[Craig]

I wouldn’t turn a teenager loose in any sixth gen regardless of engine, just for the fact that outward visibility is among the worst of any mass produced car. It’s one thing for us old farts, but to put a teenager with no experience judging distance behind the wheel of what is essentially a consumer grade Batmobile is just asking for trouble.

And Unless you have daydreams of your kid being the next Randy Pobst, what is the point of handing them 400+hp right out of the gate? What is the upside to that, when the potential downside is injury or even death for himself and others? I got my first performance car at 19, a two year old fox body GT with its massive 225hp. Took me eight months to wrap it around a tree and deliver a life changing injury to one of my best friends. Considering what a tin can those cars were I am fortunate I didn’t kill us both. I still live with guilt about it almost 30 years later. A teenager has his whole adult life ahead of him to enjoy performance cars, why jump the gun and risk it all?

[IAI80]

Originally Posted by JT58

I would very much worry about your son driving it- or even your current Camaro, which is no slouch. I had a 2011 MazdaSpeed 3 for almost 5 years which my son started driving from time to time a couple of years after I got it when he started college. He drove it well- so well that he asked me to use it to visit his GF over the weekend, 150 miles away. I got the horrible phone call from him- he crashed the car- his fault, went into one car, which hit another. He and his GF were fine. The car had enough damage that I no longer wanted it but was not totaled so I traded it in right after it was repaired. Well the people in the car he hit directly were injured. It's 4 years later and he (and me, since I carried the insurance) are getting sued and the case is going to court. I believe we have enough coverage on the insurance plan but this has been going on for 4 years now and still not over. Point learned- I would be very careful lending any car out- especially a high performance one. It is better in my opinion to let someone that young learn on a starter car that is less powerful and safe.

As far as upgrading to an LT1 I was thinking the same thing myself. I love my 2016 LT, V6 manual with MBRP exhaust- the car, the sound, etc. But as you said it's no V8. I also love the gas mileage of the V6 and that it runs on REGULAR gas. The LTI will require premium and will burn more gas. I know some say that they do really well on gas with the V8 but my experience is that V8's- all of them are thirsty. So if your budget can support it, get the V8- more expensive car, probably more insurance and more gas, more expensive gas. Otherwise the V6 makes for an awesome commuter.

JT. Thanks for sharing this story. I have 2 teen drivers in the house right now. I am going to have both of them read it. Hopefully it all comes to an end soon in a reasonable manner.

[IAI80]

Originally Posted by Craig

I wouldn’t turn a teenager loose in any sixth gen regardless of engine, just for the fact that outward visibility is among the worst of any mass produced car. It’s one thing for us old farts, but to put a teenager with no experience judging distance behind the wheel of what is essentially a consumer grade Batmobile is just asking for trouble.

And Unless you have daydreams of your kid being the next Randy Pobst, what is the point of handing them 400+hp right out of the gate? What is the upside to that, when the potential downside is injury or even death for himself and others? I got my first performance car at 19, a two year old fox body GT with its massive 225hp. Took me eight months to wrap it around a tree and deliver a life changing injury to one of my best friends. Considering what a tin can those cars were I am fortunate I didn’t kill us both. I still live with guilt about it almost 30 years later. A teenager has his whole adult life ahead of him to enjoy performance cars, why jump the gun and risk it all?

In 1987 I was in high school in a town of about 19,000 people. Over a span of 6 months that year, 7 teens were killed in 4 separate car accidents. All the deaths were due to avoidable errors made by a teen driver. One of those accidents killed 4 at once. The 16 year old diver in that case, speeding with who knows how much distraction going on in the car, survived the wreck. I don’t think anyone can imagine living with that. One of the other accidents involved a guy I played against frequently in baseball growing up. He was a straight A student and his parents let him have a Corvette that naturally made him a big center of attention in the high school parking lot. I clearly remember making a purely jealous remark to some other students that he would kill himself in that Vette after seeing him cruise by one day after school. A few weeks later, he was the 7th and final fatality that year. Of all the things I wish I had never said.....

[IAI80]

Originally Posted by Craig

I wouldn’t turn a teenager loose in any sixth gen regardless of engine, just for the fact that outward visibility is among the worst of any mass produced car. It’s one thing for us old farts, but to put a teenager with no experience judging distance behind the wheel of what is essentially a consumer grade Batmobile is just asking for trouble.

And Unless you have daydreams of your kid being the next Randy Pobst, what is the point of handing them 400+hp right out of the gate? What is the upside to that, when the potential downside is injury or even death for himself and others? I got my first performance car at 19, a two year old fox body GT with its massive 225hp. Took me eight months to wrap it around a tree and deliver a life changing injury to one of my best friends. Considering what a tin can those cars were I am fortunate I didn’t kill us both. I still live with guilt about it almost 30 years later. A teenager has his whole adult life ahead of him to enjoy performance cars, why jump the gun and risk it all?

Also, thanks for posting and excellent advice.

[Craig]

Originally Posted by IAI80

In 1987 I was in high school in a town of about 19,000 people. Over a span of 6 months that year, 7 teens were killed in 4 separate car accidents. All the deaths were due to avoidable errors made by a teen driver. One of those accidents killed 4 at once. The 16 year old diver in that case, speeding with who knows how much distraction going on in the car, survived the wreck. I don’t think anyone can imagine living with that. One of the other accidents involved a guy I played against frequently in baseball growing up. He was a straight A student and his parents let him have a Corvette that naturally made him a big center of attention in the high school parking lot. I clearly remember making a purely jealous remark to some other students that he would kill himself in that Vette after seeing him cruise by one day after school. A few weeks later, he was the 7th and final fatality that year. Of all the things I wish I had never said.....

Man we came up in fun but dangerous times. It was the same in my small town. 5.0 Mustangs and third gens on every corner, a few golden boys with C4’s, even a couple guys running around in GN’s. ABS? Hell we still had drums in the back. No TC, no airbags and you were a wuss for even wearing your seatbelt. Those cars were death traps at the limit and the limits weren’t high. People still complain today about snap oversteer with Mustangs, hell these people just don’t know. My fox body with that glorious “quadra-shock” rear suspension would spin around like a top if one of the rear tires hit a gum wrapper in the road mid-apex.

[Craig]

Originally Posted by JT58

I would very much worry about your son driving it- or even your current Camaro, which is no slouch. I had a 2011 MazdaSpeed 3 for almost 5 years which my son started driving from time to time a couple of years after I got it when he started college. He drove it well- so well that he asked me to use it to visit his GF over the weekend, 150 miles away. I got the horrible phone call from him- he crashed the car- his fault, went into one car, which hit another. He and his GF were fine. The car had enough damage that I no longer wanted it but was not totaled so I traded it in right after it was repaired. Well the people in the car he hit directly were injured. It's 4 years later and he (and me, since I carried the insurance) are getting sued and the case is going to court. I believe we have enough coverage on the insurance plan but this has been going on for 4 years now and still not over. Point learned- I would be very careful lending any car out- especially a high performance one. It is better in my opinion to let someone that young learn on a starter car that is less powerful and safe.

Had a 1984 Ford Escort EXP as my first car. It had a 1.6 liter that made 88hp and while I never wrecked it yes, even that was plenty enough power to get me in trouble at 16. I knew exactly what the cars top speed was, 90 mph and change, and tested it often. The car weighed about 2100 pounds, any impact at that speed and it would have disintegrated and sent me airborne. With a teenagers experience and judgement any car is a loaded gun, but a sixth gen Camaro may as well be a howitzer. I was also sued, along with my parents, for the wreck I mentioned in my last post. They were other kids who I didn’t even know but were in the car with me and got bruised up. They were just looking for a little free money and we came out no worse for wear. My friend in the passenger seat was the only one really injured and didn’t sue thankfully (looking back I couldn’t blame him if he had). He ruptured his spleen and had it removed in emergency surgery, so boy could he have put the screws to us if he’d wanted. We talk about life & limb as that’s what’s really important, but the financial costs can certainly be catastrophic as well.

[Mighty Mouce]

Originally Posted by 6sigma

Hi all, I'm thinking about trading from current 17 RS V6 manual to a LT1 manual in rally green. The V6 RS is a great car, a lot of fun to drive. I put the GM performance air intake (with GM tune) and Flowmasters on it, and it actually sounds really good - but there is no mistaking it for a V8. I'm more of a V8 or nothing kind of guy (had a couple Z06s and CTS-Vs) but bought the V6 because it is the car my 17 year old son drives the most and was a ridiculously good deal.

The LT1 seems like a great upgrade, and would scratch the V8 itch. Plus, dark green is my favorite car color and it seems hard to find so I am really interested in the rally green. I also think we may have only a few years left of a manual trans V8 option (in a Camaro or otherwise).

There are a couple of things holding me back. First, I worry that LT1 is too much performance for my 17 year old son. He is very responsible, and is a good, safe driver, but that just seems like a risky choice. The loud V6 RS is not slow though, so it isn't like coming from a Civic to a V8 Camaro. Second, I wonder how much different the LT1 would be versus the LT V6. The low end torque and sound would probably be the biggest difference.

Good idea or bad idea? Maybe I'll wait until my son goes to college and trade the V6 on a C8 and give up on the manual V8 idea!

No one under 25 should not be allowed to drive these cars with first getting advanced performance automotive driver training. So I say no.

[c4racer]

not saying I agree with that, because I owned a Camaro under 25 (3rd gen) but I had a hot rod in high school that I drag raced so I had some clue. Still I will admit I did some dumb stuff with it back in those days.

There was a really nice white 5th gen in our neighborhood - V6 car, driven by some younger guy - college age is best I could guess - within 1 month he got into two accidents with it. First just a minor front pass corner bang up. Then the entire side on the right was completely mangled - broken window. No idea what happened. But that sure didn't take long....