First, two of the ten cars listed are Mazdas, which until about six months ago, was owned by Ford. Ford has since relinquished it's majority ownership of Mazda, but still has a close partnership with the company. The absolute last thing Ford should do would be to copy a Mazda vehicle very closely, since they would only be cutting into their own investments and then hurting each other. Ford doesn't do this, which is something that differentiates Ford from GM. GM has, in the past, made the same car and slapped different labels on it to try to expand sales, but in turn just cut into their own.
Secondly, of all the foreign cars listed, there is not a single Toyota listed. Toyota is one of the most successful car companies in the world, and in particular, in America. If there is one company that the Detroit auto makers should be looking to, they should look no further than the company that now owns many of their old plants.
However, despite my complaints, the article does raise a few good points, particularly for GM and Dodge. However, one of the problems with the situation they're in is that they can't afford to be doing a lot of research into new forms of vehicles since their really not selling many at all. Chrystler is in the worst shape of all because they had cornered the outdated American mindset of bigger and more powerful with no regard for efficiency or price. Dodge and Jeep, the two main lines of Chrystler, are both expensive while also having few small, low-cost vehicles. Their cheapest vehicle is the Caliber, starting at 17,995. To let you in on a secret, that's about what we paid for my Mustang... total.
Anyway, the thing that I actually started this blog with the intention of talking about was the new Camaro. Looking on their website, you are shown that you can get one for as low as $23,040, about $2,000 more than the baseline Mustang, which is what I have, so we will use that for comparison.
The baseline Camaro has 304 HP compared to 210 HP in my Mustang. It also has 273 ft-lbs of torque to the Mustang's. No surprise there, that's what they've campaigned on the entire time they were working on this car; that it would be faster than the Mustang. However, those numbers are at much higher RPM's than the Mustangs, which means it's going to take the car longer to reach those peaks. Also, the Camaro weighs in at almost 500 pounds heavier than the Mustang. That means a Mustang with 4 people weighs about the same as a Camaro with just the driver. If you've ever driven a loaded small car, you know you can feel the difference in weight. Also, while the highway fuel efficiency is estimated to be higher, the city is at 17, a bit lower than the mustang, which is estimated at 19. However, I don't think I've ever been below 20.
The Camaro is also smaller inside on every dimension but one, rear headroom, by less than an inch. I know the back seats in the Mustang is cramped, and those in the Camaro are much thinner and shorter in space, even if they are slightly taller.
Now, for aesthetics. The first thing I noticed about the baseline Camaro is that it comes with ugly black rims. It'll cost you about an extra $1,000 or more to get those looking nicer... by replacing them. I also noticed, the Camaro doesn't come with a spare tire! That's right, you have to add on the option of having a donut... for $150. That's a sure sign of cost-cutting measures if I ever saw one.
On the inside... well, I have no idea what the baseline model looks like inside. They don't show it. The only pictures they have of the interior are of the high end V6, which weighs in at over $27,000. So once again, outward signs point to Chevy sacrificing the interior to cover what they put under the hood.
I actually kind of want to go test drive one, just because. I think it'll be fun to drive, but I don't think it would be fun to be in for a long time. So, unsurprisingly, I am siding with my Mustang.
That's all for now. All the best to you and yours,
-TES
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