I recently got my hands on a brand new 2001 Camaro SS. I know, I know! People will tell me that that car is a dying breed, a model that will disappear in a year or so. It's true, General Motors is going to discontinue the Camaro in a year or so not because the car is bad but mostly because it would need major "surgery" to comply with upcoming safety rules and regulations. And yes, it's true, sales are dwindling. It's unfortunate! When Chevrolet came out with the new F-Car in 1993 (that is the Camaro-Firebird) the model had been on again, off again until they began building it in Ste.Therese, Quebec. First cars sold briskly but only on select markets like California. And GM protected those markets instead of selling the Camaro at large. Was it a mistake?
Anyhow, here I am at the wheel of a brand new Camaro SS with many of the SLP Engineering options including twin centered exhaust, chrome wheels and a growling 335 hp 5.7 liter V-8 mill. This SS came with a six-speed standard shift with a Hurst shifter but it kept its original F-1 Goodyear Eagle tires.
Driving this car is like trying to tame a racecar in traffic. Though the clutch is easy to operate and the throttle does not give excessive jerks, it still is not easy trying to keep all those horsies tamed under the hood. The worst part was driving from Montreal to Quebec City on the very fast highway 40 that has now become the favorite spot for radar traps since the Quebec Provincial police came back to work after a labor dispute. Imagine driving that SS at a mere 65 mph (the car was a Detroit prototype with English instrumentation) when I could have been zooming at least 90 or 100 mph! Nonetheless, it allowed me to verify its fuel consumption and I did almost 350 miles (563 km) with a single tank, which is more than 30 mpg (9.5 L/100 km). Imagine that at 65 mph, the big V-8 purrs at a mere 1300 rpm in 6th gear!