While there was a curious lack of rally cars on the show floor of the 2019 New York International Auto Show, there were still a few race cars to drool over.
StarCom NASCAR Team at NYIAS
For the first time at the New York International Auto Show, a NASCAR Cup Series team has set up a booth. StarCom Racing [SCR] is based in Salisbury, North Carolina with driver Landon Cassill. At the age of 18, Cassill was signed to Hendrick Motorsports as a test driver for Jimmie Johnson for five years, and has driven for other teams since in the Xfinity (Rookie of the Year 2008), K&N Pro Series, and Arco Re/Max Series since. The team’s parent company, StarCom Fiber, is a New Jersey based regional telecommunications that runs fiber throughout the region, so setting up a presence at NYIAS made sense not just to build a fan base and get their name out there, but to network and attract more sponsor partnerships. “We feel like this is a tremendous platform being that there’s going to be a million people walking through this building,” said Cassill in the Thursday press conference. “We feel like we have to stand out in a little bit different way than other race teams… NASCAR teams don’t really come to the NY Auto Show, and for the place where we’re at and the size that we have, there’s no reason not to be here.”
Led by team manager and 1990 Daytona 500 winner Derrick Cope, the chartered team will race the full 2019 season with Cassill driving the number 00 Camaro. “…our northeast race fans are some of the most passionate and well educated race fans about NASCAR that we see all over the country. Tracks in Pocono, Dover, New Hampshire, Watkins Glen are the racetracks where I sign the most hero cards, the most letters and trading cards, these are fans that really pay attention to what we have going on.”
Cassill will be in the booth signing autographs Tuesday, April 23, 4-6 pm and Wednesday, April 24, 11 am-1 pm, and Derrike Cope will also sign autographs Saturday, April 20, 2-4 pm.
Camaro is UK Bound! But There’s a Catch…
The new 2016 Chevy Camaro is being lauded as possibly the best ever, and come this September our neighbors across the Atlantic in the UK, according to a post from www.roadandtrack.com. But Chevy’s expectations for the Camaro are low. I mean, really, really low. Making this trip across the pond will be either the 2.0L turbocharged four and the mighty 6.2L V-8-the V-6 Camaro will not be available. Anticipated sales? Chevy is exporting a total of 18-yes, 18 Camaros. Total. Of that, 15 will be hardtops, leaving only 3 convertibles to fight over. And all 18 are headed to one dealer only, Ian Allan Motors in Surrey.
Why such a ridiculously low number? For one, the Ford Mustang is already sold there, and it holds two major advantages over the Camaro. For one, the Mustang is priced cheaper, but far more importantly, UK Mustangs are right hand drive. No surprise Chevy is not going to the trouble to build a right hand drive Camaro, so that is a major disadvantage. Second, the Camaro is a big car with gun-slit windows, so the narrow roads of the UK were the furthest from any designer’s mind. Then consider the fact you’re sitting on the wrong side the car and driving your Camaro through town could be downright harrowing. As for roundabouts, I’d advise the UK Camaro owner to drop a gear, bury the throttle and power slide your way ’round whilst either praying or laughing hysterically.
Still, 18 cars total seems timid. Just as there are plenty of British car clubs in North America, so to does the UK have American car clubs. No word if all 18 are already spoken for, if there is further demand if Chevy will send more over. But whatever the case, you will be in very rare company.
In The Garage: 2016 Chevrolet Camaro 2LT
Once upon a time, the six cylinder versions of muscle cars were sort of the red headed step-child of real muscle cars. Those days are gone and the V6 version of the sixth generation Camaro is a real contender.
Jessi Lang meets a vintage T/A Chevy
Driving an Infiniti. To a Mazda sponsored track. To drive a Chevy. Gotta love the little ironies that working in automotive media throws at us sometimes!
After spending a year in rehab following a devastating car accident, Jessi Lang takes the bull by the horns so to speak with her first automotive assignment. As part of Motor Trend’s lead up to the Monterey Historics, Lang had the opportunity to take a couple of hot laps around Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in a full on ’69 Camaro Z/28 from the glory days of the Trans Am series. Sadly, a couple was all she got in, as the beast clocked in at 113 db, which is above the sound limits at the track.
Even though my Dad raced an AMX and not a Camaro, I am oh so jealous!
Source: Motor Trend via Youtube
Classic Player’s Challenge Racing in the rain
Few who were around to experience the Player’s GM Challenge will argue that there has never been a more exciting racing series in North America. The cars were stout, fast and came out of a showroom. The drivers were talented, fast and tenacious. The fans were drunk and rabid.
As the series took place from the late Eighties to early Nineties, before the age of digital cameras, there is a sad lack of media material available from the series. Hopefully, more fans will start scanning their old photos soon.
Through a friend on Facebook, I just came across this fantastic (for the era) in car video from a race at Shannonville in the rain. The driver is not identified. Do you know who is driving this machine?
Update: Canadian racing legend and top competitor in the series, Ron Fellows, has weighed in on the video. Ron believes that this is one of the Motomaster cars, which he drove himself at Shannonville in 1987. That was a dry race, so Fellows thinks this is David Empringham in the ’88 race.
Impatient Camaro driver clips oncoming Volvo
A number of years ago, I remember reading a Q & A with then Sgt. Cam Woolley, when someone asked when it was ok to pass on a rural road. The not so obvious answer was that on a single yellow line, one can pass provided it is safe to do so. Then there were the obvious dotted line discussions and the fact that you may never, ever pass on a double yellow line. Common sense that one.
When that double yellow is on a twisty canyon road, it shouldn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that you should stay in your own lane, even if there is a local turtle ahead of you. Last weekend in California, a current generation Chevy Camaro driver felt that the law and common sense didn’t apply to him. #becausecamara ya know.
Reddit user humanwire was out for a drive and had a couple of cameras on board.
Went out this Saturday to hit up my favorite canyon road with some friends, but it ended up being closed once we got there. Hesitantly, we decided to give a Malibu canyon road (Decker Canyon, aka Route 23) a try on the way back, so the whole day wasn’t a complete waste.
I was quickly reminded why I don’t like driving on Malibu canyon roads, and why I head out much further away from Los Angeles for some frisky driving.
A group of three cars came barreling up behind us; a black Comaro, a red Mazdaspeed 3, and a black M3, unable to wait a second for a turnout.Completely ruined the fun mood of the trip, and my friends and I turned around almost immediately so we wouldn’t be associated with that group. Wouldn’t want a CHP call to go out including us with that group.
Too many dickhead drivers. Too much traffic. Too many police patrols. Less than stellar roads (not all of them).
Pony car boy gets fed up with idling along behind a slowpoke in a Ford Explorer, and decides to pull out and pass, on a blind corner. He actually clips a Volvo that was headed in the opposite direction. Things could have very easily been a deadly incident, so everyone involved were very lucky.
Here’s to hoping that the local police get hold of this and track the moron down.
Chevy shows the Wonder Twins at Detroit
As some of the traditional imports work their tails off to capture the youth market, General Motors has their work cut out for them as they try to capture some of the younger demographic. Rather than attempt to decide for the public what format the masses want, The General launched 2 distinctly different concept cars wearing the Chevy Bowtie at Detroit.
One, the Code 130R is a rear wheel drive, four seat coupe that looks like a mashup between Chevy’s big boy Camaro and the ever so popular BMW 1 Series. The other is a 3 door hatch that looks more like a Chevy-fied Mitsu Eclipse than anything else on the road. Like the Eclipse, the Tru 140S would be a front wheel drive layout.
Both cars look great, but my nod goes to the Code 130R as the most likely candidate to steal some thunder from the upcoming Toyota / Subaru twins.
Check out the full press release and a gallery of both cars after the break.
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Review: 2012 Chevy Camaro SS
While the ‘newness’ of the new Camaro may have worn off some, the passion and reaction to this car certainly has not. As East Coast Editor for The Garage, I was able to spend a week with a 2010 Camaro RS, and I genuinely came away impressed with Chevy’s re-entry into muscle car territory. Yet for all the attention the car received wherever I went, when people asked me what was under the hood, and I replied “A V-6″ you could just see their disappointment. I pleaded with them, telling it IS quick, has over 300hp yet can get nearly 30 MPG on the highway. But they weren’t hearing any of that. They would smile, tell me the car looked cool anyway, and went on their way.
That was when the Camaro was brand-new. A couple years in, the appeal has not faded. While the Camaro is the best selling two door muscle car in the US by quite a margin (beating the updated Mustang by 20,000 cars as of the end of November), this is still not a car you see on a daily basis. And with no change in appearance for 2012 (ok, Camaro fanatics, all Camaros now get the smoked RS taillamps), the presence of the Camaro is still something to behold. Our test car, finished in Carbon Flash Metallic, and equipped with the 45th Anniversary Package with the requisite stripes and 20” wheels, the Camaro was absolutely menacing. On seeing it, my five year old sons’s jaw dropped. My wife, a fan of the TV show “Hawaii 5-0” which features a Camaro, loved it. When you pull up at stoplights, the guy in the minivan in the next lane hates you. Really hates you. But the hate doesn’t linger, because you’ve soon completely disappeared from view.
While I was generally pleased with the 2010 Camaro’s interior there’s always room for improvement. The most dramatic step forward is the new steering wheel. While the old tiller was retro in appearance, it just felt too large and awkward. Chevy has completely addressed that for 2010 with a wheel that looks and feels just right. Soft-touch materials on the dash add an air of quality to the Camaro cabin. While the Camaro is not the easiest car to see out of, the addition of a rearview camera, built in the the rearview mirror, is of enormous help in backing up the car. While the Boston Acoustics audio provided decent sound, the Camaro is a couple generations behind in terms of infotainment. Don’t get me wrong, the Camaro has Bluetooth and XM Satellite Radio, but built in GPS Navigation is not even an option. Yes, there is OnStar which will download turn by turn directions to your car, and the staff can offer restaurant advice and other services, but still. The reality is, the buyers do not care, the Camaro is sales king in 2011.
The real story, of course, is what lies in the engine bay: a glorious 6.2L V-8 knocking out a healthy 426hp. On start up, the SS likes to clear its throat a bit, just to let anyone within ear shot that you are not to be messed with. Despite the amount of power being put through the rear tires, the Camaro SS is a very easy car to putter around downtown in. The driver is the ultimate decision maker in the character of the car. You can idle stoplight to stoplight, and the car is composed, even quiet, for what it is. But where’s the fun in that? Stomp on it and the Camaro responds immediately. Power delivery is strong, but never overwhelming. You’d have to be really brave or really stupid to scare yourself in this car, as long as the roads are dry. Our test car was equipped with a six-speed manual (a six-speed automatic is available, but power drops to 400hp). The clutch was a cinch to modulate, and I enjoyed rowing the gears, although the big V-8 is so tractable you don’t need to. But the audible burbles and crackles spitting out the exhaust on downshifting were addictive.
For a car that has 426hp on tap, sales and racing legacy dating back 45 years, head-turning good looks and a comfortable interior and ride, I consider the Camaro a more than decent performance car bargain. Our 2SS Coupe is the top-spec Camaro (until the ZL1), and with a generous list of standard equipment, you start with a base price of $35,450USD. Our test car had the optional 45th Anniversary Package, which adds special striping, HID headlamps with LED halo rings, 20″ silver painted wheels, and special stitching on the leather seats, logos, and kick plates. Including delivery, our Camaro rang in at $37,725.
In autumn of 2009 when I had reviewed the Camaro RS, with its V-6, I argued that it is a perfectly acceptable and quick Camaro that would more than satisfy its owner. That was stepping out of a top of the line V-6 RS with all the goodies. I want to alter that statement. For around $700 more, give me a stripped 6.2L V-8 SS over a topped out V-6 RS any day. I now understand why people reacted when I said the Camaro had a V-6. And by the end of the week, I was tired of defending it. North America wants its Camaro with a fire breathing V-8, a no excuses car, and the 2012 Camaro, while not perfect, is a performance icon, and for 2012, a further refined one. Take my advice friends, because I don’t want to hear that old advertising line “I should’ve had a V-8”.
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Camaro owners descend on Oshawa plant
Our busy Camaro Homecoming week began with a blast through Ontario cottage country in a pair of 2011 Camaro Verts, and then went full speed yesterday with the first day of the actual homecoming at the GM Canada plant where the Camaro is built.
The last number I heard yesterday afternoon was close to 600 Camaros on site from as far away as New Orleans and they were expecting another 150 or so more cars! Our day began with a tour of the incredible plant and then we wandered the lot, checking out some of the incredible machinery.
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