THAT’S IT!......

I know this has been discussed over and over again but all the ignorance recently has forced me to bring up again why the Camaro Z28 has throughout the F-bodies reign has been the top Camaro…

The Z28 was produced for 31 years to the SS’s 13 (Z28 3 more years if you count the IROC-Z’s)

The 1st gen Z28 was the race car version of the Camaro, The SS was the fully loaded street cruiser……The Z28 would out handle and out run an SS…..

Where was the SS from 1973 to 1995?...man how many years is it not produced and the Z28 was still running around

While Chevy claimed there to be a huge difference in performance during the 4th gen the SS was merely a body refreshment. If anything this was the time in the Camaros history where things went backwards….But 7 years of confusion vs over 20 years of the Z28 being the top model is hardly something for Chevrolet to continue to the 5th gen.

I’d agree that for some the SS may be the cooler car. It most always (especially in the 4th gen) came fully loaded with a high HP motor. However the Z28 was always the straight race car. For the guys here who want the stripped down, no goodies all performance, Z28 was your car.

They don’t call the top PERFORMING Corvette the Corvette SS….that’s blasphemy…Its been the Z car….the ZR1 or Z06

Furthermore the SS name has been slapped on everything from FWD cars to 6 cylinder Impalas…

This has to be said….GM knows this….I’m sick of people (newbies) getting their panties in a wad every time they see the Z28 posted above the SS.

I’m not trying to hate on the SS nameplate or anyone’s car. I personally plan on buying a MIDLEVEL SS because I want more comfort items and a convertible vs a hardcore race car. I don’t really want a 500hp car, nor do I want to pay today high premium for one these days.

This is my opening statement…..I have my flame suit on…..I’m ready to win the ensuing debate….bring on the discussion…but remember….

"Any Chevrolet can be an SS... Only a Camaro can be a Z/28!"

(flame suit on)

 

I agree.

 

Well, at least you didn't beat around the bush with this thread.

Another vote for z28.

 

Stars, the Z/28 was the ROADRACER. A L78 396 would hand a Z/28 it's *** in a straight line. They wanna make a high revving, lighterweight , de-contented car and call it the Z/28, they should go right ahead. It boils down to what, people want to do with the car. If they want a straight line boulevard bruiser, the SS should remain the top hp motor. They want a track ready car, then the Z/28 is the car for them. Remember, SS's also got the LS-6 in the Chevelle. And for the record the SS moniker came from the Corvette originally.

 

When I think of SS I use to think of big blocks when I was growing up. Lets face it, first gen z28 means two things: four speed and 302 v8. SS meant big blocks, z28 was a road racer and ss was a straight line hero. Also iroc-z stood for iroc-z28 which had the rpo z28 and of course iroc stood for international race of champions, but everyone and their grandmother knows that. SS use to mean something just like z28 use to mean something when they were still building Camaro's... GM will do whatever they want and that of course includes putting SS on anything that has an upgraded engine package.

 

I’m not going to argue the fact that the SS got bigger Hp engines and for the most part could beat the Z in a straight line..

However I still think the Z28 should be the top performing car…closest to the race car model..

The SS should be the boulevard bruiser, big motor with lots of options, comforts with speed…

 

ok, now we are getting somewhere. They wanna offer a race prepped model like the Cobra-R and call it the z-28, this argument would be a moot point. but the fact is that the SS conjures up images of big cube detroit iron (sure you can counter with a Malibu Maxx SS, but most performance junkies are going to think of Camaro's and Chevelles), and THAT,IMO, is why Chevrolet brought back the SS moniker. Also, for those who gre up in the 90's, the z/24, z26, z34, z71 etc. are all far more fresh than a cross ram intake, dual quad, rev happy road racer. Lastly, there was never a 160 hp SS Camaro

 

In case no one has noticed, Bob Lutz wants to sell 150,000 Camaros per year. Time to get it in gear and have Camaro get a full and appealing line up, dontcha think ?

I think we can certainly say that Z/28 and (Camaro) SS each have unique and rich characters. Let's not squander them....let's develop them. We've got alot of cars to sell.

With that said, you all know where I stand....

 

Bwahaha. I'll be happy when the 5th gen is out and GM has the model lineup however they want.

 

I think both the Z28 and SS should get the same engine and HP rating, but give the SS more amenities and luxury items and keep the Z28 weight down to make that the top performing Camaro. I really don't care which one really is the top performing though...The ZL1 is gunna kill both anyway

 

Z28 sux, SS for the top dog.. I want people to know I have the Corvette engine in my car.

 

What! You mean a Corvette has a Camaro engine. I love saying that to Vette guys. They look at me like

 

SS is the top dog.

 

I just hope they have specific missions for each car, and not have the Z28 (or SS for that matter) being just the base Camaro with a V8 option again.

If I could have done the late 4th gen lineup, I would have had a base car w/ a V6 and an optional LS1 V8 (basically what we got w/ the Z28) but without the Z28 badges of course. The Z28 would have been the base car V8, but shipped to SLP for their Bilstein suspension setup, 17's, and maybe a Z28 stripe package. And the SS would have been the same. No new parts, just creating more of a reason for the Z28 to exist, it would have basically been a handling package for the V8 Camaro. But that's JMO.

 

"Any Chevrolet can be an SS. . . only a Camaro can be a Z/28!"

I agree completely Stars, and I'm going to want a Z/28 in my driveway when available!