Don't pre-judge the Camaro.

I love fast cars. The Camaro Z-28 is the most affordable way to have a blast with a new car. When you have about $20,000 to spend you have hundreds of cars to pick from, but how many of them give you something special? With the Camaro Z-28 you get a low wide bullet shape shared by no other car on the road (Pontiac Firebird excepted). You get the world class LS-1 V8 engine, rated best in class by Ward's Auto World (an industry engineering publication). You get a heavy duty six-speed Hurst shifted transmission. You get to 60 MPH from a stop in 5.1 seconds. You get a reliable 160 MPH car for the price of a typical mundane car. You also get one of the last of a dying breed the American muscle car.

Performance:
Although the Camaro's performance is well known by the auto magazine editors, many people have the impression that the Camaro is an overweight car incapable of true sports car performance. The Z-28 with minimal options (no T-tops) weighs 3350 pounds. This is less than the new BMW M3, the Porche 911 turbo, or the Ferrari 360 Spyder. While the Z-28 is not in the performance league of the latter two examples it actually can hold it's own against the highest performance 3 series BMW in raw performance numbers, and although it lacks the sophistication of the BMW it costs less than HALF the price. Compared with it's true rival, the Ford Mustang GT and Cobra, the Camaro V-8 models simply walk away in performance contests.

Price:
The base model Z-28 stickers at about $23,000. There is currently a $750 rebate on V-8 Camaro's. And a little known SECRET: If you attend the Camaro Legends Tour (a traveling show that stops at various auto venues across the country) you can print out a $500 rebate certificate that can be used in addition to other rebates. See the Chevy Camaro web site for tour details. You can also use your GM card rebate. I have redeemed over $3500 so far. On top of all this dealers are dealing. My personal recommendation is to buy a base model Z-28 without all the frills. You get all the good performance bits without the cost bite.

Other Costs:
Insurance costs less for me than my 1995 Dodge Neon, but more than my 1996 Oldsmobile Aurora ??? Go Figure. It is quite average actually. Fuel economy is reasonable, about 20 MPG in the city and about 27 MPG on the highway with the six-speed transmission. The caveat is "Premium Fuel Recommended" so prepare for high $/gal. Other maintenance costs are quite low. I just recently sold a 1995 Firebird Formula 6-speed and had no maintenance costs beyond oil changes and filters. For the unrestrained tires can be costly.

Practicality:
This is not a car for the snow, though I did drive mine through this past Michigan winter. With added weight in the back it works marginally well. The interior is very hospitable to the driver and cramped for everyone else. The driving position is low but visibility is quite satisfactory and the seats are comfortable but strangely less supportive than the sport buckets in my 1995 Firebird. The passenger footwell is intruded upon by a bump in the floorpan designed to accommodate the 1993-1995 exhaust system and now only serves to annoy your passenger. My wife does not appreciate this. Additionally the passenger seat does not travel as far rearward as the drivers seat. The rear seats are for kids or short trips only. One nice surprise from the standpoint of practicality is the rear hatch. This now unusual feature enables hauling 10 ft long wood moldings or two mountain bikes with the hatch closed or 4x8' sheets of lumber with the hatch open. It's fun amazing people at Home Depot.

Image:
This is the area people wrestle with the most. Yes the car is a holdout from a bygone era, but it has evolved into a very capable purpose built performance car unlike any other. Yes, many people have a bad impression of people who drive Camaro's. I do not understand this but I often hear remarks about Camaro drivers. I believe if you are secure about your self you shouldn't care what other people think. I also notice that people who have not been bombarded with automotive stereotypes (auto design innocents) especially children LOVE these cars. I've had kids knock at my door requesting permission to take pictures of the car. Please just judge the Camaro for what it is.

The 2001 model:
Although the car was last overhauled in 1993 it recieved a new (and wonderful) powerplant in 1998. The LS-1 V8 is rated at 310 HP and 340lb/ft of torque. It is widely acknowledged that the engine has about 345 actual horsepower and the performance numbers validate this. My car when completely stock with only 2000 miles on the engine ran very consistent 13.5 second quarter mile times at 106 MPH. The engine also recieved numerous updates for 2001 including a few intake parts from the new Corvette Z06 model. Another nice upgrade is the revised clutch that lightens the needed pressure immensely. When I first drove my car the clutch felt so light I thought it was broken. This has made driving in stop and go traffic much more bearable than it used to be.

Recommended Options:
I highly recommend the base Z-28 model for starters. It comes with a 500 watt stereo system to which you can add a $100 CD player or a $600 CD changer. I also recommend the no additional cost 6 speed transmission and the $350 factory Hurst shifter (when these cars are collected in the future this option will be valuable). I personally do not see the value in the SS package. You can add 17" wheels and tires yourself for a lot less money and the base Z-28 it a real "sleeper". You MUST order the Z rated GS-C tires. These are a $250 option and failing to order these tires (or the crappy Z rated RS-A tires) will get you a 112MPH top speed limiter. YUK!

Please give this car a try. If you are a car enthusiast who wants the most car for the money you will be thrilled to own one.