New Camaro SS Closeup

"Matt Nichelson" (whoismatt) 01/09/2016 at 15:54 • Filed to: Dealership Stalking

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Per the request of some you, I went back to the dealer today and got some pictures of the inside. The salesman was very friendly and let me comb over the car, then we ended up chatting for about 20 minutes or so. I have to admit the brown is not as bad as I thought last night.

One of the unique features that I did not know was the lighting in the doors, cupholder, and around the satnav. Nice touch imo and it can change color depending on what setting you have the car in.

So now what do you all think? Any change of opinion? I didn’t think I was going to like it, but I have to say I am impressed.

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > Matt Nichelson 01/09/2016 at 16:00

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I’d still rather have a Mustang GT but it is nice that the interior no longer looks like it was made by Fisher price

DoYouEvenShift > Matt Nichelson 01/09/2016 at 16:16

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You can get white too. Whatever you may like, Im sure theres something for everybody. Its nice to have options.

Nick Has an Exocet > Matt Nichelson 01/09/2016 at 16:31

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The combination of black and brown is kind of travesty here. It looks like they slapped brown seats into a black interior. There’s brown, red, black, and silver. It’s too much and it’s done without much in the way of purpose.

Look at how Ferrari does it in the F12 - there’s a chrome trim that acts as a white-space between the brown and the black. I’m not saying the SS needs to be as great as a Ferrari, but it wouldn’t have cost them any extra to clean up the interior lines and make this color combo actually work.

As I said before: Brown and Blue works quite well together. I just wish the interior lines carried a more simple design theme. The Ferrari dresses like a 3 piece suit, the SS dresses like a waiter.

I sat in the SS at an auto show recently - it’s not bad in all black. The touch points are decent - it seems like auto makers are listening to feedback there.

Vicente Esteve > Matt Nichelson 01/09/2016 at 16:51

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I love the blue/saddle combo. I HATE this red SS badge. Why is it red?!

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > Matt Nichelson 01/09/2016 at 16:56

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This is the brown interior in my car, I think if it’s done right it is really good

bobkustofawitshz > Matt Nichelson 01/09/2016 at 17:22

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I like the brown! Not crazy about the exterior color, I’d go for black. But I’d definitely choose the brown interior.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > Matt Nichelson 01/09/2016 at 17:23

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Our dealer just got the same blue. But its black and white.

Don’t think i like it too much. Seems like it would stain super quickly.

Vítor > Nick Has an Exocet 01/09/2016 at 17:25

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That’s a Ferrari FF, not a F12

Matt Nichelson > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 01/09/2016 at 18:31

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Agreed. I think it would better if the inserts were blue instead of White.

Matt Nichelson > bobkustofawitshz 01/09/2016 at 18:32

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Yeah the brown isn’t near as bad as I thought last night.

Matt Nichelson > Nick Has an Exocet 01/09/2016 at 18:35

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Ferrari does seem to pull off brown interiors quite well. Another one was Spyker. I think it was mainly due to the steampunk looking interior though. It just worked.

Matt Nichelson > Vicente Esteve 01/09/2016 at 18:36

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Yeah they could have kept it all silver and it would have looked better. It’s the only thing on tye interior that is red aside from the trim lights.

hike > Matt Nichelson 01/09/2016 at 19:43

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I love a blue car with a brown interior. The S class coupe does it best though.

Nick Has an Exocet > Vítor 01/09/2016 at 21:15

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Nice catch.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Nick Has an Exocet 01/09/2016 at 21:18

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Seats and door card inserts is an aesthetic look. 350Z, Mustang, and others have had similar “splash of color” interior designs, rather than full two-tone interiors.

The brown, on that slightly-teal blue is really great, I wish there were wider pictures.

Some just-right chosen bronze wheels would set it off perfectly.

The Camaro is better looking inside and out now, compared to previously, and the Alpha platform is an improvement, but I am still not a fan of GM as a corporation, and the un-accountability of OwnStar, though, and I would buy a Mustang in these sort of colors (or at least Mustang’s darker blue) instead.

Nick Has an Exocet > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. 01/09/2016 at 21:22

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Door card inserts are the mullet of interior styling.

Oddly appropriate in a Camaro I guess.

Having sat in a 2016 Mustang and a 2016 Camaro back to back at an auto show, I can honestly say that I would take the Camaro. The Camaro feels good where it matters and the Mustang feels like an older car - which despite what Ford says, it is.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Nick Has an Exocet 01/09/2016 at 23:49

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I won’t dispute your estimation of the Camaro, it seems to finally have come into it’s own, and my issues with GM are more corporate-culture oriented, not specifically the Camaro itself.

I have heard a bit of criticism of the chromed-plastic switchgear potentially being subject to long-term wear. It is obvious that Mustang still is utilizing some retro design touches... it is a 50th anniversary design, it would be more odd for them to have done a full clean-sheet re-design without any historic cues (like the 1979 Fox re-design compared to previous)

But I am curious why you say that the S550 Mustang is an older car? it is a new platform for 2016, just as the Alpha platform is for GM’s Camaro and ATS. I don’t think S550 Mustang shares any parts, save maybe some engine and transmission components common to all ford modular drivetrains... but even the 5.0 engine has been re-tuned and improved.

Is it just an interior design aspect, or what makes you say that Mustang is an older car? 2015 for the Mustang, 2015 for the ATS, and 2016 for the Camaro are within a fairly narrow range when it comes to the time it takes to develop, implement, and release a new car platform.

Nick Has an Exocet > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. 01/10/2016 at 02:21

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Unlike the Camaro which went to an entirely new platform, from what I’ve heard, Ford essentially re-engineered the S197 to accept a revised roofline and suspension geometry. The best evidence of that is the weight - which despite Ford press releases - didn’t really drop. In V8 form, the car gained 87 lbs. The 2016 SS lost 223lbs over 2015.

I’m not saying that Ford has crappy engineers - I’m just saying that if they REALLY put a COMPLETELY NEW platform under the S550, then it would have lost weight. This latest evolution is more like New Edge vs Fox Body.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Nick Has an Exocet 01/10/2016 at 22:20

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It would have been nice if it had lost weight, but I don’t think that is the entire rationale as to saying that S550 is a mere revision of S197.

Keep in mind NHTSA, and US DOT regs are getting stricter every year, and more safety equipment, and pedestrian crash crumple zones and such increase the requirement for materials, which adds mass. NVH and other refinement, Euro- and other export market compatibilities can add mass.

The car is going to be similar, it has a modular V8 in the front, McPherson strut front suspension, and generally the age-old front-engined rear-drive layout... it isn’t going to be a re-invention.

But S197 was not 2-tons to begin with the way GM Zeta and Chrysler LY platforms were. Mustangs generally were on the lighter side for mid-sized V8 RWD coupes, and usually 3600lbs or less.

Camaro was overweight, Alpha chassis was pretty much designed to cut that excess weight. Chrysler is even heavier, and hasn’t cut the weight yet.

Mustang was not overweight, and although not a featherweight either, keeping up with regs and keeping up with customer expectations for amenities, materials quality, noise, vibration, harshness refinements, and being export ready in a way that previous Mustangs never were, yeah, it added a few pounds, but it didn’t move the car up into a new weight class. Most mid-sized cars with more than a 4-cylinder engine, and some amenities are between 3300-3700lbs... just as Mustang is and has been. Camaro used to be nearly 4000lbs on the Zeta platform. LY Challenger is over the 2-ton mark, even still.

That all being true, it doesn’t mean that the S550 isn’t a new chassis. Aside from still running a Modular engine, (where Camaro was, and still is running an LS-series engine in SS guise) there isn’t a single panel in common between the 2005-2014 Mustangs, and the 2015 new generation, and I’ll bet there is very little that cross-fits between the generations underneath the chassis, either.

His Stigness > Matt Nichelson 01/23/2016 at 22:04

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Holy mother of god that high beltline is... fucking high! Have fun looking over your shoulder.

His Stigness > Matt Nichelson 01/23/2016 at 22:05

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Meh? Was ist das?

Matt Nichelson > His Stigness 01/24/2016 at 00:27

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I think they have always been that way in the Camaro though, haven’t they?

Matt Nichelson > His Stigness 01/24/2016 at 00:28

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If you are talking about the kick plate, das ist the emblem they are putting on the Camaro now. It’s on the front fenders as well.

His Stigness > Matt Nichelson 01/24/2016 at 07:06

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I didn't have a problem on the last Camero. But the window opening was so small I couldn't fit my head through it. But then, I have a large head. But, still...

His Stigness > Matt Nichelson 01/24/2016 at 07:07

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I didn't know the Camaro had its own emblem.