Drove a Silver 2LT RS today.

[Beau Tie]

WARNING...did not take pics.

Well, my sales person dropped me an email yesterday to let me know that their May 6th dealer Camaro arrived. Boing!

Needless to say, I told the wife to meet me at the dealer after work today. I drove down their with my 9 year old son, getting giddy as I drove there. I almost had to take a deep breath before I got to the dealer because I was so nervous about seeing the car for the first time in real life. I was almost shaking.

I had all kinds of things going through my mind. What if I get there, and it's sold, and left the lot already? What if it's out for a test drive? What if she called in sick today, and the car just wasn't there for some reason. Just seemed too good to be true.

I pulled into the parking lot, and sure enough, they had it backed up to the front of the dealers front windows. Silver, with BIG ASS 20 inch rims. Holy crap those things are just huge. The car looked like I pictured it, but...yes..even better. I was in such a loss for words, I stopped looking at it and walked right inside to find my sales person. I know, sounds crazy, but it was just weird. I never felt like this when buying new cars. This is special, because it's really the car I have wanted for the past 20 years, and it was never feasible during those years of college and having a kid and getting married, etc.

As we waited for my wife to arrive, I talked to the dealer while staring at the car, and she was holding the key while she was talking to me (we talked for a while because her brother and I are friends and grew up together). My god, my wife couldn't get there fast enough. My son was getting bored with me STARING at the car.

Finally, my wife comes. She pulls up by us and exits her car. As she walks towards me, she is smiling. She really couldn't believe the looks of this car (and she is NOT a car fanatic...she drives an 07 Camry). She just KNEW why I have been acting like a kid in a candy store for the past 2 years. She saw that look in my eyes when I was standing there watch her approach.

I checked out the trunk first. Yup, it's a small opening. However, it's the rear fenders that give it a smaller appearance than it really is. The entrance opening is comparable to the Cobalt 2 door in width. The trunk depth and width on the inside is larger than the Cobalt trunk however.

Not much excitement there besides a cargo net. Moved on to under the hood. Popped the hood, and took in all the excitement of the black plastic. Again, nothing exciting, but looked very tidy, very organized, and next to impossible to work on in my own garage. Not that it matters, I pay people to take care of my cars.

The wife is walking around the car and says "wow, those are some BIG wheels". Hell yeah they are. I still can't fathom for the RS package price, you get those babies with the high speed tires to boot. Overall, the appearance of the exterior was phenomenal. The only problem, it was dirty and it already had bird poop on it :o(

On to the inside. This one had the leather seating, black interior, gauge cluster in front of the shifter, and pretty much most every option that I can think of. It had the turn by turn in the dash between the speedo and tach, and that was very convenient, yet basic.

When we opened the door, the driver seat was all the way back as far as it could go. You could see quite a bit of the track exposed in the front of the seat, so they had some big person driving it before me (the car has 164 miles on it). I am only 5'8", so I moved the seat way up. Seating, in my experience, isn't as bad as some have made it out to be. My son got in the back seat (which is a bigger back seat than my Cobalt coupe back seat). The back of the back seat seems to have a pretty good recline to it, so my son looked like he was sitting FAR back. When I had my seat in my driving position, there was about an inch less room between the back of my seat and my son's knees compared to my Cobalt. It's was really almost unnoticeable. My wife is 5'7", so everything in the car "size" wise was perfect. It's a sports car, so we are not expecting to be driving out with a Maybach.

The dash quality? What is there to say that others already haven't. The "quality" as in, fit and finish...ACES. Is it like rubbing a horse's hide? No. It's great a great feel to the touch, gaps are tight to nonexistent, and it's build night and day better than the last year Gen 4 Camaro that went out. The passenger "expanse" is not as expansive as others have made it out to be either. I don't know about everyone else, but there were lines in the dash in the car I drove, including a line of trim that carried over from the door. Not to mention, a vent on the right.

Seats were supportive, the USB was nicely hidden in the arm rest. I never once looked at the gauges by the shifter while test driving, so I won't miss those in the 1LT RS that I order. The speedo and tach? Well, the font of the numbering is pretty cool...nice and retro, but it seemed very basic. Even more basic and plain jane than my Cobalt gauges. But I like the pods, and the entire retro feel.

I didn't have any issues with excessive blind spots either. Keep in mind, this is coming from driving a Cobalt Coupe, which has almost identical blind spots. The windows on the other hand, those will take some getting used to. Indeed, looking through the windows is like looking through a mail slot. I personally loved it, but the wife, not so much. She said she started to feel clausterphobic and her heart started racing. She gets that way when she starts to feel uncomfortable. Her comment to me was "when you get this car, I can't be expected to drive it feeling like this. I will only ride in it, as I think it will make me sick trying to drive a car that makes me feel nervous".

No problem there, right?

Doors shut tight, everything moved, closed, and shifted with a sense of quality, quietness and just overall comfort in the cabin. I did find the climate controls confusing, so I gave up on them since I was driving. I messed with them a little when the wife drove however.

The stereo sounds awesome, the display is sweet, and it's one of the best OEM stereos I have heard in a car priced in this $27k range.

The V6 accelerated VERY fast. I never exceeded 80 miles per hour on the interstate during my test drive. Though I gave it some juice on the on ramp. Keep in mind, myself, my wife, my son and the sales girl is in the car, and this thing STILL soared up the ramp like it was the IROC of yore. I am dead serious. And from a V6! (I truly wonder how this thing would compare to a Buick Grand National/GNX).

My FAVORITE thing about driving the car, appearance wise? That hood when you look out the window with that big scoop. It looks commanding, kick ass, and I swear to god, my smile is STILL inside that car, glued to the rear view mirror.

The ride wasn't as cushy as our Camry, but it was better than my Cobalt. It may not have Corvette handling (I have never driven a vette), but to me, it feels like it corners on rails.

I have owned a Cobalt (2006), Dodge Dakota (2003), Jeep Cherokee (2001), Cavalier (1984), Monte Carlo SS (1987), Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme (1984), Pontiac GrandAm (2000), Pontiac GranPrix (2003), Toyota Camry (2007), Geo Storm (don't recall the year), Buick Skylark (1982), Buick Skyhawk (don't recall the year), Honda Accord hatch (1980), Ford Probe (1995?)....and this is and will be the BEST car I have ever DRIVEN or owned (some of the cars I list were my wifes cars).

I am 37 years old, and I have never been so excited about anything like this (besides when we built our first house and had our son).

It's gonna be about 2 months before I get mine, but I am patient. It's gonna be worth it.

If you have not test drove one or if you haven't seen one in real life, get to your dealer NOW and do so.

THIS IS exactly what GM is doing to make things right with the public. This is what GM used to be.

[Camaro68]

Great write up brother, thanks for shairing.

[Xmicro_SS]

Good perspective, thanks for the write-up. I wonder how much different the SS and LT really feel. I look forward to the formation of people at a local club so we can compare. The Camaro is really comfortable, I can vouch for that!

[2010SLVRBULIT]

waiting for my SIM LT1/RS too..have yet to see SIM in person..

[Speed 1]

Thanks for sharing.....

[Beau Tie]

Thanks for the comments guys. And thanks for taking the time to read my novel

[ShellsPACam]

I got to drive a silver 2LT/RS yesterday as well! My dealer called me and said that they had one on the floor and that I could come check it out. So, I did. I finally got to sit in a Camaro. (Most people can't believe I would order a car I never sat in or drove!) Anyways-- first thing I noticed was the limited view from the windshield--I'm used to a large windshield on my Grand Prix. But- it wasn't a problem. The rest of it fit like a glove!
As I was sitting in the car-- my dealer asked if I was ready for my test drive. I had no idea I was going to get to drive one and I actually got a little nervous! I went outside and got into another silver 2 LT/ RS the dealership only had for the day for test drives.
He handed me the keys and told me to have it back in a half hour. All I can say is I immediately took to the car. Now I'm not an expert who can give a technical review-- (I'll leave that to you guys) but the steering, the way it handled turns- I was amazed. No problem getting used to the windshield view. All I kept thinking is "I'm driving a Camaro!!" The worst part was returning the car to the dealership!!

I ordered my 2LT/RS in March and I just couldn't be happier!

Cheers!
Shell

[CaMario]

Nice post - thanks. Agree 100% on the interior. I sat in one a couple of weeks ago for the first time and was shocked! From the poor reviews I was expecting the worst, but, once I sat in te car in person I (in my opinion) loved the interior.

[The Dark Knight]

Thanks for the reviews guys! I feel the same way you guys feel! Long live the Camaro!

My pics test driving a SIM 2LT RS in my sig

[Rockies4]

Thanks for the positive and entertaining review.

I'm sitting here waiting patiently too, and reading your post makes the wait not so long.

[Rocks RS]

Great write up.

[wullger]

Originally Posted by Beau Tie

It looks commanding, kick ass, and I swear to god, my smile is STILL inside that car, glued to the rear view mirror.

My favorite part of your post, and an awesome sentiment

[Beau Tie]

Originally Posted by wullger

My favorite part of your post, and an awesome sentiment

Indeed...there are just so many good parts to driving a Camaro

[Kvapil28]

I wish I could have driven ours here at the dealership but we sold it before the cover was off it. Thanks for the nice post. Now you just need to get your wife out of the Toyota and into the new Malibu. GM's quality is awesome. GM is on the way back to the top..
You Better Believe....