Arizona Highway 89 snakes through the central portion of the state, winding over two mountain ranges as it dips down from Flagstaff's high country to the low deserts just northwest of Phoenix. Prescott is an old-time western town, known for its famous Whiskey Row, annual rodeo, and temperate climate. Highway 89 passes right through the center of town. Heading southwest from Prescott on this stretch of 89 will plant you on some wonderful mountain two-, and sometimes three-, lane road. It was here that our freshman editors culminated a road test of the Chevrolet Camaro Z-28 and the Ford Mustang GT after several hours of urban surface street, city freeway, and rural interstate driving. Since this ain't Automobile magazine, when our reporters are battling hunger pangs they choose from a wide variety of fast food joints rather than five-star restaurants. We join them now on this sunny Saturday afternoon in the Prescott Pizza Hut parking lot (say that five times in a row), milling around a bright red Z-28 with crass chrome wheels, and a more tasteful looking Laser Red Mustang GT shod with optional 17-inch tires, mumbling notes into tape recorders....

WARDLAW: "So what kind of pizza do you want?"

WHITMORE: "I don't care, as long as it has pepperoni."

WARDLAW: "How 'bout regular crust, with pepperoni and mushrooms?"

Wait a minute. You don't need this. Let's fast forward to the point just after the waitress takes the order, shall we?

WARDLAW: "So, what did you think?"

WHITMORE: "You know, I'm a Ford guy, but the Camaro really impressed me in the mountains."

WARDLAW: "Yeah, the Camaro eats the Mustang for breakfast, lunch, and dinner on twisty two-lane. But I haven't made up my mind which one I would actually buy. I mean, the Camaro is the superior performance car, but the Mustang seems to be far more livable in the day-to-day grind."

WHITMORE: "You're right. The Mustang is a car that an average Joe can enjoy. The Camaro has so much power under the hood and is so performance oriented that the uninitiated might actually find themselves in trouble. The high-performance nature of the Camaro translates into fatiguing around-town performance thanks to its heavy steering, high pedal effort, clunky shifting and poor visibility. My mother-in-law is thinking about getting something sporty and she asked my opinion of each vehicle. I told her to go with the Mustang. Its lighter steering, braking and shifting is better suited to her non-aggressive driving style."

WARDLAW: "Personally, I have trouble making a choice. Around town, I prefer the Mustang as well. It's more comfortable, feels more maneuverable, and the interior is absolutely superior to the Camaro in terms of materials and aesthetics. In urban areas, the Mustang is more fun because it easily hangs its tail out, but you never feel like you've lost control. The more compliant suspension on the Ford makes for a better ride on surface streets. At high speeds, however, the Mustang's feathery controls translate into a somewhat disconcerting control problem on rough pavement. Excessive body roll, dive and squat can't compare to the Camaro's superlative handling stance. What feels heavy and clunky on the Camaro in town becomes light and capable at speed. The Camaro is truly amazing when put through its paces. I couldn't get that thing to put a foot wrong on Highway 89, but keeping the Mustang up to speed was a chore rather than a joy."

WHITMORE: "Yeah, but what percentage of the driving public is qualified to drive either of these cars to their full potential? It scares me to think that any moron with the money can buy one of these vehicles. There should be some sort of special licensing to register one of these things. Realistically, you wouldn't be able to drive the Camaro to its potential around the streets of Tempe. I'd be willing to sacrifice some of the Chevy's vaunted performance for the Mustang's inviting cockpit. The Mustang's seating position is nicely elevated, visibility is better, the seats are more comfortable and the Mach 460 stereo is amazing."

WARDLAW: "All very true. I guess it's a matter of personal choice. People living in Phoenix snap up four-wheel drive sport utes every day of the week, and some of them never even see the system engaged, much less a dirt road. Why buy four-wheel drive when you live in Phoenix? Why have a street-legal racing car like the Camaro when you're stuck in gridlock every day? But, think about the market these cars are aimed at. The people buying the Z-28 are buying it for image and performance, not day-to-day drivability. They want to know they can bust the chops of any Mustang that dares take them on. Even when the Mustang gets a jump on the Camaro, the Z-28 quickly makes up for lost ground and races ahead of the Ford. Chevrolet has focused on a narrow niche of buyers, where Ford has broadened the appeal of its pony car by making it less performance oriented."

WHITMORE: "You've hit upon a good point, Chris. The Camaro is a great entry-level car for the budding enthusiast. For around $23,000 a Camaro owner can get a car that will offer performance usually associated with vehicles that cost twice as much. If the intended purpose for buying the vehicle is to go fast, I think the Camaro Z-28 is a first-rate choice. It does puzzle me, however, when I see Z-28 after Z-28 parked in the supermarket parking lot. I guess even motorheads have to eat..."

WARDLAW: (ha,ha, ha) "Well, the intended purpose of the vehicles is to go fast, and the Z-28 goes fast very easily. Even an inexperienced driver would have to be pretty ham-fisted to get the Camaro seriously out of line. I'm no Bob Bondurant, but I found the Mustang to be a handful on Highway 89. First of all, I feel jammed into the Mustang. The seat doesn't go back far enough, and while I'm comfortable, there simply isn't enough room to move around much. When bracing my left leg for fast right-hand corners, my knee is jammed into the hard plastic door release handle. And the clutch take-up is so high that my left leg brushes the bottom of the steering wheel, which isn't the greatest of circumstances when screaming into a corner and turning the wheel. The Camaro has plenty of leg room, and no trim pieces to intrude upon my extremities. The steering wheel offers two sets of thick hand grips, while the Mustang offers none. The Camaro's steering gives better feedback, and the car feels much tighter under duress. Body roll is minimal. The Z is an absolute blast to drive fast."

WHITMORE: "I'm the same height as you, but I didn't experience the same problems that you did with the Mustang's seats. I found them comfortable, and I really appreciated the elevated seating position. In the Camaro I felt like I was sitting in a beach chair on a roller coaster; no support, no grip, and no comfort. Thankfully, the g-force's generated by the Camaro kept me planted in the seat. You're right about the Camaro feeling tighter under duress. Around town, it gurgles and burps like a newborn baby, turns in ponderously, crashes over bumps, and feels heavy and loose. Find a mountain road, though, and watch out! The Z-28 comes together nicely, transforming itself into an solid, competently handling missile. The Ford is just the opposite. Around town, the car is quick and nimble with a back end that is lively but not threatening. Unfortunately, when the 'Stang is introduced to a twisty mountain road, the thing plows like a Toro snowblower. I have one complaint common to both cars; the shifting experience was less than satisfactory. The Mustang had extremely long throws, and the Camaro had an eight-ball gear shift knob and big clunky gates that you could run a herd of stampeding bulls through. You would think that either Ford or Chevy could get this extremely critical piece of the driving experience right."

WARDLAW: "I agree. The gearboxes on these cars were no fun at all. Particularly the Camaro's first-to-fourth skip-shift around town. That feature, necessary to escape a gas guzzler tax, is maddening when you aren't expecting it to happen. Fortunately, it's easy to defeat. And what's with that stupid shift knob in the Chevy? The bowtie boys need to hire some of Ford's interior stylists. The Camaro's interior is its major downfall. Comfort has been sacrificed to the god of sheetmetal styling. You fall into the Camaro. Once inside, the dark charcoal surfaces of our test car made me feel as though I was sitting in a dank cave, and the plastics slathered all over interior surfaces feel brittle and look excessively cheap. I doubt the plastic hinges of the console lid would last six months, and the surround that covers the gear shift linkage clips in and out with little effort. The exposed screwheads in the door panel look cheesy, and the switchgear, with the exception of the superior climate controls, feels as clickety as a cheap computer keyboard. At least the ergonomics are sound; almost all controls are placed within reach and are easy to use. Visibility out of the Camaro is hampered by short side glass and a thick B-pillar, though I found visibility to the rear to be better than I expected. Dashboard glare in the vast windshield is absolutely horrible. The speedy, attractive Camaro is ruined by the interior. Compared to the Mustang, the best I can do is describe it as rudimentary. And Bose ought to be ashamed to associate their name with the sound system in the Z-28."

WHITMORE: "You've touched a nerve here. The Camaro's interior was cave-like; Chevy obviously spent most of the design budget on styling and massaging as much power out of the 5.7-liter pushrod engine as possible. This is the main reason I wouldn't recommend the Z-28 to most people. The Mustang, on the other hand, wouldn't lose many interior beauty pageants. The double-bubble, two-tone dash is sporty without being overly macho, the materials are first-rate, and the controls are ideally positioned. Unfortunately, the stereo controls are the older Ford design; small buttons and illegible lettering make changing stations while driving an exercise in micro-surgery. At least the Mach 460 sounds good. Speaking of sound, the Ford guys did an outstanding job controlling intrusive noise. Noticeable engine and exhaust notes are welcome, while wind and tire roar are nicely muted. This is in sharp contrast to the Camaro, which did a fair impression of the inside of a bass drum. Boomy engine and exhaust noises, as well as a bass-laden stereo, combined to create an aural nightmare in the Chevy."

WARDLAW: "I found the ergonomics of the Camaro to be superior to the Mustang. Controls were perfectly placed, with the exception of the tilt wheel lever, which was positioned directly behind the overly busy turn signal/windshield wiper/cruise control/bright lights stalk. The Mustang's radio was very difficult to adjust, and the CD player was mounted low and behind the gear shift. Climate controls were a real reach for me, because the central portion of the dashboard is not canted toward the driver one bit. And, the headlight switch was hidden behind the steering wheel. However, the Mustang's seats were very comfortable, and I enjoyed the view out of the generous greenhouse thanks to the high driving position. Getting into the Mustang after driving the Camaro was like getting off a chaise lounge and plopping down onto a softly padded dining room chair. The Mustang's muted exhaust note was a delight; no snap, crackle and pop like the Camaro. I wish my home stereo sounded as good as Ford's Mach 460 eardrum buster. Also, I liked the fact that the Mustang had its cruise control switches mounted on the steering wheel, and that the horn sounded from anywhere on the center pad, unlike the stalk-mounted cruise and tiny horn buttons of the Camaro. The interior of the Mustang, combined with the smoother powertrain, excellent visibility, and compact exterior dimensions, is what makes it the better urban runner and Interstate long-distance traveler."

WHITMORE: "After spending a week and nearly two rolls of film on these cars, I'm still undecided about which one looks better. The Camaro is hard not to appreciate; it has in-your-face good looks without a touch of restraint. Kind of reminds me of a shark: long, low and very powerful with a jutting snout. While I'm not thrilled about the front end of the car, which looks a little too much like a door stop for my taste, the back end is truly beautiful. Maybe Camaro designers planned it this way since most people would be looking at the taillights anyhow. The Mustang has classic good looks that easily convey its bloodline. It sits a bit tall, but the profile is gorgeous, evoking memories of late 1960s Mustangs. These cars are like two very pretty, yet different, girls at a high school dance. The Camaro is definitely the party girl; the one that knows all the latest moves, twirling and spinning and attracting all sorts of attention. The Mustang is the shy quiet type, waiting to be noticed. The lucky guy that chooses this dish will be rewarded with tasteful good looks that won't diminish with age."

WARDLAW: "Hmmm...I feel pretty much the exact opposite. I think the Camaro, despite its low-slung stance and snarky front styling, is the wall-flower, until you fire it up and blast off. Its contemporary styling is clean and uncluttered, with a better balance than the Mustang. Scoops, spoilers and flares characterize the Ford, whose fat 17-inch tires make this tall, narrow car look more muscular than the Camaro. The Mustang also has too many cutlines between panels, particularly around the taillights, bumper, and license plate. Ford certainly retained classic Mustang flavor here, but the effect hasn't been as tastefully executed. However, our test Z-28, with its bright red "Check me out, Baby" paint and dorky chromed wheels, contrasted poorly with our test Mustang's darker red paint and painted alloys. All the Z-28 needed was a gold-chain license plate frame and the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack in the CD player to complete the total balding geek look. With more subdued paint, and the standard alloy wheels, the Z-28 would have been stunning."

WHITMORE: "So what are we going to tell people? After a week with these cars our readers deserve to know which one we liked more and which one we think is the better buy. I think its obvious that I prefer the Mustang; its great around town handling and high levels of interior comfort really sell me on it. The Mustang is a fast car that will definitely deliver the performance that most people require most of the time. Quite frankly, I don't know of anyplace around my home that I could use the Camaro to its full potential, which is the only thing that could make me overlook its interior shortcomings. I mean, if I lived at the top of a mountain, worked at the bottom, and the road in between had very little traffic and a great deal of hairpin turns, the Z-28 would be the obvious choice. Hard-core enthusiasts should choose the Z-28. It demands to be driven fast and unless the owner has a place and the ability to do so, he will not be a happy camper, particularly if the Z-28 is used as daily transportation."

WARDLAW: "Yes, the Mustang GT is the better real-world muscle car. It's docile at low speeds, comfortable on the freeway, and fun to play with around town. The interior is superior to that found in the Chevy, and the smooth 4.6-liter overhead cam engine gets better gas mileage. The Mustang's back seat is more accommodating, and the trunk liftover is much lower than that of the Camaro. It's also much easier to squeeze out of the Ford in a crowded parking lot. The Mustang doesn't make you feel like some macho dweebster going through a mid-life crisis; people look at it with approval rather than disdain. Best of all, the Mach 460 sound system will have you running out to the garage to listen to a new CD rather than firing up the home stereo. The bottom line is buy a Z-28 if you want to go canyon running; buy a Mustang GT for any other reason. OK, I'm stuffed, and this pizza made me feel sick. Let's get out of here."

WHITMORE: "Yeah, I don't feel so hot either. I'd better take the Mustang, its smoother ride will keep me from yakking." And so, our wise young editors thundered off toward Interstate 17, thankful for a complete absence of patrol officers on their favorite stretch of Highway 89 and a gasoline card, wishing for Rolaids and an expense account that would pay for the really good food like the folks in Ann Arbor get to eat. Tune in next time for "Punks with Cool Jobs."