I'm looking at buying a used 2001 Camaro, 36,000 miles for $11,000. It has power steering, rear-wheel drive I believe.

My 97 Taurus has power steering and front-wheel drive, and it seems to turn much more easily than the Camaro. The Camaro's steering wheel seems "stiff" during and after turns.

Is this just because of the car, or because the tires need to be replaced (which they do) or what?

becuase the car has alot of Caster most likely.

Caster? I'm not the brightest one around when it comes to cars.

its more than likely supposed to be that way, its called performance, feeling the road and all that stuff

Caster is the angle of the spindle as you see it from the side of the car. Caster is what keeps the car stable at speed, but the more caster a car has, the harder it is to turn the steering wheel.

Plus the Camaro has a wider tire, meaning a bigger contact patch, than the Taurus. More friction. And the Camaro may have a smaller diameter steering wheel than the Taurus.

Indeed, performance cars are tougher to turn when standing still (wider tires with more grip, more caster, tighter steering ratio) , but that added stability could very well save your life should you ever need to avoid an obstacle such as a deer/moose/concrete wall that falls from the sky in front of you. If the wheels are hard to turn, then accept it as that that car is very eager to grab the blacktop. Nothing to be concerned with, and conversely, should be appreciated! Welcome to the world of performance cars!

The Taurus has progressive steering control also. At idle, the power steering is very loose, but it firms up as vehicle speed increases. The Camaro doesn't have that feature.

Lauxman, my '97 was the same way. That's the way it is supposed to be.