Daily Driver Camaro Owners

[babaron]

There are many people who take their camaros out and enjoy them everyday, no matter the weather, not bothered by the miles accumulated or any wear and tear. They truly use the cars for what they were designed, having fun every minute.

I, on the other hand, pamper my garage queen, taking her out only when it's sunny and dry, obsesssing over every speck of dust and compulsively cleaning and protecting it.

Oh, well...it's their choice...nobody's forcing them!

[jessicamariella]

There are some days I wish my Camaro wasn't my DD - when it's snowing (like today) or when I take my dog out (she has a crate, but hair manages to get out). But overall I love driving my Camaro every day. My car arrived 4 days after I dumped my boyfriend. I had been so depressed and miserable. Getting to drive my Camaro everyday really pulled me out of the funk I had been in for 2 years. Better (but maybe not cheaper, lol) than therapy!

I respect people who keep theirs in the garage. Their cars look absolutely pristine. But that is not why I bought my Camaro. To each their own.

[Zig Zag]

We have the garage queen phenomenon in the Harley world as well. I can understand why someone would want to keep a beautiful car or bike as nice as they possibly can. What you do is your business.
I walked into the showroom of a Harley dealer in 1984 and bought a new bike, a Shovelhead. 84 was the last year of that motor. From 1984 until 1990 I did not own a car. Wild and free!
I spent a lot of time taking real good care of her, pride and joy.
Fast forward to the 19th year of her life, a lady rear ends me while I'm stopped at a red light.
That one moment of inattention cost me 19 years of taking good care of the factory paint. It made me sick.
The hard lessons I needed to learn were of impermanence and attachment.
Life is short, you will die.
I still have the bike, with new paint, it will never be the same but that's life...

[Shift_Rejected]

Is there a cliff-notes versions on this available yet?

Originally Posted by christianchevell

I daily drove my 2011 Camaro 2ss/rs convertible and I daily drive my 2013 2ss/rs coupe that I traded the auto for a stick with the color I wanted and other options I wanted and I love it, and my coworkers admire it. I may not have as much money as some, but myself and my wife have stressful jobs and we deserve our luxury. Of the hundreds of people we work with there are five Camaros I know of that are fifth gen Camaros, three are v-6, one modded very nicely the other two stock as far as I know. Myself and the other ss driver have done some modding and he has more money than me so his is ahead of mine as he already has a stage three cam, nitrous, k&n CAI, full borla exhaust with headers, custom tune, hurst shifter and painted engine cover etc. His car sounds great yet its a earlier Camaro I think a 2010 and do not think he has HUD, I have told him he should get a oil catch can and a separate clutch reservoir like I did for preventative care yet his is not a daily driver much. I have a CAI CAI, my custom wheels are not foose a million off wheels but came from rocket racing, my mods are slower and more deliberate due to lack of funds and wanting longevity from my car not just to be heard a half mile away stomping on it. I love my dual mode exhaust especially around cops!!!! This year I plan on headers a tune and a ported throttle body with my canned tuner I am buying. There is no doubt many love their cars, some of us more than others, and some for more long distance transportation. I have never posted to a daily driver thread and yes it is awesome to have such a nice car now after having for decades built up old chevies with small blocks and finally selling them off. My last a 406 chevelle ss had fiftys and was a gas hog and could burn rubber like crazy yet I know was not as fast as my Camaro I own now. I deserve the luxury, and I like the nice waves of people and complements and always park very safely. My ride to work may only be five miles through city traffic, and my car get five thousand or so miles a year but it is our car to battle the freeways with and to go to car shows, restaurants, shopping, and road trips in and our car to enjoy the power and beautiful lines of a modern muscle car in. I am paying for it and its my choice to daily drive it as I could drive another car and be in a lamer car yet why? And why would someone get so bent because some do drive it daily? If you want to treat your car as your precious garage queen so be it, but cars were and are meant to be driven.

Of the cars that I have owned that meant the most to me it would without a doubt the 1965 impala station wagon my grandparents put about a million miles on that I painted candy apple red and did the best I could to restore and drove for many years. It came with a tired .60 over 327 with fuelie heads that had been rebuilt twice. I eventually took the engine out and sold the heads for a good price as they were choice, the original trans I replaced with a th350 and sold off the original powerglide for circle track racers. One time it locked up on me and I just had to tap on the linkage to unfreeze it, amazing it took such a beating. When I sold the car along with two other classics around then it was a sad day, but as one man I can not drive so many cars and devote my time to them. I gave them good homes to poorer hot rodders as I used to be, they all had headers, edelbrock intakes and carbs, custom linkage and shift kitted transmissions with nice cam shafts. And of course they all had been worked on from one having 150 louvers in the hood and custom polished stainless everywhere, to another having custom painted finned aluminum firebird wheels with the background color being body color candy apple.

SO do not think if someone daily drives their cars they do not love them as much as you because you are dead wrong. What someone chooses to do with their life is theirs to decide, and you should be so blessed as those who were lucky enough to have bought one of my daily drivers from me. And yes mods do attract attention and improve performance, yet you hardly ever get any money out of them, and it was just the thing to do being a old school hot rodder to make them perform as a hobby and a way of life. That's what makes me a guy who can relate to everyone at a car show usually unless they are by a trailer queen and the rest of us laugh as they load it in their custom hauler. to us its a disgusting waste, and arrogance, and undeserving ever to be considered next to anything that's a daily driver. And why daily drivers rule and deserve to be seen as what they are, a real car.

Because in 1969 how many people would only drive their car a few miles then garage it? its rare to find a original car with low low miles, and when a hot rodder gets it he wants to drive it, then when it breaks or needs repair you fix it and make it better than it was stock. But those that put cars too much on a pedestal are a hoot. I cannot envision having that much money and would disgust myself. And while I may admire them for having a pristine example of the car, I also know I would want to drive like its meant to be. If you cannot drive it like you stole it, you are a waste of space.

I do not mean abuse it, I mean appreciate it, and cherish your time on this earth as everyday you do not know when your time is up. My grandpa was a aerospace engineer for NASA, he built booster rockets for the Apollo space program and worked at places like Edwards air force base etc. He bought the 65 Impala wagon new for my grandma Madelon and it was a orchid pink with a twelve bolt posi and 327 instead of the 396 because they drove a lot in life and commuted eventually for his health as he had black lung etc....and smoked and was a train engineer in ww2. They would go to Mexico in the winter and come here to Oregon and California in the summer. They hit a horse with the Impala and had it body worked down there because though it was on a road it was a crime down there to hit a horse. I know, I personally stripped the car to bare metal and through layers of paint. My ex wife drove it over a little cliff once into a tree, And I had to replace the front bumper and the engine mounts and she was as good as new.

And I know the cars I restored all most likely motoring on and not some trailer queen, so lets hear it for the daily drivers... The 71 monte carlo with a 350/400, the 65 impala with a 327/350. the nova ss with the 350/350, the 73 chevelle ss clone with the 406/350, the 65 chevy pickup with the fuelie head 327/powerglide, the etc etc etc etc ALL were daily drivers for me. So take your placard you made for your car and get greasy using it to work on it. If you don't you don't deserve to drive it, that how a lot of us old timers feel. This was a post about daily drivers, and they are the real future of fueling inexpensive restorable classics by the thousands, and the ones on a pedestal as if they deserved it ...well sell them to the rich snob. As for me I can not afford to be arrogant I am too humble trying make a living and trying to just enjoy life.

And I am truly blessed to be where I am in life and to be alive and have such a nice car and good faithful wife. And yes she truly deserves driving her new fully optioned new top of the line car. And here they rarely use what many assume is salt in their areas, its usually a chemical that's a lot more environmentally friendly. I know I used to drive snow plow and spray deicer, I work for the government. SO enjoy life!!! And revel in your good fortune when you can, for life is a bumpy road. I am a disabled vet who works training inmates in construction and grounds keeping at a maximum security prison, the one with the least likelihood of having a criminal reoffend in the USA ! And I am for the most part damn proud of my fellow employees many of us veterans who have the shortest average life expectancy of about any job of 58 yrs old. Yes I deserve to Live my life as I choose fit, And so do you thanks to the sacrifices of many. God bless our troops and those who walk the thin line.

Well enough rambling, some people just IRK me. Here some humor for you, have a nice night, and if you cannot relate to my prison humor, oh well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=Pfm_upp_c40

[Tbar]

Even with a six cylinder, after having it for sixteen months, I frequently look forward to getting off to drive my car and in the morning too. That's what driving a 120 hp Honda Civic for seven years prior will do to ya.

[Dizzy82]

Driving my Camaro everyday makes getting up at 4am worth it.

[gajagfan]

We daily drive the 2013 1LE because the 1969 Camaro just aint street drivable anymore. If it was, it would get used for more than burnouts and the ocaisonal blast on the $10 a gallon gas. Cars are ment to be driven. Buy what you want and drive what you want teh way you want to drive it. Oh, and here is a news flash......GM keeps making better cars every year! When you wear the one out you have, you can buy a new one that will be even better. Crazy...I know!

[DocMartens]

Originally Posted by Zig Zag

We have the garage queen phenomenon in the Harley world as well. I can understand why someone would want to keep a beautiful car or bike as nice as they possibly can. What you do is your business.
I walked into the showroom of a Harley dealer in 1984 and bought a new bike, a Shovelhead. 84 was the last year of that motor. From 1984 until 1990 I did not own a car. Wild and free!
I spent a lot of time taking real good care of her, pride and joy.
Fast forward to the 19th year of her life, a lady rear ends me while I'm stopped at a red light.
That one moment of inattention cost me 19 years of taking good care of the factory paint. It made me sick.
The hard lessons I needed to learn were of impermanence and attachment.
Life is short, you will die.
I still have the bike, with new paint, it will never be the same but that's life...

this is true

[himself]

god bless the man that dates angie.

[brainwave69]

I daily drive my Camaro as a Field Service Vehicle! Best dang service vehicle ever! Really makes me feel good after an annoying technical problem or customer. Small trunk but by putting most of my manuals on an Iphone well, everything fits in the trunk.

[angie7]

Originally Posted by himself

god bless the man that dates angie.

I was having a bad day the day this was posted what can I say sorry

[supasport]

Originally Posted by Ir0nM4n

How great is it to get off work knowing your going to drive home in a Camaro. I really cant say my Sonata or Tucson ever gave me that rush of enjoyment right after work.
I literally get very happy towards the end of work just thinking about driving home. Sometimes I take the longest route home just to enjoy the ride... Most the time the roads are wide open and I can push the corner speed a little. So I push it about ten over to see how it handles... Having my winter set on is not as fun... I have the 9" rears and 8" front SS rims for now... Once March rolls around I will have my ZL1 rims back on... 11" rear and 10" front... YEA!!!!

I feel sorry for those that cant daily drive because of the weather... Here is a for you

well... id like to just chime in and say that this is my daily and only car i own.. im 21 years of age and when it snows, my father always says, you wanted that car. so i always find a way to get to work and back. so i always whip my baby around no matter what. she's like tom brady, good in all weather

[AlohaBR]

Bought to replace my van as the daily driver, now with over 128k miles on the Camaro I can say it is great to get into everytime I drive it!
Love taking the LONG way home and letting go a little on the curvy backroads!
Miss it when I commute with the wife and take her more fuel efficent car!

Keep up the DD!!!

[BlackinBlack]

Originally Posted by linc400

There was a guy at my work that bought a new Mustang that babied it and hardly ever drove it. It got lots of attention when it was new. But it is now 15 years old. It no longer gets attention because it is not new and looks outdated, and new Mustangs are faster. It also does not get attention because it is not an antique either. So he made all the payments, did all the maintenance, and took all the depreciation for a car he didn't get to enjoy very much. Maybe in another 15 years it will have some collector interest. But then that means the next owner will get a car in great shape and will get to have all the fun with it. I want to be the one that has all the fun with my Camaro, not the next owner.

But if it makes some people happy to have new Camaro just sitting in their garage not getting driven much, that is their choice.

This! I daily drive my ZL1 and enjoy it every day. My 2SS I drove less (12K miles in 3yrs) and when I traded it for my ZL1 it was worth no more than a 2SS with a normal amount of miles. I took the depreciation hit so someone else could get a low mileage practically new car. When I bought this one I was determined to drive it more. Car is 16 months old and has 11K on it. I take care of it but enjoy driving it. In 20 years it MAY become collectable but most likely I will have sold it by then for my flying car.

As said "Each to your own" but I own a car to drive and enjoy.