So I Checked Out A Camaro SS2.

[El Kabong]

Thanks to the fine folks at my fave Chevy dealership I was able to get a bit of static seat time in the new Alpha. I even got to fire it up in the showroom because the sales guy was a bit insane. "I wouldn't do this for a kid but you've had some pretty cool cars and you know what you're talking about." Well, ok.

Anyhoo, the impressions:

-the interior plastics are a nice step up from my Zeta, but no, they're not going to give the Stjngray sleepless nights.

-sight lines are a bit better than the old car. The view over the hood in particular is better.

-it sounds like D-Day when it starts up.

-the shifter action is pretty direct, again: better than the old car.

-the vent controls are as clever in real life as they are in pics.

-the car looks much more sculpted in real life. But I wouldn't get one in white.

...and that's about it off the top of my head.

[El Kabong]

Oh yeah: the frameless interior rear view mirror? Nice detail.

[El Kabong]

Some pics:

And no, the 21" rims aren't factory.

[Suaviloquent]

Much want!

 

(As I return to work)

[El Kabong]

It's pretty impressive in the flesh. I wouldn't get it with the sunroof and those rims all the same.

[Suaviloquent]

Well $h!, I didn't go back to work as promised, instead am percolating and intensifying interaction.

 

I'd get Blue, 1SS and be merry.

 

But I'd have not live in the city to buy it. You can't buy a car like this and cage it like an animal. It beckons to be driven and slogged.

[Frisky Dingo]

Damn, what's with the HRE's on that bad boy? Probably gave them about a 10K addendum. 

[El Kabong]

Eleven grand to be precise. But they're a dealer-installed option. That dealership does a lot of performance stuff. In fact if you take a close look behind the full-car shot you'll see a new CTS-V and a couple of Callaway SUVs.

[Thed]

Those rims are waaayyyy too big. Still can't get around the styling, especially the interior. To each their own...

[oldshurst442]

The car looks more sculpted in real life...I got to see the Camaro in person then because as with the Corvette, I bet its pretty jaw dropping, incredibly gorgeous in real life.

 

The only thing that holds me back from really liking it is the exterior styling reminds me too much of Bumblebee no matter how it may look in real life.  I just wished Chevy went with a slightly more evolutionary style rather than Photoshop a couple of details here and there _{(a more muscular sculpted look from the Zeta)}, reduce by 75-80% and then copy and paste ...

 

 

http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/reviews/a27655/2016-chevrolet-camaro-ss-vs-2016-ford-mustang-gt/

From the Road and Track link  comparo comparing Chevy and Ford pony cars 2016...

 

People down here seem to like pony cars. Or one of them, at least. We can hardly stop for gas without having to confirm for a crowd that, yes, this is the new Mustang. No one has anything to say about the Camaro SS. That's probably because from 10 feet away, it looks just like the one it replaces.

 

 

 

 

 

That sentiment also summarizes it for me. To boot...the Zeta Camaro aint exactly a thing of beauty  in my eyes either.

 

But...like I have stated many times in the past, I might just give it a pass and start liking the Alpha Camaro just because there is a chance the car's looks redeems itself by being a sculpted heartthrob in the flesh. 

Edited December 19, 2015 by oldshurst442

[El Kabong]

Those who like it like it a lot. For some the exterior styling and sight lines will always be dealbreakers. And I get it-it ain't for everybody.

But the interior is world's better. The sight lines are better. The styling is more nuanced. And it sounds like D-Day when you fire it up.

Throw in the awesome chassis and sub four seconds to 60 and it's a tall order to top.

[oldshurst442]

I could care less for the sight lines honestly.

 

Like I said in another thread, I learned to parallel park in a 1988 Chevy fullsized van. No windows on the side panels other than the rear door square windows waaaaay in the back. Two little square windows at that. I relied on the massive side mirrors and the dinky rear view mirror to drive and park that beast. I dont think there is another vehicle on the planet with worse sight lines than a fullsized work van. I think I could deal with the Camaro's sight lines  just fine.

But in a world where back-up cameras are needed even for pint sized sub-compacts....we will definitely have whiners for the sight lines of a Camaro...Zeta or otherwise...

 

The Zeta Camaro interior was never really an issue for me either....again, I daily drove that 1988 Chevy fullsized Van for 3 months straight....in the dead of Montreal winter...for 2-3 winters straight...plus...as an owner of a then new 1994 Pontiac Grand Am GT, the Zeta Camaro's interior is a Bentley compared...

 

The D-Day inspired start-up is not a surprise. Its expected. As is for its performance.

 

So..back to the exterior styling. And for me...THAT would be the single most important criteria that HAS  to be satisfied as THAT is the reason why I would want to buy a car like that...

 

Its to show off with...and If I dont feel comfortable looking at it when I approach it, then how could I feel good about it when I show off with it?

Sure, the rumble of the V8 and the performance numbers it wreaks out...but Id be embarrassed by it knowing that Witwicky is the driver of one...

 

On the other hand, The Bandit, or Frank Bullit or even Kowalski...well...a young Burt and a young Steve McQueen...these guys are the stereotypical cool guy...Shia Leboeuf and a kids cartoon...not so much...

[G. David Felt]

So is that dirt marks on those black rims or are they actually marked up already? The picture makes it look like someone hit a curb already.

 

Great pictures of details, but surprised it is not polished more and super clean. I would expect a floor room auto to sparkle.

[El Kabong]

Good questions. At first I was going to say blame the photographer because at the time I had been up for about 24 hours straight, 22 of those in a motor vehicle of some sort (long backstory). But yeah, those rims are a bit messy. I do know from talking to the sales rep that they had had them in stock for a while so maybe someone had a brain cramp when they threw them on the car, which was itself fresh off the transporter in the middle of Alberta winter.