I’m doing the “professional driver closed course” thing for a VA Lottery commercial today and into tomorrow. Pretty much filming the 4 cars below in action to advertise for some game they have coming out where they’re giving identical cars away.
So all day I’ve been beating the bejesus out of these 4 tanks. I’m a drifter now like Benny!
And there are plenty of black marks out there now and on the runway in the distance. Sorry, cant post video for obvious reasons.
The gear the crew uses is INTENSE. Most of the day I was making passes at speed 12" from a $80,000 camera contraption on the back of an F250. They also had big suction cup rigs for the cars themselves for the cheap $8,000 “throw-away” Nikons. After we were done with a segment and back at the hangar, the detail guys would swarm the car and having it looking new again in seconds. I’m blown away at what goes into making a 30 second commercial.
Pros and cons to each. They all have catastrophic understeer like all showroom new American cars but we’re working to fix or help this tomorrow. The Mustang is good actually, better than the last gen I drove last year at VIR. It feels the lightest of the four, decent mid-corner balance, and the drivetrain is buttah smooth. The Camaro isnt bad at all either but it feels heavy everywhere especially corner entry. The 'maro has the best brakes by far (SS has Brembos apparently).
Camaro has the best craftsmanship/build quality but the gauges suck (haaatttee gauges that sacrifice readability for style). Ford is close behind but its built with cheapo materials.
I cant say much good about the Dodges tho. They go through corners like cruise liners and never settle into a suspension “set.” The automatic Charger has a bad powersteering whine and the trans shifts real rough, and it was probably driven the least (but has the most total miles with 90-ish). Seating position sucks, seats themselves suck, transmissions are a pain to row through the gears (you have to push way left to get 1st and 2nd). Oh and the brakes on the Challenger are smoked after 1 hard brake zone.
Though the Mustang surprised me and the Camaro is better than I expected, none of them drive with the precision of many foreign cars. They have to be manhandled and driven forcefully to get them around the corner in shape while the Germans, for the most part, are the definition of precision. It’s not just a matter of driving style, they’re just faster. Sledge hammer vs scalpel.
If you’re big into American stuff, the Mustang is the one to own, IMO if you like driving spiritedly. But the Camaro is close enough where it could be a matter of opinion. Dodges blow at everything.
Sick dude, congrats on the wheelman opportunity. Does something like this pay good? Thanks for the review on the rides. When we gonna see you in a new GT?
