Camaro RS, SS vs. Mustang

[Thews40]

So I went to San Jose to meet the parents this weekend. We had to do a lot of driving, so for Christmas I asked my wife to upgrade the rental cars as a present to me. The original plan was to rent a Mustang, Camaro and a Corvette.

Day 1 – The Mustang convertible.

 

I have a 1966 Mustang (six cylinder) and a 2004 Mustang convertible 40th anniversary. The upgrade to the convertible wasn’t a lot, and though it was overcast all day I still wanted to drive it. We took it from San Jose to Santa Cruz to eat lunch down some very windy roads that were very beautiful.

 

The good:

1) Retro gauges. I love the retro gauge look in the new cars and this one looked more like my 66 than 04 on the gauge faces.

2) It was pretty.

3) Sounds meaner than it is.

4) Sound system was good.

The mundane:

1) This car is gutless. Floor it and the sound goes up while the car slowly creeps faster.

2) The suspension is bumpy and too stiff. It handles ok, but if you’re on a road that isn’t very good you’ll feel it after 5 miles.

3) I was told a long time ago that small icon on the dash to show the gas gauge would correlate to where the gas cap was. If the icon had the nozzle to the left, the opening was to the left… so the story went. Since then, I’ve looked at every newer car I’ve been in and it correlated… till now. The icon points right and the cap in on the left.

 

The bad:

1) The driver’s seat goes up and down and the passenger’s seat doesn’t, which is pretty stupid because the passenger sits about a foot lower than the driver. It’s odd, and sine headroom isn’t an issue, I can’t understand why it was designed this way.

2) The seats aren’t comfortable for a short person. I was ok, but my wife really hated the seats.

3) While the gauges look cool, in the normal position at 10:00 my hands blocked the speedometer.

 

Overall – I wouldn’t buy this car. It was far too slow to even come close to the old Mustang image. While I realize not all of them were musclecars, this one should have been quicker; it felt big… like driving an old Buick.

 

Day 2 – Camaro RS base model.

 

I have a 69 Firebird convertible which is the same base body for the 69 Camaro this one is patterned after. I reserved the car which came in over $100. When I got there I was waiting in line and I heard the guy in front of me asking for a car, and the dude behind the counter tells him he can upgrade to the Camaro SS for $15 dollars more. I’m getting antsy because this wasn’t an option on line, and sure enough the guy took it. I was talking to the other guy behind the counter and he told me a lot of stuff. Most of the men wear turbines in the Hertz/Avis rental area, and he told me that was the last SS they had. This guy had a pinkish turbine and a stash and beard that made him look like an odd version of Burl Ives. He told me he could have rented me the car at half price if I just upgraded it. He said the best day to rent a car is on Thursday, and you can get an SS Camaro for as little as $39 if their lot is full. He gave me free insurance coverage, which made me feel better. We drove it around San Jose in traffic and I didn’t put a lot of miles on it.

 

The good:

1) This is a gorgeous car. It was a silver car but did get a lot of attention.

2) It’s quick. The base model was fast enough and it had a lot of pep.

3) Retro gauges. The center gauge can be toggled to show different things. I liked having a digital speedometer gauge in the center. With the needle on the left and digital in the middle it was easy to maintain consistent speed without having to look for it.

4) The seats were comfortable. They were cloth and the steering wheel was molded.

5) Sound system was nice and the car handled well with a solid ride.

 

The bad:

1) Visibility in the rear view is poor in this car. I doubt it would be a factor while driving, but parallel parking this car would not be easy… maybe I’d get used to it?

2) There isn’t a lot of headroom. With the seat all the way down, I had to lean the seat back a bit to keep the hair on the top of my head from hitting the roof. This may not be a problem if there wasn’t’ a moon roof?

 

Overall – I’d buy this car. It was fun to drive, handled well and was comfortable.

 

Day 3 – The Camaro SS.

 

The original plan was to get a Corvette since we were driving to San Francisco, but it was raining and I really didn’t want to shell out $200 for the Corvette and have a 39 cent charge for mileage over 100. I dropped off the Camaro and went back to Avis to see if I could get an SS. Burl was behind the counter and he said he'd go see what he had. He comes back and says he has a red SS, and since they charged me a lot the day before, he’d give to me cheap… $69. I was happy… walked over the Hertz and cancelled the Corvette. Note that I looked at the Corvettes (all yellow) and they were very pretty cars and I’ll plan on renting one sometime. Off to San Francisco in the rain.

 

The good:

1) This car is fast. The 6 speed paddle shifter was funky and I sort of played with it, but when you punched it getting on the freeway I felt like I’d lose the read traction if I got on it too hard. If I bought one of these cars, I definitely get a stick shift.

2) The car is beautiful. This one was red and stood out like a neon sign with chrome wheels (the wheels are a very expensive option). We stopped in a Starbucks and on the way in the guy passing me on the way out tells me, “Nice car man.”

3) The leather interior was very nice. The steering wheel was leather (much like the Mustang wheel) and felt better than the molded wheel. It’s an odd shape steering wheel that’s an oval shape… I got used to it.

4) The gauges are retro stack gauges in the console. They look old school and for those of us lucky enough to have been in an old 69 Camaro it’s a nice touch.

 

The bad.

1) Same as all above, but this one got 15.9 MPG. A price to pay for the power, and when on the freeway you have all the power you’d ever need.

Overall – I want one. Once I get rid of a few older cars, I may trade in the 04 and get a green/black stick SS. If they come out with a Z28 it would prolly be worth it.

 

Collectability – What makes a car collectable is whether or not the younger generation grasps onto it. The base model of this car is cheap enough, so I expect in 20 years these will be sought after cars. Since all the rentals are automatics and a lot of people don’t know how to drive a stick, I’d also guess the stick cars will be worth more than the automatics.

Edited January 19, 2010 by Thews40

[Gonkis]

Cool write-up, thanks for sharing. Makes me want to get the kids out of the house sooner rather than later... too bad the youngest is 6.

[Kid Cid]

Most definitely try the Vette sometime as it is truly a step up from either the Camaro or the Mustang. I agree that the Camaro is fun as all get out and you might have a hard time justifying the price jump from the Camaro to the Vette. I believe it is worth every cent.

[The Holy Roller]

Nice reviews. I can only dream of entering that phase of driving again. I owned a '70 Mustang when I was in the service. It was the funnest car I ever drove. 351 Cleveland, nicely set up for racing at the drag strip in East St. Louis. It is also the fastest car I ever drove hitting 123 mph on a straightaway out in the country. It had more to give but I was just a little nervous.

[westvirginia]

Nice reviews. I can only dream of entering that phase of driving again. I owned a '70 Mustang when I was in the service. It was the funnest car I ever drove. 351 Cleveland, nicely set up for racing at the drag strip in East St. Louis. It is also the fastest car I ever drove hitting 123 mph on a straightaway out in the country. It had more to give but I was just a little nervous.

 

Damn straight - driving in that 80-100 mph range is a whole different can of worms compared to driving at 120+.

 

You know what I'd really like to go wring out? That new Challenger RT/S. :drooling:

[Jimmy Neutron]

Nice recap.

 

I will be renting a Camaro SS in the near future in my back and forth to Cali. I suspect it'll be fast in a straight line, but not nearly as solid as the 'vette driven hard through the corners. The week I spend in SoCal with a black convertible 'vette will always be a fond memory.

 

Was the mustang a GT? I have driven the 6 cylinder and it is pretty tame. The GT is a little livlier, but no street rod. I'm thinking the GT500 just might be fun to drive. Hertz had those available last year.

[Thews40]

Nice recap.

 

I will be renting a Camaro SS in the near future in my back and forth to Cali. I suspect it'll be fast in a straight line, but not nearly as solid as the 'vette driven hard through the corners. The week I spend in SoCal with a black convertible 'vette will always be a fond memory.

 

Was the mustang a GT? I have driven the 6 cylinder and it is pretty tame. The GT is a little livlier, but no street rod. I'm thinking the GT500 just might be fun to drive. Hertz had those available last year.

The Mustang was a base model. The 04 I have is not a power monster, but it's a nicer ride than the new one.

 

Not sure if Avis has non moon-roof Camaros, but I'd be curious if the headroom was better without one. You put the 6-speed auto trans in manual to shift it with the flippers... meh, leaving it in drive was scary enough. Most of the time the road was wet, but even when it wasn't I thought the rear would break away from me if I kept it floored. Also, the rear view mirrors are a cool shape, but you'll need them when backing this thing up as you can't see much behind you. Speedo goes up to 180...

[Jimmy Neutron]

The Mustang was a base model. The 04 I have is not a power monster, but it's a nicer ride than the new one.

 

Not sure if Avis has non moon-roof Camaros, but I'd be curious if the headroom was better without one. You put the 6-speed auto trans in manual to shift it with the flippers... meh, leaving it in drive was scary enough. Most of the time the road was wet, but even when it wasn't I thought the rear would break away from me if I kept it floored. Also, the rear view mirrors are a cool shape, but you'll need them when backing this thing up as you can't see much behind you. Speedo goes up to 180...

 

Have to try out the 'maro's top speed. The Hertz 'vette was governed at 149

 

I'm assuming the Camaro paddle shifters are the same as the Corvette's. They took some getting used to, but I really liked them toward the end of the week.