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After a few minutes in the driver’s seat of the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS (Super Sport), I couldn’t help but think of the Texas Rangers baseball club’s really superb TV ads that ran during the recently completed season.
The theme of that campaign, one of the best I’ve ever seen (and featuring some of the cutest kids on the planet), was "Built for Fun."That phrase worked for the Rangers and their great season (even if they didn’t quite make the playoffs), and it also works for the Camaro SS (base price $30,745 plus $850 freight).This is a car that truly is built for fun, and after a day or so of driving the test vehicle, I felt like calling General Motors to say, "I’m not giving it back – just send me the payment book."A person driving a solid-black Camaro SS can’t be inconspicuous, I quickly found out. This car drew oodles of attention everywhere I went. Those who were drawn to it weren’t just drooling baby-boomer men who had come of age during the early days of the GM muscle car.In fact, that’s what’s so cool about it. Those who swarmed around this car every time I parked it in a public place were a cross section of modern America – all ages, both sexes, various ethnicities, you name it.I quickly came to the conclusion that the appeal of this car is universal. And that’s great news for GM, which is struggling to get back on its feet after the financial upheaval of the past year. This is a car lots of people want, although I realize the SS version will be out of reach of many who truly yearn for it – just the way the split-rear-window 1963 Corvette coupe that I coveted was way out of my reach when I was in high school.But the Camaro itself is within reach of most new-car buyers, even if they can’t make the leap to the more-expensive Super Sport model. The base Camaro coupe, with its 304 horsepower V-6 engine, starts at a quite-affordable $22,245 (plus freight).With all of the turmoil in the auto industry this past year, one of the things I find myself quite thankful for as Thanksgiving approaches is that the American automakers live on to produce such great cars such as the Camaro, the redesigned 2010 Ford Mustang, and the revived Dodge Challenger.Our tester was the Camaro 2SS model (base price $33,745 plus freight), which is the top of the line. The main difference between this one and the base Super Sport (1SS) model is the leather interior.To be honest, one really doesn’t need the V-8 to have fun in the Camaro, though. The V-6 model is a great value, and its power will be more than adequate for most consumers.Chevy says the V-6 goes from zero to 60 mph in 6.1 seconds, while the V-8’s best performance is zero to 60 in 4.7 seconds. Either one is going to blow the pants off of most of the other cars out there.The new Camaro is offered only in coupe form now; a convertible is coming later. Five trim levels are available – the base LS, 1LT, 2LT, 1SS and 2SS.
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