I did say Flame away, but this one I have to respond to... Funny you say that about going to an SSCA event. I used to live there and worked right down the road from the Chrysler Tech Center! You say that they'd like to discuss that with me? FINE! Bring those unionized brainless ASSHOLES along!!!!!!!! Those fucks know and care about cars as much as I care about unions! I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that I am as adamant about how much I HATE HATE HATE the God Damn UAW as how much I hate PIGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have never seen so many miserable people that could not give a flying rat's ass about the company they work for or even know shit about their products! This at the same time as making 6 figures a year! All they care about is union loyalty, and when's my next raise? After taking some tours of various plants throughout MI and hearing the stories of what total SLIME these creatures are, anyone involved in that type of life has lost any and all credibility with me. It also explained to me why the quality of US cars is so poor.
Now that I'm finished with my rant... The Camaro is an INCREDIBLE bargain for the performance but... would you be seen in/own one? If so, then ignore this entire message. If not, then this is precisely why you own a VW- you have a soul. Also- GM and engineering? Isn't that an oxymoron? This is the company that makes the Malibu and the Cavalier. Need I say more? Now admittedly, everyone has to have their bread and butter, but at least Chrysler, for example, has some coolness in cars like the Neon. Everyone knows about the ACR. Also, you mentioned Ford with the Contour SVT. Does GM have anything like this? Now I must be honest and say that I'm not a huge VW nut- just an A2 16v nut. I'm more of an automotive nut that will recognize and appreciate good machines. And I appreciate the performance level of the engine and the reliability of the 350, but the GLHS motor was also a great one with a shite car built around it. The Viper is not even anything remarkable in engineering, it is merely a big ass engine in a light chassis. You think a C5 or Camaro ASS ASS could keep up with me on this road? You better bring your lunch. The wheel base is too long and they are too prone to oversteer (no room for that on this road) Straight line? You would say Buh bye. Curves? Uh uh, ain't gonna happen. Please, no one take any of this personally, but I have a lot of pent up anger towards Detroit and what life is like there and after growing up a starry eyed car nut and then seeing the realities of the industry, well let's just say that my bubble got busted. Brice -----Original Message----- From: Patrick Austin [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, January 24, 2000 2:47 PM To: Osborne, Brice D, GRWMK Cc: 16v List Subject: RE: A2_16v V1 #1597 Hmmm, give ME a C5 or SS Camaro and a twisty road and we'll see who comes out on top. :) 300+ HP, huge tires, 6 speed tranny and RWD make the camaro a pretty fast car if you're willing to work it hard. YES, it sucks in a lot of ways. Stupid solid rear axle, bad built quality and some of the worst ergonomics and control feedback around, but for about the price of a new GTI GLX you can have a car that'll go 170 mph and do a quarter mile in ~13 seconds. And that new GTI isn't without its flaws. Lameass suspension, some shoddy build quality of its own and a nice but unimpressive engine right now. Sorry, but for pure performance freaks the new camaro is probably one of the best bargains ever. Yeah, GM management is completely stupid. I mean, totally friggin' moronic. They don't know what people want and don't know how to market their cars. Still, they've got some of the best engineering talent around. Say what you will, but GM has taken a rather weak design (the corvette) and made it pretty spectacular; not unlike a certain german sportscar maker we all know and love. If they would just let the car guys there take control...<sigh> Personally, I'd buy a domestic product in a heartbeat if they could sell something that appeals to my tastes. I have nothing against well built american made(marketed, at least) products; in fact, I'd like to support american industry. The Focus and the SVT Contour are sweet cars, but the contour is dead and I suspect that the focus won't work out here in the states, at least not the hatchback(cool) version. The vette is a spectacular automobile, but it's not supposted to be the nimble sort of car that I'm interested in. My guess is that your C5 encounter involved someone who was A) not trying or B) really crappy behind the wheel. The C5 will give anything short of a Viper/911 Turbo a pretty darn good run for its money. As for GM performance cars being redneck mobiles, I suggest you show up at a Detroit region SCCA even sometime and say that. I suspect they'd be more than happy to discuss the matter with you. ;)
