The Ultimate Battle for the Best Pony Car: Ford Mustang vs Chevrolet Camaro

The Ford Mustang VS Chevrolet Camaro Rivalry Begins

On April 17, 1964 the American public was first introduced to the Ford Mustang. In April of the following year, reports were flying around that Chevrolet would introduce their counterpart to directly compete with the Mustang. On June 28, 1966, General Motors held a press conference to introduce the Camaro. When reporters asked product managers what a “Camaro” was, the response was, “A small, vicious animal that eats Mustangs.” For on this day, the pony car rivalry was born.

Batman has the Joker. Superman has Lex Luthor. Even Santa Claus has the Grinch. Much like these famous rivalries, the Mustang and Camaro spent the next 35 years waging automotive war on each other in an attempt to directly compete with one another. Due to dwindling sales for coupes, the Camaro ceased production in 2002.

The Rivalry is Reborn

That would not be the end to the fabled Mustang/Camaro rivalry. In 2005, the Ford Mustang was redesigned to look like the fastback Mustangs of the late 1960’s. Chevrolet followed suit and in 2010 re-released the Camaro back into production that echoed their retro designs for long ago. The Camaro was born again to do its job of ‘eating Mustangs.’ The coupe was back in popularity as people went away from more practical daily drivers, to exciting to drive sport coupes.

In 2013, both the Ford and Chevy camps announced a new style and design coming in the future. This time, the Camaro was ahead of the game with a 2014 release while Ford made Mustang fans wait in anticipation until the 2015 model.

Specs:

2015 Ford Mustang

• Engine: 3.7L
• Horsepower: 300
• Fuel Economy: 19 City / 31 Hwy
• MSRP: Starting at $23,600

2015 Chevrolet Camaro

• Engine: 3.6L
• Horsepower: 323
• Fuel Economy: 19 City / 30 Hwy
• MSRP: Starting at $23,705

Inside the 2015 Ford Mustang:

Ford has continued to tease car buyers with updates and additional information about the sixth generation Mustang. The base package includes a 3.7L V6 engine that cranks out 300 horse power. Even the 2.3L four-cylinder EcoBoost engine rings in at 310 horse power. The Mustang GT Fastback touts a 5.0L V8 that is more powerful than the previous model with 435 Horse power. The most noticeable change in the 6^th generation, as it should be, comes from the outside of the vehicle. The styling pays tribute to the golden age of the Mustang, yet includes many styling points to help it appeal to a more global market. The high-intensity discharge, or HID, headlights are a far cry from the retro lamps of previous models.

Ford’s amazing technology comes alive in the new 2015 Mustang and includes SYNC® with MyFord Touch®. Hands-free calling, Bluetooth audio and voice climate controls are just a few of the features of this technology. New to the 2015 Mustang is an all-new internal link independent rear suspension. This gives the Mustang an improved ride and increased handling.

Inside the 2015 Chevrolet Camaro:

Chevrolet gave their Camaro a restyle with the 2014 model. The 2015 Camaro’s base package includes a 3.6L V6 engine with 323 horse power. This Camaro is positioned directly to compete at the price point of the Ford Mustang because with the V8 engine upgrade drastically increases to a $55,505 starting price. The technology inside of the Camaro features many Chevy favorites along with some additional features. The MyLink infotainment system features a 7-inch color touch screen with Chevy’s standard rear view back up camera. The color Head-Up Display, or HUD, projects performance data into the inside windshield without requiring the driver to look down or away from the road and provides speed, RPM and lateral g-force along with radio station information.

Who Wins the 2015 Battle?

On the surface these two models appear to be very evenly matched when attempting to compare ‘apples to apples’ with the base model for each of the respected cars. It’s when you look at the V8 engine on the Camaro ZL1 and Camaro Z/28 where the 2015 model appears to live up to the name as a ‘Mustang eater.’ With 580 horse power, the ZL1 is able to obtain a sub- four second timing on the 0-60 test; coming in at 3.9 seconds.

You be the judge. What do you prefer between the 2015 Ford Mustang and the 2015 Chevrolet Camaro? Defend your opinion in the comments below!