Conclusions?
If our simulations are at all accurate, we'd counsel Ford to increase its roll-control, providing that could be done without wrecking the ride (which we didn't measure here). We'd also encourage the Boss and GT500 to go on a serious diet. We wouldn't recommend ditching the Mustang's live axle for an independent rear suspension, though. We tried running several of the handling tests on rough pavement in hopes of upsetting the Mustang more than the Camaro but had no such luck. Ford's efforts to lighten the rear axle and improve its geometry have evidently paid off.
We'll go way out on a limb and predict that unforeseen developments, perhaps being wrought on simulation software right now in cubicles throughout GM, Ford, and the supplier community, will ensure that the real-life performance of the various Camaro and Mustang variants (and probably the Dodge Challenger, too) will end up as closely matched as our admittedly flawed computer models predict. When that happens, remember: You read it here first. But one thing no computer program we're aware of can predict is whether any Camaro or Challenger--no matter how attractively styled, or athletic, or beloved by magazine editors--will ever manage to outsell the Mustang and earn the title of America's favorite ponycar. For that, we'll all have to wait for 2009. n
Play the sims for yourself! Click on motortrend.com to watch the Camaro and Mustang dice on the dragstrip, slalom, and figure-eight in a 3D virtual environment.
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