I have a question: why can't an American car company build a really good sports coupe? Not a sports car, since we really only have the one (Corvette), but a couple (2 doors, 4 seater)? Seems like the only thing we've got is a Ford Focus ST, which isn't a coupe, but just a hot hatch. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Megatron96:
I have a question: why can't an American car company build a really good sports coupe? Not a sports car, since we really only have the one (Corvette), but a couple (2 doors, 4 seater)? Seems like the only thing we've got is a Ford Focus ST, which isn't a couple, but just a hot hatch.
I think it’s largely due to the small market for those types of cars these days other than the Mustang, Camero and Challenger. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Megatron96:
I have a question: why can't an American car company build a really good sports coupe? Not a sports car, since we really only have the one (Corvette), but a couple (2 doors, 4 seater)? Seems like the only thing we've got is a Ford Focus ST, which isn't a coupe, but just a hot hatch.
You mean like the Mustang, Camaro and Challenger? [Reply]
Originally Posted by Detoxing:
You mean like the Mustang, Camaro and Challenger?
I think a lot of people realize how advanced and badass the top models of those cars really are. the ZL1 Camaro is pretty badass car, especially for the $$.
The Hellcats and other variants of the Mopar stuff are insane and I am sure the high end Mustangs are as well. [Reply]
yeah the current crop of Mustang/Camaro/Challenger are easily the best performance coupes that the American companies have ever built. The fact that over the last decade Ford/GM/Chrysler have been hellbent on one upping each other has been a bastion for these types of cars. Which is why, even as a Ford guy, I hope the current rumors of the Camaro being killed off again after 2023 aren't true. [Reply]
Originally Posted by backinblack:
yeah the current crop of Mustang/Camaro/Challenger are easily the best performance coupes that the American companies have ever built. The fact that over the last decade Ford/GM/Chrysler have been hellbent on one upping each other has been a bastion for these types of cars. Which is why, even as a Ford guy, I hope the current rumors of the Camaro being killed off again after 2023 aren't true.
I don't think you will have any shortage of challengers, camaros or mustangs if they quit production of them for decades.
Originally Posted by Megatron96:
I have a question: why can't an American car company build a really good sports coupe? Not a sports car, since we really only have the one (Corvette), but a couple (2 doors, 4 seater)? Seems like the only thing we've got is a Ford Focus ST, which isn't a coupe, but just a hot hatch.
It’s been awhile since I looked at this stuff but IIRC the EPA crap that Obama’s crew put in said that a certain % of a company’s fleet has to meet whatever fuel guidelines. So there’s no margin in cars so that’s where they put the tiny engines gutless pieces of shit. There’s margin in pickups and large SUVs so that’s where they put big motors.
It’s not like Chevy couldn’t make a mainstream Malibu or Impala that could perform like a bottom end BMW. It’s that they’d have to cut out a profitable platform to do it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Marcellus:
I think a lot of people realize how advanced and badass the top models of those cars really are. the ZL1 Camaro is pretty badass car, especially for the $$.
The Hellcats and other variants of the Mopar stuff are insane and I am sure the high end Mustangs are as well.
That’s good to hear.
I’m pretty far removed from the car market these days [Reply]
Originally Posted by Detoxing:
You mean like the Mustang, Camaro and Challenger?
They're okay, but not top-tier sports coupes. Don't get me wrong, I love Mustangs and Camaros, have for over 35 years. The first car that I bought with my own money was a Camaro, and I've owned a Mustang as well.
But while they go fast in a straight line, none of them turn all that well, mostly due to how much they weigh which is to say two tons (IMO). They all have great styling, but the interior fit and trim levels aren't that great either.
The handling in the Mustang I test-drove just last year was improved over what I drove a few years ago, so I like to think Ford has the Mustang headed in the right direction, but it's not agile or athletic. Not compared to a 4-series BMW or a Porsche Cayman. Compared to those coupes, the Mustang feels like it's half-baked; they should've fixed it up a bit more before sending it out the door.
And the interior for close to $50,000 . . . well, it's just ridiculous. It was acceptable in my Camaro circa 1986, when I paid $13,000, but not in a car that price-wise is competing with BMWs, Audis, and C-class Mercs. It looks cheap inside, and honestly I'd have a hard time convincing myself a Mustang or Camaro is really worth the money just looking at the interior.
Oh, sure the Mustang, and likewise probably the Camaro and the Challenger will blow the doors off those German coupes in a drag race to the eighth mile, but so what? I want a sports a coupe that turns really well almost more than I want a lot of power, because it's more likely that I can use that around where I live than the top speed of the thing. And I want it to look good both inside and out.
So these American offerings cover about half those bases or so. Wonder how old I'll be by the time they actually get it right. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Buehler445:
It’s been awhile since I looked at this stuff but IIRC the EPA crap that Obama’s crew put in said that a certain % of a company’s fleet has to meet whatever fuel guidelines. So there’s no margin in cars so that’s where they put the tiny engines gutless pieces of shit. There’s margin in pickups and large SUVs so that’s where they put big motors.
It’s not like Chevy couldn’t make a mainstream Malibu or Impala that could perform like a bottom end BMW. It’s that they’d have to cut out a profitable platform to do it.
This is a thought I've had for most of my adult life. EPA regs hurt American cars in terms of what must be included and thus spent before you even get to the parts of the car that actually matter to the driver. Though I can probably count on one hand the number of American sports coupes that I've driven that actually handled very well at all. Less than a handful? [Reply]