Times change. It used to be that a car was measured in terms of torque and horsepower, then the focus became more on horsepower, and then the Veyron came out, and everything became measured in terms of top speed. Then gas hit four bucks a gallon, so now it’s all about mileage. So I’ll give you the crucial, most important news about the new Camaro first: It gets an EPA estimated 26 miles to the gallon. With conservative driving (e.g. not going 80 mph in a 60 mph zone) that number can rise to the low 30’s. So that’s the important news, the real juicy stuff, and if you still care about such mundane items as performance, which is just sooo déclassé, then here is the Nürburgring time for the Camaro SS— 8:20.
But back to the important stuff, like carbon emissions…whoa. Wait a minute. An 8:20 on the ‘Ring? Damn! That’s pretty good, considering the rather hefty curb weight and almost complete disregard to aerodynamics of the Camaro.
I hope you realized that I was kidding about all that performance-isn’t-important-anymore stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for high mpg and environmentally green cars, but I’ve just gotten so sick of hearing eco-weenies whining and bitching about how automakers are destroying the planet, and condemning the Big Three for making gas slurping trucks and SUVs, that I’m glad that GM, Ford, and Chrysler can rise above the criticism and still make powerful, beastly muscle machines. Performance is still a crucial aspect of an automobile, at least for me, because it’s the only factor that prevents everything from becoming a plodding, boring little Japanese car.
Back to the Camaro’s ‘Ring time, to put the 8:20 into perspective, the Chevy Cobalt SS, the BMW E46 M3, and the new BMW M Coupe all posted a time of 8:22, with the Lotus Exige S and Porsche Cayman S running it in 8:25.
Autoblog’s got some more pictures.
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