One GOOD reason to live in Oshawa
02-25-2009, 08:44 AM
#1
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Oshawa - Home of the 5th-gen
Posts: 5,308
One GOOD reason to live in Oshawa
Friendly neighbours!!
Ok, good news and bad news. Bad news first. I didn't get to drive it for very long
. Good news, I got to drive it! 
This was a base SS, 6-speed, cloth interior, minimal "fancy stuff" (fine with me). And obviously, no ambient lighting! (I'm sure someone was going to ask).
First off, it's nothing like my 2002 Z28.
Secondly, and don't take this the wrong way, driving it reminded me of my buddy's 2007 Mustang GT?!
I think just the general "feel" and more notably, the clutch! 
(very light ... almost too light?) **BUT** ... I'm not saying that comparison is a bad thing (you may breathe a sigh of relief now).
Unfortunately, I had very little time to do my test drive, thus, I had very little time to get myself 100% "adjusted" to the car. Compared to my 4th-gen that just "fit like a glove" when I first got in, the 5th-gen will take a little bit of adapting to. But the beauty is, with the telescopic/infinite tilt steering, and the wickedly adjustable power seat (note: very comfortable and very supportive) finding the perfect driving position for pretty much ANYBODY should be easily achievable ... I just didn't have enough time to find my groove (although I got close).
One word about the car though: smooooooooooooth
.
... but firm. You can still tell that you're driving a sports car. I tried to get a feel for the weight/handling, and took a couple turns at a fair speed. The car stays perfectly flat (or it certainly felt that way). The steering is GREAT too ... instantly responsive, and yet, the car tracks beautifully down the road ... no pitching or darting like my '02 (although that's also due to my car's setup). But having such little over-hang compared to the 4th-gen, the turning is immediate.
And the brakes! Oh the brakes! They're wonderful!!! The Brembo's and 14" rotors are superb!!!
(and I didn't even REALLY get to try them out!!). I can see this car having great track capabilities, although obviously there won't be much overcoming the curb weight, shy of gutting the car.
The power is the one thing I didn't really get to try. The roads were nice and dry, but there's still the typical salt residue from our great Canadian winters, so traction would be very limited, and I went nowhere that I could really open it up. From what I did feel though, it felt good. As another person described, it feels much like the power of the LS1 (probably the power/weight ratio has a lot to do with it).
The exhaust note is nice, but (going back to how smooth the whole car is) it's almost barely noticable. I'd put a cat-back on my short list of things I'd want on the car (just so you can hear those ~425 ponies).
Oh yeah, and the shifter ... again, very smooth, but I'd prefer my B&M Ripper over the silky smoothness. I didn't mind the actual shift **** though. It was comfy.
Well, that's my brief (but lengthy!) report on my brief drive with the new Camaro. Fortunately, our neighbour is in a position of being able to bring these bad boys home quite frequently (probably moreso as more cars are built and available). Hopefully when the weather (roads) improve a little more, and we've got more time, I can get another chance at driving one of the cars and getting a more detailed report (and perhaps get to check out a car with the ambient lighting too
).
Ok, good news and bad news. Bad news first. I didn't get to drive it for very long
. Good news, I got to drive it! This was a base SS, 6-speed, cloth interior, minimal "fancy stuff" (fine with me). And obviously, no ambient lighting! (I'm sure someone was going to ask).
First off, it's nothing like my 2002 Z28.
Secondly, and don't take this the wrong way, driving it reminded me of my buddy's 2007 Mustang GT?!
I think just the general "feel" and more notably, the clutch! (very light ... almost too light?) **BUT** ... I'm not saying that comparison is a bad thing (you may breathe a sigh of relief now).Unfortunately, I had very little time to do my test drive, thus, I had very little time to get myself 100% "adjusted" to the car. Compared to my 4th-gen that just "fit like a glove" when I first got in, the 5th-gen will take a little bit of adapting to. But the beauty is, with the telescopic/infinite tilt steering, and the wickedly adjustable power seat (note: very comfortable and very supportive) finding the perfect driving position for pretty much ANYBODY should be easily achievable ... I just didn't have enough time to find my groove (although I got close).
One word about the car though: smooooooooooooth
.... but firm. You can still tell that you're driving a sports car. I tried to get a feel for the weight/handling, and took a couple turns at a fair speed. The car stays perfectly flat (or it certainly felt that way). The steering is GREAT too ... instantly responsive, and yet, the car tracks beautifully down the road ... no pitching or darting like my '02 (although that's also due to my car's setup). But having such little over-hang compared to the 4th-gen, the turning is immediate.
And the brakes! Oh the brakes! They're wonderful!!! The Brembo's and 14" rotors are superb!!!
(and I didn't even REALLY get to try them out!!). I can see this car having great track capabilities, although obviously there won't be much overcoming the curb weight, shy of gutting the car.The power is the one thing I didn't really get to try. The roads were nice and dry, but there's still the typical salt residue from our great Canadian winters, so traction would be very limited, and I went nowhere that I could really open it up. From what I did feel though, it felt good. As another person described, it feels much like the power of the LS1 (probably the power/weight ratio has a lot to do with it).
The exhaust note is nice, but (going back to how smooth the whole car is) it's almost barely noticable
. I'd put a cat-back on my short list of things I'd want on the car (just so you can hear those ~425 ponies).Oh yeah, and the shifter ... again, very smooth, but I'd prefer my B&M Ripper over the silky smoothness. I didn't mind the actual shift **** though. It was comfy.
Well, that's my brief (but lengthy!) report on my brief drive with the new Camaro. Fortunately, our neighbour is in a position of being able to bring these bad boys home quite frequently (probably moreso as more cars are built and available). Hopefully when the weather (roads) improve a little more, and we've got more time, I can get another chance at driving one of the cars and getting a more detailed report (and perhaps get to check out a car with the ambient lighting too
).
02-25-2009, 09:12 AM
#4
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: ohio
Posts: 4,482
sweeeett! one thing. you say its nothing like your 2002 z...........WELL YEAH! its a totally different car. there is nothing that is has in comon with the 4th gen(except for the name)
it must have been fun. i cant wait to drive mine.
it must have been fun. i cant wait to drive mine.
02-25-2009, 10:34 AM
#7
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Oshawa - Home of the 5th-gen
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Yesterday was pretty much a last-minute surprise. I was heading out for the evening, and this was a VERY quick "stop" on my way! 
He'll continue to bring cars home, and hopefully he'll get one on a weekend soon ... that way we'll have much more time to REALLY check the thing out ... I'll call you when that happens .
Yeah, yeah ..... ok, so there was this ONE similarity! 
Well, and it was also black, and a 6-speed, and had two doors ..............
I believe it was the tan, not gray. The panel inserts were fabric as far as I remember. The interior was definitely more basic, but to be honest, I liked it. It's simple. Although the instrument cluster in the middle looks like it would take a little bit of getting used to ..... but what new car doesn't need to be "learned"? Although the 4th-gen center stack was pretty idiot proof/simple .
He'll continue to bring cars home, and hopefully he'll get one on a weekend soon ... that way we'll have much more time to REALLY check the thing out ... I'll call you when that happens . Well, and it was also black, and a 6-speed, and had two doors .............. Although the 4th-gen center stack was pretty idiot proof/simple .
02-25-2009, 10:59 AM
#9
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Oshawa - Home of the 5th-gen
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Here's just a quick interior pic of a black SS/RS he had home last week:
Obviously the interior is leather, but it clearly doesn't appear to have the ambient lighting.
And a yellow V6 RS:
I didn't get to see either of those cars, unfortunately. My Dad got to drive each of them, and liked both. The V6 was an auto, but he was surprised at the get-up-and-go that it had
. He said there was a noticable difference in the braking between the two ... the V6's weren't nearly as grabby as the SS's, but that's understandable. I'm guessing the V6 brakes are probably similar to LS1 brakes? (although apparently a slightly bigger rotor ... around ~12.5" vs. ~12").
Obviously the interior is leather, but it clearly doesn't appear to have the ambient lighting.
And a yellow V6 RS:
I didn't get to see either of those cars, unfortunately. My Dad got to drive each of them, and liked both. The V6 was an auto, but he was surprised at the get-up-and-go that it had
. He said there was a noticable difference in the braking between the two ... the V6's weren't nearly as grabby as the SS's, but that's understandable. I'm guessing the V6 brakes are probably similar to LS1 brakes? (although apparently a slightly bigger rotor ... around ~12.5" vs. ~12").
02-25-2009, 11:28 AM
#11
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Jacksonville Florida
Posts: 881
If you look very closely at the left side of the picture, at the panel on the door. It looks like the material "covering" the panel is loose on the bottom. I think GM covered it to hide the ABL. On the other side of this, if base models ARE going to come with cloth covered panels, then it stands to reason, that those panels could easily be uncovered or recovered with another color for a more custom look at very little expense. But I'm betting that the cloth is just a mask to hide ABL.
Last edited by christianjax; 02-25-2009 at 11:30 AM.
02-25-2009, 12:16 PM
#12
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Oshawa - Home of the 5th-gen
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I'll try to find out. Likely not going to get any more info than is already available . However, if I can check out an RS package car, I'll try to pay attention to the doors and see if anything is "hiding" there . On the car yesterday, clearly they were plain panels, but it was the dressed-down car anyway.
. However, if I can check out an RS package car, I'll try to pay attention to the doors and see if anything is "hiding" there . On the car yesterday, clearly they were plain panels, but it was the dressed-down car anyway.
02-25-2009, 12:20 PM
#13
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: ohio
Posts: 4,482
the black ss should have the IOM door panels to match the leather. it does clearly look liek they just threw that fabric on to cover it up. if i had one of these cars i would be tearing it appart to find that ambient lighting.
02-25-2009, 12:23 PM
#14
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Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: SoCal
Posts: 3,463
I agree that is one good reason to live in Oshawa.
Good write up. That's twice that people having driven the car say it has power/acceleration feel similar to the LS1 F-body. That's good and concerning at the same time.
Good write up. That's twice that people having driven the car say it has power/acceleration feel similar to the LS1 F-body. That's good and concerning at the same time.