Since Chevrolet debuted the new Camaro at the North American International Auto Show in a veil of interest of the Dodge Challenger Concept, it played second fiddle but GM enthusiasts have been buzzing about the return of one of the greatest pony cars in motoring history.

General Motors has been soft spoken about the details, but they were willing to gradually divulge information, with trimline packages announced a few months back. The Dodge Challenger has hit the streets and the biggest complaint (other than the 4100+ curb weight) was the high price - $40,000+ for the 425 horsepower SRT8 and low 30s for the 370 horsepower R/T, and it looks as though GM will look to steal some of that “fire” from Dodge with their price tags. The 3.6L 300 horsepower LS and LT models will start around $23,000 and the 422 horsepower (with the manual transmission, the automatic models offer just 400 horsepower) Camaro SS begins at just $30,995, making the Super Sport an amazing deal compared to the similarly powered SRT8 that starts over $10,000 more.

The Camaro has become the spotlight car with the Challenger now meeting production with all trimlines, and those who have been debating between a new Challenger and new Camaro may find themselves compelled to lean towards the Camaro considering that a fully equipped Camaro SS even with the RS packages (which haven’t been priced out thus far) may still cost less than the Challenger SRT-8.

 

I will be happy when I see some sitting on a dealer's lot, but given the current financial status of GM, who knows where this cho cho, will stop.

 

As I understand it, the Challenger does not offer a six speed automatic and its manual 6 speed is over a grand extra. Is the 6 speed manual standard on the SS? If not, how much more is it? thnx!

 

6-speed is standard on the SS.