2010 Chevrolet Camaro: Official photos and details
Chevrolet officially took the wraps off the production version of the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro. The new Camaro's appearance has been one of the worst-kept secrets in autodom, but no one was really sure what would be under the hood -- and now we know.
LS and LT models will get a 3.6 liter V6 with direct fuel injection (similar to the engine found in the Cadillac CTS and STS). Power ratings haven't been finalized, but are estimated at 300 hp and 273 lb-ft. The 3.6 V6 will be available with a 6-speed manual or 6-speed automatic and will run on regular fuel.
The hot-rod model will be the Camaro SS, and it'll get a 6.2 liter V8 rated for either 400 hp and 395 lb-ft with a 6-speed automatic or 422 hp and 408 lb-ft with a 6-speed manual. The SS will also get a stiffer sport-tuned suspension and Brembo four-piston brakes.
Chevrolet has released official photos, and you can check 'em out in my 2010 Chevrolet Camaro photo gallery.
So it looks like the Camaro vs. Challenger vs. Mustang debate is alive and well! Which do you think is the better look, the "modernized" retro of the Camaro and the Mustang or the more true-to-the-original look of the Challenger? If money were no object and gas cost $1.50 per gallon, which would you buy? Click the "comments" link below and have your say. -- Aaron Gold
Photo © Chevrolet
Comments
tough choice but that camaro looks fabulous great job of modern technogly with retro 69 looks
I’ll be interested to see if the engine power holds true, or they pull the same move they did with the GTO and detune the engine so it doesn’t have as good numbers as the corvette.
The Camaro looks like a redesigned Mopar product. Kindof cheesy looking. imo
I’d take the Mustang over the other two.
C
My personal favorite is the camaro. At 420+ hp (SS with 6 speed manual) you cant beat it and its a great looking car.
They had a chance, and got very close, but the grille and tail lights are off enough to leave the mustang out in front in the looks department. I don’t know anyone who ever bought a mopar because they were pretty, the bought them for their power and engineering. With the Chevy, you have to dress it up a little. The flat front of the late ’60’s ‘maro would have been very easy to do. I’m not sure what the sliced- fruit look is all about, but this car is not going to sell on it’s looks. It better have some other tricks.
The new Challenger is the hands down winner. It is more true to its heritage and by far the best looking car. MOPAR is back!
Another sterling decision by the Corporate business mavins at GM. Its not a wonder they are in the tank!
None of the Above! My god, how are these idiots still employed. Is this really what america has been waiting for. Is this this answer to mediocre car sales and getting killed by foreign products. Once again we have added another brick to the sinking ship. It is just so sad to watch them repeatedly shoot themselves in the foot with such undesirable low quality embarrasing rides. Keep trying to bring back the redneck sleds. Your target audience for this model ( I am assuming this is for kids ) is pretty firmly locked into the Japanese market. The people who can afford to ignore gas prices don’t drive domestic. I am done, this car is just pathetic.
Challenger all the way. No comparison!!
The key is Aaron’s comment is to forget gas prices. The camaro is ok, but why does GM have to stamp the big ugly bowtie all over their products? The Challenger has very little badging, and the Mustang even less (it says “Ford” around the retro back fake gas cap - no blue oval). Dunno why they think the bowtie is cool. My 97 Z had a little bowtie on the back right side. Anyways my favorite is the Challenger.
I am not locked into the Japanese market. I’ve had my share of Toyota’s and Nissan’s, and can’t really say they are better than the American cars anymore. Sure, there was a time they beat the pants off American cars, and I think a lot of them are still living off that reputation. I still fit better in American cars. But maybe Gary is talking about the 4 door, automatic, “luxury”, “sport” cars - and I can’t go there.
Different strokes!
Gary’s comments are way off base. These cars are not and never were, except maybe way back when, marketed to or for kids. They are done for those of us who enjoy cars and grew up loving these types of cars. Are those of us who love these types of cars not allowed to own one just because you dont like them? All of these companies also make cars that are very fuel efficient. Your opinion of these cars leads me to believe that you only like cars because they get you from point A to B. The rest of us like cars for HOW they get us from point A to B. All these other companies that you hint about also make just as many not-so-fuel efficient cars as the American companies do. Keep frowning while driving your Yaris to and fro while the rest of us drive our cars with pride and a big smile.
In my opinion:
1. Camaro
2. Challenger
3. Mustang
I’m sorry, the current model Mustang just plain sucks. It’s extremely heavy, the GT is slow, the design looks terrible on the exterior - almost a step back from the previous generation. The interior is very blocky and full of cheap plastic…yuck.
The 05 GTO I drive around in, while it has its own problems (notably a weak suspension and small stock rear tires…had to up them from 18×8 to 19×9.5) cleans the Mustang in every other department, including on the road (excepting the occasional Shelby 500).
For me it is a tough choice between the Mustang and the Camaro, I lean slightly towards the Camaro, but would be happy with either. The Challenger is huge and for me that eliminates this choice. Unfortunately gas is not $1.50 per gallon so gas mileage is definitely a real purchase factor. I don’t know if I would consider purchasing a car from the BIG 3 now; I have had great luck with Japanese vehicles including Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi!
The Challenger is, in my opinion, by far the best looking of the three. They are all great looking, but the Challenger has my vote.
Every one have a different taste so anyone can win this race. I wonder why non of this companies have produce a V8 that can change to a 4 cilinders (like the V6 Accord)and also to have a 90 hp electric motor. Yeah that right, a 50 MPG double hybrid hot ride. That may win this race.
Camaro is definitely few levels above in exterior and interior design then other two. Challenger is sort of not bad and Mustang… just plain horrible.
A 6.2 litre engine with only 400HP?
Should be able to get that HP from a 4.5 or 5 litre engine at max…
Awesome looking though but it would be nice if we (US car manufacturers) could do something really new apart from all these retro looking models…
Time to move forward…
the camaro has the 8 cylinders to 4 cyclinders in the v8 with the auto thats why it has alittle less hp.The camaro will prob rape the mustang like it did in the late 90’s early 00’s thats just my opinion.
Problem is, gas doesn’t cost $1.50 per gallon and never will again. All the money they wasted on developing this turkey, all the marketing funds and tooling costs for something that will get what…25 MPG on the highway and worse in town…maybe? I weep for GM. The world doesn’t need another gas guzzling “retro performance car”. What is wrong with keeping the Vette in the performance car position? Heck, you can get them at ultra deep discounts these days so chances are you’ll be able to pick one up for not much more than the big motor Camaro will end up costing. It will probably weigh a lot less and god knows it actually looks like a performance car. I’d WAY rather have a C6 than the Mustchallengaro trio of bricks). What the world wants and needs is a sleek, light weight high performance car that gets 50+ MPG and goes like snot. Make it quick…not necessarily uber fast…but quick. Take the development engineers to the Nurburg Ring and flog them around the track it until they either GET it or puke so much they pass out. Make the line workers give up $10 for every squeak and rattle complaint fixed by the dealer. Give us CNG vehicles with home fueling stations included in the price (or put a CNG fueling station at every Chevy dealer). Give us a good small 4WD turbo diesel pickup that gets 30+ MPG, runs on B-100 Bio all day long if desired, tows 7000 lbs and doesn’t cost more than the downpayment for a house. We want innovation and what do we get? A revamped car that was discontinued and should have stayed that way. Hell, why not bring back the old 16′ long Cadillac Convertable and put a 454 in it with a Carburator while they are at it? The Camaros sold will look real purdy sitting all the time in the garage next to the V-10 Excursions. More likely, it will sit on the sales floor next to all the SUV’s the dealers can’t give away. No wonder dealer sales are off over 70% from last year at the local Chevy dealer here in town. Can you say “Chapter 11″? I knew you could!
Okay, lets compare apples to apples…no talk of Japanese cars need be on this post. I own a Honda, but this is about the new American muscle; cars that, in the past, most blue blood American guys either drove or wanted to drive. Now that I have that out of the way…
In my humble opinion, this is how I see these three:
Mustang has it on the looks department, hands down. I was a Ford guy and still am at heart, so I;m biased on that front. It is heavier than hell, and underpowered, but I love the looks of it.
The Challenger absolutely hit the retro look spot on…great looking car! It is powerful and is likely to be built well. But dodge needs to up the ante in fuel efficiency a bit, their cars get horrible mileage. But oh yeah, fuel is still a buck and a half, I forgot.
Chevy, well we will have to see. The car is kinda ugly to me. I don’t think they pulled off the retro look all that well either. However, when it comes to speed camaros have always been Mustang killers (and that’s coming from a Ford guy).
So, for this comparison where price and fuel mileage are not factors, as much as it pains me to say this, I tip my hat to the mopar boys!
To be fair to the automakers, it takes 2-5 years to develop a new vehicle — so when the Camaro and Challenger were conceptualized, gas was still reasonably priced and there was no way to predict that it would quickly hit $4.50 per gallon. Everyone dumps on the automakers for bringing big cars to market, but they were just going where the money is — or at least was. — Aaron
+1 Kevin!!
Aaron, come on!!! Good try…
Aaron’s only stating the facts in regards to the the development of cars. Any true car fan knows this and those who dont should do a little research. Unfortunatly people just love to find reasons for complaining when its not a car they like. For example the quality of american cars. 10-25 yrs ago they would have a legit gripe but for several years now, especially the last 5-7 or so, these cars are on par in build quality to any company out there.
Aaron is right about development time and his question was hypothetical. He asked how we would feel about these cars IF money was not an object and gas prices were still $1.50 per gallon. We already know that things aren’t that way –as do the 3 American auto manufacturers (no doubt they are painfully aware of it). What Aaron is trying to get at is which of these three cars do you think is best. Simple question.
For me, because I’m stuck camparing appearance and a few performance stats, and not actually driving all three back to back, I’d say I like the new Camaro most followed closely by the Dodge then the Mustang. But with the Mustang getting a redesign soon, my rankings could easily get a remix.
To me the Challenger is more vintage looking than the other two. The Camaro is very sharp. If I were to buy one of the three in a moment of nostalgic glory days madness, I’d take the Camaro, beause this purchase would be a long term keeper and I’m willing to bet that of the Big Three, in ten years, GM will be the last company standing. The Camaro would be worth something, as opposed to the other two.
FOR SALE 2006 Mustang.
My only tough decision will be …what color will my new Camaro be ?
i really wish ppl would stop calling american cars crappy. i’ve had quite a few in my life and my ‘90 grand am had 240,000 miles on it before i sold it…and the lady i sold it to is still driving it, after 3 years it still runs well. as for gas mileage its mainly how u drive it. drive it hard and any car will suck it down but cruise and it goes good. i get 30 mpg out of a ‘95 cougar with the 4.6 v8 with zero mods. sum days i’ll get a lil wild and leave my black tire tracks all over and other days i’ll just cruise it around…and this car has 140k miles on it and runs perfect.
of the cars in question i’d go with the camero. i see way to many mustangs driven around by teenagers. the challenger just doesnt appeal to me, love the looks n power but its not me. these three cars are evenly matched as is, sure special editions and upgrades are out there but that’s irrelevant. personally i’ve got a G8 waiting to be delivered, 4 doors make life easier when you have kids and i get to keep my v8 rear wheel drive.
also all of the BIG 3 put out fuel efficient vehicles, especially gm. a hybrid of almost every chevy model will be produced, including silverado and tahoe.
It takes 2-5 years to develop the car…it should take about 1 day to stop the program. Yes, stop it. GM should simply cancel the car, recognize the market is radically different than from a few years ago when they conceptualized it and say, sorry. Write off the development and any tooling costs. Instead, they’ll lumber ahead, spending the funds to make it, keep it around for a few years with dismal sales unless chapter 11 hits first with a giant across the board emergency product revamp (which should have been happening over the last year). Those resources should be going into building TRULY efficient vehicles.
Hybrids? The $50,000+ Tahoe Hybrid gets a whopping 20 MPG. Everybody now…OOOOH! Hell, Ford was getting that mileage from their beastly Kenworth sized multi ton 4 wheel drive 9 passenger Excursion Diesel back in 2001. I can pick one of those up used for $15K.
Those production/marketing/etc. funds should be pouring into new vehicles people NEED. What do I need? As a business owner, I find myself in immediate need of a new vehicle to tow a 7500 lb equipment trailer. My choices from GM are a 3/4 or 1 ton monster pickup which gets 15 MPG, one of the diesel pickups which get 18-20 and is discounted from $50,000 down to $40,000, a $50,000 Hybrid pickup which likely will barely make the towing capacity and will get mileage during towing little better than the gas verions and little better than the diesels when not towing…or I can buy a used diesel pickup which can be had in mass quantities under $20K. There is absolutely ZERO incentive for me as a business owner to buy a new vehicle from GM. If there were a dead basic 1/2 ton diesel pickup which was actually efficient (30 MPG) in the $28K range, I’d be all over it. Instead the 1/2 ton Duramax pickup is delayed until next year. THAT is where the funds for the Camaro should have gone…it should be sitting on the lot today generating sales. I can guarantee they would have sold 100 of them for every 1 Camaro sold. Instead dealers have lots full of big pickups and big SUV’s nobody wants and the new product coming soon to a ghost town dealer near you…a 400HP 2 door gas guzzler. Great.
The exterior does not look bad. However, since the design has been around for several years (shows and pictures), it already looks dated - to me anyway.
The interior design is just lousy. I would have expected better ergonomics and looks.
Just my 2 cents…
The thing about all three of these cars is that they are here to try and lure the baby boomers into trying to re-live the glory years. These are the people with enough money to purchase and fuel the car. If it were up to me I wouldn’t buy any of them. Dismal gas mileage, high insurance, and the fact that not one of them looks particularly great, are reasons enough not to purchase them. But when you look at what else is in the price range, why would you limit yourself unless you were trying to bring back the spark of youth that has eluded you and is quickly fading away.
I just saw the Challenger up close last week and while it’s beautiful…it’s a huge car. Too big for me for a car like this. Camaro ???…never been a fan of the first gen looks, but love the early 2nd gen cars. The styling on this new one is too busy for my tatstes.
The Mustang now looks dated compared to these two, but that will change with the new one in the pipeline. My choice…wait for the next Mustang.
Gary from Atlanta doesn’t get it. These cars are not supposed to be practical, economical, etc. Their target audience is affluent baby boomers like me who have made it, and now have the financials to have a little “blast from the past” fun. The Camaro SS I purchase will not be my daily driver, although it’s probably going to be hard to resist making it so!
I think that the Camaro look’s Great!!!
Chevy car’s run Great!!! I have driven the Ford Mustang and Dodge vehicles and I would only buy GM vehicle’s, they drive very smooth. I prefer Chevy’s. The Bowtie on the New Camaro is Awesome looking!
I am patiently waiting for it to come out.
I think that more people that live in the U.S.A. should buy American made car’s.
If you live in America you should support American Companies. Jerri Jo
You gotta go with the Camaro. If cost is no object, but I bet it is gonna costs a few more pennies than the other two.
Go CHEVY!!!!!
Aggressive styling with a retro influence is Camaro’s strong point. It’s an American sports car icon that is affordable yet image-setting. Isn’t that what cars are all about anyway? I want to look good in a car…and Camaro has what it takes! I used to be a Toyo fan…my ‘08 Solara has changed all that…it’s only a matter of months before it’s gone! Welcome back Camaro !
camaro’s Independent rear suspension will make the fords and dodges drive like dump trucks in comparison
I like a good Galaxie 500 myself. Pink with big rims.