The 1990's and early 2000's was a time when the entire automotive industry seem to have lost its sparkly. The decade saw some great looking cars, such as Lamborghini turn out uninspiring wedges like the flat, sloped, and squidgy Diablo. As well working class cars such as the Vauxhall Vectra and the Ford Mondeo take a turn for the worse. However, some of these changes can go unnoticed, but one type of car could not. This is the first post in a series where I will be examining the muscle cars from the late 1980's all the way through 2005. So lets begin with Chevy's biggest flop since the self distrusting Chevy Nova... the Camaro IROC-Z.
Where to start with this one. Ah yes, the body. The shape of the car defines everything that the era was known for. And that isn't exactly a good thing. The crouched and pointy look of the front of the car gave it the look of a slightly drunk and pissed off eagle. It came complete with a hideous hood scoop as an option that could be fitted in one of two places, in the center of the hood, where most hood scoops go, or on the left side... directly in front of the driver's seat, which made it impossible to see where you were going. This could of almost been forgiven if this $350 extra actually benefited the car or it's driver in any way. However, just like the 1990's themselves, it just made cars louder and even more pointless.
The sides of the car bulged outwards slightly, in an attempt go make the car more like a wind-shear, more aerodynamic. However, although better looking than the 1996 Camaro's sides, this caused the doors to not close properly, which could be a problem if you lived anywhere with the phenomenon known to the wider world as rain. Some models were rushed to production so fast that you could actual see the welding lines that connected the odd looking wheel arches to the main framework of the car.
Chevrolet's attempt to combine the blocky front section and middle, with the sloping back of Chevy's 1970 El Camino Super Sport 454 racing truck, but decided to shorten the back end and cover it with a cheap glass, or sometimes even plastic windscreen. And as far as shopping in the car, you were fine... unless your groceries took up more than one bag.
You might almost be able to forgive this death trap of a vehicle, if the suspension didn't feel like the springs on those Moon Shoes kids toys which populated the late 1990's. The ride of the car felt like you were offroading over large rocks, sending jolts through your spine every few feet, jolts that, after only a few miles, would leave you exhausted. And then there's the steering. If you have a boating license than congratulations, this is the car for you! Offered a turning circle comparable to a modern day version of a 1700's sailing ship, and the brakes always appeared to be taking a day off as they had almost only one real use, that of a foot rest. This is because the car's stopping distance felt like that of a rocket powered drag cars... without a parachute.
And how much would it cost you today to own this death trap? Well as the more well known version, the 1LE, only had 34 ever made, it can go for around $59,400. The only difference between this car and a piece of Arnold Schwarzenegger's shit, is that you can't drive a piece of Arnold Schwarzenegger's shit... yet.
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