are.As long as it handels,stops, and is as fast ok faster then the rest Hurray!! Bigguy

bigguy - Posted April 2 2008 10:01 AM

4. PS Almost forgot and down where the reg. guy can afford it.(I hope) big guy

bigguy - Posted April 2 2008 10:04 AM

5. Already making excuses why you won't trade in your old truck?

Everyone wants a 500-horse Gen 5 Camaro and everyone wants it to weigh 2900 lbs and cost $8,000. Reality check: Ain't gonna happen.

My sources at GM tell me it will be priced right in line with the new Mustang, V-6 vs V-6, base V-8 vs base V8. The rumor mill is saying base V-8 model, whatever it's called, will have about 70 more horsepower than a Mustang GT. Is that enough? Do they need to throw in a chauffer, too?

If the retro 2005 Mustang is so great, why isn't it outselling the 1994-2004 models, you know, the one that didn't look like a 35 year old car?

For the record, in the old days NO ONE called the Camaro, Mustang, etc., muscle cars. They were called pony cars. These days I hear people call any car from the '60s with with a 283 2-barrel a muscle car. Get real! The term muscle car was reserved for mid-size cars with big-block muscle. Some stretched the definition to include full-size cars with high-output big-blocks, but never p

Jim Campisano - Posted April 13 2008 07:49 AM

Add a Comment: (Must Be Registered)

User Name

Not Registered?
Signup today

Password

Comment