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By Larry Carley c2009
If you love Muscle Cars from the 1960s and early 1970s, you'll love the latest renditions from General Motors, Dodge and Ford. The 2010 Chevy Camaro, Dodge Challenger and Ford Mustang are the Awesome Threesome. They are all pure American muscle cars in both styling and performance. The are not look-alike aero jellybeans. They have angular, muscular lines. They are not luxury Euro or Japanese sports sedans. They stand out in traffic. They don't have spacious back seats or large trunks. They are driver's cars, the kind that get your testosterone pumping when you wrap your hands around the steering wheel and grab the MANual stick shift (hey, its a guy thing!). These are cars that would make Bruce Springsteen proud.
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I had the opportunity to test drive each of these vehicles at a recent Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA) press event at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI. For me, it was an opportunity to relive my youth as I was a teenager during the heyday of the American muscle car. I never owned a Camaro, Challenger or Mustang during my youth, but I did own a 1958 Corvette with a 400 horsepower-plus smallblock Chevy V8 that could blow the doors off many of the factory muscle cars of that era. In later years, I did own several Mustangs, but they were just daily drivers and nothing special.
Roush Mustang
The first car I took out on the track was actually a supercharged 426 horsepower 2010 Roush Mustang. Great performance car except for a couple of things. I did not like the short throw shifter for the manual 6-speed. Upshifting was no problem, but downshifting from 120 mph into a tight turn created a lot of uncertainty as to which gear I was hitting. Fortunately, I hit the right one and didn't over-rev the engine. But last year, I missed a downshift in a 2009 Roush Mustang and did a rather clumsy powerslide around the slowest turn on the track. The Roush Mustang could easily break the rear wheels loose (a little too easily), and the car felt twitchy and unpredictable to me on the track. Of course, the tires and brakes were cold as I was the first one to take the car out. And with only one quick lap to familiarize myself with the car, I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more if I'd had more time in it.
Mustang GT
After the Roush Mustang, I drove a 2010 Mustang GT. The V8 was strong and smooth, with excellent throttle response. I much preferred the stock manual shifter in this Mustang over the Roush short stab shifter. The 2010 model is pretty similar to last year's model, except it has a little more of a 1970 Mustang look to the front end. I've always been a Mustang fan, and I love the retro styling. There are tons of aftermarket body parts available for the 2005-2008 Mustangs, and I'm sure there will be lots of bolt-on goodies for the 2010, too. So if you're having a midlife crisis or just want to recapture that youthful feeling you get behind the wheel of a V8 Mustang, I'd put this car on my A-list if I were shopping for an affordable performance car.
Dodge Challenger
Next came two rides back to back in slightly different Challengers. The first was an S/RT model with a larger 6.1L Hemi, while the R/T model had the 5.7L Hemi. Both cars had mufflers that were tuned to perfection and produced the best sounding exhaust of the trio. The Challenger is also a retro styled car, and is somewhat heavier than the Mustang and Camaro. But on the track it felt nimble and predictable. I didn't bother to count cup holders like some automotive journalists do because I was having too much fun driving these cars. I'd also put the Hemi Challenger on my A-list.
Chevy Camaro
Chevrolet brought two different models of the Camaro to the track, and I assumed the first one I jumped into had a V8 in it. It sounded like a V8 when I punched it and it flew around the track like it had a V8 in it. Imagine my surprise when I opened the hood and found a V6!
The 3.6L V6 in the Camaro is rated at 304 horsepower with 273 ft. lbs. of torque. That's 94 more than the V6 in the 2010 Mustang, and almost as much as the Mustang GT V8. The 3.6L has direct fuel injection, four valves per cylinder, variable valve timing and a compression ratio of 11.3 to 1. Even so, you can fill up with the cheaper 87 octane gas and get 29 mpg on the highway.
Then I got behind the wheel of the SS Camaro with the Corvette-based LS3 6.2L V8 engine rated at 426 horsepower. Oh yeah! It felt better than my old Corvette, plus it had outstanding brakes and handling, too! Better yet, the LS3 delivers 24 mpg on the highway, with is double the mileage my old Corvette got.
The Camaro is also available with an L99 6.2L V8 that features cylinder deactivation when the car is cruising under light load to improve the mileage. Yet it still makes a stout 400 horsepower when you need to tromp down on the gas pedal.
Of the Awesome Threesome I drove, the SS Camaro was my favorite. It felt faster than the Challenger and Mustang, and handled the twists and turns on the Road America track with predictability and stability. The stability control system does have an off switch, as well as a special performance mode.
Though I was not able to time the car myself, Chevy says the SS Camaro can blast from zero to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds, and runs the quarter mile in 12.9 seconds at 111 mph. Top speed is electronically limited to 155 mph. If this car had wings, it could fly. Thanks Chevrolet for bringing back the 1960s in style!
The brand-new 2010 Chevrolet Camaro has turned out to be GM's hottest selling model this year. GM Vice President of Sales Mark LaNeve says that California is devouring the coupe, and the company has only a six-day supply. In June, Camaro easily outsold its main competitor, the Ford Mustang. Chevrolet dealers sold 9320 Camaros while Ford dealers sold 7362 Mustangs. Looks like Camaro is the favorite in this horse race.
The latest generation of Detroit muscle (Camaro, Mustang and Challenger) is vastly improved over what's been available in recent times, so competition in the segment is white hot. Chevrolet dealers have reported selling Camaros right off the delivery truck, with some consumers paying up to $500 over sticker! Ford, however, is offering rebates to move out the '09 models of the Mustang, which are probably hurting sales of its restyled 2010 models.
