Does it bother you that the Z28 is the best of the best?

[thunderkyss]

Hear me out now. I haven't really followed the 5th gen Camaros, so I'm just learning what's what. & I'm sure it's just me, but I figured I'd ask.

Does it bother anyone that the Z28 is at the top of the heap? I may very well have my Camaro history all screwed up, but I remember the SS being the big dog. & I mean all the way back to the 69s & 70s. The SS & ZL1s having the most horsepower & the Z28 being the ultimate track car.

Now... the SS is the entry V8, the 1LE (which I think should be the Z28) specializes in handling, the ZL1 is the ultimate performance, & the Z28 is a bit more than that.

Even in the 4th Gens, the Z28 was the entry V8, & the SS was the ultimate.

It's cool & everything. I can adjust. Just thought it weird.

[hrpiii]

are you seeing marketing at it's best? When we were all younger, remembering the "SS" was the big dog at the party, and now we are grown up, what are we wanting? Still the "SS". But times have changed and then isn't now, and now isn't then, but it's hard to rewire our memories from our youth.

Maybe? something to think about...

[Chevy_cowboy]

No, I'm glad to see them return to what the models were originally with the Z/28 being a barely street legal track car and the SS being the everyman's Camaro.

[BluePhoenix]

I think it's awesome. After being the base V8 Camaro in gens 3 and 4 it's nice to see the Z/28 return as the best 5th gen car built. No disrepect to the ZL1 which is awesome in itself.

[cal45]

Originally Posted by BluePhoenix

I think it's awesome. After being the base V8 Camaro in gens 3 and 4 it's nice to see the Z/28 return as the best 5th gen car built. No disrepect to the ZL1 which is awesome in itself.

I like that the rebirth of the Z/28 but I wouldn't call it the best built 5th gen. It fills a niche for a competitive track car but for all around ride, power, and creature comforts - I'd vote for the ZL1.....but I may be biased.

[ChrisBlair]

Originally Posted by thunderkyss

Hear me out now. I haven't really followed the 5th gen Camaros, so I'm just learning what's what. & I'm sure it's just me, but I figured I'd ask.

Does it bother anyone that the Z28 is at the top of the heap? I may very well have my Camaro history all screwed up, but I remember the SS being the big dog. & I mean all the way back to the 69s & 70s. The SS & ZL1s having the most horsepower & the Z28 being the ultimate track car.

Now... the SS is the entry V8, the 1LE (which I think should be the Z28) specializes in handling, the ZL1 is the ultimate performance, & the Z28 is a bit more than that.

Even in the 4th Gens, the Z28 was the entry V8, & the SS was the ultimate.

It's cool & everything. I can adjust. Just thought it weird.

Well, unfortunately there it is. You somehow want to use the 1967 mentality to define what cars are today. Example: When it debuted, the z/28 was for a specific racing series, with specific engine requirements. Suspensions were not like they are today, either in sophistication or in application of that sophistication- the z/28 was intended to be the handling "king" because that was how they would gain an edge in the racing series. Engine outputs were modest, the competitive edge must be from handling. Today you cannot take a low output engine (the '67s engine made as much GROSS hp as my last four cylinder car made NET), make the suspension stiff, and expect to beat the competition and therefore wave the company's banner. In 1967, you could. And that z/28 suspension was not equaled in most road cars, buyers would hate it. Today we have an application of sophisticated suspension across the board. Re: that z/28 being an ultimate, no I don't think so. It was designed to be highly competitive in its arena.

You seem to equate top of the heap with most horsepower or biggest engine. The z/28 was always a special car, a little more special than any other factory Camaro. That they originally had no emblems is besides the point. The car was not intended to be a 'wow look at me muscle car'. You also seem to be confusing an SS with being in the same league as a ZL1, back in '69. In 1969, the only year for the ZL1 Camaro before the 5Gen, having an aluminum block was an exotic thing, and that was the keystone that the ZL1 was built around. It was a drag racing car and the aluminum block saved weight.

I can't think of a year for Camaro in which the SS or variation thereof was not the (at least perceived) entry level performance offering, base model and performance model being different to me.

Today you get an SS- One size engine. If you want a bigger engine or one with forced induction, it's a different model. That's just how it works today.

Many years of z/28 have been 'top of the heap' by many yardsticks for decades. Are you remembering just the segment encompassing the 1990s?

['14-ELLIE]

Originally Posted by cal45

I like that the rebirth of the Z/28 but I wouldn't call it the best built 5th gen. It fills a niche for a competitive track car but for all around ride, power, and creature comforts - I'd vote for the ZL1.....but I may be biased.

Totally agree with this... Top of the heap in terms of what??? Track? Sure. Anything else? eh...

[CRISSIS]

Sometimes I do wish that the engine in the Z/28 and ZL1 had been switched - only because the iconic ZL1's had a naturally aspirated 427. But I can get over that pretty fast.

[102SS]

I am just glad they built the 5th Gen with great engine and pkg choices.

I don't consider the Z/28 the top of the ladder in spite of its price.

My pecking order is V6, SS,ILE,Z28/,ZL1.

The car I want next is the ZL1 it would be an awesome DD.

[CRISSIS]

Originally Posted by 102SS

The car I want next is the ZL1 it would be an awesome DD.

Wow that's a major statement coming from a guy who lives in Niagra Falls! I would love to have ZL1 as a daily driver as well, but it has to be an awful car in the winter - especially where you have the possibility for multiple feet of snow!

That said, if I lived in Vegas or Arizona, I'd be right there with you.

[ChrisBlair]

...I drove a car, naturally aspirated, with only 46 less lb/ft than the ZL1, but which also made peak torque at 2800 rpm instead of the ZL1's 4200, through many winters, on 235/60/15 rubber. One day I woke up to find three pine trees on it. The two feet of snow on the car reduced damage to a scratch on the hood, luckily the roof wasn't hit, it's a convertible.

Car weighs almost what a ZL1 weighs, but a little less, 3980 lbs. While it made a little less torque, my 510 lb/ft was much lower in the rev range making peak torque a constant occasion, the car has drum brakes on all four corners, no traction control except the gas pedal, no stability control except for the posi rear end. A new car with traction control, stabilitrac, snow tires, and peak torque in an easily avoidable section of the tach? Big deal. Not only did I never ht anything in the snow, I never got stuck in that car but once from 1989 to 2006, and that wasn't snow, it was an ice storm: AWD cars didn't go far either.

[TIREKLR]

Only thing about the z/28 that bothers me is there is not one in my driveway!!!

[jshaf]

if you gave me the z/28 aesthetic looks with the ZL1 everything else for the 2SS price I would be happy

[KaBoom1701]

ZL1 is the top dog in the Camaro community...

The Z/28...while an awesome car is just a great track car. Outside the track the ZL1 kicks it around.

Just because the Z/28 is the most expensive Camaro you can buy doesn't make it the top dog. Just wait until all those Z/28 owners start having to do brake changes......the resell market will be a fun place to pick up a used Z/28 for around 40-50k....

Most Camaro peeps don't want to spend 15k to change their brakes...no matter how bad ass they are.