If you were a Ford kid as I was in 1993, the new Camaro (shown above as a 1994 model) gave you fits. It was sleek and it was fast, and all hopes turned to the introduction of the ’94 Mustang that was so eagerly anticipated. As we all know, as far as horsepower was concerned, it landed with a thud.
I love all American (and many foreign) brands today, but I was almost exclusively a Ford man when the fourth-generation Camaro was introduced. As a 16-year-old with a newly minted driver’s license, I got to cruise around in this very car pictured above, my parents’ 1988 Mustang GT Convertible. Sure, it was a poser with its power-sapping AOD and 2.73 gears, but few cars in my Midwestern hometown had as much street cred as a 5.0 did. But times were changing when I got my license in 1993, as the Fox Mustang was showing its age and a spectacular new 275-horsepower Camaro was introduced, and it absolutely annihilated the poor Mustang.
I remember the humiliation brought on by this exact road-test comparison in the December 1993 issue of Car and Driver. I liked the new Mustang a lot, but there was no hiding my disappointment when the old 5.0 was carried over with no speed tweaks, no improvements. Heck, where was the 351? Were we just going to concede to the Bow-Tie guys? In this road test partially run at my “home” road course of Waterford Hills, the Mustang lapped a second slower than the hot Z28. A second.
The zero-to-130 times were most telling (and embarrassing): The Camaro did it in 26.6 seconds. The Mustang, a humiliating 44.7.
The reason for this shellacking was the Corvette-based LT1 350, pictured above. We all know that the LT1 was a stepping stone to the wildly popular (and powerful) LS family of General Motors V8s, but it was a big step forward in the Camaro. With 60 more horsepower than the Mustang and 40 more lb.-ft. of torque, it’s clear who did their homework. The LT1 today is probably best known for its Opti-Spark ignition, which has elicited some profanity from owners, and a novel reverse-flow cooling system that was possibly the result of some unethical maneuverings with a consultant, as explained in this excellent Hagerty article from May 2020.
Thus, it was one of these Camaros that was my introduction to corporate heathenism. I’d always held my private concerns that maybe Fords weren’t necessarily the best cars on the road, but a late-night road test was one of the first steps in my breaking my strict Blue Oval ties. My dad and I stopped at the local Chevy dealer. It was a cold night, probably in the spring of 1994, and a Polo Green Z28 with the four-speed automatic and a medium beige interior was sitting on the lot, gleaming under the mercury-vapor lamps. A salesman greeted us, and unlike the usual pushy guy, this one was cool-all-the-way, probably my dad’s age. He invited me to drive the Camaro, and even at the time, I knew that was insane. I was 17, maybe even late-16.
Still, who would say no? My dad got into the back, and the engine barked to life with an exhaust note that sounded like, in the words of Car and Driver, “an old Can-Am car.” It was no great loss that the Camaro had the 4L60E; Chevy had figured out how to make an automatic LT1 run with a six-speed model; most period road tests were neck-and-neck, unlike the Ford AOD cars that were in the weeds compared to a T5-equipped 5.o.
We turned down dark, spooky, deserted “Skill Center Road” and the salesman told me to punch it. The Z28 kicked down to first, the rear skated to the right, the engine screamed, the rear tires grabbed, and that thing was doing 85 miles per hour in a 45 mile-per-hour zone faster than anything I’d driven in my short time on internal-combustion-powered wheels. It was life-changing, literally. My dad later told me that he was about to slap me in the head from the back seat, but he didn’t want me to crash.
I don’t remember that salesman’s name and I don’t know why he let a stupid kid drive that bellowing Camaro. My dad certainly showed no signs that he was interested in it (Fords and all), so maybe he was bored. Maybe he liked Camaros. Maybe he was putting a future customer on the hook. But wherever he is, I thank him for letting me drive that car and for giving me the brochure. I pored over all the details, the LT1 V8, the performance suspension, the subtle “Z28” callouts on the fenders, the red bowties on the nose and tail. I didn’t care that the engine was hard to service or that the clearcoat would probably be peeling in five years. I wanted mine in Polo Green with a Medium Beige interior, just like “my” Camaro on the lot (although I would have preferred the six-speed, even if I was an oaf with a manual at the time).
The Camaro was the first step in my non-denominational conversion, and the spectacular fourth-gen Z28 had a lot to do with it.
And although I’ve never owned a Camaro, I own five GM cars today (including my ’74 Firebird, pictured above) and have had several more in my past. Sure, there are a few Fords in the fleet; my dad’s teachings will never totally go away, but in a way, I have a Chevy salesman to thank for what has been a lifetime of variety.
Further CC Reading
CC Tech: 1988 Ford Mustang GT – Plastic, A Better Idea In Quarter Windows
Curbside Musings: 1995 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible – The Halfway Point
This was quite a nostalgic read for me. We’re similar in age, and at that time I was really into performance pony cars. My older cousin, whom I looked up to, had a 1990 Mustang GT with a 5-speed that he factory-ordered new. I thought it was one of the coolest cars around. He and his friends, who were in their late 20s at the time, had a handful of cool pony cars. One of my cousin’s friends bought an LT1 6-speed Trans Am, and it dethroned my cousin’s beloved Mustang as the fastest car in the group.
Those 4th-gen F-bodies had a massive impact, and I thought they were incredibly cool. Although the styling hasn’t aged as well as the 3rd-gen cars, at the time it was very sharp and in style. I still remember the 1994 “Best Bang for the Buck” Motor Trend issue that showcased the dominance of the Camaro Z28. It was truly one of the last American V8 RWD budget performance buys. I didn’t get to drive one of those Camaros off the showroom floor, but I did get to drive a few later when I worked at a Chevy dealer—and they really lived up to the hype. Lots of fun!
It makes you wonder if that ’90 Mustang GT could have run with the Trans Am with just a couple basic mods, like advancing the timing a bit and throwing a set of 3.73s in there.
While Ford carried over the same five-ohh from their previous generation, GM elected to carry over the same atrocious interior fit, finish, and material quality from theirs; the two separate people I knew who bought these cars new became much less than enamored with them in very short order from warping plastics and incessant creaks and rattles that drove them nuts (and I as a passenger). Other GM products of the era, even the lowly J-cars, did not appear to suffer from this to such an extreme. I’ve heard the redesigned ‘97 dash was a big improvement in this aspect…
Feel for your dad during that test drive. The back seat(s) in these was NOT the best seat in the house (well, car), in fact, it was the worst. Very cramped. I recall more cramped than my 78 Firebird. (In which I spent a couple occasions 😉 , and IT was cramped, but not as bad as these “new” ones).
I thought about that when I was writing about this, Terry. Poor Dad. It was only a 15-20 minute test drive though…
I’ve always been a Mustang guy, but I’d always give a hat tip to the Camaro as warranted. Their designs were usually excellent (the ‘70.5 was simply gorgeous) and their a/c systems rock solid. The problem with Camaros, as experienced through friends and associates, is Chevy usually baked some half-ass engineering attempt into their releases that bit the eventual owner hard in the ass at some point in time.
Although I briefly owned a second-gen TransAm and seriously considered a Fox Mustang at various times (both 1st gen turbo and 5.0 LX), and even briefly entertained the idea of a new EcoBoost 4 cylinder convertible about 10 years ago, I’m not really a pony car person. And 1993 was the year we became a two kid family, so in fact a new (small) wagon enters our fleet. But I was still a car guy, and this post plus Aaron S’s recent story on the SN95 GTS, which I’d never heard of, reinforced my 30 year old memories that the SN95 tossed all of the Fox 5.0’s performance heritage under the Camaro’s wheels. Not to be recovered for several decades.
The 4th Gen F-body cars are frustrating. The styling and design was just terrible.
The huge doors, the cramped interior, still poor build quality, heavy curb weight.
Even the SS models looked terrible.
They did have a much better front suspension (SLA) and rack and pinion steering than the 3rd Gens.
The T56 6 speed manual transmission was excellent but… it had 2 OD gears and most of these cars came with 3.08 rear gears.
You rarely used 5th and 6th gears.
The LT1 engine had excellent power but it’s unique design turned out to be a failure. This engine is rare as it was never installed in trucks.
These cars still had a really weak 7 5/8″ rear axle.
The sad ’94 and ’95 Mustangs were so much better except for power. But the old 5.0L small block Ford had tons of potential.
It wasn’t until recently that I discovered that people called the ’98-’02 Camaro “catfish.” Now I can’t unsee it.
Correction. The 6-speed cars came with 3:42’s out back, not 3.08s.
They were great runners. Had one oil leak at the rear corner of the engine where the intake, block and head met. Replaced under warranty. Other than that; nothing.
When i worked at Ford in the mid 90’s , a guy a worked with brother had a 95 Z28. He used to borrow it sometimes and we would take it for spin at lunch. I think we got it up to about 130 mph one time
What a salesman! Wild that he would let such a young person who is not a near term buyer go for a test drive. He likely is totally unaware of the impact he had.
I owned both a Camaro and Mustang for a while a long time ago. It was not really a fair or even match in terms of age as the Camaro was a ’78 Z28 with a manual and the Mustang was a ’96 with an automatic. Both V8s at least. The 96 was, of course, in a lull for power with the newly introduced 4.6L. The Camaro had some minor modifications (headers, etc) so probably made a little extra power over stock. On the butt dyno they were probably about equally fast. The Camaro felt faster and felt like a better handler. The Mustang got better fuel economy and had better cold starts with fuel injection. I, at the time, really wanted a 4th generation Camaro but never did get one.
My “95 Camaro”, was this color. Inside was leather though. (convert top beige also)
Most of of my enthusiasm for these nosedived the second I opened the hood and saw half the engine not underneath it but the windshield. The rest evaporated when I sat in one was struck by how generic it was. Say what you will about the quality/materials of the 94-04 Mustang but with its double hump dash it looked like you were in a Mustang or at least something special.
But yeah I never quite understand why Ford was so reluctant to break out of the self imposed 5 liter cap for Mustangs after GM started putting 350s back in F bodies. A 351 HO wouldn’t have taken much if any investment, and in fact we sort of got exactly that in the 300 horsepower 5.8 powered 1995 SVT Cobra R but in extremely limited production with zero amenities and a stupid price tag to match. I’m a Ford guy but GM was definitely less stingy than Ford in providing affordable horsepower in the 90s.
Agreed on the dashboard of the SN-95, and they’ve also held up incredibly well, so their build quality was undoubtedly better than the Camaro/Firebird’s.
Even a Mustang fan like me has to admit that these 350 powered Camaros put a quick end to the 5.0 legend. Ford had done quite a bit of work after reintroducing the 5.0 back in the early 1980’s. It was one of the quickest stock performance cars for many years. GM really slipped in a great motor. The new 4.6 was even worse. Of course between 288 cubes and 350 there wasn’t any comparison. I do give Ford credit for steadily improving the Mustang GT while GM pulled the plug on the Camaro at the end of the 1990’s. Even though the Mustang ran second to the Camaro in performance, the Mustang outsold the GM product. It seems that the Mustang had plenty of fans and they have kept them on the street in stock or modified form. What really killed the Camaro for me was the big bulge in the floor for the catalytic converter. Even if I was never going to be a passenger in my own car, it just seemed like poor engineering. The Mustang was better built and they have held up better over the years. I owned my ’96 Mustang for over 14 years and really loved it. Though I owned it as a “mature adult” and I didn’t care about burn outs and street racing.
The authors story sounds so much like me in that era.
I do agree that the Camaro simply had the better drivetrain (at least when it comes to performance, not reliability). The Camaro Z28 was simply faster, end of story. But the “rest” of the car was a bucket of junk compared to the newer gen Mustang. I knew people that owned that 93-97 Camaros era “new” and LOTS of issues and just an overall creaky, squeaky mess.
I will never understand though why Ford couldn’t have put their truck 351 in there if Chevy somehow found a way to put their 350. Ford should have at least had it as a (mainstream) option for a little more money. Or unlocked 20-30hp more out of their 5.0 like they did when they put the motor in the Explorer with a better set of heads.
Ultimately, car ownership is not about who can get down the 1/4 mile half a second quicker, but it was definitely an image issue Ford had ceded the hp race to GM. It got way worse when GM had their LS in the Camaro and Ford had their gutless 4.6.