GM Upsets Challenger media event w/ a Camaro Drive By

[Racerbvd]

GM Upsets Challenger media event w/ a Camaro Drive By

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Josee Valcourt / The Detroit News

ROYAL OAK -- Woodward wasn't big enough Tuesday morning for two legendary Detroit muscle cars that will soon roar back into showrooms.

The Woodward Dream Cruise provided the backdrop for the first salvo in a much-anticipated showdown between the Chevrolet Camaro and the Dodge Challenger.

To set the scene, the Chrysler Group was hosting a media event in front of Duggan's Irish Pub in Royal Oak. The automaker was showing off its Dodge Challenger concept muscle car and the 1970 Challenger that inspired it.

Without warning, a Chevrolet car hauler embossed with a massive bowtie logo and carrying two Camaros -- the 2006 concept car and a 1969 classic -- came rolling by, turning the head of media members.

Jason Vines, Chrysler's top PR official, took the slow-speed Camaro drive-by as an invitation for a Dream Cruise rumble.

He called it a "wuss" move to haul the Camaros in a trailer rather than driving the vehicles by Duggan's.

Chevy spokesman Terry Rhadigan denied a turf war. General Motors Corp. has been showcasing the Camaros for days on Woodward as part of the Dream Cruise and they were en route to two GM events Tuesday, he said.

"We'll definitely do battle with them in the showroom in a couple of years, but right now this was more or less an opportunity to display the iconic brand," he said.

Both Dodge and Chevrolet have promised to build production versions of vehicles in the next couple years.

The muscle car tussle caught the attention of Jalopnik.com, a popular auto Web site, which likened it to a Sharks-versus-Jets feud.

"Chevy made a point of letting the Chrysler folks know that they were stepping on the General's turf almost goading the Chrysler Group into a 'West Side Story'-like knife fight," the Web site said.

"It slowly passed in the right lane," Ray Wert, Detroit associate editor for Jalopnik.com, told The Detroit News. "It was quite possibly the greatest coincidence in the history of automobiles."

The modern-day muscle car battle reignited when Ford Motor Co. gave its 2005 Mustang a throwback design.

Dodge and Chevy entering the fray is a good for Detroit and the auto industry, Wert said.

"This is what the enthusiasts want," Wert said. "This gets their blood running. The baby boomers all want to push their pony car as being the best pony car among them all."

Vines agreed, but couldn't help taking one more swipe at his rival.

"It's healthy for Detroit and it's healthy for the industry," Vines said. "Despite the lameness of the GM stunt, it gets people talking."

[pwd72s]

It won't be a contest. The Camaro is fugly. The Challenger is good looking. End of story...

[kach22i]

I saw the Camaro on a large white truck on Woodward one week before the Dream Cruise.

I'm sure it was nothing personal.

[JonT]

Great article and pics. I like the new Camaro--definitely retro with a lot more modern edge to it than the Challenger. Should be a fun comparison when the cars make it to the showroom.

[legion]

I think this kind of good-natured competition is a good thing.

[HardDrive]

Great story. I wonder which car the public will give a ***** less about?

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally posted by HardDrive
Great story. I wonder which car the public will give a ***** less about?

Exactly.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Well, if either of them says "Hybrid" on the back, the sheeple will stand in line....

[speeder]

So far Ford has been the only one able to do retro worth a *****e, the Chevy offerings have been pretty bad IMO and the PT cruiser was ghey from the word "go".

Both the '69 Camaro and the original Challenger were good lookers to re-make, but the Dodge was a bit of an overweight, oversized porker at the time for a pony car. It didn't get a lot of respect when new from the mags, (build quality was abysmal even by Detroit standards of the time, it seemed like they were made by escaped mental patients). I will agree w/ Paul that it was a looker, however, and I coveted them as muscle cars. My buddy had a AAR 'Cuda, which was very similar.

[pwd72s]

Once again a rare happening. I agree with Denis. The '69 Camaro was a good looking car. This retro version?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Neither one of those cars is going to sell. With gas going to $5 a gallon or more, I think it's pretty safe to say the age of the muscle car is dead. Large-displacement, low-efficiency toys like these are never going to be popular. Yes, they'll have their "cult" following, but I'll place my bet right now that the sales numbers are going to be dismal. As much as I like the idea, the markets do not justify this approach and it's going to be one more major failure for both GM and Dodge.

If GM wants to stave off bankruptcy, they're going to have to suck it up and start playing some serious catch-up in the area of higher-efficiency vehicles, alternative-fuel vehicles and hybrids or they're dead meat. The only reason this "retro" thing worked for Ford was the fact that their timing was better and they got the rustang back into showrooms at a time when people were feeling halfway decent about the economy and everyone wasn't in a near-panic over gas prices.

I like the idea - I really do. I want to believe it would be something that would put GM back on the map, but the economics just aren't there to support it. I saw the car at the auto show and although it's another "retro" vehicle (which I inherently dislike), I thought the styling was pretty nice overall. Generally pretty well-done. Not great and certainly not a '67, but not bad. But again, a humongous, large-engine car in 2007? Not gonna' work guys.

[jdm61]

Actually the BEST looking retro-cars are the 997 and Cayman.....good old 911 and 904 vibe And let us not forget the BMW Z8. I know it didn't sell well, but what a looker!!!! The new Viper is nice too....much better looking than the original, IMHO. The Challenger just looks fasster than the original car. Camaro looks good but a little heavy. The original may have ben the meanest looking of the original pony cars along with the original AMX (not the Javelin)

[Porsche-O-Phile]

The new Camaro is absolutely huge when you see it in person. It's completely incompatible with the needs/demands of modern-day America. I'm sure a few people that happen to be very wealthy and don't care too much about gas prices will buy 'em, but I predict the sales numbers are going to be absolutely atrocious overall.

[VINMAN]

Please, please let the old muscle cars rest in peace!!
They can never resurrect or duplicate them.

[kach22i]

The new E-85 Camaro....................!!

Just kidding.

[Ronbo]

Originally posted by Porsche-O-Phile
The new Camaro is absolutely huge when you see it in person.

Same with the Challenger. Isn't it built on the 300/Magnum platform?

[kach22i]

Two page Jay Leno article on these very topics.

http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,12929-2328646_1,00.html

With these cars out, you had to decide which camp you belonged to. It was along the lines of mods and rockers; there were Mustang guys and there were Chevy guys, and when you pulled into the local Dairy Queen or the drive-in burger place, the Ford guys were on one side and the Chevy guys on the other. Occasionally a Camaro guy would have sex with a Mustang girl and it was Romeo and Juliet again!...........................If I still lived in my home town, this would be the car I would want. It’s a bit like the Cayman. It’s for the guy who can’t quite make it to the 911. That’s what this is: I think the Camaro is the Cayman to the Corvette. You can justify it to the wife — look honey, there’s two seats in the back. The kids can sit back there. But what clinches it is that it’s a car that people will lust after.

[techweenie]

YAWN

[livi]

I suppose the financial advisers at GM and Chrysler corp were banned a long time ago. And soon they will have to spend even more money on even larger parking lots for their brand new, not sold cars..

[Racerbvd]

I'm sorry, I think it is pretty funny, now if only Ford took a new Cobra and did a burn out the length of the block behind them, would have been icing on the cake