# Does a Camaro w/ Auto Trans = a Sports Car? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 16, 2014, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-camaro-w-auto-trans-a-sports-car/688609 "2014-05-16T21:30:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2014, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-camaro-w-auto-trans-a-sports-car/688609/1 "2014-05-16T21:30:21Z")
I mean, you just keep it tuned up and stamp your feet when you feel pissy. Is that a sports car…? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2014, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-camaro-w-auto-trans-a-sports-car/688609/2 "2014-05-16T21:33:21Z")
I don’t think a Camaro with a \*manual \*transmission is a sports car. Nor is a Mustang, Barra/Cuda, Challenger, AMX or any other muscle/pony car. “Sporty,” in a spats-and-monocle way, maybe. Sports car, no. I’m not even sure I’d consider my Cobra a sports car, although it’s based on one. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2014, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-camaro-w-auto-trans-a-sports-car/688609/3 "2014-05-16T21:36:58Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I don’t think a Camaro with a \*manual \*transmission is a sports car. Nor is a Mustang, Barra/Cuda, Challenger, AMX or any other muscle/pony car. > > “Sporty,” in a spats-and-monocle way, maybe. Sports car, no. I’m not even sure I’d consider my Cobra a sports car, although it’s based on one. What do you consider a sports car to be? I think most people would consider all the cars mentioned here so far to be sports cars. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2014, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-camaro-w-auto-trans-a-sports-car/688609/4 "2014-05-16T21:42:27Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I don’t think a Camaro with a \*manual \*transmission is a sports car. Nor is a Mustang, Barra/Cuda, Challenger, AMX or any other muscle/pony car. > > “Sporty,” in a spats-and-monocle way, maybe. Sports car, no. I’m not even sure I’d consider my Cobra a sports car, although it’s based on one. Wait, are you saying a car isn’t a sports car specifically because it has a manual transmission? Either you meant to say automatic or you have a very different definition of sports car than most people. Here’s a [1970 barracuda](http://www.wallpaperfo.com/thumbnails/detail/20120429/american%20muscle%20cars%20sport%20cars%20plymouth%20barracuda%201970%201680x1050%20wallpaper_www.wallpaperfo.com_76.jpg), why wouldn’t you call this a sports car? What do you consider a sports car? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2014, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-camaro-w-auto-trans-a-sports-car/688609/5 "2014-05-16T21:43:51Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > What do you consider a sports car to be? I think most people would consider all the cars mentioned here so far to be sports cars. Not car people. A sports car is a lightweight, generally small and most often two-seat car with minimal passenger comforts, built for performance in automotive sporting events - amateur-class races but moreso rallies and time trials. The majority are modestly powered, depending on agility and light weight for their overall performance. Mustangs, Camaros etc. are only “sports cars” in the very limited vernacular of the US auto market in the 1960s. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2014, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-camaro-w-auto-trans-a-sports-car/688609/6 "2014-05-16T21:46:17Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Wait, are you saying a car isn’t a sports car specifically because it has a manual transmission? > > Either you meant to say automatic or you have a very different definition of sports car than most people. “I don’t think a Camaro with any kind of transmission, or the lack of one, is a sports car.” Is that better? > [@](#): > > Here’s a [1970 barracuda](http://www.wallpaperfo.com/thumbnails/detail/20120429/american%20muscle%20cars%20sport%20cars%20plymouth%20barracuda%201970%201680x1050%20wallpaper_www.wallpaperfo.com_76.jpg), why wouldn’t you call this a sports car? Too large, too heavy, too inferior in handling, overpowered (although that’s kind of a judgment call) and in general too “compromised” as a standard American passenger car to qualify. I grew up around sports cars, learned to drive in the '68 Mustang in my garage when it was still under warranty, and admire capable cars of any kind or stripe. I don’t need to cram all cars into three or four sloppy categories because US maker marketing departments co-opted terms that have precise original meanings for what was the latest slight variation on 1954 technology (which includes my Mustang as it originally rolled off the line). ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2014, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-camaro-w-auto-trans-a-sports-car/688609/7 "2014-05-16T21:47:56Z")
A Barracuda is a “Muscle Car.” A “Sports Car” is more like a TR-6 / Z4 / Miata. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2014, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-camaro-w-auto-trans-a-sports-car/688609/8 "2014-05-16T21:57:38Z")
To answer the OP a different way, an automatic in most older cars tends to disqualify it as a true sports car - the slushboxes prior to about 1980-85 sapped all the power of smaller engines and dulled even muscle mills. It’s utterly different now - autos are at least as precise and efficient as manuals in most cars, and nearly all extremely high performance/supercars have some variation of an automatic. That said, a car would have to measure high in all other respects to qualify as a sports car even with a modern automatic. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-camaro-w-auto-trans-a-sports-car/688609/9 "2014-05-17T01:31:00Z")
I’ve always thought of sports cars as being defined by their handling. A seperate category than muscle cars. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-camaro-w-auto-trans-a-sports-car/688609/10 "2014-05-17T01:55:05Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I’ve always thought of sports cars as being defined by their handling. A separate category than muscle cars. But is that a racing car ? There’s always those who will say “its not a sports car, its a racing car”. 🙂 The real criteria, is it a midlife crisis car ? If so, then its a sports car. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-camaro-w-auto-trans-a-sports-car/688609/11 "2014-05-17T02:30:07Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Not car people. > > A sports car is a lightweight, generally small and most often two-seat car with minimal passenger comforts, built for performance in automotive sporting events - amateur-class races but moreso rallies and time trials. The majority are modestly powered, depending on agility and light weight for their overall performance. > > Mustangs, Camaros etc. are only “sports cars” in the very limited vernacular of the US auto market in the 1960s. So… is my[85 Celica](http://totallythatstupid.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/1984-toyota-celice-convertible-1.jpg)or my [96 Mustang](http://static.cargurus.com/images/site/2008/07/24/22/28/1996_ford_mustang_svt_cobra_2_dr_std_convertible-pic-42393.jpeg)a sports car? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-camaro-w-auto-trans-a-sports-car/688609/12 "2014-05-17T03:40:15Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Not car people. > > A sports car is a lightweight, generally small and most often two-seat car with minimal passenger comforts, built for performance in automotive sporting events - amateur-class races but moreso rallies and time trials. The majority are modestly powered, depending on agility and light weight for their overall performance. > > Mustangs, Camaros etc. are only “sports cars” in the very limited vernacular of the US auto market in the 1960s. So what _do_ you consider a sports car? Specifically. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-camaro-w-auto-trans-a-sports-car/688609/13 "2014-05-17T03:51:44Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > “Sporty,” in a spats-and-monocle way, maybe. Sports car, no. I’m not even sure I’d consider my Cobra a sports car, although it’s based on one. Maybe a Ford Shelby Cobra isn’t a “sports car”, but on what planet is a Cobra made by Shelby that doesn’t look like a Mustang not a sports car? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-camaro-w-auto-trans-a-sports-car/688609/14 "2014-05-17T04:53:04Z")
He’s going on and on declaring which models _aren’t_ sports car but other than referencing a couple cars from the '60s hasn’t told us what models he thinks _are_ sports car. Supwitdat? ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-camaro-w-auto-trans-a-sports-car/688609/15 "2014-05-17T05:06:22Z")
Back in the day, it was simple. Bench seats = Family Car Bucket seats = Sports Car and your insurance rates took this into account. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-camaro-w-auto-trans-a-sports-car/688609/16 "2014-05-17T12:29:47Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > So… is my[85 Celica](http://totallythatstupid.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/1984-toyota-celice-convertible-1.jpg)or my [96 Mustang](http://static.cargurus.com/images/site/2008/07/24/22/28/1996_ford_mustang_svt_cobra_2_dr_std_convertible-pic-42393.jpeg)a sports car? IMO, no. These are touring cars. > [@Ambivalid](#): > > So what _do_ you consider a sports car? Specifically. Whatever Jeremy Clarkson considers a “sports car”. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-camaro-w-auto-trans-a-sports-car/688609/17 "2014-05-17T14:07:29Z")
Uh, look, I didn’t set myself up as planet Earth’s expert on car nomenclature. Throwing shitballs because I haven’t answered your specific version of the question’s a little harsh. If any of you want to consider any car from any maker with any capabilities and any driveline that has been vaguely designated as “sporty” by someone from the manufacturer to _Motor Trend_ to your Uncle Hoppy as a “sports car,” be my guest. My fifty years of exposure to people who have more discriminating opinions about cars tells me it’s a narrower category, and that American muscle cars (whether very muscle-y or not) don’t fit. And no, I don’t consider my Cobra a sports car in the traditional sense, although the three models in its lineage were. It’s a racing vehicle built on a beefed-up sports car platform, with more horsepower than any five of its ancestors. Different category. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-camaro-w-auto-trans-a-sports-car/688609/18 "2014-05-17T14:09:18Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > an automatic in most older cars tends to disqualify it as a true sports car - the slushboxes prior to about 1980-85 sapped all the power of smaller engines and dulled even muscle mills. > > It’s utterly different now - autos are at least as precise and efficient as manuals in most cars, and nearly all extremely high performance/supercars have some variation of an automatic. But what about the fun of driving? If it ain’t got a stick, it ain’t fun! However you define a sports car: engine power, handling, bucket seats, number of cupholders:) , etc…it has to be fun to drive. An automatic transmission is what your grandma drives; you don’t have to know anything. Where’s the fun in that? But sliding the stick around a manual transmission shows that you know something, you’re in tune with your engine, you’re smooth, you’re … _cool._ Jeremey Clarkson used to keep a “cool board” on his show, to rate cars by their coolness factor. Which , after all, is the real reason people buy sporty-type cars. (signed, chapachula. Who drives a 16 year old _very_ non-cool car, forced to pass by the Ferrari/Maserati dealership every day on the way to work…— always repeating his vow that he will never buy either one without a manual shift…🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-camaro-w-auto-trans-a-sports-car/688609/19 "2014-05-17T14:24:32Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > My fifty years of exposure to people who have more discriminating opinions about cars tells me it’s a narrower category, and that American muscle cars (whether very muscle-y or not) don’t fit. Very much like the difference between [porn](https://www.google.com/search?q=image+mustang+500&rlz=1C1GPEA_enUS315US315&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=XXB3U7bPI4iBogS-xICoCA&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=685) and [art](https://www.google.com/search?q=images+ferrari+458+italia&rlz=1C1GPEA_enUS315US315&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=xHB3U-WoGo32oASNqIHQCw&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=685). \*links are perfectly safe for all ages. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-camaro-w-auto-trans-a-sports-car/688609/20 "2014-05-17T14:37:25Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > But what about the fun of driving? If it ain’t got a stick, it ain’t fun! So you’d pass on driving almost any current Lambo, Ferrari, Bugatti, Saleen, Koenigsegg… yep, all your gramma’s car because they have paddle shifters with fully auto modes. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-camaro-w-auto-trans-a-sports-car/688609.md?page=2)