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Full Test: 1997 Chevrolet Camaro Z28
Bang for the Buck Defined
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By Christian Wardlaw
Date posted: 01-01-1999
The last Camaro to find its way to our offices was a 1996 Z28 SS, painted bright red and sporting a black leather interior. Fast? Well, duh. Attractive? Well, that depends on whether or not you like huge hood scoops. The SS was truly a beast, scaring small children as it RUMP, RUMPED its way along residential streets and through mall parking lots. Parents glared with accusatory looks, teens gave us more thumbs up than Bill Clinton, and older members of the populace either wagged fingers or fondly reminisced as we zoomed by.
September, 1966, is when Chevrolet introduced the first Camaro, which is a play on the French comrade. Incredibly, it's been thirty years since the Chevy II-based pony car debuted and became one of the best-selling sports cars in the U.S. Not coincidentally, development of the Camaro commenced in August, 1964, just 4 months after the Ford Mustang hit showrooms and renewed America's love affair with the automobile.
Called "The Hugger" in advertising, the 1967 Camaro was available as a coupe or convertible in base or Rally Sport trim, and paced the Indianapolis 500 for the first time. Later in the model year, a 295-horsepower SS model was offered, and a limited production Z28 model debuted. Two years later, the Camaro had been restyled, and paced the Indy 500 for a second time. Chevrolet produced 69 ZL-1 performance engine Camaros that year. In 1970, the Camaro was completely reengineered, and the Z28 offered a 360-horsepower LT-1 V-8 engine. Later in the 1970s, Camaro became emasculated by tightening emissions regulations and demand for thirsty V-8 engines dropped when the fuel crises of 1973 and 1979 hit. The Z28 completely disappeared from radar for a short time in 1976, by then nothing more than a tape stripe and spoiler job.
Performance returned to the lineup with a redesign in 1982. During this time period, constant improvements kept the Camaro ahead of competitors in terms of handling, but Ford's Mustang GT was nipping at the heels of the Z28 right up to the early 90s. Tired of competing with Ford for speed-crazed consumers, Chevrolet dropped a 275-horsepower 5.7-liter V-8 into the all-new 1993 Camaro Z28. The best Ford could do that year was market a 15-year-old design with a comparatively wussy 245-horsepower 5.0-liter V-8 in the limited-production Cobra model. Since then, Ford has been unable to compete, in terms of performance, with the Camaro (with the exception of the low-volume and high-priced 300-horsepower Cobra.)
We're fans of the current generation of Mustangs. In the summer of 1996, we conducted a comparison test between the Camaro Z28 and the Mustang GT. The final outcome of the test gave honors to the Mustang for its everyday driveability and airy greenhouse. We also preferred the look of our test car, with meaty 17-inch wheels and attractive tan leather interior. In contrast, the test Camaro wore chromed alloys that screamed for negative attention, and a black leather interior made testers feel as though they were sitting in a dim, dank cave. We've been driving a 1997 Mustang GT for nearly two months at this writing. Actually living with a car is much different than putting a few hundred miles on one during the course of a week. The Mustang we have now has a black interior and skinny-looking 16-inch wheels and tires. It's an automatic, and has trouble beating many sport sedans in the stoplight drag race. It has a cramped interior, and feels teensy inside thanks to the dark upholstery. So, when the 1997 Camaro Z28 30th Anniversary showed up on our doorstep in all of its orange-striped glory, we were quite surprised to find that we liked it better than the Ford.
Certainly, much of the credit goes to the powerful 285-horsepower motor under the hood. If the Z28 doesn't meet your criteria for getting the most bang for your buck, we don't know what will. Additional accolades go to the redesigned instrument panel, which manages to give the impression of more interior space with the removal of the old blistered vents on either side of the steering wheel. The new layout is attractive, and we couldn't find any plastic pieces to clip in and out like on the old car. Finally, it is truly amazing how much larger the Camaro feels inside when light-colored upholstery is selected. The 30th Anniversary model, which takes design cues from the 1969 Camaro Indy 500 Pace car, has white leather and vinyl seats with cloth checked inserts in a black and white houndstooth pattern. Compared to the black interior of the Mustang, the Camaro feels positively huge inside. Other changes also helped sway our opinion this year. Contemporary 5-spoke alloy wheels are new, and emulate those found on the SS model. Tri-color taillights jazz up the rear end. A new family of stereos debuted too, with big buttons and knobs.
Refinement is still needed, however. Ride comfort is still sub-par, particularly on rough surfaces. The binnacle that houses the gauge display is oddly shaped, and the numbers are squashed together too tightly. Secondary control backlighting is pathetic, with a small pin-sized light trying to guide fingers to the power window and lock buttons. Additionally, the passenger's window is very easy to inadvertently roll down when the driver's leg is folded up and leaning against the door panel, directly contacting the window switch. The same old GM generic turn signal stalk is provided, and the cruise control is right there on the end of it as usual. We've driven the Park Avenue and Cavalier, and we know somebody at General Motors knows how to design a stalk that feels more like a knife in butter than a snapping tree branch. Let's get those parts into all the cars, pronto! To operate the horn, you've got to search for buttons instead of banging your palm into the center of the steering wheel pad, which is irritating when some jerk cuts you off despite the daytime running lights and bright orange stripes. By the time you find the button, the moment is passed. Entry and exit are still hampered by a wide sill and long, heavy doors that can easily be banged into neighboring cars (my apologies to the owner of the Honda Civic that has a slight hint of white paint on the door.) Loading cargo is more hassle than it's worth, with an extremely high liftover and a ridiculously heavy hatchback. Folding the back seat is harder than it needs to be, because two release levers must be pulled on either side of the seatback, and the operation must be conducted from inside the car. Give me a simple pull strap like that in the Cavalier, please, and put it on one side or the other so I can fold the seat from outside the car. Drive over 70 mph, and the windows utter an odd noise reminiscent of that duck your father kept hidden under the couch. Lots of interior materials still look cheap, and the exposed screwheads are truly ugly. Finally, make it easier to find stuff under the hood, will ya? On a Chrysler product, you can everything in the dark because the important service points are all colored bright yellow.
Ahhh, that engine. Makes you forget about all the bad stuff. One blast down an on-ramp will have you hooked. One power-slide in a left hander will make you a junkie. The grumble of the engine, the tenacious grip of the tires, and the thick 8-ball shift knob are all Cupid's co-conspirators. You love the Camaro Z28 the same way you love your spouse. Sure, it ain't perfect, but the things it does well it does very well.
Chevrolet is giving the Camaro a facelift next year. A new fascia includes a squared-off black mesh grille below the front bumper, reflector optic composite headlamps, a new hood sans scoops, and revised front fenders. Projector beam fog lights are set into the lower corners of the fascia below the turn signals. Power for the Z28 will come from a version of the Corvette's LS1 V-8, providing 305 horsepower at 5200 rpm and 335 lb./ft. of torque at 4000 rpm. Not only will power increase, but fuel economy is improved with the new engine as well. The suspension is getting retuned for better handling and a softer ride. All-new is the lighter and less complicated anti-lock braking system, and all Camaro models will have four-wheel disc brakes. So, if you're not absolutely in love with the look of the current car, we suggest you wait.
We mentioned that one of the reasons we liked the Mustang was its everyday driveability. Well, we put the Camaro to the driveability test, selecting a snowy day to conduct a spin on our test loop. The Camaro, equipped with Acceleration Slip Regulation, performed admirably on the wet, and sometimes snow-packed, pavement. Not once did we feel the car getting away from us, though we were being extra-cautious when the pavement was obliterated by slush or snow. With a good set of performance snow tires for inclement weather, the Z28 is likely a good all-weather sports car. Just make ours Polo Green or Cayenne Red with a light tan interior.
See all the Ratings: 1997 Chevrolet Camaro 2 Dr Z28 Coupe Road Test Scoreboard
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