The last Camaro was all about “retro,” so what’s next for Chevy’s pony car?
It’s likely that the Camaro wouldn’t exist today if it wasn’t for continuing interest and support from the Baby Boomer generation and, now more commonly, their offspring.
Both are steeped in the warm glow of nostalgia and yearning for a time when General Motors, Ford, Chrysler and American Motors’ sporty machinery blazed a trail across the nation’s streets and racetracks. More than five decades on, that trail has yet to cool off.
With the recently redesigned Ford Mustang and significantly updated Dodge Challenger (including the mind-blowing 707- horsepower Hell cat version ), what more could fans of past-generation American muscle wish for? Well, that would be an all-new-sixth-generation Chevrolet Camaro to keep pace with the competition.
The 2016 model sticks with the same general look as the previous car, including a beltline as high as Steve Urkel’s pants. Seriously, it’s as if some old-school hot-rodder chopped a fewinches out of the Camaro’s roofline tomake it appear more sinister. The design works, but combined with a cocoon-like seating position, your elbows will rest even with your head when hanging them out over the car’s towering door tops.
That’s hardly reason to take a pass on this newest Camaro. Onthe plus side, a thoroughly modernized interior does away with the annoying tunnel-type gauge pods that weren’t all that popular when first installed in the original car nearly a halfcentury ago. The new dash is user-friendlier, with a large screen displaying vital info between the tachometer and speedometer. Another optional touch-screen on the control panel is used for the navigation, communications and the audio system.
The Camaro has switched over to a stiffer platform— one that it shares with the Cadillac ATS— which means that it’s slightly shorter and narrower than before. The weight has also been leaned out by up to 390 pounds. That amount relates to the base LT coupe equipped with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder that makes 275 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. It’s also thrifty on fuel, registering 26 mpg in the city and 32 mpg on the highway. The weight for a comparable Camaro Convertible has undergone a 200-pound reduction.
Of course the Camaro becomes heavier with the installation of either the 3.6-liter V6 (335 horsepower/284 pound-feet) or the Corvette-based 6.2-liter V8 (455/455) that’s exclusive to the SS model.
Interestingly, although the turbo fourcylinder is the least expensive engine and the non-turbo V6 is optional, for Mustang buyers the choice is the other way around.
All three Camaro powerplants are available with six-speed manual transmissions or available eight-speed automatics that can be ordered with paddle-shift controls. The V8’s Tremec-brand manual gearbox gets a rev-matching program that blips the throttle when downshifting. Matching the
engine speed to the transmission keeps things nice and smooth at the back end.
Regardless of which one is selected, you’ll still have an engagingly rapid car on your hands; the slowest being the base turbo with the automatic transmission that Chevrolet claims can reach 60 mph from rest in 5.5 seconds. The V6 is slightly quicker, while the V8-powered Camaro SS does it in 4.0.
With a starting price of $26,700 for the turbo four-cylinder coupe, including destination charges (pricing for the late-arriving convertible has yet to be announced), base Camaros have the usual necessities and niceties plus push-button start, 20-inch wheels and a rear-vision camera (an absolute necessity when reversing).
At the upper end of the scale, a fully loaded Camaro SS will cost close to $40,000, but you’ll get what is essentially a more practical, albeit less alluring, Corvette.
There’ s no official word as to whether or whenthe higher performing ZL1 or Z/28 models will arrive, but given the return of the racy Mustang GT 350 with its 526 horsepower V 8, the wait shouldn’t be too long.
Meanwhile, with enhanced content and power choices, you can more easily match the Camaro to your specific driving needs and your ability to pay for them.