LOL, on any newer vette you see the ends of the car and there really isn't anymore car left that could touch anything. Now with a truck or SUV that has a trailer hitch sticking out the back, things get a little more tricky. I haven't had any seat time (outside of a minute during the Auto Show several months ago) in a new Camaro to know what that is like. Its back window is MUCH smaller than a Corvette also.

 

I'd probably take a backup camera (very briefly, I've driven a vehicle so equipped). But I'd absolutely want it to be a stand-alone item on the option sheet.

Just because it is possible to merge all sorts of controls for various vehicle systems into a single interface does not make it a good idea to do so. BMW's iDrive was roundly bashed for good reason. Can't we ever learn that some things are poor ideas?


With respect to the backup sensor, just what is it supposed to pick up that a driver can't reasonably be expected to be aware of? For anybody careless enough to back over kids' toys that were left in the driveway, that should be their responsibility to replace/repair whatever gets damaged, not mine to help finance technology that lets them get away with not paying attention.

Maybe it's even more basic - if cars weren't steadily getting taller perhaps we wouldn't even be having this particular discussion.


Norm

 

Right...you can the the end of the hood that slopes away from you and is 15" above the ground......right... Doesn't sound like you've spent much time behind the wheel of a Vette.....

But the main point is, it's really sad that the Camaro has grown to the size that you now need radar to back it up....something that used to be exclusive to big @$$ed SUV's......truly a sad comment on vehicle size the days.

 

Well spoken.

 

Knowing where the ends of your vehicles are doesn't mean you know what's right behind your vehicle. What if your kid left their bike laying there?

I'm not by any means saying that every car should have backup sensors or cameras, but I am saying that I see the point. You clearly don't.

Of half a dozen such interfaces on the market today, you pick the one that sucks and then decide that it can't be done better, despite those other ones that clearly show that you're wrong? Audi's MMI has been praised across the board for years, and Mercedes' COMAND system gets pretty good reviews too.

Heck, in its most recent iterations, even iDrive is supposedly pretty good.

 

You contradicted yourself, but got it about right in the end. You should have said, "that's not what Camaro was...". Actually, the '69 Camaro was well-known for having a huge option list. We have lived with minimalist cars for almost two decades, because that answered the market niche that Camaro was in. (It also explains to me why Mustangs most always outsold Camaros). Today IMO, GM has pushed Camaro into a much broader market. Unfortunately, the ability to pick and choose options is not what it was in 1969.

 

Being "better" in comparison to the worst example still isn't saying much. Adding complexity and expense either for its own sake or for the sake of "me too" is at best little more than a lateral move.

Sorry, but if I've got to go through some sort of menu either physically with a dial/**** or electronically via a touch screen just to get at the thing I want to adjust (before I can do any adjusting of whatever), I'll take that as being a big step backward. I already know what I want to adjust; why should I essentially have to first announce that intention to the car?

I'm not against technology where there is clear benefit without downsides. But I do need it to stay the hell out of my way or else it's just another nuisance that I'll gladly live without.


Norm

 

Seems to me, GM needs to be competitive in the "fun to drive" category on a car like this. In fact, maybe even a top priority.

Unless you're saying that sort of thing was 'then', not what Camaro should be 'now'.

 

I'm with you here; I'm not suggesting that the system all be controlled by a single input (like all three of the systems we mentioned). There can still be buttons and *****. That doesn't mean there aren't still good uses for a nice screen, maybe even a touchscreen.