Camaro day

Yesterday on the way to work I wound up behind a nice burgundy 2010 Camaro SS.  It appeared to be a non-RS model since it didn’t have the halo headlights.  I couldn’t tell however if it was a 1SS or 2SS model.  Regardless it looked sweet.

Well later in the day I found myself thinking about Camaros and I became annoyed that my sales guy, who said some SS models were coming in a day or two had never called me, now 10 days later.

So I pull out the guys card and leave him a message.  Surprisingly he called me back 5 minutes later saying he had tried to call me but when he scribbled down my number his 1 looked more like a 7 so he was calling the wrong number. Anyway the cars had arrived Monday and they were all still there, including the orange 6 speed I was interested in test driving.

When I pulled up I saw they also had a silver SS which is the other color I was considering, how convenient to be able to see both in person, side by side. Both colors are appealing to me for different reasons.  The orange tugs at my heart strings because my beloved 69 Firebird convertible was Hugger Orange.  The silver looks sharp, hides dirt better than anything (although the car would never be dirty) and would look nice with a set of Eagle Midnight Green rally stripes painted on it.

Speaking of the stripes, I decided I don’t really like the look of the factory stripes much, especially when viewed from the front.  I’d like stripes that extended all the way down the front of the car.  The factory stripes look ok from the side and look fine on the rear trunk deck.  Plus the factory stripes are just decals, painted on stripes would look much better and hold up longer.

So my sales guy grabbed the key to the 6 speed and handed it to me.  I was a bit nervous to be honest.  The last stick I had driven was our Sentra.  I’ve never driven a stick shift muscle car.  Thankfully the clutch set up was not hard at all to get used to.

All of the SS they had were the higher end, more expensive 2SS models which I am leaning away from.  This thing stickered at over 37 grand and for what you get for the extra money I think I’d rather save 5 or 6k and go for the 1SS model.  The leather seats in the 2SS were pretty damn nice though.

The first thing I did was adjust the seat all the way down and all the way back to give me adequate clearance which it did, barely.  What is immediately noticeable when you sit in a new Camaro is the lack of visibility.  If you are used to driving a typical commuter vehicle it is very noticeable.  The car has a high belt line and as a result the windows and windshield openings all feel very small.  I had read about the visibility issue so I already expected it, even so it felt quite odd.  I also have read like anything else you become accustomed to it and learn to use your mirrors more to accommodate.

I fired the car up and heard the reassuring rumble of a 426HP engine.  My test drive wasn’t much more than a big square in rush hour traffic on roads where the speed limit was 45mph.  I only got apply slightly above minimal gas pedal pressure once or twice but that was all it took.  Even just caressing the pedal down brings about an angry response from the motor which seems to be asking for more.  I can only imagine a full throttle launch, it would surely mash you firmly into your seat.

The car drove nicely from what I could tell by the short test drive.  I found it amusing as I caught several sidewalk bystanders taking the car in as it rumbled by.  It just looks good and sounds even better.  I pulled back in the dealership and even backed the car back up onto the small display area where we found it.  The sales man went over a few of the features, all of which I already knew.  I even caught him giving me some inaccurate info.  He said that the 1SS model comes with the 4 pack of gauges on the center console which I knew was wrong.  He mentioned a few other things that were not true but I didn’t really care since I knew the deal.

 The car despite being a throwback vehicle has lots of modern tech that makes me warm and fuzzy like built in satellite radio, Onstar, full power accessories, digital information center and with the 2SS models stuff like bluetooth connectivity and usb docking port for a MP3 player.

One nice thing about our local Chevy dealer is they don’t throw bullshit addendum stickers on the cars unlike some asshole dealers that are trying to sell the cars 5k above MSRP.  I also asked him about the ordering process.  It’s simple enough.  I can spec out the car on the website, bring it to them, hand over a $1000 deposit and they order the car.  Roughly two months later you should have the car in hand, exactly as you want it.

After the test drive I somehow got into a prolonged conversation with the sales guy that had absolutely nothing to do with the Camaro.  When I met this guy the first time he seemed about as exciting as a water fountain.  Well in the span of 10 minutes or so I found out that he had quite a run of success, first as one of the first window tinting businesses in Naples, followed by a very successful run as the owner of a van conversion company which at it’s height made roughly 14 million dollars.  I also found out how most of that money disappeared after two bad marriages, how he is married again and lives out in the estates on 5 acres, less than 5 miles away from me.  He bred Great Danes for a few years and sold the puppies for as much as $6000 per.  Wow, it was just another example of how much you can find out about a person if you take the time to dig just a little below the surface, something I am admittedly bad at.

Anyway, I told Greg that when I was ready to make the move I would call him up and set the ball in motion.  Driving the car assured me what I already knew, I’d love a Camaro. 

Hey this weekend I am a bachelor, Ali is up in PA freezing her ass off.  I plan on reenacting some scenes from the Hangover.