Accelerate Mpls

While I was up north this weekend (sadly I can not be in two places at once, yet), the 2010 Car Craft Nationals invaded the Minnesota State Fair grounds.  To still bring you some coverage of the event I convinced (took some real arm twisting) photographer extraordinaire Alex Bellus to attend the event and report back.  His pictures are (as expected) breath taking and the event sounded like a complete win.

Some features of the show-

• Burnout Contests
• Car Corral, Fun Zone and Performance Marketplace
• Real Street Eliminator of the year awarded to the vehicle showcasing the best braking, handling and horsepower generating abilities in the nation
• QA1 Autocross
• Lucas Oil Dyno Challenge which was presented by E3 Spark Plugs
• Launch Box – Combination acceleration and braking testing performed in 150 feet
• Miller Electric Main Stage
• Editors and photographers from Car Craft, Chevy High Performance and Hot Rod magazines were all in attendance, including Car Craft’s Editor-In-Chief Douglas Glad
• Miss Car Craft Summer Nationals contest

Of note is the fact that GM Performance Division is a huge sponsor of this event.  This year they brought along the Corvette Centennial Concept among a ton of other performance cars and concepts.  Of course the Corvette Centennial Concept drew much attention to itself and the GM Performance Division booth.

Overall the show was huge.  With over 5,000 muscle cars and 45,000 enthusiasts, it was pretty much one big horsepower party.

Photography – Alex Bellus

The pony car wars are back in full swing.  I covered this with the review of the Camaro V6.  I will not focus as much on the pony car wars rather, the focus will be on the Camaro SS itself.  The Camaro has been enjoying brisk sales.  Most are leaving the dealers lots at full MRSP.  The new Camaro continues to outsell both the Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger each month since it has re-arrived on the scene, it would be fair to say the Camaro has been a hit so far.

This car is based on the Zeta platform, which is not a light platform.  Pair that with sophisticated independent suspension set up, and you end up with a heavy car.  To say this car is a porker, well, it would be justified.  It needs to call up a weight loss clinic and lose about 500 lbs quick.  The SS I had was equipped with a manual 6 speed transmission.  The cars official weight, according to General Motors, is 3849 lbs!  The Camaro SS is slightly heavier then the V6, and the extra weight is sitting directly above the front wheels.  You can directly feel this weight when driving aggressively.

Optional Inferno Orange Interior

The car I had was a 2SS with a few nice option packages including the RS package, interior accent trim package, cyber grey metallic stripe package, 20″ polished aluminum wheels, and inferno orange metallic paint.  The RS package is $1200, and for that you get 20″ flangeless painted aluminum wheels, body-color roof ditch molding, high intensity discharge headlights (xenons) with halo rings, and RS unique tail lights.

RS Unique Tail Lights

I like that the xenons that come with this package are bi-xenon.  They do not list them as such.  That means both the high and low beams are xenon, vs having the high beams be regular halogens.  The polished wheel package replaced the regular painted aluminum wheels that come with the RS package for $400.  The most interesting of the options was the combination of the inferno orange metallic exterior paint and the interior accent trim package.  This combination had the interior swathed in inferno orange from the stitching to the black and orange seats.  Also, we can not forget the orange plastic moldings.  This made for a very bright interior.  At first it was a little much, but as the week went on the orange interior grew on me.

The big draw to the SS is the engine.  Equipped with the lovely and ever versatile 6.2L LS3 pushrod V8 from the base Corvette.  In the Camaro SS the LS3 is slightly detuned to 426 hp and 420 lb-ft with the manual transmission.

When equipped with an automatic, the engine is no longer the LS3 rather the L99, putting out 400 hp and 410 lb-ft.  There is no question this engine is good for much more power with a slight electronics adjustment and some upgrades like superchargers and cold air intakes.  The car can handle the power just fine.  Rated at 4.7 seconds 0-60, the car is no slouch at the drag strip.  Seat of the pants puts you in the range though it feels a tick slower due to the heft the car has about it.  The car is rated at 16/24 mpg, and I can honestly say I topped the highway rating.  I took the Camaro on a road trip down to Des Moines, IA.  On the way there I managed a respectable 21.2 mpg average.  That was ok, but on the way back I averaged 25.2 mpg, which I was truly impressed with.  I had the cruise control set at 75mph both ways.  With the cruise control set at 60 mph, I would venture a bet you could get close to 28mpg.

This car could just possibly be the national symbol for thumbs up.  Everywhere I went someone was giving me a thumbs up.  I blew past a man in a Jeep Liberty, he was craning his neck to see the car so hard I thought he was going to drive off the road.  Everyone wants to look inside and tell you about their Camaro story from back in the day.  Do not go to the mall and expect to walk right in.  Someone will stop you to talk about the car.

I mentioned the interior in the last review and aside from the inferno orange trim package the interior is the same.  I love the retro styling that Chevrolet has done with the interior.  The graining on the materials is decent looking, but the materials themselves are very hard and cold.  The Mustang has the upper hand when it comes to technology when you consider the available touch screen navigation and Microsoft Sync system.

I hope for the next generation that General Motors can find a way to shed some major weight.  They could use more high strength steel, or more exotic materials.  Maybe they should just dip into the Corvette’s parts bin.  Make some body panels out of composite or better yet, carbon fiber.  A sticking point could become using more exotic materials becomes expensive quickly.  This car is not at a high price point for what you are getting.

The take aways after driving this Camaro for a week were pretty clear to me.  First, you always get out feeling like you drove an American hero or a national icon.  Second, the interior materials could use an upgrade in the next generation along with an overall diet.  Third, muscle cars can now do more than just a straight line.  Fourth and final, the American public has spoken and they love love the new Camaro!

Forget the auto shows, the public at large knows the new 2010 Camaro as the star of Transformers, Bumblebee and that is not a bad thing.  Chevrolet needs an Autobot to help the tarnished name and increase revenue.  Stirring the pot is not the only thing the new Camaro is doing.  Consider this, since it has gone off the market the evil enemies known as Decepticons have landed and are known as the newest iteration of the Ford Mustang and the new Dodge Challenger.  The Camaro has been off the market since 2002 which I must say feels a lot longer then 8 years.  With slowing sales and lack of interest the car was pulled from the line up.  They say you always want what you can not have and that is obviously the case here.  The new Camaro has beat both the Dodge Challenger and the Ford Mustang in sales for the past four months straight.

The new muscle car wars are in full swing and everyone seems to be bringing the big guns.  The all new Camaro is full on retro with improvements of the 21st century.  With independent rear suspension and a wide stance the Camaro actually handles well.  That said it is not a light car, it could stand to go on a diet and lose a few hundred pounds.  Driving through the country side on twisty winding roads this car handled with little to no body roll.  When I attended the Product and Technology event put on by GM, I test drove a Camaro equipped with a V8 and a manual transmission.  While hustling that car around the track it was even more evident it needs to go on a diet, though the car was predictable and completely under control.  Turning off the traction control allows for effortless burnouts whether in a V6 or V8.  This car is built on a shortened Zeta platform which was shared with the now deceased but still awesome Pontiac G8.

3.6L Direct Injection V6

The new Camaro comes with two engine options.  For the first time in history the V6 in a muscle car can not be called a “secretary special”.  The Base engine is a direct injection V6 with variable valve timing.  Putting out 304 hp and 273 lb-ft this V6 is technologically advanced and powerful.  The SS with the  V8 will net you 426 hp and 410 lb-ft with the manual transmission (400 hp and 410 ft-lb when equipped with a automatic).  The car I had was equipped with the V6 and the optional automatic.  The V6 was actually enough engine in this car.  The V6 engine sound is similar to that of the new Nissan 370z which is not bad company to be in.  Do not fret I have not gone soft I would still purchase the V8, though I might pause for a mere second and think about the V6.  With less weight over the front wheels, the V6 has slightly better balance.  The automatic was actually good and was consistent with keeping the engine on boil when left in sport mode.  The paddle shifters were almost useless considering how good a job the sport mode did though still fun to play with.  When driving in normal drive mode the engine is refined and easy to drive around town.  Rated at 18/29 mpg the V6 with the automatic is definitely not your typical gas guzzler rather a great highway cruiser.

The interior of the new Camaro has many retro throw back cues from the 60′s.  With switch gear not shared with other Chevrolets it is nice to have a car that is not all parts bin.  The climate control switch gear is all Camaro exclusive as is the gauges.  The radio is similar to other new cars from GM but really it is different as well.  With a high belt line you feel like you are sitting low in a bunker with a slit cut out for the windshield.  The windshield base is at your eye level so looking out you see the the huge expanse of hood in front of you and then it just drops off.  Visibility could be better. This vehicle could really use a back up camera similar to that one in the new Equinox which integrates the screen into the rear view mirror.  The interior is great looking though I wish there was more use of soft touch plastics.  I would not knock the Camaro too much for the interior, for me the design outweighs the feel and there is a ton of retro cues in the design.  For me the interior is a win.

The Camaro I had was a 2LT which means it was pretty loaded up.  Optional equipment outside of the 2LT package included 21 inch tire and wheel package #2, ground effects package, RS package, six speed automatic transmission with remote vehicle start, and body-color painted engine cover.  The wheel and tire package while they looked great they were $4680!  That seems ridiculously priced when compared to aftermarket wheels and tires.  I think GM needs to re-evaluate the price on that option package.  The ground effects package, RS package are both great options that really finish off the cars styling.  I can not invest a body-color painted engine cover for $285.  I would say while I personally would buy a manual transmission in this car, the automatic in this car is not bad, it is still a sports car and I am a car guy.  The sticker on the car I had with all the options and packages was $37,345.

The Camaro is back and for a week I pretended I had my own bumblebee.  Though Megan Fox never did show up I have to say the car rocks all the same.  With more then acceptable gas milage, great sounding engine this car makes sense once again.  It is no real wonder why GM can not make enough, the public at large wants what they could not have.  The question is where is the future for this car?  I truly hope they keep up and do not let the car get stale in years to come.  If you are in the market for a sports car I would definitely take a spin in the new Camaro, that is if you can find one to get your hands one.