Autoblog drives V6 Camaro w/ ground effects and GMPP wheels. Shares public reaction.

[Tran]

Let's pull back the curtain a little bit, shall we? Sometimes, when we're picking up or dropping off a vehicle to review, we see other vehicles that are in the press fleet. This was the case one afternoon when, during the course of a vehicle swap, we noticed something of interest waiting to be driven off by some other keyboard jockey: a 2010 Camaro 2LT RS, only unlike the one we reviewed this spring, this sixxer RS was additionally kitted with the OEM accessory ground effects package and 21-inch two-tone wheels.

Frankly, we were taken aback by the whole thing at first, and thought it looked a little ridiculous. The dubs+1 hoops seem overly big, the body kit isn't painted body color, and the new rear bumper cover with its squared off, integrated exhaust outlets is a little excessive. Naturally, we called General Motors and asked if we could take it home for a bit, if only to see if our initial reaction would soften. Mostly, we wanted to photograph it and give you all a chance to weigh in.

As you might expect, people were drawn to the accessorized Camaro like retirees to an early-bird special. A lot of that is due to the fact that Chevy's revived ponycar is still very new and there may not be all that many of them around depending on where you live. Still, during our 50-minute-long photo shoot, we were interrupted three separate times by drivers who detoured through the parking lot to get a closer look. One practically leaped out of a sweet Buick Regal T-Type Limited, which you'll see in the gallery.



While he slowly walked around the Camaro, we asked about the Buick , which he explained was the daily-driver "beater" he bought to keep milles off his Grand National. He was impressed by the Camaro, as were the other two people who stopped to check it out in person. The general consensus was that the Camaro's basic overall style kicked ass, and that the big wheels and body kit only made it better, in their opinion. The gaggle of neighborhood kids that kept us company the whole time was also transfixed by the car, hanging behind us on their bikes and skateboards and excitedly peppering us with questions the whole time.




From there, it was a quick stop at Starbucks, where we can reliably expect an opinionated crowd to weigh in on whatever we park in front. Sure enough, the Camaro drew onlookers immediately. Aside from one guy who said he'd rather get a used M3 for the money it costs, the Camaro was feeling the love. Again, the wheels and kit passed public muster. Frankly, they had grown on us, too. One of the guys there pulled out his mobile phone and showed us photos he'd been collecting of 2010 Camaros he'd seen at local dealers. Our Red Jewel-finished tester was added to the roster taking up space on his phone's memory card. Between sips of coffee, another Starbucks customer chuckled, noting with surprise that ours was the third Camaro he'd seen that day. Another dude suggested that maybe they should make a front-wheel-drive version for people who live in winter climates. He kinda got ranked on by the other fellas.



The last public forum we decided to subject the Camaro to was the Classic Nights car club's weekly cruise. The Chevy clearly didn't meet the 1978 cutoff date, so we quietly drove it in through an alternate entrance, backed it into a spot and popped the hood so people could revel in the glory of the V6's body-colored plastic engine cover. When we got back from checking out the other cars in attendance, the Camaro had a steady stream of people stopping to give it the once-over.




Several people assumed the wheels and ground effects were part of the standard package, and we politely corrected them. One gentleman looking over the car with a particularly keen interest happened to have ordered an SS. He wasn't really into the wheels or the kit, but he did note the car's accessory engine cover. "I ordered my car with the orange interior," he told us. "Now let's see if the dummies (a.k.a. his Chevy dealership) get this part right," he added, pointing to our car's engine cover. "They say optional 'body-color engine cover,' but I didn't want that. I wanted it orange, you see, to match the rest of the interior. They make an orange Camaro, so I know they should be able do this. We'll see if they screw it up." He sounded less than confident a happy initial outcome was in the cards.

And the rest of the folks gathered 'round? They liked what they saw. If they didn't, they weren't letting on. Some people didn't say anything and would just smile and nod. Or make that "Oh!" face when they realized they had the new Camaro in front of them. Not surprising, really – at a cruise night, the Camaro is definitely going to sport a home-field advantage in terms of fans. But even in these friendly surroundings, there was one thing that gave people pause about the ride. Those who were gaga for the wheels and body kit eventually got around to asking what they cost. So we'd tell them. It always made us cringe to do so.



Our Camaro 2LT carried a standard price of $26,580. The RS package added $1,450. The six-speed automatic tacked on another $1,185. Sunroof? $900 bucks. The Red Jewel paint was $295 and the matching engine cover (dealer installed) was another $285 on top of that. The compact spare tire was $150. And then it gets ugly.

The ground effects kit (dealer installed) will set you back $2,265. Finally, the dealer-installed 21x8.5-inch wheels shod with 245/40ZR21 rubber may make the Camaro look like a life-sized Hot Wheels car, but they cost a tear-inducing $4,680. When told of that particular figure, several cruise night attendees immediately concluded that General Motors was insane. Once you add in the $750 destination charge, the ride you see here stickers out to – drumroll please – $38,540. For giggles, we built ourselves a proper Camaro 2SS RS with the same paint color, a sunroof and the accessory engine cover – minus the 21s and the ground effects it. It came out to $36,935. No contest: that's what we'd buy.

So, the Camaro V6 RS with the optional gear? It looks hot, for sure. But that price? Not. What say you?

Vote here -- http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/13/h...ssories-w-pol/

[FordDave]

Well, I guess its a clever marketing strategy to encourage people towards the 2SS...