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Old 06-19-2011, 12:33 PM   #12
The_Blur
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GM did address this issue. They have a couple of recommendations and comments. I have colored these with my own opinions, so this post does not fully reflect GM's customer service position.

First, they encourage people to buy the GM splash guards. If you don't have the splash guards but do have rock chips, then you're not making an effort to protect your car.

Second, fbodfather made a point about wrapping your car at the ZL1 unveiling that I attended at the Chicago Auto Show. He said that cars that are wrapped in protective material tend not to have this problem. He also said that GM has already added extra paint to this area, but it only delays the inevitable.

This brings me to the third point. Would you rather have a car with these lines or a car with more tame design. The Camaro's shape makes it more likely to experience rear quarter rock chips because it gets thinner in the middle. If you're going to drive the car, it is going to have rock chips.

Speaking of driving the car, I have a fourth point. Rock chips happen to all cars. Go to any store today. Find any car more than 1 year old. Look for rock chips. I guarantee that you will find some. Roads are not inherently clean, and that means debris is getting kicked at your car all the time. You have 2 choices to resolve this problem. You can either drive really far behind the car in front of you or you can not drive your car at all. These solutions reduce or eliminate any likelihood of road debris touching your Camaro.

Fifth, the paint is water-based by EPA standards. If you have problems with the EPA standards, please contact your elected officials. We can't fix them here.

Conclusively, I think we have to come to terms with the rock chip problem. I'm all for a manufacturer solution, but the problem is that we've fallen in love with a car whose design inherently is going to have rock chips. The physics of the car in a wind tunnel shows that the sleek design will force some debris and air to the gills, causing problematic rock chips. If you cover this area with 3M protective film, the problem is less evident. There is a solution available, but we can't blame GM for us liking a car with this problem.
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