Trip report: Picking up my IOM on 4th of July weekend.

[NYG71]

I want to apologize in advance if the flow of this thread is like me learning how to drive stick-shift at 16yrs old.

Well I am back in VA with my IOM 2SS/RS from Grand Rapids, Michigan. But to set this thread up, I'm going to start with my trip to Berger Chevrolet...the location of my car. I know that I've said this before in another thread but being that my wife is from Michigan we've always tried to attend Cherry Festival ( http://www.cherryfestival.org ) in Traverse City, MI which is always around 4th of July and this year was no exception. But prior to us leaving I got "the call" that my car was delivered and ready for me to pick up. This was on June 19 -- about 2 1/2 weeks out from the start of the festival. As you can imagine I was going nuts. But to pass the time I kept myself busy in deciding what aftermarket options I wanted to install. So I made plans to get my car tinted and install a clear-bra on the complete front portion of the car including the side mirrors, rocker panels and the rear portion of the car where the side tail lights. The guys at Extreme Car Audio did a great job. You can check them out at http://www.extrememotoringgr.com. Fast forward to July 2nd...my family and I hit the road and headed for Grand Rapids, MI to pick up my car. THE DRIVE WAS LOOOOOONNNGGGGG!! Since I had a new born and a 2 year old daughter, we had to break up the trip so on day 1 we drove about 7-8 hours ending up in Okemos, MI ( a town outside of Lansing) and the next day we drove about an hour or so to the dealer. The butterflies in my stomach were in full force. At last we arrived at Berger Chevrolet!!! We got out the SUV, walked into the showroom and there it was!! My 2yr-old daughter screamed out "Orange car, Orange Car" and I said " Yes sweetheart...there's our orange car." So we went back up front to the receptionist to page Dick Jacques (the salesmen who I was dealing with) and headed back to the car just to admire it. There we people walking around it wishing that it was theirs. You could see it on their faces. Mind you, I stood back just to see what comments would be made not letting anyone know it was "MY" car. I was a very proud owner. Every person that walked by had good things to say and kept asking was the tint standard? The salesmen that accompanied them would let them know that it wasn't and that the customer wanted to get it done before he arrived.

Dick Jacques shows up, we exchange handshakes and talked a bit.

I'd like to take a moment to say that Berger Chevrolet "gets it". Their staff (from the receptionist to the service department techs) were top notch. I was given a tour of the facility and was given history lesson of Berger Camaros built from the 60's to the present. Let me just say that even though my car wasn't a Berger built COPO camaro, just buying one from there made me feel like I got a special one.

After the tour and stuff, we go back to Dick's desk to pick up the keys to my car but I get presented the original window sticker laminated with Dale and Matt Berger's signature on the back. How cool is that!!! BTW, I did meet Matt Berger during the tour.

Well after a couple of hours at Berger, it was finally time to drive my car out the Berger showroom and head north to the Cherry Festival.

Here is the youtube link of me driving it out. WHOOHOOO!!! >>

The 2 hour drive north to Traverse City, MI was freakin awesome. "Rockstar" status was in full effect (that was for you "prima"Donna ). I lost count to the number of thumbs up and honks I got. I mean people were stunned and this is in Michigan were Camaros are kinda prevalent but the IOM color with black racing stripes just pops off the road. You guys should have seen the looks on the faces of Mustangs owners. They are no longer kings of the road. Wait till I get my supercharger next year. HAHAHA!!!

Well I made to Traverse City in one piece and rested for another hour to be part of the Hagerty Family Classic Car Cruise. I ran into other another camaro owner ( his was black with white stripes ). Everyone at the cruise was real cool. The cruise around town was nice but I quickly broke from the pack and headed home as I was really tired from the driving over the last 2 days. Besides, I wanted to get ready for entering my car in the Hagerty's Classic Car show on 7/5/09 (Sunday morning).

Well the show was a hit! I had so many people commenting and admiring my car. It was really fun. I even met up with a Camaro5 member -- "Lectra". She is getting hers this week as her car is waiting for her back home in Centreville, VA.

After staying in Northern, MI for a week, we prepare to drive back to Virginia. If you guys were paying attention, I mentioned that I have a new born son and a 2 year old daughter. My wife insisted that I drive the IOM and she'll take the kids in the Tahoe but I knew better. Before we even made our trip to Michigan, I reserved a full-body car trailer from uhaul to haul my car. Stopping every 2 hours was not an option. My wife was thankful that I stuck to my guns on renting the trailer...the kids were...well being kids. Again, we took 2 days to get back but it was stress free. BTW, I used a carcover to proctect it from the elements and highway projectiles. Funny thing was that I purchased a plain old car cover and people still were able to make out the car and stopping me at rest stops to talk about the car. The only bad part of hauling my car was that I wasn't able to break it in.

Now that we are back home, I am pleased to say that my IOM is in her garage.

This thread would useless without pictures, so here they are. Also checkout my 72 second youtube clip.

The last picture is my wife and 2yrs old daughter

Enjoy!

[CamaroSpike23]

awesome! glad you got your car. she's beautiful, as are your wife and kids

[v6sonoma]

Bad ass car man! I ordered the same thing and now I'm dying to get it even more. Good luck with it and congrats.

[Lectra]

Awesome car! And great story too (thanks for including me in there, lol)! I finally made it back to pick up my car, seeing yours helped to tide me over till the big day Headed back to Michigan next week, never looked forward to the 12 hour drive quite so much!

[2SSRS@Gen5diy]

Congrats you have great taste in Camaro's as well as a smart man. ( The car trailer )

[HeatherR]

Congrats on your car! Nothing like Traverse City for the cherry festival! Hope you enjoyed your first road trip (even trailering it!)

[NYG71]

Originally Posted by Lectra

Awesome car! And great story too (thanks for including me in there, lol)! I finally made it back to pick up my car, seeing yours helped to tide me over till the big day Headed back to Michigan next week, never looked forward to the 12 hour drive quite so much!

Thanks! It was nice to meet you at the car show. A couple of buddies of mine are bringing their cars (M3, Mustang, Modded Acura TL) to Chic-fil-a near Dulles Town Center mall on Friday Night. If you can make it, great! If not, we have the rest of the summer. Take care and enjoy your 12-hour trip.

[NYG71]

Thanks everyone for the comments and good luck in getting your awesome machines.

[chevyridinghigh]

Good stuff man, sounds like a pretty neat road trip.

[Lectra]

Originally Posted by NYG71

Thanks! It was nice to meet you at the car show. A couple of buddies of mine are bringing their cars (M3, Mustang, Modded Acura TL) to Chic-fil-a near Dulles Town Center mall on Friday Night. If you can make it, great! If not, we have the rest of the summer. Take care and enjoy your 12-hour trip.

I only have 160 miles on my car so far so I might be enticed to bring it out Friday, what time?

[NYG71]

Originally Posted by Lectra

I only have 160 miles on my car so far so I might be enticed to bring it out Friday, what time?

Let me get back with you on that. I want to say 7pm or so but I'm not sure.

I've got 550 miles now but I'm still babying it till I hit 1000. This is my 3rd camaro and I can tell the difference in performance. My second camaro ran stronger after 1000 miles of taking it easy. Just a side note.

[V8Madness]

Awesome write up and pics, of course there is no comparison as seeing it in person yesterday. Don't be surprised if you see me pulling a Tony Stewart Meguire's commercial on a daily basis.

[dreammy]

You look so right with that car! and beautiful family! ...great story you share thanks a bunch!

[Zeraphicus]

Beautiful car! And your family looks great. Stories like these make me question whether I should get a brand new IOM camaro or a used Z06 Vette...