Weekend With a 2011 Camaro

When I got the email I thought it was just spam. There’s no way someone is just going to give me a vehicle to drive for the weekend AND tickets to the Gold Cup games that were at Cowboys Stadium June 5^th. I did a little poking and prodding the girl with Fleishman-Hillard that emailed me. Seemed very legit, and when I got the call from a lady with GM I found out that I would get the chance to drive a 2011 Chevrolet Camaro. Everything was set, and ready to go for the weekend. Friday afternoon I coordinated with the gentleman that braved the heat to drop the vehicle off, and although I had to forgo my lunch break to drive home, it was well worth it. Rounding the corner and seeing a brand new red Camaro with flat black racing stripes down the middle it’s every little boys, grown into a man’s Hot Wheels dream come true.

Being a tech/gadget guy, the very first thing that I noticed about the Camaro was the heads up display (HUD). It was a focus point of the weekend. Everyone that got in the car it was the first thing that I pointed out, besides the fact I was driving a brand new Camaro. It was pretty sweet having your speed displayed on your windshield, along with the song names when the music changed on my favorite XM station. Really screws with people when playing the "Name that tune" game. I was also very surprised at the gas mileage I was getting. I'm used to driving a 2006 Yukon so 15-16 MPG is the norm for me. I was averaging in the mid 20's with this car, although I'm sure it didn't help every time I would open her up on the highway for a few seconds to show off the giddy-up-and-go this vehicle has. It has a lot especially for a V6 (which I totally thought it was a V8).

After work, and showing it off to coworkers, the first place I took it to was to a buddies house where he and I have had a standing debate on who did better re-innovating a classic design into the new model; GM with the Camaro or Dodge with the Challenger? We were leaning to the Challenger, but after test driving this beast we have definitely been swayed. Later that night my sisters boyfriend came over and I let him give the vehicle for a spin. He actually drives a late 90's, early 2000 model Camaro that he's spent a lot of money customizing. After his drive all he had to say was "It's a really nice car!" I think he was in shock.

Saturday I decided to test it's capacity. I met up with my friend Carl and his girlfriend, we'll call her Doink, and went to test out the new Top Golf in Allen. I believe my text to him was "I'll bring the new Camaro over and we can find out if 3 people and 2 sets of golf clubs can fit ." Yes... Yes they can. We might have had to play a little game of Tetris to fit the golf bags in, but 3 people did fit comfortably in the car. After 5 hours of Top Golf, we headed back and Carl noticed what I noticed the night before. The lights on the dash and in the interior of the vehicle were very cool. It felt like sitting in a cockpit with the lights on the door panels with the blue and red color combination on the gauge clusters.

Sunday was the big day, the big reason I got the vehicle in the first place. The 2011 Concacaf Gold Cup games with Mexico vs. Costa Rica and Cuba vs. El Salvador at Cowboys Stadium. I was actually excited about going to this because I've never actually seen a giant soccer game like that before. Earlier in the day I made a stop by my parents house to show the car to them. After the initial shock of seeing me drive up in a sports car, I let them both drive it. Ever want to see something funny? Put my mom behind the wheel of a sports car. She was so nervous driving it, but they both really liked the car. Thumbs up all the way around.

Yet with all the excitement of going to the Gold Cup games, and the phone calls from the PR girl that first emailed me... I was torn. It was the NBA Finals, and as we all know... the Dallas Mavericks were in it. I felt that I had it planned out. The Mexico vs. Costa Rica game was at 5pm, so that should give me enough time to get out there, enjoy the soccer match, then catch the final half of the Mav's game.That's where my terrible planning came in. I didn't realize that the ticket box closed at 3:30pm. My date for the game didn't get over to my place until 4. Major Fail! But that didn't short my weekend with a very fun vehicle to drive. If you ever get a chance. I would totally recommend driving the Camaro. Very fun car, and definitely a head turner.

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