Longtime Mustang fan now thrilled to own a Camaro...

[c5Legend]

Welcome, that is a bad ass lookin ride.. great color too

[Stormwalker]

Thank you all for the welcome and the compliments on my car. I've spent some time looking through the garage pages and y'all have some very nice rides.

As for 5.0's, headlights, and taillights... well, I don't street race, and I before I'd think about tracking my new baby I'd need to have enough money squirreled away that I could afford to replace her if the worst happened.

That day will come, but it's not here yet. I do think my leaning would be toward road courses rather than the dragstrip. That's one of the reasons I wanted IRS.

As for mods, it'll be a while for that, too, but I'm looking toward the non-warranty-voiding variety at first such as the ZL1 shifter or the 1LE pack. And simple stuff like a high-flow air filter is on my list, of course.

[Trentin24]

Originally Posted by Stormwalker

Thank you all for the welcome and the compliments on my car. I've spent some time looking through the garage pages and y'all have some very nice rides.

As for 5.0's, headlights, and taillights... well, I don't street race, and I before I'd think about tracking my new baby I'd need to have enough money squirreled away that I could afford to replace her if the worst happened.

That day will come, but it's not here yet. I do think my leaning would be toward road courses rather than the dragstrip. That's one of the reasons I wanted IRS.

As for mods, it'll be a while for that, too, but I'm looking toward the non-warranty-voiding variety at first such as the ZL1 shifter or the 1LE pack. And simple stuff like a high-flow air filter is on my list, of course.

Good decision! After selling my v6 and getting my SS. I realized that there's not many places to use the power it has. It's just nice to know that when I want it, it's there.
Good luck with the car! Get more pics!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk but not while driving

[FB3]

That is a great story and you have a great looking car. The Camaro is a very good handling and riding car for daily use and also has a lot of performance. Hope that you really enjoy your new SS.

Also, I know exactly how you feel about driving a manual transmission performance car. I would not have an auto!

[Bigcros]

Congrats and welcome to the family!

[Ruebernard]

You've made a great decision, your car is beautiful, may your Permagrin last a long, long time.

[mcbeth15]

Congrats! Enjoy the ride!

[cul2969]

That is a sweet looking ride! Congratulations!

[Jackass]

Originally Posted by Stormwalker

A few months ago, if you'd asked me, I'd have sworn I would never buy a Camaro. And I'd have sworn I'd never buy a white car. Funny how things change...

I grew up with Mustangs. My dad had a '65 when I was a kid, and I adored that car. I was brokenhearted when he had to sell it (it had electrical issues, it was his daily driver, and he needed something reliable). He promised me he'd buy me one when I was old enough.

He kept that promise... when I turned 15, we went looking for Mustangs. He didn't have a lot of money then, but he found me a project I could work on - a '65 coupe with a 289 that he got an incredible deal on. I drove that car for a lot of years, and put a lot of love into it. Eventually I realized it just wasn't practical enough for me to drive every day, and I've been through a few cars since then - a '93 Dodge Shadow ES I got secondhand, a Kia Rio that was all I could afford at the time (and got totaled less than a year later when I got rear-ended by a guy with no insurance), and finally a 2007 Chevy Cobalt.

I could have had the SS, should have bought the SS. Have regretted not buying the SS since. Especially since the non-SS Cobalts have possibly the worst clutch ever created by mankind.

I'd made a lot of financial mistakes over the years, and it's taken me a long time to climb out of the holes I dug myself during those times. Now, finally, I have, and armed with good credit and a well-paying job, I had laid plans to buy one of the new 2015 Mustangs when they come out.

Then my Cobalt started showing signs of the air conditioner going out. And the clutch acting up (again). I started thinking that I don't want to end up replacing a compressor or a clutch and dropping $1500 on a car I plan to get rid of in a few months.

But, I knew, the 2014 Mustangs just didn't have what I wanted. Like, you know, independent rear-suspension and a decent interior. By contrast... I'd read enough reviews to know the Camaro did offer what I was looking for.

I'd always looked at Camaros through Mustang-fanboy eyes. Which is to say I'd never really taken them seriously. I'd seen the Gen 5 Camaro when it came out, and my thought on it at the time was that it had really nice lines but I hated the front and back.

The front and back have changed a lot since 2010, though, and I like them a lot better now. So, I told myself, maybe it was time to give the Camaro a fair shake. And while I had my Cobalt in for the recall service, I decided to look at them.

I looked at red ones, and black ones, and they were much prettier than I remembered them being from photos and the ones I'd seen on the streets. The changes for 2014 really improved the appearance of the car in my eyes (yes, I do like the 2014 taillights, but that's far from the only difference that jumps out at me)

And then I saw a white one. And, oh my goodness if this car isn't gorgeous in Summit White .

So... I had the dealer rustle me up an SS with a manual in white. It had to be a manual... performance of modern automatics be damned, I like shifting gears. They actually had one on the lot, a 2014 2SS/RS.

I fell in love on the test drive. It was the car I'd always wanted and never realized it.

Truthfully, I probably paid a little more than I should have. I'm not the greatest negotiator, though I do know enough to argue the sale price before the financing and such, and I almost certainly could have gotten a better deal if I'd shopped around more. But I didn't pay MSRP, either, so I didn't get completely ripped off. If I paid too much, so be it. This car puts a huge grin on my face every time I drive her... and I plan to be driving her for a good long time.

I've only got one good picture right now, one I took at work when I was showing her off to my boss. There'll be more after I give her a good, careful wash (always a challenge when you live in an apartment, but I've seen some great suggestions on these forums about how to do it right even under those circumstances. That's one of the reasons I signed up).

I also did the fuse pull last night after running her second tank of 93 octane (I'm 99.9% sure the dealer was running 87 in her), and maybe it's my imagination, but it does seem to have made a difference. Idles smoother, I'm definitely getting better mileage (small sample size, though), and seems to pull a bit harder.

So... here she is, my pride and joy. Any other advice to a new Camaro SS owner I should keep in mind? Thanks to all of y'all who have contributed to these great forums, reading through the threads here has been very educational thus far.

You crossed that line , just don't look back !

[Blue-J]

Congratulations.

[intensifi]

Nice ride. Congratulations. Get a good catch can it ASAP.

My son has an '08 Mustang GT coupe. It is a nice car.

However my Camaro is way more comfortable. It's also way smoother of a ride.

[Q'smuscle]

Originally Posted by OneSlowV

Alot of butt hurt on this forum. But i understand lol. You have the slowest car out of the three that's why i sold mine But nice car op!

LOL .... Not true, The ZL1 is faster than any Charger or challenger! I wonder why the Camaros are the top selling out of the 3 ! You have the losers in sells! We have the beat looking car out of the three! Any car can be fast or faster but can't look as good or better !


Back on topic ..... OP. Nice machine ! Congrats and welcome! Enjoy the beast!

[PoorMansCamaro]

with the manual transmission, go get yourself the skip shift eliminator. and congrats on the new car!

[MissyTx]

Welcome, you should check out our new club, Metroplex Muscle Car Club on Facebook. We love all muscle cars And really have a lot of fun