I read the first 2 pages and skipped to a reply. I don't see the concern of the Camaro "outselling" the Mustang. Even in its last couple of years, the Camaro and Trans Am were still outsold by the Mustang by a margin of 3 to 1. (source: Consumer Reports). And those were arguably the best years for those F-Bodys. (especially with the potent LS1) The problem with General Motors is that they compete with themselves. You have the Pontiac G8, the Cobalt SS, Solstice Redline, Sky Redline, the Corvette, and the new Camaro. The price point of the Vette has gone up enough that the used Vettes are a bargain and draw new Camaro owners that route. Ford has but just one performance car; the Mustang GT. (and it's varients.) The little Cobalt in the last couple of magazines has pulled high 13's. (source:
Quick Test: 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt SS - First Drive - Motor Trend) I know some Cobalt owners, and the car is easy to modify. They throw on a bigger pulley and some other mods, and they are in low 13 high 12 brackets. The Sky and Solstice redline are factory turbo cars running low 14's. (source:
2007 Pontiac Solstice GXP/Saturn Sky Red Line (Automatic) - Feature / The Quickest Cars of 2007: $25,000 to $30,000 - Feature / Features/Classic Cars / High Performance / Hot Lists / Reviews / Car and Driver - Car And Driver) Being that the car is a factory turbo, how hard is it going to be to mod that bad boy? Not hard at all.
General Motors offers a slew of vehicles that adhere to the "performance enthusiast." And, most of the cars (opinion of course) look very good. The problem with offering so many performance vehicles is that you must price point them in order for the cars to not compete to much with your own inventory. The Cobalt, Sky, Solstice are all cars that can be had for a Mustang GT price. I think the Camaro buyer will be more of a "brand loyalty" buyer than a "hey, it blows the Ford out of the water" buyer. Ever since the introduction of the Camaro, it has never outsold the Mustang.
The benfit of the Mustang is the aftermarket. The car has proved to be such a staple and solid seller (and Ford's only real performance product; SVT's come and go) that the aftermarket is the key Mustang's great success. People love to have unique rides. You can customize a 'Stang about a trillion different ways, and likley not be similiar to another 'Stang around. Plus, it's relativly cheap to do so. Performance wise, 'Stangs are sleepers.... The liklihood of running into a stock stang is about zilch.
Camaro's will never have the advantage the Mustang has in terms of aftermarket and price. The Mustang GT is already such a solid performer stock. And for those people whining about the 3.6 300HP V6 in the new camaro; Ford it likly to put their direct injection version of the 3.5 in the new Mustang. (source: about everywhere) Chevrolet made the mistake of leaking to much info and delaying the Camaro to much. Ford will be ready for it, and still outsell it.
Oh, and what's the big deal with IRS? I like the solid axle better anyway; especially for the track.