Them's fightin' words
10-07-2008, 12:16 PM
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Them's fightin' words
Not sure if anybody else has seen this article already, but I was reading it today and chuckled at a couple remarks made by the "Father" of the new Camaro. Enjoy!
"We stopped bringing Mustangs on our development rides because they were so far behind us in our rearview mirror," says Al Oppenheiser, GM's North American rear-drive vehicle chief engineer and effectively the new Camaro's father. "It wasn't even worth taking them anymore," he continues, with the faintest of smirks.
You needn't be a Blue Oval booster or a soldier in the General's army to know that them's fightin' words. What's more, Oppenheiser says his team brought along (and kept) the Dodge Charger, Nissan 350Z, and stretch targets like the Infiniti G37. "We've actually challenged ourselves to go upscale in sticker price and performance, to go after anything that could be called this segment-Mustang, Charger, Challenger. We're shooting for targets a lot higher in terms of sticker price," he says.
Says Oppenheiser, "[Dodge] wanted to be first to the street in this pony war you guys are creating, and I think they're suffering from it." As for the Mustang, he's equally blunt. "We understand their strategy-a Mustang for every buyer. We're not taking that strategy. We've had their whole range on certain rides with us and evaluated all of them. I'm not worried." Fighting words, indeed.
Anyway, here's the link to the complete article: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...ook/index.html
"We stopped bringing Mustangs on our development rides because they were so far behind us in our rearview mirror," says Al Oppenheiser, GM's North American rear-drive vehicle chief engineer and effectively the new Camaro's father. "It wasn't even worth taking them anymore," he continues, with the faintest of smirks.
You needn't be a Blue Oval booster or a soldier in the General's army to know that them's fightin' words. What's more, Oppenheiser says his team brought along (and kept) the Dodge Charger, Nissan 350Z, and stretch targets like the Infiniti G37. "We've actually challenged ourselves to go upscale in sticker price and performance, to go after anything that could be called this segment-Mustang, Charger, Challenger. We're shooting for targets a lot higher in terms of sticker price," he says.
Says Oppenheiser, "[Dodge] wanted to be first to the street in this pony war you guys are creating, and I think they're suffering from it." As for the Mustang, he's equally blunt. "We understand their strategy-a Mustang for every buyer. We're not taking that strategy. We've had their whole range on certain rides with us and evaluated all of them. I'm not worried." Fighting words, indeed.
Anyway, here's the link to the complete article: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...ook/index.html
