Picture Gallery: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro RS | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Discuss
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As a competitor to the Ford Mustang, you’d better hurry if you want to be unique, because if General Motors has their way, these cars will be everywhere in a few years, just like the Mustang is today.
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Sorry to disappoint muscle car fans, but my tester isn’t the big-dog V8 SS version; it is an RS model, which is equipped with the standard 3.6-litre V6 engine which still produces some impressive numbers, such as 304 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque. Perhaps the most impressive is the fuel consumption rating of 11.4/6.9 L/100 (city/highway). I’ll believe it when I see it at the end of the week, though!
My tester is also equipped with a six-speed automatic transmission (add $1,435 to the base price), but is available with a six-speed manual. The RS package adds: HID headlamps with “halo ring;” a rear spoiler; RS-unique tail lamps; body-colour roof ditch molding and RS badges for $1,705 on top of the base price $26,995. Also added to my tester are 20-inch wheels for $540 and a power sunroof for $1,195.
My tester is also a 2LT model rather than base trim. The 2LT starts at $31,595 and adds some desirable options including: OnStar with Direction and Connections package; driver information center; a Boston Acoustics premium nine-speaker sound system; Bluetooth; USB port; four auxiliary multifunction gauges and heated driver and front passenger leather seating.
2010 Chevrolet Camaro RS
MSRP as tested (including destination): $37,970
For more information on Chevrolet and the Camaro visit GM Canada
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Wow! While pretty much what I had anticipated, but a little beyond my expectations, I believe we may have set a record for the most responses to a day-by-day review after the first day. Good attention or negative, GM has to like all the press this car is giving them here and everywhere else — including on the road, where people stop what they are doing just to get a glimpse of this car.
My tester, in its silver paint, looks almost fake on the road, like a concept car being driven around in the real world. It stands out big time; hopefully it only catches positive attention and not any negative when parked out of my sight.
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Forget that it is made solely of hard plastics with no leather or soft trimming; the design is plain wrong. From the bubbly dash and the steering wheel that is weirdly-angled and does not feel comfortable at all right, down to the seat belt buckle that is on a horrible angle and creates a void between my hips and the buckle, which is not comfortable at all.
Also, it’s too “retro” for its own good. The optional stack of gauges by the shifter is cool and the throw back look is appreciated. It is, perhaps, the only part of the interior I like, but I’d never look at them anyways. The seats are made for gigantic people, apparently, as they are like park benches, yet anyone six feet tall may have issues with headroom. The rear seats are okay for short trips like most any coupe, but forget about letting yourself out if you are back there. I got in the back to take a photo and realized I was stuck, as the handle for the door was impossible to reach.
Unfortunately, it seems like the entire design was done as a concept and sent to production without the usual due diligence expected of a production vehicle. Compromises were made to ensure that the Joe Camaro enthusiast who fell in love with the concept would get one in his driveway, but as a result it nearly guarantees anyone else is just not going to “get it.”
Maybe I’ll “get it” by tomorrow; I’ll be driving 1,000km, and maybe the Camaro will grow on me.
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I can also give you my impressions of GM’s Connections and Directions package as part of OnStar. My tester does not have navigation but it has the capability of providing turn-by-turn directions via OnStar, and the system works great! When I crossed the bridge into Detroit, the roads looked nothing like the maps I had. Construction was rampant and a detour in effect, which I followed for a bit, but decided before it was too late that I would pull over and get directions.
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Onto the driving, of which I did a lot today, and almost all of it highway, but I did get in some city driving the past few days. On the highway, the Camaro has almost zero wind noise but tire noise is audible. It wasn’t annoying, but you could certainly hear the differences in pavement textures on the highway.
At 120km/h, the Camaro’s engine cruises just under 2,000rpm, so engine noise is zip and at the same time there is enough torque to keep you going in overdrive even up some steep hills. The few downshifts that were required were only on extreme grades. My buttocks conformed to the seats after nine hours, and they were comfortable enough. My back isn’t sore, though my elbow is a little as the armrest (just like in the Mustang) is too far back, but unlike the Ford, the Camaro does not have a cover on the cup holder to rest your arm on.
Although I didn’t take this vehicle to the track, it is obvious the independent rear suspension soaks up the road and provides the Camaro with capable performance. The brakes are linear and firm and the steering sharp, and like most rear wheel drive cars, parking lots are a breeze as the turn-in is quick.
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The V6 engine performed well on the highway: my return trip yielded me 8.9L/100km, around town I was averaging 13.5L/100km so that isn’t horrible either, although higher than the 11.4 city rating. The only real issue with the V6 is its sound! It sounds like a Nissan 350Z from inside the car, which doesn’t really fit with its character. I need the V8 rumble!
*Rating out of 5:
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*Rating based on vehicle’s classification
2010 Chevrolet Camaro RS
MSRP as tested (including destination): $37,970
For more information on Chevrolet and the Camaro visit GM Canada
August 10, 2009, 06:45:27 pm I was over in Buffalo the other day and saw a ton of Mustangs and Camaros, it seemed like every other car was a muscle car!
August 10, 2009, 07:22:57 pm
Awww tell us how you really feel about those
August 10, 2009, 09:05:35 pm They had one (and a bunch of other GMs) on display at a local mall this weekend, so I stopped in to refresh my memory on the interior. The dash is definitely as awful as I remember, but added to that was some seriously Tupperware-level plastic on the door panels, and looking out from any window (windshield included) was like peering through the gun slots on a WWII bunker.
I also got to look at what passes for the trunk - I don't know that I've ever seen a smaller opening on so large a vehicle. Forget golf - good luck stuffing a bowling ball through that.
Jaeger
August 10, 2009, 10:50:36 pm
I also got to look at what passes for the trunk - I don't know that I've ever seen a smaller opening on so large a vehicle. Forget golf - good luck stuffing a bowling ball through that.
Jaeger
Sigh....
So if I gave you an '80s Lambo you'd obviously turn your nose up at...can't see out of it...crap plastic...can't see out of it.
August 10, 2009, 10:54:17 pm
What's wrong with that?!? You ever driven a supercar? The view was like that on the TVR Cerbera that I drove, perfect!
August 10, 2009, 11:01:17 pm
Quote from Gumball Rally...1976...
Franco: And now my friend, the first-a rule of Italian driving.
[Franco rips off his rear-view mirror and throws it out of the car]
Franco: What's-a behind me is not important.
August 11, 2009, 12:16:06 am
Quote from Gumball Rally...1976...
Franco: And now my friend, the first-a rule of Italian driving.
[Franco rips off his rear-view mirror and throws it out of the car]
Franco: What's-a behind me is not important.
LOL
Perfect!
August 11, 2009, 12:18:41 am
What's wrong with that?!? You ever driven a supercar? The view was like that on the TVR Cerbera that I drove, perfect!
The TVR Cerbera sounds nice.
But it, like the Camaro, doesn't fit into a world where the automotive appliance is king.
August 11, 2009, 12:28:28 am
What's wrong with that?!? You ever driven a supercar? The view was like that on the TVR Cerbera that I drove, perfect!
The TVR Cerbera sounds nice.
But it, like the Camaro, doesn't fit into a world where the automotive appliance is king.
Yeah but who cares? This is a car for enthusiasts... Corolla drivers need not apply.
The reason for the thin windows, is because tall windows look shit on a sports car.
August 11, 2009, 01:24:26 am
What's wrong with that?!? You ever driven a supercar? The view was like that on the TVR Cerbera that I drove, perfect!
The TVR Cerbera sounds nice.
But it, like the Camaro, doesn't fit into a world where the automotive appliance is king.
Yeah but who cares? This is a car for enthusiasts... Corolla drivers need not apply.
The reason for the thin windows, is because tall windows look shit on a sports car.
Who cares? Near enough everyone on this board it seems.
Come to think of it, the last TVR interior I saw looked like shit too.
August 11, 2009, 06:48:55 am
I also got to look at what passes for the trunk - I don't know that I've ever seen a smaller opening on so large a vehicle. Forget golf - good luck stuffing a bowling ball through that.
Jaeger
Sigh....
So if I gave you an '80s Lambo you'd obviously turn your nose up at...can't see out of it...crap plastic...can't see out of it.
Sigh....
This isn't the 80's.
And the crap-plastic Chevy isn't a Lambo. Or a supercar of any kind.
And yes - I'd sat being able to see your surroundigs would be a plus in any vehicle - but particularly one with performance aspirations. I cringe at the thought of piloting this broad-of-beam beast through downtown Toronto, not being able to see approaching cyclists. Or approaching street cars, for that matter. It's not just the rear-view and side view that struck me as compromised - there wasn't much of a windshield to look out of, either.
Jaeger
August 11, 2009, 06:50:49 am
What's wrong with that?!? You ever driven a supercar? The view was like that on the TVR Cerbera that I drove, perfect!
The TVR Cerbera sounds nice.
But it, like the Camaro, doesn't fit into a world where the automotive appliance is king.
Yeah but who cares? This is a car for enthusiasts... Corolla drivers need not apply.
The reason for the thin windows, is because tall windows look
Well, you don't. So... there's that.
A vehcile needn't have windows the size of a bus to afford decent visibility.
Jaeger
August 11, 2009, 08:33:32 am
And if the windows extended all the way down to your navel you'd be complaining about that too. The real issue is that this is just another opportunity for you to bitch about a GM product.
August 11, 2009, 08:53:37 am
Silly me....I thought folks would want to discuss actually driving one of those damn things.
August 11, 2009, 10:04:30 am
And if the windows extended all the way down to your navel you'd be complaining about that too. The real issue is that this is just another opportunity for you to
Wow - Greg B. jumping down the throat of someone who dares to be critical of a domestic product. What a shock.
And yes, I would be critical of navel-level windows as well. It is consistent with your usual silliness to suggest such a polar extreme as the only reasonable alternative.
Jaeger
August 11, 2009, 10:55:17 pm
What's wrong with that?!? You ever driven a supercar? The view was like that on the TVR Cerbera that I drove, perfect!
The TVR Cerbera sounds nice.
But it, like the Camaro, doesn't fit into a world where the automotive appliance is king.
Yeah but who cares? This is a car for enthusiasts... Corolla drivers need not apply.
The reason for the thin windows, is because tall windows look shit on a sports car.
Who cares? Near enough everyone on this board it seems.
Come to think of it, the last TVR interior I saw looked like shit too.
Yeah whatever...
August 11, 2009, 10:58:10 pm
It depends which one, Bob. I also saw one...(not sure what year..but it was older) and the interior was POS and nothing special. Definitely not anywhere near as nice as that pic you posted.
August 11, 2009, 11:01:11 pm
It depends which one, Bob. I also saw one...(not sure what year..but it was older) and the interior was POS and nothing special. Definitely not anywhere near as nice as that pic you posted.
I'm obviously not talking about every old TVR ever made now am I. I'm talking about the ones that didn't make it to Canada, the good ones...
August 11, 2009, 11:02:30 pm The one I saw was from the late 90's early 2000? Who knows what interior was the last one he saw...
August 12, 2009, 08:18:49 am I think it was something closer to this:
BTW, I am a big TVR fan.
August 12, 2009, 08:20:33 am I want to have sex with that interior Bob WOW
August 12, 2009, 08:45:31 am Whatever turns you on.
I would prefer Erik's TVR pic followed by Bob's 1st pic if I had the opportunity to have a TVR.
August 12, 2009, 06:38:15 pm I just wanted add something regarding the V6 to V8 debate. With the introduction of direct injected engines I think we need to get past the stigma of a 6 cyl sports car. The 426 Horsepower V8 is great for the collector who is going to keep it in the garage and drive it on warm dry sundays. I have clients that have purchased the V8 as thier daily driver. 426 HP is a lot of HP to be driving every day. I also had a GT V8 Mustang with 280 HP and our Camaro V6 is 305.
To anyone looking do not get caught up with the term "V6". 305 HP is a lot and more powerful then most V8 sports cars on the road.
Check out my site. We have SS and 2LT models available and Coming:
August 12, 2009, 06:45:20 pm
To anyone looking do not get caught up with the term "V6". 305 HP is a lot and more powerful then most V8 sports cars on the road.
Check out my site. We have SS and 2LT models available and Coming:
Spamalamadingdong.
That aside, I don't think the V6 Camaro need make any performance apologies.
Jaeger
August 12, 2009, 07:26:20 pm
To anyone looking do not get caught up with the term "V6". 305 HP is a lot and more powerful then most V8 sports cars on the road.
Check out my site. We have SS and 2LT models available and Coming:
Spam aside....the dealer near me..the one's I posted the pics for? They got ANOTHER V8 in..which sold almost immediately. And the other SS is gone. The only one still there is the V6...the car I thought would sell first.