[OldJedi]

First I want to thank and commend Joe Bella and the entire Camaro 5 staff on a magnificent job organizing and working so hard to make this the best Camaro Fest ever. Second I also want to thank John Fitzpatrick, Scott Settlemier and the entire Chevy team for stepping up and helping to make Camaro Fest the best gathering in the country. The joint efforts and dedication of both staffs help to make this gathering second to none.

Here are some of my impressions and observations of the past few days. Chevrolet really stepped up big time this year. There were more Chevy engineers, managers, directors and support personnel than I ever remember seeing at any event ever. I thoroughly enjoyed talking to as many as a could. They covered so many different aspects of what makes up the entire Chevy/Camaro Team. There were two elements that were common to all of them. One was the pride they had in the job that they do. They just love working to make this vehicle the best car available in its market segment. The second element is they are all so down to earth and humble about what they do. I could approach any one of them and start a conversation like we had known each other for years. I learned so much about the little things that went into making the car and why certain pieces and designs were made in a particular fashion. I met with Aaron Link again this year and I figure he must think I am stalking him at this point, constantly asking him questions about the ZL1 and his driving impressions of the new Corvette. I know that John Fitzpatrick is glad I am gone because I was always so close and asking questions. But he always maintained a smile even though I know he really wanted a restraining order put in place.

I really do have to thank John though, not only for putting up with me, but also for making his 2014 CTF Corvette available for all of us to sit in, poke and prod. Hopefully we left the Vette with enough parts for him to get the car back to Detroit. Also a big thanks to John and Scott for bringing in the 12 disciples of which there are 15. I have heard so much about this mystic group it was nice to meet them in person. We spent time with Teri, Janet and some of the other disciples and found them to be very humble, knowledgeable and truly dedicated to this car. Both to it’s past history and it’s future history as well. Not that I am still jealous of them or anything! But I do have a much better understanding of who they are and I am glad Chevy made the effort to bring them to Camaro Fest.

A huge “Thank You” to Joe, BeckyD, Maureen and the rest of the Rodgers Chevrolet staff. Not only for the Pizza Party and hats but for being just such nice people and always willing to bend over backwards to help someone no matter how small or large the need.

Pete from Pedders and his dedication to making the CamaroCross the best that it can be. Always with safety first and most paramount. He was a constant ball of energy and I am pretty sure that all of the plasma in his system has been replaced with Red Bull in order to keep up with that level of perpetual motion.
Thanks also to all of the vendors that drove their rigs hundreds of miles to help make our cars faster and shinier, not necessarily in that order. My suitcase was quite a bit heavier with parts on the way home and caused some commotion getting it through TSA. It took them 10 minutes to figure out that the Moroso catch can in the suitcase was actually a non-destructive device.

My impressions of the new 2014 models are favorable, both for the Camaro and the new Corvette. It was very obvious to me that Chevy is putting in the time, engineering and money into making the seats and interior substantially better than the past. The new Recaro seats for the Camaro were a perfect fit for me. If I had driven my car up this year, I am pretty sure a set of Recaros would have been mysteriously exchanged over night. I did mention to John that existing owners of Camaros should be able to exchange their current seats for the the new Recaros at no expense. Several times in fact! Now you have a better understanding of why he was looking towards a restraining order.

We met a lot of new people at this years fest, like we always do. We look forward to meeting many more in the future. Once again thanks to everyone that had a hand in making this the best Camaro Fest ever. See you all in Bay City, Texas next year. Be safe.