El Kabong

That's the Ford PR talking, I'm guessing. Out of what end we have no idea. But seriously... its gotta be frustrating for the media dealing with with a manufacturer that seems intent on self-praise.

Exactly. It just reinforces what I said about Ford's NA operations not delivering the goods. Funny thing is that I really like the thinking behind the Fusuon Sport. It has some serious potential.

So anyways... so fa Ford pulled the plug when they found out it had more power than the Mustang EB Salty bunch :D

I've made my feelings on the Shelby vs. Stingray comparo perfectly clear: I'm cool with it. Because it was a lot of politics. But not from the source you think. You see, everyone knows that the numbers for the Shelby and SS are close enough to warrant their own comparo. But it hasn't happened yet. Why? Simple: Ford doesn't have the stones to authorize it. Which-hello!-is the raison d'être of this thread. So, the mags are only allowed to test the Shelby under nebulous conditions, with no truly direct competition (C/D even titles their article "Asymmetrical Warfare"). Ford knows the Camaro would make it look bad. Simple as that. C'mon guys-look past the brand bias.

"The magazines are BIASED!" Well, duh. I already said that. They're biased in favor of FUN PRODUCT. And right now GM has more fun product than Ford. Simple as that. I've been content to just sit idly by and let those who decry the Camaro's styling and marketing tie-ins do so because hey, different strokes for different folks. But c'mon. At some point when you make a blanket statement like "the magazines are full of shyte" while still harping on the Camaro every chance you get? Ya... a bit biased yourself, man. Me? I'm totally biased. I like fun cars. And I like companies who make them consistently, and consistently well. GM has been doing that since '08. Ford gets it right sometimes... but not enough, and certainly not in the segments that I'd be looking to buy in. It is what it is, man

Says the Ford fan. I rest my case. How exactly is he a Ford fan? Good grief man. Why be an ass about everything? He just tarred all car mags with the same brush of bias and owns a Ford, but you choose to throw shade on me for being an ass. Get outta here with that crap

The Camaro beat out the Mustang for COTY? The Camaro beat out everything new for COTY. I believe the Shelby may have been on the list this year. If not then it's not so much that the Camaro won (against a new Civic no less), then that the Mustang lost when it was eligible. In any case, the Camaro is the better car.

...also, the Mustang and Camaro, in GT and SS trims especially, are not terribly close in performance. This is why the Camaro is COTY and the Mustang is not. Nope. Ford's PR department is feeling the pain, and they're having a hissy fit.

Says the Ford fan. I rest my case.

The magazines exist for those who prefer their driving to be enjoyable. There's nothing wrong with regarding driving as a task, but if you do then you're probably not the type who should be getting excited about Ford's thrashing in MT anyways, right? And yet some will insist on quibbling, because OF COURSE they want Ford to build fun stuff. Problem is, except for Ford of Europe nobody at Dearborn is really answering the bell right now.

And that's all well and good to say. But again: the kids love these movies, and these cars. And when the time comes when they want to buy, they will buy the version that has learned the lessons gleaned from this car. That is the kind of PR that you just can't get when you stick your fingers in your ears and say "I can't see you!" to third-party reviewers. I'm telling you. Ford would be better off eating the humble pie now, because this isn't going to get any easier for them going forward. Ultimately, they just need to make good product. But short of that, they should at least grow up and take a few shots. It worked for GM.

The Mustang V6 was intended from the get-go for fleet sales. They can have 'em. The Mustang has (possibly) one more variant to come. The Camaro has two. If the Mustang doesn't sell, the platform doesn't sell. If the Camaro doesn't sell, the Alpha platform sells... and, as we now see with the CT6, evolves. And your low opinion of Michael Bay movies notwithstanding, the Bumblebee Camaro is pretty cool.

The 200C's transmission is still disappointing. But the engine room is just fine. As for Samantha Fox... yup yup yup

You may not like it, man... but GM's movie and toy tie-ins are going to pay dividends down the road... my niece has one of those electric Escalades. In fifteen years she won't be looking to buy no Navigator, I'll tell you that.

...I mean, if I paid 56 grand for a Shelby GT350 and couldn't beat the 0-60 and lateral G numbers of a 42 grand Camaro I guess I'd be a bit salty too :D

I remember building these things. Torque-steer central with that LS4. The Grand Prix version at least had the tires to try and balance the handling out. But the transaxles were basically being set up for failure. Old GM: where the great and the goofy would collide at breakneck speed.

It's certainly no way to get favourable buzz around your product. And it eventually becomes self-perpetuating: the company refuses to play nice with the media, the media begins to wonder why they don't want to play nice. It doesn't help matters when the PR department has been caught writing checks the product can't cash.

If someone is able to put forth a good case and not resort to name-calling in the process then I'm not too concerned. But MT has a bad case of trolls in their comment section. The good thing is that they're so stupid that they actually make GM look good.

And the downvotes just go to show that the troll apples don't fall far from the haterade tree. It's unfortunate because it's now pretty clear that they're based almost exclusively on blind hatred for what many folks in the auto biz are talking about openly: Ford isn't really doing that well as far as product appeal goes. Oh well. My opinion is justified, and that's all that matters.

I remember many moons ago when John Phillips did a review of a Saturn coupe. In the middle of it he basically hit the pause button and unloaded a broadside against GM for building half-assed cars. Thing was, he was right, and now Saturn doesn't exist anymore. Motor Trend's praise of recent GM products and criticism of recent Ford products isn't because MT has an axe to grind. It's because GM is on a roll and Ford isn't. And a peevish PR department isn't going to help the situation.

Motor Trend recently ran a compact-car comparo, in which the Chevrolet Cruze was the only entrant from Detroit. The Dodge Dart is on it's way out, so fair 'nuff. But why no Ford Focus? MT pulls no punches: "An increasingly paranoid and insular Ford PR department refused to participate. Again. Rental options failed to meet our demanding specifications, but be warned, Ford: Next time we’re taking whatever beater Hertz has to offer." Some time ago I cited a piece on Mark Fields where he claimed he hated GM and their success. Now we have a major car magazine openly putting shots across the bow of their PR department. At the time I had a PM discussion going where I opined that Ford was being run in a peevish, unprofessional manner. Based on this, I see no reason to change my assessment. Read for yourself here: http://www.motortrend.com/news/compact-cars-big-test-3-missing-players/

Meh. I like what I like and don't like what I don't like. That's never changed, despite all the whining it can engender from the peanut gallery. Adults talk about cars on car forums. Children talk about posters.

I currently have a Chrysler 200C as a rental car. I have never driven a car so badly sabotaged by its transmission.

Well-bought, man. Congratulations.

If I was single I'd give it some thought. But the better half absolutely hated the driver seat, so I never bothered asking her to sit in the non-adjustable passenger one. Nope, I suspect there's some Camaro variant at some point in my future again...