The "U" shaped hooks on cars are not meant for towing anything. They are called transport points, as in transporting overseas. That is why you have "T' slots in the sub-frame.

If you see a tow driver putting his hooks on anything other than the "T" slots, stop him right then and report it to his company. It's people like that, that cause tow company owners tons of money every year.

On the "German" style tow hooks, ya they're great until you have to try to pry that little square piece out without scratching someones paint. That and we'll all just end up taking them out anyways for the sake of weight savings. (Kinda like our spare tires and jacks.)

A little hint, when you break down, ask for a wheel lift and dollies. Then you don't have to worry about some idiot throwing a hook where it doesn't belong.

 

The 5th gen needs a freakin tow catch now? Give me a break.

Spend the $15 bucks on an ashtray hinge that doesn't break and rattle in the first 50 miles of ownership.

 

I havent seen a new car with an ashtray in a while.

 

My point kinda was spend the $15 on something more important inside the car. I don't smoke, so I never use the ashtray, and yet the hinge still broke on the car almost immediately, and rattles all of the time.

 

I think the whole idea of this option is the realization that not everyone keeps their beloved F-Body inside at the mere mention of rain in the forecast, frost, or light flurries.

The new camaro may get the same duties as I see COUNTLESS mustangs and other rear drive coupes have, and thats near-year round duties in colder climates. Or even places that have less than desirable conditions more than 10% of the time.

The addition of a low cost, well placed tow hook shouldn't sound so foreign to everyone. Its just thats its placing an everyday car feature on a vehicle that some may not realize can and will be bought as an everyday, almost if not all, year round vehicle.

Everyone gets so caught up in talking engine selections, horsepower, transmissions, powertrain etc etc that something this practical sounds alien.

Would you like to be able to rescue your beloved new camaro from a deep muddy shoulder, embankment, deep snow due to miscalculation, or maybe even another driver causing you to derail your camaro? Access the well placed tow hook or bolt in hook as on the bmw...and be faced with just a good undercarriage cleaning as opposed to the scraping of paint, cracking or warping of rear/front fascia that a tow cable will do if you have to jerry-rig a hook up underneath somewhere?

Theres a lot of non-performance features this car should, and will have.

 

I didnt realize thats what they were. Some of them are pretty thick though. I used the stamped thick catch on the front of my 95 Civic to jack it up regularly to change the oil and the two thick stampings with the holes on the front of my 82 RX7 to tow behind a friends Land Rover to drop it in gear and get it started in HS. The Plates seem stronger than the hooks but I guess it is what it is. I am curious as to how they are good for tie downs in shiping overseas, but not tiedowns on a roll back. Its Im curious, not that I disagree.

I still like the BMW tow hook idea or at least something comperable. The T slot info is really usefull, I would be interested in where in the subframe they are. T slots in the subframe are usless however, if your car is burried in snow, mud or ran off the road or for whatever reason its not possible to get to the underside of the car.

I would not take it out personally, nor woud I leave out the spare or jack unless I had planned to be at the track that night. Granted my spare isnt in my 4th gen, but that has everything to do with having to tear the plastic apart and put everything back together rather than weight. That and its no longer a daily driver. I cant imagine it weighing that much.

I may be wrong here but I thought it was worth bringing up.

 

How about a trailer hitch, while we are at it?

 

A little over the top, I think and defintely not in the same context. Similar to if this thread was about rear defrost and someone suggested why not a roof rack while we're at it.

BTW, I've seen hitches on many a 4th gen, aftermarket of course.

 

I drive my car everywhere, rain, shine, or snow, and I am still against the idea. The money for the tow hook could be spent on something better.

 

It's a neat idea and all.........but I don't think it's worth it for the less than 1% of owners who would ever need it.

If you think you may need to tow your Camaro out of some mud or snow - fab something up yourself.

 

Not quite as over the top as you'd think. Check this out.

Some of the fine folks at ls1gto.com just recently realized that ALL GTOs come from the factory with a heavy V-bar brace bolted to the underside of the trunk. It's hidden by the factory plastic covers, but it's there.

The purpose....it's a light duty trailer hitch mounting point that's common to every car built on the chassis. You can buy the rest of the gear to make it functional from holden.

The IRONY.....pontiac clearly states in the owner's manual that you should not use the GTO for towing anything, ever.

So despite the fact that 99.99% of GTOs will never be used for towing, and pontiac themselves don't recommened using it for towing, they still come with a POS 20lb brace for a light duty hitch pick-up point.

Guess what's coming off my car next time i change the oil.

But the real lesson is, be careful what you call a slippery slope. I'd rather my car not come with extra cost and weight built in that i will never need.


trailer hitch: http://www.ls1gto.com/forums/showthr...=trailer+hitch

 

btw, i'm with this guy. If you're dumb (or unlucky) enough to get your car stuck in mud or off a road in a ditch, you DESERVE a little extra pain in getting it out. Besides, if it's under the car, it will be just as hard to get too as any other hard point anyway, so who cares?

In all my years of driving, i have never once needed any such tow hook, so why add even the smallest cost and weight to a car for something virtually no one will ever need?

 

Ive worked for a drag strip and a Moto Cross track and can tell you there were plenty of people who were unlucky enough to get stuck in the parking lots during big Moto cross events. Especially when the Pros came and all the parking is in Fields. All it took was those cars to sit while it rained for them to get stuck. Im talking about beautiful Corvettes, GTO's Mustangs, RX7's Just about any car you can think of and none of them 'deserved' to get stuck any way you spin it. The Drag strip I worked for right nest to it uses the same fields during the shows. Being something at the end of the car is not as hard to get to as any other point.

 

It's funny how many people think that cuz they have a performance vehicle that they're impervious to mishaps on the road. Also that anyone who ever got stuck was automatically doing something in their car they shouldn't have, or don't know how to drive.

Sure the road is clear and straight, but damn why did that oncoming car passing when he/she shouldn't have force you off the road and into the loose gravel bank, wow you're stuck. darn. You had no business being on that road. In fact you're too dumb and deserve the pains of trying to get your beloved car towed out.

Please.

Something closer to the front/rear fascia as opposed to the actual K fram or axle in most cases would be a heck of alot easier to get to...yeah you'd get dirty, but you're going to get dirty just getting out of the car.

Why are we even bothering, like many internet arguments/debates - they're pointless.

 

Im bothering because I think it might possibly be a good idea. If not then what did it hurt? My ashtray did break in my 98 and I dont like that. I would rather have no ashtray and be able to retrieve my car ASAP should I need to. I understand wating to spend a couple bucks more on anything the interior though. Also I was wondering if it was something anyone else thought was a good idea or something they would want too.