The rivalry between the muscle cars Ford and Chevrolet is comparable to the rivalry of the baseball teams Yankees and Red Sox. These two special cars have been through a lot of changes over time. The cars have been put away from the limelight for some time. Despite the challenges these cars have been through, the decade long rivalry since 1967 between the two cars was never forgotten (Edelstein). Recently, the Ford Mustang unveiled its 2015 model as a rival to the 2014 Chevrolet Camaro. The battle between Ford Mustang and the Chevrolet Camaro keeps the auto performance alive and continuously igniting street races and the hearts of the car enthusiasts. It has always been a battle of which is better in terms of handling, styling and performance, and faster accelerating (Kurczewski). In this paper, the four-wheel muscle cars will be compared in terms of performance and fuel economy, reliability and safety, style and technological advances, and its value.
Engine Bay, Performance and Fuel Economy
Initially, the Mustang and Camaro are both equipped with V-6 engines which served as its base motor (Kurczewski). These muscle cars offer a strong performance and possess a greatly impressive value. Both cars, even though roomy based on standards, both qualify as compact cars and used for sporty styling (Edelstein). Despite of the similarities, these cars still differ when it comes to its engine and its capacity. The 2014 Chevrolet Camaro was heavily revised and a bolder model based on its 2013 version. Updates were done on the front end and its back. The Z/28 version has been upgraded with high performance and advanced visuals. On the other hand, the release of the 2015 Ford Mustang set the stakes of this rivalry at a higher level. Before the 2015 Mustang’s release, the Camaro has a slight power advantage because of its 323-horsepower V-6 engine. It has a mileage of 17 mpg/city and 28 mpg/highway. On the other hand, the 2015 Ford Mustang holds a 305-horsepower in a 3.7-L V-6 which is capable of a mileage of 19 mpg/city and 29 mpg/highway on a standard manual transmission. For optimal automatic, it holds a mileage of 19 mpg/city and 31 mpg/highway. This mileage records are even better than the Camaro. It is also equipped with a 4-cylinder turbocharged engine. A model of the Ford Mustang, the Ford FT, offers a 420-horsepower in a 5.0-L V8 engine. Oppositely, one of the Camaro models, the 2014 Camaro SS, has a 6-horsepower edge over the 420-horsepower V-8 powered Mustang GT. Given this statistics, the Camaro possesses factors that can overpower the Mustang but neither of the cars holds a big edge against the other. In terms of the cabin, the Camaro’s cabin is driver-focused. With the new model of the Mustang, its cabin is now made of higher quality materials. When it comes to fuel economy, both engines does not have any advantage with fuel consumption. However, by examining critically, Ford has the edge over Chevrolet due to the mileage records. Over-all, both cars are almost at par when it comes to engine performance and fuel economy (Kurczweski; Demuro).
Reliability and Safety
The Camaro and Mustang both have better-than-average performance records when it comes to reliability. Yet, the Camaro has a great advantage when it comes to warranty terms. The Camaro has 100,000-mile powertrain warranty as compared to the 60,000-mile powertrain warranty of the Mustang. Moreover, the Camaro offers a free maintenance for two years or for 24,000 miles. Free maintenance is not offered by the Mustang. Thus, owning a Camaro will be more economical in terms of its value.
In terms of safety, crash tests are conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The Camaro has a 5-star overall safety rating while the Mustang has a 4-star rating only. Thus, the Camaro has the upper hand when it comes to safety. Moreover, both cars have the same basic safety features such as the side-curtain airbags, traction control and standard anti-lock brakes. The Mustang is equipped with a MyKey Technology. On the other hand, the Camaro has an OnStar Telematics System (Demuro).
Both cars have different style features. The Camaro has removed the sound deadening materials as well as the trunk carpet. Thinner rear glasses were also installed. Speakers were removed except for one which is needed for compliance to the federal law. The tough look image of the Camaro has been maintained by its manufacturer. Conversely, the Mustang has a new feature which is the LED headlights. A long-time feature of the Camaro, the independent rear suspension, has finally been installed to the Mustang. The use of aluminium for its hood made the Mustang shed weight. Both cars have touch screen displays in the center of the dashboard (Kurczewski).
The technology that is applied in the Camaro and Mustang is not too modern since it aims to maintain its reputation as old-school muscle cars. Navigation systems are equipped in both cars. Infotainment systems were incorporated for both the Camaro and Mustang (Demuro).
Conclusion
It is indeed a tough rivalry between the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro given the comparisons based on performance, engine bay, fuel economy, style, technology, reliability, safety and value. If the basis will be power and performance, both cars are at par with each other. These models offer a variety of choice for sports car enthusiasts. Before the release of the 2015 Ford Mustang, the 2014 Chevrolet Camaro has the upper hand when it comes to over-all assessment. Currently, the 2015 Ford Mustang has the higher stakes in this rivalry because of its newly improved gas mileage, a better interior, a lot of technological advantages and better power. It is most likely that this car rivalry will continue to grow in the future given the many opportunities for application of new technologies that can make these muscle cars performance even better than what is present now. Of course, it expected that the value will also get higher but rest assured that these companies will give their best in bringing what they think can give satisfaction to the auto industry.
Works Cited:
Demuro, Doug. 2014 Ford Mustang vs. 2014 Chevrolet Camaro. Auto Trader: Car Research & Reviews. 2014. Web. 12 Oct. 2014. http://www.autotrader.com/research/article/car-reviews/226845/2014-ford-mustang-vs-2014-chevrolet-camaro-which-is-better.jsp
Edelstein, Stephen. Ford Mustang versus Chevrolet Camaro: The Ultimate American Car Rivalry. Digital Trends: Cars. 22 Jan. 2014. Web. 12 Oct. 2014. http://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/mustang-vs-camaro-the-ultimate-american-car-rivalry/
Kurczewski, Nick. Grudge Match: 2015 Ford Mustang versus 2014 Chevrolet Camaro. NY Daily News: Daily News Autos. 10 Dec. 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2014. http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/grudge-match-2015-ford-mustang-2014-chevrolet-camaro-article-1.1543663
