Don’t get me wrong the Camaro SS is a good car – it’s just not that much fun.
On paper it does everything right. 426 hp, fat V8 torque, macho looks and plenty of elbowroom. I really wanted to love the Camaro SS, but it’s missing what makes Muscle Cars great.
In the quest of making better cars Chevy overshot the target and created a big Chevy Malibu coupe. Take a Malibu, add a strong V8, chop off two doors, give it a wide stance, and you got the 2010 Camaro SS.
The Camaro has potential, but GM needs to make a few changes to make it great.
Where is the V8 sound?
I’m talking about an aural excitement that stimulates your deep down desire of having more muscles than brains and loving it. I’m talking about hearing the superiority of a V8. I’m talking about rolling up on unsuspecting pedestrians and scaring small children.
The Camaro is missing the primeval fun that comes with a rumbling V8. Driving the Camaro SS is too generic, the engine is too muted. Yes, it can accelerate in 4.6 seconds to 60. But I also want to hear the V8 when I’m cruising down to the corner store.
No one expects the Camaro to handle like a serious sports car and it doesn’t. It’s just too big and soft for that. That’s what the lighter and firmer Corvette is for.
The Camaro became a fast generic Coupe
The Camaro SS became a fast, heavy coupe with overdone styling. It’s comfortable, quite on the freeway, and handles like a well-designed large sedan. With the latest safety gear and low prices it’s a great choice for your Consumer Reports reading neighbor.
But the Camaro SS should stimulate you groin, not you brain. Deep down we like to be a bit trashy, we desire the slutty girls and the bad boys. And with being muscular and bold comes the rejection of pretentious wine bars. Unfortunately the Camaro SS became the car parked in front of you local wine bar.
And yes, the outward visibility is ridiculous, the interior could be better, and the design looks like a Transformers Action Figure. But all that could be forgiven if it had that special excitement that makes you want to drive it.
Conclusion
The Camaro SS is a well-designed car underneath it all. It has great potential. Lose 300 lb, add better V8 sounds, add much needed outward visibility for the driver and you have a winner.
There is one thing GM could do to fix the Camaro SS right now – it badly needs better sound engineering. It has a Corvette engine, so let it shine, let me hear it, let the girl in the passenger seat know that I’m having more than 400 hp at my disposal.
Maybe an aftermarket exhaust would do the trick but as it is, the car leaves me cold. If you want an authentic Muscle Car get the Mustang V8. Which, by the way, will get an upgraded engine with 411 hp in 2011.
The Mustang isn’t perfect (see my Mustang review on CraigSelection.com), but it’s right now the only authentic Muscle Car on sale.
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