Camaro Ss

[macaroni 17 1 Cars]

Just thought I'd share this with some car enthusiasts.

 

Spent a week in Houston, Texas, on business recently and upon being offered a Kia Optima or Hyundai Elantra at the rental car desk, I asked what was available as an upgrade and for the paltry sum of $15 extra per day, I could have a Camaro!

 

It was a 2SS automatic version, with a 6.2l 400bhp V8, 8 speaker stereo, HUD and leather interior.

 

What a beast and surprisingly good to drive, although not many bends to be found there, just 90 degree corners.

With the TC off, it was virtually undriveable as any sort of throttle, just exiting sharply from junctions, had the rear wheels spinning up.

 

In the US, they are $36,000 new (~£22k) which is ridiculously cheap, although I couldn't get more than 20mpg out if, even with the 4 cylinder shut-off feature. Having said that, with petrol at £1.85 a GALLON, who cares??

 

Great for cruising round Texas and Louisiana, but not a patch on my 205 for the winding lanes of Kent.

 

Edited November 20, 2013 by macaroni

[welshpug 1,657]

American gallons are smaller don't forget, so that's pretty good really, nigh on 26 mpg UK.

[Alan_M 66 1 Cars]

Did you give it back with sod all rear tread left?

[Anthony 1,003]

Nice, and frankly rude not to really for $15/day

 

How big are the Camaro's in reality and how do they feel to drive? Last time I was in the States I had a Dodge Charger and that was absolutely massive - far bigger than it looked in isolation or in pictures - to the point of being unweildy even on smaller American roads, so Christ knows what it would be like trying to pilot one down an average UK B-road, particularly given that taut body control wasn't exactly its strong point resulting in something akin to a channel ferry in a storm.

 

I'm guessing that a Camaro isn't far off the same size, but with far more resolved suspension tuning and something approaching driver involvement?

[macaroni 17 1 Cars]

Good point Welshpug, I hadn't thought of that.

 

Alan, I was only there for a week, but I did try and lose a few mm. All those 90 degree corners are very tempting.

 

Anthony, the 2SS spec gives lower suspension and it actually felt quite tidy to drive. It is big, make no mistake and ran on 275/40/20 tyres, so keeping it in the seemingly narrow freeway lanes took some concentration, especially while staring at the spinning wheel bolts of yet another enormous pickup truck.

It is a similar size to the Charger/Challenger and while being huge on the outside, it was quite tight inside.

Much better to drive than I anticipated actually, but getting back into my 156 GTA at the Heathrow was a revelation and my 205 felt fantastic.

[johniban 59 1 Cars]

i saw a similar car when i was in america, i loved it, shame i didnt get to drive it though

 

 

think it was a challanger? or charger not sure

[PeterGriffin 20 1 Cars]

Those are nice - recently I saw a lot of those in Florida, and I fell in love with the Challengers;

 

 

I'm sure it would corner like a shopping trolley but a nice look and sound...

[mowflow 67]

We did a yank tank bonanza last time we went over for a holiday. 3 weeks and a different muscle car each week. We had a challenger RT, Camaro SS and a corvette. The corvette was the best of the bunch but was still pretty patchy compared to a proper sports car.

 

I don't know what it is with American car manufacturers but they just don't seem to get as much power as you would expect out of some massive engines. They also don't know s*it about handling and some of the design and materials are a bit questionable (the flexy corvette boot was a great source of amusement). I was also tickled by the optional extra dials that the SS had which were situated below the aircon meaning you could only see them if you sat in the footwell.

 

Good laugh for a holiday and they all make very rewarding noises but even they were that cheap here I couldn't see me actually wanting to own any of them.

[macaroni 17 1 Cars]

Ooh, feeling a lot of US muscle love. Err....

 

Yes mowflow, the gearbox temperature gauge on the SS, amongst others down there, was a bit of an afterthought.

[ScoobyJawa 23]

Did a similar thing back in May. Flew into San Fran > Yosemite > Death Valley > Vegas > Salt Lake > Yellowstone > Colorado Springs > Aspen all in a Mustang 'vert - EPIC