In the American muscle-car sales race, the Camaro has placed first, second, and third; it doesn’t have the comfort of the Challenger of the retro style of the Mustang, but it can have blistering-hot performance. The 2019 version has a controversial extra-modern style, combining numerous design elements in the front, including the obligatory black bumper.
From the side, the Camaro looks much like the current model, which isn’t especially surprising. The SS, shown above, is pretty close to the ground, with tires that have precious little sidewall, squeezing out as much performance as possible. The six-speed manual will continue, along with automatic options.
The 2019 Camaro’s base engine is a hot 2-liter turbo with an eight-speed automatic; Ford led the way with a little four-cylinder with big power, and Dodge is likely to follow now that they have a hot turbo-four of their own. The top Camaros, the SS and ZL1, have LED tail-lamps in dark-tinted clear lenses; the lower models have red lenses.
The 3.6 liter V6 continues, with an eight-speed automatic; the SS has a ten-speed option, with paddle shifters for more control. The SS and ZL1 are the “Camaro lover’s Camaro,” with massive 6.2 liter V8s — supercharged on the ZL1, for around 650 horsepower, but on this SS, without forced air, around 455 horsepower.
David Zatz has been writing about cars and trucks since the early 1990s, including books on the Dodge Viper, classic Jeeps, and Chrysler minivans. He also writes on organizational development and business at toolpack.com and covers Mac statistics software at macstats.org. David has been quoted by the New York Times, the Daily Telegraph, the Detroit News, and USA Today.