Anyone wanna help choose a muscle car?
 

Not for me, for my uncle... He's wants me to help him decide on one, and I figured who better to take it to than everyone on here haha. He has been looking to get a new sports car for a while, and has decided to go ahead and pull the trigger on getting one pretty soon. For anyone who says he shouldn't get a muscle car, trust me there is no convincing him of that.

He is looking to buy one new, not used. And at this point is trying to pick between a Mustang GT, Camaro SS, and Challenger SRT8 (assuming that these ones about to come out have an option for manual transmission like the ones a year or two ago did.)

Conveniently Road & Track actually just did a comparison between those three cars (and a Hyundai Genesis coupe. wtf). Only difference is that the Challenger they tested wasn't the SRT8. While that does help some with the decision making, it is pretty hard to really get a good idea of what a car is like just from reading a review of it and looking at some stats. So I was wondering if anyone has driven any of those cars or knows much about them.

The Challenger SRT8 would definitely have the most power (atleast they are saying it puts out 470hp), but I have seen and heard that it apparently handles terribly. The Mustang is supposed to make 412hp and the SS is supposed to make 426hp.


Anyway, I want him to get the best car out of the 3 (especially since I'm sure I'll be getting to drive it :smoker:), so wanted to get some opinions on here before I told him what I thought..... Any help is appreciated.....

Thanks!

Out of those cars, I'd rather have the Camaro SS.. :D

I'm more of a mustang guy! so i would say mustang

oh and you should make a poll (Just a thought)

As much as it pains me to say this, the new Mustang GT is pretty damn awesome.

Well, I don't want to quote captain obvious... but, tell him to test drive each car. Never really know until you've sat behind the wheel and "drove it like you stole it" to convince you if the car is right or not.

tell him to wait for the new mustang boss its coming out in march i think... that thing is absolutely incredible

Good call!


Yeah, I did him that right when he started looking. He has driven the Mustang and the Camaro already, and the problem is that he seriously loved both of them haha. And he is gonna drive the SRT8 when it comes out. Obviously all three of them are badass cars, so the trouble comes trying to pick which is the most badass... He's planning to keep it for a long time, so he wants to be sure that in a decade or two he doesn't look in his driveway and wonder if he made the right call. Obviously once he buys one he will get attached and automatically love the thing even more, but he wants to put a lot of thought into it before he chooses one. Which I obviously understand...

Has anybody heard many complaints about any of those cars?

^I've driven all 3. The Challenger is a boat compared to the others. I've driven the stock Camaro, the SS, and a brand new 700HP custom Camaro, while it is fast it still doesn't have the handling of the new Mustang. It also has terrible blind spots and windows built for someone who is at least 6'4.

Although I'm not a fan of American muscle cars, I believe the new Mustang GT has been the most impressive, performance wise. Although the Mustangs seem too common to see out on the roads.

The Challenger SRT8 has never truly impressed me thus far, but maybe that's because I haven't really given it a chance.

My vote goes for the Camaro SS. Looks the coolest, and stands out from the pack. The performance is there as well.

At the end, it's all about the thorough test drives.

Good luck to your uncle!

oh lol, for some reason...I forgot the new 'Stang existed...

/facepalm

I'd pick the new stang over the Comaro. Better all 'rounder.

I love the looks of the new camaro the most. I hate mustangs. The new 5.0 mustang has changed my opinion greatly and is the car I would pick, if I was looking for one of those 3 cars.

If the best performer isn't the most important thing to him, then he should just pick the one he likes the most. The mustang is hands down the best of those 3 in terms of performance. Looks and general feel are going to be up to him and his opinion. The mustang will be the most common of the 3, but they'll all be fairly common so I wouldn't really bother with "being unique" with one of those cars.

I wold have to go with the Charger. Mopar to ya.

The best sports car of those 3 is deffinitley the 'stang. Obviously sports car performance isn't his main criteria though or he'd be looking at other cars that are way better performance-wise than these 3. He wants a muscle car. I say go for the Challenger, its the most retro-cool and the closest to the actual old school muscle cars. Yeah it handles like a boat, but it looks the coolest doing it and its fast in a straight line. Thats all that matters for a muscle car.

That said if I had to buy one of these as my only sports car, I'd pick the mustang but I value handling a lot more.

And the mustang even does that better.

I vote for Mustang GT! IMO way better than your other options

Camaro z28 when it comes out.

Yup, I even watched something on youtube that I am sure I could find with 2 seconds of searching where they compared the new stang to the M3, pro driver drove both and said he would rather have the stang. I think that is 'nuff said.

Having said that I think that they all look rubbish and wouldn't want any of them myself, I personally don't think that American car companies have made one good looking production car, other than the newest 'vette, since the late 70's.

GT, if he cares about turning and stopping
 

I was always a muscle car kid growing up. What is important to him? If it is stoplight-to-stoplight or dragstrip, it isn't hard to find the numbers to make that choice. If it is styling and sound, then our advice isn't gonna help. If he cares about turning and braking, then the new (2011) Mustang GT crushes the others. In case you haven't seen this, the new GT is a damn good all-around sports car:

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...son/index.html

In fact, it is the second place contender for me. I know the GT and RX-8 are totally different cars, but I've trimmed the field down to these two. Both are excellent at what they are made for and both are relatively affordable.

Good luck to him!
Chris

I like the looks of the challenger or the mustang the best personally. I think the new camaros are very ugly. I think I would give it to the challenger just based on looks, not sure on performance though as I have never driven any of them.

Hands down the camaro the other two choices don't even compare.

i would say camaro unless you get a 2011 mustang gt. so i voted mustang.

Damn. I was leaning pretty heavily toward the Mustang, but just found a motortrend video review of the SRT8 that may wind up changing my opinion... They got it from 0-60 in 4.6 seconds... And they claim that a lot of adjustments have been made that improve the steering a good bit. I had thought that the increased horsepower was gonna be the main difference between the SRT8 and the other versions, but it looks like there are a couple of others ones too... Here's the video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKcZaVH_x3E



Thoughts?

Definitely looks like they've improved a lot... it pretty much held a firm 3rd in terms of performance before, but it looks like it might be on par, or better, than the camaro now. It still seems like the mustang is better. The mustang still has better performance and probably has a better feel. They described the SRT8 as feeling like an oversized sports car, which kind of hints at the noticeable size of the car while driving still.

It really just comes down to what he feels is better.

you didn't do the poll correctly... You missed this bad boy:
Its the 2011 Mustang Mach 1.

Engine
Engine Layout Front engine, rear-wheel drive
Engine Type MOD 4.6L DOHC V-8
Displacement 4.6L, 281 cu. in.
Horsepower @ rpm 300+ @ 6000 (projected)
Torque lb.-ft. @ rpm 300+ @ 4250 (projected)
Compression Ratio 10.1:1
Bore and Stroke 90.2 mm x 90 mm (3.55 in. x 3.54 in.)
Fuel System Sequential multi-port electronic fuel injection
Fuel Requirement Premium (91 octane minimum)
Exhaust System Stainless steel with chromed rolled tips
Transmission
Type 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic
Final Drive Ratio 3.55:1
Gear Ratios (Manual) 1st - 3.38; 2nd - 2.00; 3rd - 1.32; 4th - 1.00;
5th - 0.62; Rev. - 3.38


https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1294974866

Or even how about the new kick ass Boss 302. I saw this at an auto show back in august and it was beautiful, yet more than enough power to make you a competitor with the resurection of the 302!

"More aggressive control calibration yields 440 horsepower and 380 lb.-ft. of torque, while still offering a smooth idle and low-end torque for comfortable around-town driving."

http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/4...-Boss-302.html

https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1294975001

I vote mustang then challenger then the camaro of course.

Even though there are tons of mustangs on the road there seem to be just as many camaros and they just look way too big.

Just did a little searching around and couldn't find any newer information than from late 2009 to earlier 2010. As far as I can tell, there is no confirmed information and based on the numbers above, it doesn't seem to make sense. A special, performance oriented mustang should have similar power or more. The fact that it only says "300+ hp" seems unlikely. I'd imagine at least on par with the GT.

This, on the other hand, has been confirmed and looks to be an amazing car as well. Would definitely be a bit more unique than the rest of the mustangs on the road. Depending on the timing he has to buy, this might be worth considering. If he's looking for something rather immediately, it might not be an option.

There isn't going to be a ton of information on the Boss 302. Again they had one at the auto show that was here in Dallas in August and that photo doesn't even do it justice. It was actually the old 70's Boss 302 color orange not red like that photo. It was also super charged. I know they are probably still tinkering and making adjustments but the one they had out here was just beautiful.

I was saying there's not much about the mach 1 and seems that there might not even be a mach 1. The 302 has a fair amount of information actually and is supposed to be coming out in the earlier this year. The specs aren't firm yet, but it looks like they're very well on the right track (pun not intended..)

At least ford has a page for the boss: http://www.ford.com/cars/mustang/2012mustangboss/

I think its great. the Mach 1 might or might not be released who knows. Sometimes these projects fail, I just know ford has released rumors about it. I had heard rumors they were talking about another Mach 1 when I was checking out the Boss. They said it would just be a package deal. More of a body kit than anything else. The Boss 302 however I do know has other engine options. They just havn't finished tracking the car, and doing everything they have to do to make them sell ready.

If you go here, and then click on 302 based engines you will see all the options and the HP they perform on:

http://www.fordracingparts.com/crateengine/main.asp

Well, they've rated the engine power on the boss page, so I'd imagine it wont vary much from that. Crate engines don't really indicate much when it comes to an actual production model. It only makes sense for the boss 302 to make, at the very least, similar power/acceleration numbers as the regular GT. It definitely looks like it will top it in the handling category.

I dunno, when I bought my cobra I went with the ford racing 427 add on package. It varried a lot from the original HP. It was about 650 to the wheels. That was a package that the dealer was offering for about 15,000 on top of the price of th mustang. They added a body kit, spoiler, 427 motor, 6 speed transmission, ford racing 8.8 diff, super charger, the usual interior trim pieces that had ford racing on them. They had a whole slew of options like ford racing, shelby, saleen, and roush packages. Then they had different levels, I remember one of the roush packages was 35K on top of the price of the car. There were and I am sure still are way to many options to count. I know the car was originally 320 horse power but I had a lot of money to waste the first time I came back from Iraq. Plus being young and stupid I spent it all in one place at one time. So I went with a ford racing 427 upgrade package.

I will bet they continue to offer more packages than you would want to sit down and read in a day.

I think the challenger in black. It looks the best IMO, and is the truest to old school muscle cars.

Keep in mind, I have driven none of these cars.
________
Washington dispensaries

With some element of useability in mind:
The Camaro looks great from the outside, but the interior looks and feels dirt cheap. It also feels like you're viewing the world through tank slits and the headroom with sunroof is barely adequate for even me at 5'9. The 1st to 4th gizmo on the MT is downright irritating but is easy to mod out of the system.
The Mustang is probably truest to the 1970's art form, has a great optional sound system, and is the best daily driver.
The Challanger is the only one of the 3 that has a useable back seat.
All 3 are too porky, esp the Challanger, but the 'tang hides it better than the other two.

Always been partial to the challenger, you don't see them everywhere.

I'm a huge GM guy. So that should be all the more meaningful when I say I like the 5.0 Mustang out of those 3. I've sat in the 2010 Camaro and my buddy (owns a Camaro and is a GM guy too) drove one. We both didn't like it. Still think its cool, but I wouldn't own one myself. The SRT8 is cool but I'm young so I don't find it cool enough to drive one. My dad on the other hand (650 bhp Z06) would hands down take the SRT8. The Camaro feels very cramped on the inside. The 5.0 is decent on space (I'm 6'3'' and 180 lbs). But its very easy to drive and user friendly. IMO it also has the best interior of those 3 too. Handles great too and feels lighter than it is. The new 5.0 is basically the only Mustang I really like. The old 4.6 (and related components) suck. This new one is point, shoot, and hold on!

I would take the Camero, I like the looks a little better and to me the seats are a little more comfortable for a long ride. Right now though the Mustang is rated as most dependable and has a higher resale value.

I'd say Mustang, then Camaro, then Challenge, and I'm a Camaro fan (or more to the point a Trans Am fan). The Camaro is GMs 1st iteration and it's not ready. Too heavy, can't handle as well. More importantly, I've got to give it up to Ford. They've just improved on the Mustang so much you got to give it props, and I hate Mustangs.
The Z28, unless they make it lighter will still have most of the shortcomings of the base Caamaro. It needs to be lighter and more nimble. American muscle, go figure.
America needs more sports cars (not muscle). Ford should bring back the Probe, Chrysler, maybe the Crossfire. GMs Solstice/Sky were flops, maybe look at bringing back the Fiero as a GMC (I know GMC is trucks) but Chevy already has the Corvette and the Fiero may not fit well with Caddy or Buick.

Camaro Z28 comes out summer 2012 and Challenger wins me over on looks but the Mustang 5.0 looks like the better performance pick. I saw a Camaro today MSRP 41,995 for this kind of money I say look at the Vettes.:)

anything but the challenger.... so ugly

Yeah but George Washington drives a challenger.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqpJv...eature=related

I like the Challenger. I've been a Chrysler fan since back in the 60's. But I would get the Mustang with a V6. 300 hp and 31 mpg is a great combination.

George Washington Challenger ads ROCKS

if we're talkin' 2011 mustang gt (as in the 5.0), i choose that!

with my little experience in drag races i would say get the 5.0 mustang. Camaros just get destoyed but every car outthere i really dont know why! Maybe the drivers i saw were just retarded or the car just isnt as fast as the mustang.

Yes, I know... I will have to agree with you there... and id agree with the other guy who said wait for the Boss version...

WTBRotary your not allowed to agree with me :P ^edit that comment and make it an argument ^ :P

Did U pick a Muscle Car yet?

I hate it so much that any three of these would demolish an R3. My vote would have to be the Mustang as well, there are so many models to choose from. My bud had an SS, the interior is awful in terms of look and feel. The whole retro thing is just lame IMO.

I agree, and I thought that the ugliness was gonna end when there were rumors of Pontiac coming out with the retro bandit trans-am. We all know how that ended. I would have also considered the GTO if it had actually had any resemblance to the GTOs of old, but that was en epic fail. Pretty safe to say at this point that GM will not get one cent of my money during my lifetime. But I guess if I had to chose something now I'd go with the 'stang.