i wouldn't worry, Ford already has an engine, the duratec 37 that can match the horsepower if its tuned for HP, but they won't need to match the HP, all they need is the duratec 35 with 265-275 HP to beat the camaro v6 because the mustang will be much lighter, so don't worry about the v6.

 

I dont get the concern with the NEW Camaro V6 being compared to the OLD Mustang V8. I mean a new Mustang V6 can outrun some older V8s. Its just progression. Engines get better as time goes on

 

I love the whole Camaro has owned the Mustang forever debate. While you definitely cannot count the II years ('74-'78) things have always been back and forth and pretty close BUT starting in 1982 when "The Boss is Back" slogan was used, things turned pretty ugly for the Camaro. It wasn't until they actually got the 275HP 350 in their car that they took back the crown. Their 305 package with either transmission and their early smoggie 350 automatic team just wouldn't do it at all against the Capri RS/Mustang GT contingent. I personally smoked LOTS and LOTS of those guys with my '82 and my '86. The '86 could actually run real well against Corvettes of the same vintage. I did mess with a Porsche' 944 Turbo once, that was a mistake. We were pretty evenly matched to about 80mph, then that thing took off like the space shuttle.

Anyway, things were real close or in Mustangs favor until the 281 showed up. We took the hit with the original 4.6 and Chevy got their program together with the 275hp 350. Then it went real lopsided the other way. The '96-'01 Cobras were a much closer match, but couldn't get the job done without a couple mods.

 

The Camaro progression used to be V6 --> Z/28 --> SS.

Chevy swapped the last two. Now it's V6 --> SS --> Z/28 (if it ever happens).

So they haven't shot themselves in the foot. The Z/28 could come out with the Vette engine. They had to do this because so many of their other cars use SS to be the sporty version, they wanted to stay consistent.

 

I love debating these two cars, sometimes I get myself in trouble for sticking up for GM on a Mustang sight though....

I think both sides are obviously bias. I debated with a co-worker who claimed that the outgoing 02' SS was just as fast as the 03' Cobra! I on the other hand have no problem admitting when the GM had been faster this was from 93 all the way up to 02' and I think again in 10'.

Ok In my opinion I feel that these cars have been pretty much neck and neck throughout most of their history. Sure the Camaro may be faster by a tenth of a second but does something like that really mean it's a better overall value?

I'm too young to debate the 60s and 70s cars but I feel I have a healthy knowledge of the 3rd and 4th gen versions of these rides.

My overall impressions of having driven numerous examples of both cars is that they both take a different approach to the same kind of car.

The Mustang seems to always have less actual HP, yet are usually lighter. What I also like about the Mustang is for the most part it had been the more livable car. Going fast is fun but at the end of the day you do more regular driving than anything else. The mustang never had that annoying suitcase sized bump on the floor of the passenger seat, In my opinion it was made with better quality materials (the power windows still work after 2 years, interior plastics made of higher grade material, mach 460 killed the delco junk the Camaro had, you actually feel like your sitting on a seat compared to sitting on the floor... We got 6 disc changers in the dash they got em in the trunk.

The Camaro seemed, at least in the 4th gen years to be the no compromise enthusiast car. Though it's sleek shape and steeply raked windshield may have been a pain to navigate from, it felt like a race car. Having the Corvette as a halo car has also always helped the Camaro, look at how great the LT1 and LS1 stand today even after all this time.

The major concern now is that Chevy seems at least according to early reports improved on its old shortcomings. First off Chevy has continued to offer superior, Corvette based engine, tranny they now offer an IRS that Ford had ditched after the 99-04 svt run, like Ford interior materials have improved greatly over the years. Though I dislike the design of the new Camaro interior from what I heard the quality is on par with the current Corvette (a very good thing). What also helps Chevy is the fact that they had a target they had several years to study and find a way to beat it. On top of this Chevy has a slew of Camaro fans chomping at the bit to buy one of these...... I forecast strong sales for the first couple model years. Like in the past the Camaro will likely cost more but the entry V8 starting at about 31k is not a bad deal at all.

Ford's approach towards the Mustang will continue to be great with its constant addition of new features and special editions. If the rumors are correct and we get a 6 speed and 400HP they better keep it cheap, because affordability is one thing Ford can't miss the mark on with all the competition.

In the end I think things will remain the same, Ford will sell more and win the bang for buck battle, the camaro will be faster and handle better but will cost more will less overall mass appeal in the long run.

 

I agree. ^^^

 

I still say 60,000 units or less for Camaro first year, tailing off from there.

 

you can bank on that!

the new camaro (if it ever comes out) will have a lot of horsepower, but like the challenger/charger, it will also weigh a good bit more than the stang, and power to weight ratio is more crucial to acceleration (and fuel economy for that matter), than just horsepower alone

 

I know what you mean! So, what to do?

Get a 2011 Mustang GT with the 5.0 in it? Hmmm......

 

I agree with that. I owned a '74 Z28, '80 Z28, and '84 Z28 before getting my '87 Mustang GT. The '84 Z28 was an especially hard car to live with day-to-day. It was really low to the ground, so getting in and out was annoying. The car handled for sure, but the suspension was really rigid. One co-worker commented that it was like "riding on a skateboard," and he wasn't far off. The '87 Mustang GT in comparison was a lot softer, and you sat up higher. So this was less racy, but way more comfortable. Yeah, the Mustang nose would dive almost ridiculously on braking, but that 5.0 engine made up for every fault it had.

Mr. Shelby famously said a long time ago, "horsepower sells cars, but torque wins races," but the general public just doesn't get that. The few magazines that have already tested the V6 Camaro are seeing 0-60 times in the 6.1 to 6.2 second range. Chevy is hoping to do a couple of tweaks to get that number to 6 flat, but even that is a good .5 second or more off the current Mustang GT time. Road & Track published a 4.9 second 0-60 time back in 2005. .5 to 1 second difference in 0-60 times means physical car lengths apart. I wouldn't worry about a stock V6 Camaro beating a Mustang GT.

 

The camaro5.com site has a lot of quotes from Chevy and GM regarding sales figures. One quote was that their goal was 100,000 units sold in 2010. They also said they needed to sell 80,000 cars just to break even. Both goals are really optimistic, and I also doubt they can pull them off.

Still, I think it's in our best interest that the Camaro does succeed, since competition is healthy, and it would mean that Ford must continually be improving their product to keep up or stay ahead.

 

Does the Mustang really need the Camaro and Challenger to be forced to improve? From 2003 to Present there has really been none. Well other than the GTO but that failed. With no competition, Ford has given us a 305hp Mach 1, 390hp Cobra, 300hp GT, 317hp Bullitt, and a 500hp Shelby GT-500. All are great performing Mustang's with little to no competition from GM or Chrysler to provoke any upgrades.

 

Again, I'm not worried that a stock V6 Camaro will beat a Mustang GT. But the fact of the matter is that a stock Mustang GT should **** all over a V6 Camaro. It just doesn't seem good to me that the V6 Camaro will even be in the same league.

 

Not even maybe.

 

It won't be in the same league. The Camaro V6 will weigh significantly more and be minus at least 50 HP in this contest. 50 HP that comes on much lower in the RPM band in the Mustang GT.

It's a no-contest scenario. The Camaro V6 won't be able to keep up with the Mustang GT anymore than a regular Cadillac CTS can.

 

It is mainly the torque deficit that is going to hurt the V6 Camaro's chances against a Mustang GT, along with a slight weight disadvantage as well. Both the coming V6 Camaro and the current V8 Mustang are rated at 300 hp, but the Camaro has nearly 50 lb-ft less torque, and weighs 200 lbs more (depending how the two cars are optioned out). Of course all this is subject to change, depending on how the SAE rating changes Chevy's proposed hp and torque numbers, and how much (if any) extra hp and torque Ford gives the Mustang GT for 2010 and 2011, and how much (if any) weight it gains. GM is estimating 0-60 mph and 1/4 mile times at 6.1 sec and 14.5 sec both more than a half second off the current Mustang GT.

I've never been a fan of Camaros, but I've been around them for more than 20 years and respect them as worthy competitors in some areas. My best friend when I was a teenager was a big Camaro fan and owned several, and of course I had my V8 Mustang back then.

 

And I still say that 1/2 second is too close for a V6 Camaro vs. a V8 Mustang. Let me put it another way--the V6 Camaro will **** ON today's V6 Mustang. All of that will change with the new V6 Mustang engine headed our way. But for now, when the V6 Camaro hits the streets, it will blow away a V6 Mustang. In other words, the driver of a new V6 Camaro will have a more competitive race with a V8 Mustang than a V6 Mustang. There's simply no denying that.

 

I love em all. If I could have one of each I would.

 

Let me put a half second in perspective for you.

At 60 mph, you're traveling 88 feet/second. The Mustang is about 15.5 feet long. So a difference of 1 second at 60 mph is 5.5 car lengths. The difference of a half second is almost 3 car lengths. Do you call that close?

For the 1/4 mile, where the difference is a full second:

At 100 mph, you're traveling 146 feet/second. So every second difference is 9.5 car lengths. Do you call that close?

 

Keep in mind that the Camaro is all new. The current gen Mustang V6 is just as fast if not faster than the 94-98 GTs.

As long as Ford can put in a 260HP V6 in the base model it should run with the V6 Camaro.