Bob Lutz Weighs in On Mustang and Camaro Battle

Former GM exec responds to Road & Track reader, saying the new Mustang was just better executed.

If you’ve ever had a chance to meet Bob Lutz, you know that the legendary auto exec is blunt and direct.

It’s one of the things that has always made him a great interviewee for a story. Well, that, and the fact that the depth of his insight on the industry is pretty much second to none. In a recent Road & Track report featuring questions from readers, Lutz shares a little of that knowledge to explain why he thinks the Mustang beats the Camaro.

One of the biggest wins for the Mustang is in the Ford car’s design, said Lutz.

“The Mustang is a design masterpiece: sleek, semi-European, yet still a Mustang,” Lutz said. “Independent rear suspension or not, it is a winner. The Camaro, an even better car, sinks into quasi-irrelevance. You can’t tell it from the previous one.”

Sound familiar? Yep, that’s sort of been the consensus about the Camaro’s woes since the new model launched. But Lutz drives the point home even more in a more direct statement about where the Camaro falls short. “The same as before, only smaller,’ has never been a winning formula in a fashion-conscious segment,” he adds. “The current Camaro, although fabulous, missed the mark.”

“’The same as before, only smaller,’ has never been a winning formula in a fashion-conscious segment,” he added. “The current Camaro, although fabulous, missed the mark.”

Needless to say, what makes Lutz’s comments all the more interesting is the fact that he spent his last years as a GM executive. Then again, being blunt and direct typically includes a pretty heavy, open dosage of honesty as well.