I am fortunate to be the owner of a 2010 Camaro.  It’s been a joy to drive and it was worth every minute of the wait  (4.5 months from the day I ordered until it was delivered).  The new Camaro and Challenger have truly brought back the muscle car.  While the Challenger exterior is nearly 100% retro, the Camaro is a blend of old and new.  You can’t just go to the dealer and buy one of these, they are available through pre-orders only and GM is limiting the number that each dealer can sell per month.  This makes them extremely rare.  I’ve only seen six other new Camaros on the road in the last 12 months.

Here are some of the things that I love about this car:

• It’s a head-turner and there’s just nothing else like it on the road.  It’s got sleek lines like a sports car yet looks mean like an old school muscle car.  It’s not uncommon for people to start a conversation when they see it…the gas station, a stop light or even driving down the road.
• It’s got a V6 with 300 horsepower.  Now I’ve never owned a car with this much power, this car is fun to drive.
• It runs smooth and handles great.  It wants to go about 85 to be comfortable.  It was a conscious effort to keep it under the speed limit when I first bought it.
• Decent gas mileage.  While not getting anywhere near the EPA rated 29mpg on the highway, I get about 22mpg when I drive it nice….so I’m getting 18mpg.
• Clean lines on the inside.  The gauges are round and retro with a modern touch.  At night, the blue and red dash lighting looks great.
• The stereo has everything…AM/FM/XM/CD/MP3/iPod/Phone/Navigation.  With the optional connectivity pack, my iPhone plugs into a USB port under the center console.  It’s nearly perfect.

 Now, some of the things to be aware of:

• Low Profile – While this makes the car look great, it does make it difficult to see in some scenarios.  The windows are only 11 inches high and you only got about 5 inches of usable view under the rear-view mirror.  When sitting at a stop light, it’s not uncommon to have to duck to see the lights.  After driving an Explorer, it certainly is different, but I can live with it.
• Problems with iPhone/Stereo – After about a month, navigating the iPhone with the in-dash controls stopped working properly.  I see blank entries or incorrect album titles.  I’ve taken it back to the dearler, but they can’t seem to find anything wrong with it…even though I can demonstrate the problem.
• Navigation – GM offers turn by turn navigation via OnStar but a complete in-dash navigation systems would have been the icing on the cake.
• Weather-stripping – The day after I bought it, a 4-foot piece of weather-stripping started to come loose on the passenger-side roof of the car.  I was told this was common and the dealer glued it back down.  It fell off completedly last weekend and I’m still waiting for a replacement.

 All in all, this car was worth every minute of the wait and every penny that I paid for it.  If you’re looking for a modern muscle car, the Camaro sets the bar very high.

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