‘Green With Envy’
After an eight-year hiatus, the all-new 2010 Chevy Camaro is a hit with muscle car enthusiasts by outselling the all-new 2010 Ford Mustang by a good margin. To keep the momentum going Chevy has introduced a ‘synergy’ special edition model that should keep enthusiasts very happy.
With a design that is very close to the original 1967 through 1969 Camaro with a long hood, short deck, and a low, wide stance, this two-door sports coupe features those classic proportions tightly drawn over a 112.3in. wheelbase, 190.4in. total length, 75.5in. width and 54.2in. height. These proportions are pushed to the far corners of the muscular fender forms, and a fast, 67-degree rake windshield.
The front shows the new face of Chevy with a wide blacked-out center grille, blacked-out lower air-intake, round halogen headlamps, round foglamps, and a lower airdam. The rear shows quad squared tail and brake clusters, a bold rear bumper with parking sensors warning of objects that you can’t see when backing up, a diffuser to better manage the air out the back, and dual, 2in. polished stainless steel exhaust tips at the sides. The silhouette shows the steeply raked A-pillar, drawn up door glass, aerodynamic designed power-remote side mirrors, deep lower side extensions and pull-out door handles.
My Synergy Special was painted in Synergy Green Metallic paint with cyber gray metallic rally stripes on the domed hood, trunk and integrated lip spoiler. This new special edition really stands out from the crowd and turned heads everywhere I drove it.
Chevy designers didn’t stop there but included the Synergy Green paint scheme on the inside door trim and dashboard, with glowing LED light pipes. They also added black cloth sport bucket seats with green accent stitching, green accent stitching on the leather-wrapped steering wheel, on the door armrest, the leather-wrapped stick shifter, boot, and center console cover. This Synergy Green model is not for the faint at heart as all eyes are glued to you as you pass by or park.
The success of the all-new Camaro is not just its retro-exterior style or special paint color package but what you’ll find inside the cabin when you are behind the wheel. Inside the four-passenger cabin is a well-executed balance of heritage, modern design and attention to detail conveying simplicity and refinement with contemporary details in the instrument cluster, switches, big dials and lighting.
Deep recessed gauges, located in square housings outlined in chrome, give a nod to the classic Camaro interior. The instrument panel gauges include a 160mph speedometer and 8,000rpm tachometer, with a driver information center located between the large gauges-its readouts and features controlled via a stalk on the left side of the steering column. My Synergy Green Special Package also included inside-AM-FM stereo, CD player with aux input jack in the center console and six-speakers, XM satellite radio, climate control system with air filtration, front reading lights, sporty, 3-spoke, tilting/telescoping leather-wrapped steering wheel with redundant controls for the audio system and Bluetooth phone system, cruise-control, 6-way powered driver’s seat and 2-way powered passenger seat, full folding rear seat with trunk pass through, variable, intermittent windshield wipers/washers, front carpeted floor mats, dual cupholders, power windows with express up/down, remote trunk release, rear window defogger and power door locks.
Another highlight of the Synergy Green Special Package is the performance under the sheet metal. The 3.6 liter all-aluminum, DOHC with continuous variable valve timing premiered on the Cadillac CTS and is a potent powerplant generating 304hp at 6,400rpm and 273lbs. of torque at 5,200rpm. The flat torque band allows the V6 equipped Synergy Equipped Camaro to launch out to 60mph from a standstill in just 5.5sec. That’s plenty of acceleration to keep any enthusiast happy and the loud growling sound that the dual exhaust makes when you mash your foot down on the throttle is music to the ears.
The V6 is matted to a Warner/Aisin 6-speed manual, that I tested, or a 6-speed automatic. The manual is a short-throw and very quick up or down the gears. It is fun and easy to use and the short, narrow ball topped shifter fits perfectly in your right hand.
The fully independent is very unique and engineered with the 21st. century in mind. Up front is a double ball-joint, strut setup with progressive-rate coil springs, and a direct-acting stabilizer bar. The rear features 4.5-links with progressive-rate coil springs over mono shocks, 3-lateral ball joints per side, a de-coupled hollow stabilizer bar and a double-isolated subframe to stiffer and increase cornering ability and decrease any noise, vibration or harshness.
With a variable ratio power-assisted rack & pinion steering system the car reacted to my inputs immediately, almost like a racecar. Feel for the road and on-center feel is excellent. Standard StabiliTrak and Traction Control keeps you on your chosen path. With an excellent 52/42 front/rear weight distribution the car handled very nimbly with a neutral feel whether going straight-ahead at high speeds or when encountering curving mountain roads. It’s an excellent front and rear setup for this sporty coupe.
Big, four-wheel power-assisted steel disc brakes quickly and safely brings the Camaro to a stop. Up front are 12.64in. vented discs clamped by duel-piston calipers, while 12.2in. vented discs are clamped with single-piston calipers. Standard ABS helps you maintain control when traveling over slick pavement.
The Synergy Green Camaro rides on huge 19X8in. painted aluminum wheels wrapped with high-performance Pirelli 245/50ZR19in. P Zero Nero tires for the ultimate in traction and grip.
Standard safety features include front dual stage airbags, side impact airbags, front and rear head curtain side airbags, one-year ONSTAR accident alert and turn-by-turn navigation, 3-point safety belts for all four-seats with front load limiters and pretensioners, tire-pressure monitoring system, daytime running lights, LATCH system for child seats, emergency trunk release, theft deterrent system, battery rundown protection, front/rear crumple zones, steel beams in each door.
To sum up the all-new 2010 Chevy Camaro-it is a well designed and engineered, fun, easy-to-drive, efficient sports car for the 21st. century and very modestly priced for all the goodies you get. Would you believe only $23,880.00 for the base model and $26,210.00 for my tested Synergy Green model. Amazing!
COPYRIGHT:2010:HARVEY SCHWARTZ
