#1 - only a lumina can be a z34, etc. Most Zxx badges were played out, which leads to..

#2 - Is it really a good marketing idea to put a badge on your $40k+ car that also came on > 1 million sub-200hp cars

#3 - how many years when they were both available did z28 have more available HP then SS?

I don't think either SS or z28 works for a high dollar camaro, i chose other.

 

Should've been a checkbox poll ...and public too

 

Lets put it in the proper perspective here......I drooled over other guys Z28 camaros in high school. Not a one of them went over 30,000 miles before they started blowing smoke out the exhaust and eventually blew the engines. They had 4.10 gears people...and the speed limit on the freeway was 70 mph (and there were no overrdrives back then). Guys were cranking all kinds of RPM to go camping for the weekend to have a private tent with their cheerleader girlfriends! They were a road race car that GM built enough of to satisfy racing requirements and public demand. They were only suitable on the street for stoplight racing. I later ended up buying a 69 SS/RS convertible with a factory 350/300 hp high nickel block. That package gave me the rosewood steering wheel, console gauges, hidden headlights, front disc brakes, 12 bolt rear end, multileaf rear springs, RS type chrome hood inserts (rather rare), ralleye wheels and misc. badging. I believe it had a 3.23 gear with the 350 trans and was very streetable as well as being driveable for out of state (I found it in Florida for $1100). I put 110,000 miles on it before a timing chain blew and caused me to rebuild the entire engine and restore the whole car.
Don't compare Z28, SS and RS packages to those of old. There is no comparison. A "true" Z28 type car based on the original camaro would not be driveable on the street today except to go to McDonalds and hang out in before a short drive home. Some guys back then were even running 4.56 gears on the street...and thats what gave them the awesome holeshots they had as well as the quick windup of rpm's as they went through the gears. Don't compare apples to oranges. Technology has changed everything.....

 

Why make it a historical name? Bah. Camaro T8 (Turbo 8 ), Camaro S8 (Supercharged 8 ), Camaro S6, Camaro NA8, Camaro FU, Camaro 6.2Z, etc...

 

No Pontiac badging please

 

It's better than Pontiac Badging cause it has a car name and THEN the designation.

 

Agreed.

The Z/28 may have been a limited production corner carver in the 1st gen Camaros, but the SS 396 375 HP was the top dog. It was the most powerful Camaro. A properly driven L78 would blow the doors off a Z/28. A Z/28 may have been able to pull one off if the guy in the SS didn't know what he was doing.

Why did the SS go away in the 2nd gens? Most likely due to the gas crisis. When high performance engines died, the SS died along with it.

For most of the 2nd gen and all of the 3rd gen, the Z/28 was the top model by default. HP output was dismal until the 4th gens came out.

The SS takes a hiatus until it becomes an option in 1996. Yes, the option was offered by SLP. Even so, the SS > Z28. Why would GM allow the SS to be the highest HP, top option if the Z/28 had a history of being the top of the line Camaro? When the LS1 cars came around in the 4th gens, the Z/28 was the base V8 and the SS was the top of the line model. Z/28 fanatics will say that there was minimal difference between the two, however you cannot argue against the fact that GM made the SS the top option over the Z/28.

Once again, if the Z/28 had such a rich history of being the top of the line Camaro, why didn't GM make the 4th Gen SS the base V8 and then make the Z/28 the top option and rate it at 320 HP? I think the reason is that any time the SS and Z28 have been in the picture together, the SS has been the most powerful option available.

I also don't think that putting a nose-heavy supercharged V8 in the Z/28 is being true to the name. The Z should be the lightest, most well balanced Camaro with a high revving N/A V8. If the Camaro is getting a blower, it should go into the SS where brute power is most important and handling is not as high a priority.

This, of course, is my opinion. Seems like a lot of people here are stating "Z/28 will be king" or "SS will be king", but I haven't seen those words come out of Fbodfather's mouth. Once he says it, I will take it as fact.

Also, this is only between the Z/28 vs SS. If GM brings the ZL1 back, the ZL1 should be king.

 

According to Chevrolet, because it was replaced by the Type LT.



Bad judgement and desperate times.

 

Where's the option for BOTH??

While I'm more of a Z28 guy at heart, I don't see the need (or point) of arguing which one is "better" .

SS & Z28 are and can be great in their own ways. But I think for the 5th-gen, a little more emphasis should be put on clearly defining each model, whereas with the 4th-gen, the SS was just an "upgraded" Z28 (and we wonder why so many people think the SS is "better than" the Z28 ).

I have NO VOTE until there is an option for BOTH .

 

When you say Z28 to somebody that knows little about cars they automatically know it's a CAMARO...But when you say SS to somebody like that...the person is no where near of thinking you are talking about a Camaro...

Z28 HANDS DOWN

 

I'll only accept it if they have the Camaro STFU edition

 

Well then, based on THAT logic ...

... Z28 > SS because SS = LT = Berlinetta, and we all know Berlinetta < Z28 .

And even though in the 4th-gens, SS > Z28, that doesn't matter because the precidence was already set back in the 70's .

 

In other words: GM didn't want to put the SS name on a Camaro that was a turd.

Nope. GM understood the history of the Camaro and understood that anytime the SS and Z28 were available at the same time, the SS ALWAYS had more power.

 

LOL that made my head spin.

The precidence that was set back in the '70s was a HP depression for the next 20+ years.

 

I need me a Camaro STFU edition.