GM Talking trash

[Trip McNeely]

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/11/18/camaro-zl1-chief-engineer-says-youre-welcome-to-ford-mustang/

The 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 has apparently rustled some snakes within General Motors. Al Oppenheiser, Chief Engineer behind the mighty Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 has officially made a statement about the newest member of the Mustang family, saying that the GM wonderchild has encouraged Ford to come at Chevrolet with both barrels blazing. Oppenheiser says that the Mustang has been playing catch-up with the Camaro since the fifth-generation debuted in 2009, and that the GT500 is no different. The GM engineer points out that that the Camaro ZL1 will be track-ready right out of the box while its Blue Oval rival will require additional performance packages to stand up to a road course.

"The days of 'no replacement for displacement' are over, and it's not enough to be fast in a straight line," Oppenheiser writes. We couldn't agree with that sentiment more, but we suspect it will still be hard to argue with the significantly lighter Mustang and its new 650 horsepower supercharged V8. As you may recall, the last-generation GT500 wasn't exactly slow around Virginia International Raceway. In the end, the only way this throwdown will be settled is on a racetrack. Hit the jump to read Oppenheiser's full statement as seen on Camaro5.

[talisman]

This is a good time for a car guy to be alive.

[helosailor]

Yeah,

[sc281]

This is a good time for a car guy to be alive.

Yup Yup.

It's been too long since we had a performance rivalry of any note in the OEM world.

[OrangeChevyII]

I think it's great.

[mikec]

It would be sweet if they do actually throwdown on a track...

[Txstang1]

Yes it is a good time, but it's all coming to an abrupt halt in, what, 2015 or whenever that 50 mpg deal goes into effect

[John -- '02 HAWK]

This is a good time for a car guy to be alive.

if you can afford a $55k car

[Sean88gt]

Doesn't the camaro handle like shit?

[Trip McNeely]

Yes it is a good time, but it's all coming to an abrupt halt in, what, 2015 or whenever that 50 mpg deal goes into effect

Maybe thats why they are trying to squeeze as much hp as possible every update. They should have some sort of stipulation of MPG for daily commuters, not sports cars. Fuck them trying to mandate something that should be a choice.

[Sean88gt]

The Mustang ran away from its portlier pursuers in all of our handling tests, circling the Figure-8 course in just 24.7 sec at 0.77 g, fully a half-second ahead of the Camaro and a second quicker than the big Dodge. Lateral grip measured at a legitimate sports car level of 0.97 g. Here the more interesting statistic may be the Dodge's ability to match the lighter, fatter-tired Camaro at 0.92 g each. The Challenger also generated an average of 0.71 g on the skidpad -- just 0.02 g under the Camaro -- while lapping a half-second slower. This suggests that the difference is more attributable to the SRT8's blunted acceleration on the straights (besides weighing more, it requires a 2-3 upshift the Camaro does without) while cornering and transitioning every bit as hard as the Camaro. The SRT8 chassis team clearly earned their salaries.



Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...#ixzz1eAXDOvui

From Motortrend. I'd say GM has their work cut out for them.

[Sean88gt]

Maybe thats why they are trying to squeeze as much hp as possible every update. They should have some sort of stipulation of MPG for daily commuters, not sports cars. Fuck them trying to mandate something that should be a choice.

Riiight! That's the goal.

[Machx2]

Maybe thats why they are trying to squeeze as much hp as possible every update. They should have some sort of stipulation of MPG for daily commuters, not sports cars. Fuck them trying to mandate something that should be a choice.

That is why you build up your garage full of older, better cars and say f'em.

[OrangeChevyII]

Doesn't the camaro handle like shit?

Negative.

[John -- '02 HAWK]

From Motortrend. I'd say GM has their work cut out for them.

the ZL1 is outdriving the stangs at Nuremburg with a 7:41.27