The New Camaro.......a day I've been waiting for......

[Fbodfather]

Forgive me for not posting this on here sooner -- I wrote what you'll read below last week -- and I only posted it on SSOA because it's a small site and everyone's pretty close --

-- I didn't want to sound like I was bragging --


WELLLLLLLLLLL.............it is now all over the internet -- and I want to share it with you as well.......

Here goes:





it's been a really tough couple of months -- I don't need to tell any of you that..........

........but watching what's happening to our country -- and to GM -- is not for the weak...........

It's easy to focus on what's wrong...........and I do that so often........

But I must share a "joy" with you...........

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I begged everyone to 'have faith'.........that the Camaro, indeed would return.


There were days when I said to myself "OMG -- what happens if it DOESN'T come back???" - because, frankly, there were days when I wondered......
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Yesterday I was in Dallas with John Fitzpatrick for the press event at the Dallas Auto Show..........


Lots of good stuff -- I'll post a bunch of links later............

But I said to John: Wouldn't it be great if we FINALLY got our Camaros prior to leaving for the Cleveland show???

About an hour later, he comes over to me -- hands me his cellphone and I hear a Voice Mail from Company Vehicles asking him to call and set up an appointment for him to pick up a new Camaro.

Dang I was envious!

So I immediately checked my voicemail............there were about 8 -- but none of them were from company vehicles..........

I checked about two hours later --

.............nothing...................


We got to DFW airport and went to TGI Fridays for a late lunch prior to the flight back to Detroit.............


..........................and my cellphone rings............



.....................................and it's Mandy from Company vehicles........



.........I may have wet myself........


"Mr. Settlemire -- when would be a good time to come in to pick up your new Camaro?"

(how 'bout in two minutes when I RUN from Texas to Michigan???)



I woke up this morning............to a surprise.



It was 40 degrees when I left DTW Airport last evening......I got home about 9pm--

When I woke up this morning, it was 14 degrees -- my G8 was white with a layer of snow. (it is normally bright red..........)

The streets were a sheet of ice..............


.........but I could hardly wait to set off for the Company vehicles facility in Warren.........


....stopped to get the G8 washed (......rules say we must wash them...even if it's in the middle of a blizzard........) and then made my way to the exchange garage.


The facility isn't far off an expressway -- there are fences and a guard shack......I always say hello to Donna who is always so friendly and glad to see me..........


The garage itself is spotless.........a long garage that you pull into and then park at a 45 degree angle...........

...........a fellow comes over and gives you a folder to take into the office where there is a counter and a few clerks that fill out the paperwork.

The Internal Revenue Service of the U.S. of A. says that we cannot have any influence in what we get as a "Captured Test Fleet vehicle" (cars or trucks that are not in regular production) or a "product Evaluation vehicle" (cars or trucks that ARE in regular production......)

So I filled out all of the paperwork with "Mrs. Teresa Ford" -- a wonderfully elegant mature woman -- who I refer to as "Mother Teresa"...... and of course, she would not tell me ANYTHING about the car other than "you be careful, you hear?"

I went back into the garage to wait for them to bring this wonderous vehicle to me.................

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........and presently the garage door opened...........




................and I could see the halos looking at me.............




...............and I could hear 'his voice' ...the unmistakeable sound of an LS3................




.............and yes, I'm a doddering old fool...................




but guys and gals -



...........this is a day I've waited for ------ for so long...........as have you............





............and the pride...........



.....................of seeing this "work of art" (OK sue me -- I'm being a bit dramatic...........)



................wow................WOW............ ...







......he had a coating of white snow on him...................



.........I was SURE I'd be getting an LS -- or perhaps an LT -- and believe me...I would have been ecstatic to get either..........



..........but an SS/RS...............with every toy possible............


.....................and a 6 speed manual........



I moved all my stuff (luggage/briefcase/coffee mug/CDs/etc) over into him.......


...............and the first thing we did was head to the same carwash to get rid of the coating of snow........

Donna wanted a ride, of course...................I told her I'd be back one day.....




The Car wash attendant was all eyes..................at least 30 questions........


As I pulled onto Mound road, a guy next to the carwash pulled his cellphone out to take a picture.


I drove less than a half-mile to a gas station -- pulled in -- and within a minute had three guys looking at every inch..................



Merged onto I-696 and I swear to God on my father's grave -- there's a Silver Challenger about 10 vehicles behind me -- traffic is still choked up due to the weather -- and this guy is trying to go UNDER trailer trucks to get up to me --

......he pulls up next to me and gives me a thumbs' up.

(the Challenger was whimpering..........................)

(........OK.........I made the whimpering part up -- fine........)



(...............but I DO think there was a whimper...........)



The sun comes out -- and the yellow paint is glowing............

..........and lots of 'speed up and slow downs' as people look at him.

(this is Detroit -- people are jaded about new cars -- so this is really something......)


At the airport -- the parking lot attendant comes out and has two questions:
1. how fast does it go?
2. When can i buy one?


There's a Lexus in front of me as we follow the shuttle bus to our parking spaces........

The driver of the shuttle yells "SWEET!"

The fellow in the Lexus says "OMG -- I didn't know that the Camaro was on the street yet!"

.........which leads to an entire conversation involving about 8 people on the shuttle the whole way to the Northwest Terminal.

Three people on the shuttle were from Canada and were well aware (and proud) that the Camaro will be built in Oshawa.........


And so as I sit in my hotel room in Cincinnati, I can hardly wait to fast forward -- thru two more cities...........and get back to DTW .......


............and take the shuttle to retrieve him from the parking lot --


............and spend a Sunday afternoon with him on the roads around Metro Detroit.............


It's been a longgggggggggg time since August of 2002.............




Faith Kept!

[FANTA-Z]

Congrats Scott and to GM for making our dreams come true I dont think I could leave that car in a garage

[WartHog]

Congrats my Friend. : I can't even imagine what it must have felt like for you to receive your 5th Gen SS.

[niknik]

Awesome description Scott!

[pumpkinman]

12 hrs have gone bi and still not even a cellphone pic???????? someone ban him lol congrats on the new car... cant wait to see them on the streets

[LS1Tuner_06]

wow. your good at telling your stories Scott. always gets me going down to the last sentence. So I take it nothing happened with the Challenger eh? no big deal. I was expecting a picture at the bottom. Hope you do get one up very soon. I'm so envious.

[Greg Norris]

epicness scott.

[92camaroLT1]

WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO So sweet Scott glad to hear

[Greg Norris]

Per Scott; "Notice how well they pay attention"

[ZZTopless]

That picture is priceless... congrats, Scott.

[Louvit]

ha ha great pic, are you haveing a little talk with them? are they both yours?

[Greg Norris]

Originally Posted by Louvit

ha ha great pic, are you haveing a little talk with them? are they both yours?

I know the yellow SS is his, not sure about the red v-6 tho

[CamaroChica]

Congrats scott! That is awesome! get a picture up asap! I look forward to the coming months and hearing more stories about taking delivery of the 5th gens from people! YAY!!!!

[camaro3girl]

Ok---I've been crazy excited for the day when I get to pick up my new 5th gen, but now I'm even WAY more excited to pick her up!!!! Especially after hearing this story! Man, what I would give to work for GM right about now Great story and pics! love it! Can't wait to be able to post my story some day realllllly soon!

[richard96]

Way cool! Doesnt get any better than that. Congrats.