Yupp. i got to drive one !!
My manager here had a major accident and totalled his new GMC Yukon SUV.He was driving at 60mph on a highway when a tree decided to fall in front of him. he drove straight into it.He had to go and get a new car, another SUV. His cousin brother runs the GM dealership in this area. I was going to the gym and he asked if I could drop him off to the dealership on my way. I did drop him off but then, my eyes got locked up on this sight.
started to inquire about this car and got all details and then i asked if I could see the interiors. Bruce, my manager's cousin eagerly started the car from his cabin and that with that the AC was on full blow even before I reached the car. yupp. you can remote start the car.
The interiors are really good. I loved the 'in your face' speedo binacle. the temperature, battery and tell tale analogue (another retro cool touch) are away from direct view. they are neatly nestled in the center console. To be frank and honest, I did not care about the ergonomics coz I really did not bother to check for all that. It did come with a 10 speaker Boston Music system. who cared. I just switched it off.
I liked the short and stubby gear knob. I tried to shift gears but nothing worked. I thought I'd broken something. thats when Bruce steps into the car and said " this is what you need". he then slotted the key in and voila, all other electronics started working. well, the remote start will only start the engine and run the A/C. good move esp in places like the south where it gets awfully hot. like right now.
The front seats are fantastic. they hold you in the right way. the way a sports car should be.
I then adjusted the seat to my liking with fore and aft setting as well as height setting. set the rather large dia steering which is adjustable for reach as all as rake. and got comfy.
Bruce then tells me that the version I was sitting in was the Camaro SS which came with a 6.2 L V8 which pumped out 426bhp. astonishing power.
This was a step below the top end which is the RS. well, by model it was a step down, but this SS came with the RS package. what is the RS package? well, the add on's are Xenon Halo headlamps, 20: wheels, sunroof, different tail lamps etc. none of those mattered much to me.
Just as I got comfy and it was time to get out, Bruce pops the question, " do you want to drive?" he may have asked it for formality but I shamelessly said "yes" and shifted to R and drove out of the parking slot and then out of the showroom.
there started the drive of a car I always salivated at on the road. That day, I was actually driving one of the cars I've always wanted to drive.
..and then I carefully pulled the car out of the dealership and onto the highway. I had to be careful coz I just realized that my low setting of the seat made sure I could not see how far ahead the hood extended to. this is a real long car and it takes a while to judge the length. once on the highway, I slammed the throttle and whooop..i was pushed hard into the back of my seat. I loved it. but then, there is only that much one can do before rapidly reaching the speed limit of 65 mph.well 10 mph + is fine though but still. the quest for more power cannot be satiated. that's when I recollected that the Chevy Malibu I had driven earlier came with a paddle shift manual mode. how can the camaro not have one? well, it did. i grinned and immediately pushed it into manual mode and downshifted. aah.there it was..the rev just rose high but it was shortlived. there was a big ass semi in front which was slow and I could not go past him.
when I did get a chance, I downshifted again and slammed the throttle ..got greedy and thought I could shift down one more cog and guess what, the ECU kicks in and spits on my face " shift denied". although this was in manual mode, it had the ECU overseeing what we do just so one does not get to blow up the motor. I guess that's how GM wants to maintain warranty.
after cruising for a while, Bruce says,"if you want to stretch it, you may want to go to a lonely road where we do some testing..make a right ahead" and there we were. its a small 1/4th mile stretch which runs parallel to the highway. no speed guns or cops. its kinda hidden this road.
there I was. made myself an imaginary start line and pushed the tranny to Auto mode. Did not want the motor to blow up in my hands. I'd have to buy that car then.
start was a simple affair.mash the pedal as far as you can. which I did. the roar of the V8 is F***** awesome ..I quickly saw smoke from the rear..guess what, I had the tyres smoking on my take off !! awesome..the whole adrenaline push is bloody awesome..
426 bhp pushing the car as fast as possible ahead while pushing me as far back into the seat as possible. this was the most fun I've had with cars after the NASCAR drive the stretch was done in seconds..i did not want to get greedy and ruin the tyres. I then turned into the highway and drove back to the dealership ..this time just cruising.
this was one hell of a drive. one that I'll remember for a very long time.
