'96 CE Corvette or '00 Camaro SS for daily driver?

[Dave Rifkin]

Given your choice between a '96 CE Corvette LT4 coupe or a '00 Camaro SS coupe, both with 35-40k miles and approximately the same price, which would you choose for a daily driver and why.

[jtower1969]

Both are cool cars to me...The deciding factor for me would be that I would need to put my little ones in the back seat. Are they 6 speeds or Auto?

[flyingn]

go with the Camaro

[al8apex]

depends on what your "daily drive" is

commute to work on traffic clogged roads with morons that cut you off?

We have a CE LT4 Z51 that my wife USED to commute in, she said it was too low and no one saw her on the road (of course all the traffic is in Suburbans, etc, most of those drivers don't care about other traffic

We used to have a Formula Firebird and she thought it was "too big" and "too low" to drive every day (it was my car anyway, not like she GOT to drive it everyday)

In OUR case the INSURANCE on the Corvette was about ONE HALF, that is correct, 50% of what the Firebird was, so all things being the same, I would pick the Corvette from the $$$$ savings issue alone. The cars are very similar in comfort, performance and MPG, assuming the Camaro is a 6 speed manual trans as well ... The ingress and egress of the Corvette is different than the Camaro, so If you are 6' 3" like I am, that takes finesse, but it is not particularly annoying, but then I never daily drove her car ...

[markjohnson]

I'm quite familar with both cars quite a bit. I had considered selling my 96 LT-4 Vette to buy a 2001-02 SS Z/28 Camaro. After I'd jump straight from my Vette into my buddy's Camaro, I was shocked by the 'step down' I had taken and that's exactly what it is.....a giant step down. This is gonna piss off the troops, but a Camaro is a poor man's Corvette. The Vette is a much higher quality car, will hold it's value better and you can beat MOST LS-1 Camaros....just trust me on that last one! If you need further validation....just pretend the Camaro is an 1982 model and look how those have fared. Oh yeah...ome more thing.....Camaro people don't wave at each other.

[Dave Rifkin]

I used to own a '96 CE coupe, although it was an LT-1 model, so I am very familiar with the step down into the car. I am also familiar with the way you have to roll out of the thing as well.
Both cars are 6 speeds; the SS has 35,700 miles and the 'Vette has 44,000 on it. Both can be had for close to $14,000, I'm just not sure which one is the better everyday car. I'm not all caught up in that "don't drive in the rain" crap either so I guess I'm not your typical Corvette guy.
Is there an advantage to the LS1 over the LT4 or vice versa?