Ponycar review-2010 style

[dmuramoto]

We don't always get to review other marques at Nissan Sport-it's one of the few downsides of being a Nissan fanatic. But recently, I had the opportunity to drive over a dozen different cars at the Rocky Mountain Automotive Experience presented by the Rocky Mountain Auto Press (RMAP). The first part of the day was held at High Plains Raceway (HPR) near Byers, Colorado. RMAP had set up a track day on the 1.28 mile short course which kept most journalists from getting in over their heads.

For better or worse, I tried the Dodge Challenger SRT first. This new C-car uses a lot of styling cues from the 70's version, but goes too heavy on the 'retro' and not enough on the 'updated' part of the equation. It looks big and heavy and this theme carries over to the interior. The ergonomics of a Laz-e-chair and we're off! The 6.1 hemi V8 sure is strong and we fly down the back straight and 110+ MPH. Brembo brakes clamp down well, but turn-in felt sloppy and imprecise. Damping on the Challenger left a lot to be desired and I was happy to end my three lap sample drive.

The second car up was a bright orange 2010 Camaro in SS form. Chevy picked styling cues from the '69-70 model and blended it with enough modern cues to make this a great looking vehicle. Ergonomics were better than the Dodge (not hard), but still not up to Nissan standards. The 6.2 liter V8 had a different acceleration curve than the hemi, but still showed its stuff towards the end of the straight. I found the chunky steering wheel a bit too thick to easily handle and the Camaro felt underdamped through the interconnected T1-4 section that leads to said straight. This Camaro was a looker, but still not anything to brag about as far as chassis dynamics.

The last ponycar sampled (with plenty of other cars in between) was ironically the car that started the entire ponycar category back in the 60's. But the latest 2010 Mustang GT uses styling cues from the '69-70 model (sense a trend here?) and features handling and performance updates to the existing platform. I immediately liked the feel of the 5-speed manual (both Camaro and Challenger used autos) and a 3.73 LSD helped put the power of the 5.0 liter V8 down. The Mustang was hands down the easiest and most satisfying to drive at triple digit speeds. A balanced chassis with good HP to blast around HPR. It gets my vote as the best of the bunch by a fairly wide margin.

Of the three, only the Mustang could hold a candle to the Nissan 370Z. The Challenger (even in SRT form) is a throwback to the days when you got the car pointed straight before you lit the fuse and the Camaro was only a bit better. Unfortunately, Nissan didn't bring a 370Z to HPR for journalists to sample, so I may have been the only one there with track experience in each of these cars. I admit to being biased towards the FM chassis stiff response, good shock dampening, VQ37VHR responsiveness and overall driving dynamics, but at least the Ford could give it a run!