My ride in a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro!

[FenwickHockey65]

Oh yes.

I rode in the Camaro today. #130, Captured Test Fleet, Scott Settlemire's car, driven by Jim, aka Number 3 on Camaro5.com, on his way to Florida with his wife.

I'm just going to copy/paste the post from Camaro5.com...so here it is.

I know Scott’s a master at writing stories like this, but now I see how he’s able to write the way he does…thoughts and feelings just pop out of nowhere…so bear with me with all the rambling…



Today could not have gotten any better.

Went to school this morning…boring as usual, did nothing in study hall, took an “open-book-group-pop-test” in AP Government…ate three bowls of macaroni and cheese for lunch (if you’ve never had Fenwick High School macaroni, you haven’t lived), sat through a movie in Religion IV, and left school.

Went over to my friend’s house and played Halo 3 for a bit…dominated, of course……went back home, then out again to Red Lobster for my dad’s birthday…

And then…it was time.

I was sitting on the offramp of my exit…stuck in traffic…bored…when my phone rings…and it’s none other than Number 3 telling me he’s on his way…just one hour away…with #130.

Needless to say, I got a little pushy on that offramp after that call…and that damn camry in front of me refused to inch forward.

I get home, grab my camera, pull on a few extra layers (it’s cold all of a sudden)…jumped in the Malibu with my dad and floored it to Thornton’s.

We get there at about 6:25…after a few minutes, my dad decides to go into the store to buy a lottery ticket…gotta get enough money for that Camaro.

I’m sitting in the Malibu, flipping through presets...

…I look up…and suddenly, there he is, cruising down Tylersville Road and turning into Thornton’s…

A Rally Yellow 2010 Chevrolet Camaro 2SS/RS…#130, Scott Settlemire’s CTF car…

He pulls up to a gas pump, and I jump out of the Malibu to meet Number 3 and Mrs. 3…and Scott’s son…

After a few minutes of staring at the sexy thing with a stupid look on my face, Number 3 tells me to go ahead and get in the car…and so I did.

Simply. Amazing.

The interior is perfect. Just perfect. For everyone complaining about the quality, it is perfectly fine. Yes, it is hard plastic, but it is textured and dampened enough so that it doesn’t look cheap and doesn’t feel cheap. It even has a bit of a rubbery feel to it. To you boys and girls at Oshawa, you did one hell of a good job with that interior…fit and finish looks like something out of a Cadillac…no huge panel gaps, rattles, nothing.

Visibility? Not very good. But then again, the Mustang’s isn’t, the Challenger’s isn’t. I could probably have gotten the seat into a better position for me, but I didn’t want to mess up Number 3’s settings. For the most part, I think I could quickly get used to it.

Seats are cushioned enough to be the most comfortable seats I have ever had the pleasure to sit on. Absolutely perfect…and of course, the SS embroidery on the head rests were a great touch…

So Number 3 finishes filling up the tank and drives #130 into a parking space so I could get a better look at it…and here’s where the gawkers come in.

A lady comes out of nowhere with a camera phone, snapping pictures…an old guy driving a Dodge Ram doesn’t even look both ways while crossing from the store to the gas pumps…just kept staring…a 20+ year old could do nothing but stare at the car while walking into the store with his girlfriend…obviously not paying attention to whatever she was saying…

After taking a bunch of pictures, walking around the car a gazillion times, poking my head under the hood…Number 3 asks, “You want to go for a ride?”

And what a ride that was.

Drove out of the gas station and took a right on Kingsgate…a small side street. Number 3 proceeds to show me what that car can do…and let me tell you, that LS3 sounded absolutely amazing. No need for another exhaust system in my opinion…the minute you first hear that LS3 roar, you’ll be smiling for a few hours afterwards…and yes, I’m still smiling. Power was great, the Camaro’s got one hell of a punch that plants you back into your seat while accelerating…best feeling in the world.

Ride and handling was incredible…we couldn’t do much on a side street, but the car was deathly quiet other than the roar of the LS3…usually Kingsgate is hell to drive the Malibu over because of all the bumps and cracks…but I didn’t even feel them in the Camaro. Braking was excellent, had to make a few quick stops a few times and the car stopped right on time.

Followed an old Pontiac Bonneville all the way out of Kingsgate…it was driving pretty slowly so we couldn’t do much about that except rev #130’s LS3 angrily…when we get to the Kingsgate/Cox Road intersection, we’re stuck at a stop sign for sometime…and a Mustang whizzed past…obviously frightened by #130 and desperately galloping the hell out of there to avoid the clutches of his LS3…luckily #130 wasn’t too hungry…would’ve made a nice snack…

Drove back to Thornton’s and pulled into a parking space…took a few more pictures…and then it was time for Number 3 and Mrs. 3 to hit the road again…

On that note…if you drive a Mustang or Challenger and was planning on driving southbound on I-75 tonight anywhere south of Cincinnati, Ohio, please stay to the right…I’m a Camaro and GM enthusiast, but I would hate to see your American cars get eaten…#130 should be getting hungry again by now. Import drivers…feel free to stay in his path.

Overall…best day ever. Thank you so much Number 3 and Mrs. 3 for taking time out of your trip so I could see the car…you have no idea how happy you’ve made me.

And thank you Scott for helping us to keep the faith…thanks to the Camaro team and GM for bringing back this car…thanks to all the employees at Oshawa for building the car…and thanks to all the enthusiasts who made their voices loud enough to convince GM to bring the Camaro back…

It’s been a long, hard road…and it doesn’t look good in the automotive industry right now…but after spending time with the Camaro…after seeing all the future products in GM’s future…I’m more than reassured now. And like I've been telling my parents all night long...I will own that car one day...no matter what it takes, no matter how much I have to work, I will own that car.


Oh, and by the way Scott, #130 says he misses his dad, but that he’s in good hands and having a great time! :thumbsup:

Pictures to come in a minute!

[FenwickHockey65]

[Hitman1970]

LUCKY B-A-S-T-A-R-D! Good for you.

[Mr. Burns]

Beautiful car but the interior doesn't induce much confidence.

[tbirderic]

Originally Posted by Mr. Burns

Beautiful car but the interior doesn't induce much confidence.

Agree. Then again, it's not much about the interior, is it?

[Hitman1970]

I am with the crowd that if you get into a 400 HP V-8 RWD ass-kicker and you start fondling door panels, you don't get it.

[PAULSTS1]

That yellow sure grows on one, doesn't it?

[eurohazard]

Nice!

[goblue]

Originally Posted by tbirderic

Agree. Then again, it's not much about the interior, is it?

I think the modern take on retro - which is what this is - works best when the interior doesn't attempt the same. They nailed the exterior.

We learned a lot over the years about what makes an interior just work. Hopefully this will be addressed at some point.

[tbirderic]

Originally Posted by goblue

I think the modern take on retro - which is what this is - works best when the interior doesn't attempt the same. They nailed the exterior.

We learned a lot over the years about what makes an interior just work. Hopefully this will be addressed at some point.

Guess we'll see. I guess it isn't too big of a deal at this point. I mean the people who really want a new Camaro will buy it irregardless of what the dash and console look like. Perhaps if sales ever slow, they'll address the interior.

I hate to pick on the car; it's just my favorite part of cars is the interior, I love analyzing how everything looks and feels. The interior of the new Camaro just seems so incongruous with the rest of the car; which was clearly designed and engineered with great care.

[goblue]

Originally Posted by tbirderic

Guess we'll see. I guess it isn't too big of a deal at this point. I mean the people who really want a new Camaro will buy it irregardless of what the dash and console look like. Perhaps if sales ever slow, they'll address the interior.

I hate to pick on the car; it's just my favorite part of cars is the interior, I love analyzing how everything looks and feels. The interior of the new Camaro just seems so incongruous with the rest of the car; which was clearly designed and engineered with great care.

Yup, I agree.

Or, maybe we just aren't in the demographic for this car. Maybe there are people who really like the interior. I don't, but then again I like Audis - can't imagine the average Camaro driver would ever consider an A4.

[Neanderthal]

Originally Posted by Mr. Burns

Beautiful car but the interior doesn't induce much confidence.

Originally Posted by tbirderic

Agree. Then again, it's not much about the interior, is it?

Originally Posted by goblue

I think the modern take on retro - which is what this is - works best when the interior doesn't attempt the same. They nailed the exterior.

We learned a lot over the years about what makes an interior just work. Hopefully this will be addressed at some point.

Glad to see it drove as well as it does. That's what I'd expect of a Lutz project.


The interior is where you live all day.

Really not much to look at. The gauges on the floor aren't even canted. Remind me again why there are four gauges way the hell down there? The HVAC controls look awkward.

Really looks more like what you might expect to find in a KIA Rio. Except they have nicer dashboards.
Oh well.

[MCGARRETT]

Is that the cloth interior, I only ask because of the cloth inserts in the dash, I though that on the RS cars or cars with leather that was going to be plastic with back lighting?

[Koasterking]

Lucky you. Thanks for the pics (and a lot of them).

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by LAMRONH

Glad to see it drove as well as it does. That's what I'd expect of a Lutz project.


The interior is where you live all day.

Really not much to look at. The gauges on the floor aren't even canted. Remind me again why there are four gauges way the hell down there? The HVAC controls look awkward.

Really looks more like what you might expect to find in a KIA Rio. Except they have nicer dashboards.
Oh well.

The 4-pack gauges display secondary information like trans. temperature, oil pressure, voltmeter, and oil temperature. They're not necessary to look at every few minutes.

And the HVAC controls are perfectly fine.

Originally Posted by MCGARRETT

Is that the cloth interior, I only ask because of the cloth inserts in the dash, I though that on the RS cars or cars with leather that was going to be plastic with back lighting?

This is a pre-production car. It still has 1SS door panels and dash trim (fabric). Once this car is turned back into GM, they'll take out the fabric and install the acrylic door panels and ambient lighting and auction it off to dealers.