As I write this, it's barely April and all I can think about is thrashing a 2010 Camaro SS on Englishtown's well-prepped asphalt. Plans are in the works for just such a track test, and I've even been giving careful thought to picking up my very own SS this summer. We have big plans for GMHTP this year, all of which will be kicked off by filling the wheelwells of the Zeta II chassis with smoke-a fitting beginning, or rebirth, for GM enthusiasts long overdue for a new F-body. In the meantime my LT1 Formula, a blast from the past, has roared back to life and is awaiting the last of its tweaks before it is ready for track and street duty. The resurrection of this particular F-body is an odd parallel that also has me ecstatic after being without a hot rod for far too many months. What's an addict to do without his fix?
Like you, I get my jollies from chirping the tires in Second, and enjoy that funny feeling you get in your stomach as the rear tires break loose at 65 mph when you stab the go-pedal. So you can be sure that I won't be completely content with the Formula's current 459-horse mill for long, but at the same rate I'll certainly be savoring every moment in the revitalized fourth-gen. When I think back on first purchasing the Formula, it was truly in rough shape and it has since come a long way. What may once have been the subject of healthy ridicule in the office has now become an object of jealousy. You might even say that some are green with envy (bad joke, I know). And like the new kid at school, I can't wait until the Formula gets its chariot ride along the coastline, so I can finally show it off at the office. It's amazing what five years worth of hard work can do for a big pile of American steel.
As much as I love our nearly 17-year-old fourth-gens, though, I'm anxious to see what not only the aftermarket, but what (you) the imaginative and power-hungry enthusiasts dream up. I don't know if the General could have created a more awesome and well-built fifth-gen, but at the same rate, we now have a new canvas, at last, to paint our very own masterpieces on. Whether you like custom paint or graphics, ground effects, no ground effects, slammed in the weeds, heads/cam combos, trick variable valve timing setups, big-cube n/a motors, small-cube turbo motors, 1,000-rwhp street cars, drag-only setups, road race setups ... the 2010 Camaro is yet one more outlet for creating your wildest fantasy. The crazy part is that it already comes with 20-inch rims and 14-inch Brembos at all four corners, but I wouldn't be surprised to see ZR1 brake upgrades and sick custom wheels quickly replacing them. I know I already have my eye out for the perfect set of gunmetal gray rims with a meatier set of tires and I haven't even ordered a '10 yet.
It seems half the fun of hot rodding, though, is dreaming up what you want to do to it. And of course us late-model guys have the added benefit of driving our hot rods in the meantime, instead of piecing it together from scratch. Sadly for me, that hasn't been the case, but I'm sure many of you can relate with projects that were delayed for various reasons: money, time, divorce, natural disaster, etc. Not to knock the fourth-gen, but I must say after all the hard work that went into my Formula-at the end of the day it's still a decades-old Firebird only a hair nicer than its third-gen predecessor (I know many will disagree). The General clearly invested his time and money into the engine and trans, and neglected other areas (like the less-than-plush interior and fragile rearend). I'm proud to say that the General got it right with the fifth-gen, and as impressive as the GTO, G8, and C6 interiors are, the '10 Camaro may have surpassed even them. As the result, I believe GM is working diligently towards removing the stigma that American cars are constructed with poor quality. And that is just what GM and this country needs in such difficult economic times. Welcome to the new generation!
We have big plans for GMHTP this year, all of which will be kicked off by filling the wheelwells of the Zeta II chassis with smoke