If our long-term 2010 Chevy Camaro SS had these, I would've taken them off, stowed them in my garage and told anyone who wanted a roof to drive something less awesome. The first car I ever drove-- not owned, drove-- had T-Tops, I can't help it.
Alas, not only did we not opt for this $6,500 T-Top conversion from Drop Top Customs, but our Camaro's sold.
$6,500 is a little steep for me on a new, $34,000 Camaro SS, but the guy we sold it to paid $28k. Add the roof and we're only up to $34,500.
I'd have a used Camaro with this modification over a brand new one with a solid roof any day.
Drop Top Customs Creates T-Top Kit for New Camaro
Mike Magrath, Associate Editor Inside Line
Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS
After about four weeks of fielding emails, texts and calls, I sold the Camaro to a young guy from the San Diego area for $28,000. Bryan Mathy asked all the right questions including whether there were any major repairs. I told him about the transmission and he began reading the long term blog. I thought I'd lose him at this point but apparently he felt he was getting a good deal and there aren't many one-and-a-half-year-old Camaros on the market. He said he had been looking for over a month and only found one other serious candidate.
Mathy said he located our Camaro by searching Autotrader, which is nice to know because I spent $49 on the ad. I also advertised on Craigslist and this brought the typical rash of scam-sounding emails. One thing that I tried this time which seemed to be successful was to do a video walk-around of the car and post the link on Youtube. The video got 589 views including Mathy who said it helped him make his decision.
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Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS
Oh, you love the new Camaro but don't want to see yourself drive by on every boulevard? Chevrolet and Neiman Marcus have answered your Christmas wishes. We've already reported that Chevy will build only 100 of these special edition SS Convertibles at a price of $75,000. (Yeah, I know, but have you been to Neiman Marcus?)
If that's too much for you, have a look at our 2010 long-term SS that's for sale.
Anyway, the video gives a nice all-around look at the Convertible and even schools you on color Flop. Who knew?
Albert Austria, Senior Engineer @ ~22,500 miles
Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS
As a certified nerd who bought his car almost exclusively for the reason that it was in a James Bond film, I certainly can't fault people wanting a Camaro because it was Bumblebee in Transformers. Having said that, for all you Transformers nerds out there, there's a new cartoon developed by the same writer/producers who did the movie (as well as Alias, Hawaii Five-O, and the JJ Abrams Star Trek). Named Transformers Prime, it's going to be on the new Hub network and will debut mid November.
As the photo after the jump shows, Bumblebee isn't exactly a Camaro (visibility seems to be even worse), but he's definitely more Camaro-like than the original, which was a VW Beetle. I'm not a Transformers nerd, so I'll just leave this as some side information and let you talk amongst yourselves now.
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Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS
I had just washed the Camaro and was wiping it down when a SUV drove by with three young women in it. One yelled out, "Hey! I want my car back!" The other yelled, "That car looks like a shark driving down the road!" The Camaro's design is so extreme it inspires this kind of frenzied response.
I was photographing the Camaro to list it for sale and when I went back over the pictures I was stunned by the beauty of some of the details I captured. But when I look at the big picture -- the car as a whole -- I have mixed feelings. From some angles it's amazing. From other angles, well, the pieces just don't come together.
And that's just the design. Don't get me started about the rest of the car.
Philip Reed, Edmunds Senior Consumer Advice Editor @ 22,333 miles
Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS
Every long term car I sell brings it's own type of buyers. After I listed the Camaro for sale I started getting a lot of text messages (the new thing in car buying). I'm listing it for $31,500 and people will write and ask, "Would you take $25K?" This weekend I had someone text and ask what the invoice price was? I had to explain, via text, that it was a used car and didn't have an invoice. His reponse: "Haaa haaaa."
In the past, I've listed cars and haven't heard a peep for weeks. This time, I'm getting a lot of inquiries but nothing solid yet.
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Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS
What's that? You have yet to liquidate your retirement account to buy that brand new Camaro? (If there's anything left after the market loss of the past few years.)
Well hold up.
GM announced today that the 2011 Camaro Convertible will premiere at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 17.
The Convertible will arrive in showrooms in February 2011 with a starting price of $30,000 including $850 freight.
The Convertible will be available with the same powertrains as the Camaro Coupe. The standard model features a 312-hp Direct Injection V6, and the SS model has the 6.2-liter V8 engine producing 426 hp as on our long-term 2010 SS Coupe. A six-speed manual transmission will be standard, with an optional six-speed automatic.
Although convertibles aren't for me (I just got my hair did), it looks very nice, don't you think?
And you? Are you a convertible guy/gal?
Albert Austria, Senior Engineer, Edmunds, Inc
Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS
While I was using the Camaro's cruise control I saw a feature I hadn't noticed in other cars. When you set the speed you get this message in the center display screen. It hangs there unobtrusively for a few seconds and then goes back to displaying whatever other information you need.
What I like about this is it lets me dial in the speed just under what I think will be the speeding ticket threshold. If the speed limit is 70 mph, I usually set it for 78 since 80 is probably the threshold. If you go above 80 you might see lights in your rearview mirror. If it's 65 mph, I go for about 72 mph. You have to think of these things when you're driving a car that looks like the Camaro.
Philip Reed, Edmunds senior consumer advice editor @ 21,923 miles
Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS
Sadly, our 2010 Chevrolet Camaro, with 22,000 miles, must be nudged out of the long-term fleet so we can add some new vehicles for testing. As a first step, I looked at the Edmunds True Market Value price for the Chevy, which turned out to be $32,442. This seemed like a very high price considering the sticker price was just over $35,425. Still, a quick search through Autotrader showed that there were plenty of Camaros out there at sky-high prices (although with fewer miles).
I decided to test the market by listing the Camaro on Craigslist and in the free classifieds on eBaymotors for $31,900. Four hours later I got a call from a young-sounding guy named Louis who kept demanding, "What's your lowest price?" I told him the ad just went up so I wasn't going to negotiate over the phone. He replied, "That's cool -- but what's your lowest price?"
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Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS
Maybe it's the retro styling of the 2010 Chevy Camaro SS, but each time I drive it and crank up the stereo, I flash back to a certain Friday night after a high school football game in the '70s (think Dazed and Confused comes alive). A bunch of teen-age longhairs --myself include, when I still had lots left -- are hanging out in a burger joint parking lot around an older kid named Kenny Guillotte's '68 Camaro. (Like D&C's David Wooderson, he had already graduated and also had long blonde hair). The Camaro's doors and trunk are open and Kenny's blasting Aerosmith's Rocks. I remember it clearly 'cause it was my 8-track tape playing, which I thought for sure earned me some cool points with the posse.
I also distinctly recall the Craig PowerPlay "surface-mount" speakers kicking out the jams from the back deck of Kenny's Camaro (or maybe he even moved them to the roof ... that part is lost in the haze), and how that was about as bitchin' as it got for car audio back in those days. I wish I could go back and compare it to the sound of the Boston Acoustics system in our long-term 2010 Camaro SS. Almost as much as I wish I had even half as much hair on my head as I had then.
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Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS
Muscle cars look great with stripes. When it comes to our 2010 Camaro SS, I was wondering what color and what kind? The animated GIF above runs through a few colors using double-thick stripes. I think I like the dark red and gray ghost stripes best. Click through to see some thick 'n' thin stripes and my absolute road-inspired version.
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Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS
Other folks have complained about the Camaro's center stack being too busy and an unfortunate example of form over function. I am not one of those people.
Oh sure, the climate controls have tiny buttons that are difficult to operate at a glance. You need to have dainty little fingers to operate them, so forget about using them with gloves (for those in California, imagine the latex gloves your Botox injectionist uses but filled with toasty padding and covered in either leather or a water-proof tech fabric. It's quite the invention).
Where the hell was I? Ah yes, the Camaro center stack. The stereo isn't the simplest thing on Earth either, but in general I'm OK with a little form over function once in a while. Just compare the Camaro's dash design to those in the Mustang and Challenger. Those cars utilize cookie-cutter parts bin controls, which are easier to use than the Camaro's (OK, so the Challenger's Chrysler/Ferrari California navi unit stinks. Yes, a Ferrari uses that turkey and before the Fiat purchase), but they look really dull. GM actually took the time to create bespoke controls, which is a rarity for it to be sure, and I think it deserves credit for doing so. Just as I tolerate a Jag XF or XJ's ergonomic foibles because the interior looks so damn cool, I can do the same for the Camaro.
I can't do that for the ridiculous steering wheel since I hold that all the time and it helps me do important things like steer the car. Turning on the heated seat and going to preset 3 is less important.
James Riswick, Automotive Editor @ 21,422 miles
Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS
Our Camaro is boring. Silver on black. Blah. That's almost as bad as a base black on black Mini Cooper. Just look at all the fun stuff you can do to a Camaro. Some of its classy, like the classic orange stripes on white to the horribly naff yellow with black hockey stripes and ground effects kit. Does anyone else kind of dig the base, black steel wheels on the blue one?
Then there's the interior. You can get two-tone beige-black or grey-black, as well as the eye-searing black-orange with the 2SS.
Either way, it's more interesting than silver on black. You're already driving an outrageous car, why be conservative with your color choice?
James Riswick, Automotive Editor
Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS
I pulled over briefly on a side street while dropping off a friend last night, shut off the engine in our 2010 Chevrolet Camaro 2SS and flipped on the hazards. The dome light immediately began to flicker.
Moments later, I reenacted the incident for your edification, but please be warned that the video is not HD and was shot at night, hence, it's not sharp.
Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 21,379 miles
Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS
If there's one thing Chevrolet (or Holden, I suppose) really nailed with the Camaro, it's the driver seat. The seat is pretty wide with a long seat-bottom cushion to accommodate drivers of various sizes, yet it's still very supportive. The cushioning is firm. The lateral bolstering is functional. And I can sit in the seat for hours without getting uncomfortable. Tell me again why I can't have a slightly more compact version of this seat in the Corvette.
Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 21,376 miles
Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS
The Chevrolet Camaros of Stevenson Motorsports finished first and second in the GT class this past weekend at the Utah 250 at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah, the final round of the 2010 Rolex Grand-Am Championship.
This is the first GT-class win for the Camaro in Grand-Am road racing and the first victory in professional road racing for the Camaro.
Maybe this is the kind of thing that will give the Camaro lasting credibility on the street. That is, if you believe there's any connection between motorsports and the real world.
I like to think so. Then again, maybe there's not, because the Mazda RX-8 prevailed again in the 2010 Rolex Grand-Am GT championship, and no sports car is more invisible on the street than the RX-8.
Michael Jordan, Executive Editor, Edmunds.com
Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS,Vehicles
Last night I drove our long-term 2010 Chevy Camaro SS home (nine miles on surface streets) and noticed it needed gas, so this morning I filled it up. It took 13.389 gallons after having been driven only 179 miles. That averages to just 13.4 mpg.
Those 179 miles must have all been covered in the city, but still.
Scott Oldham, Editor in Chief @ 21,350 miles
Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS
For a car with poor visibility, the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS has some unusually small side mirrors. Still, I figured they'd fold/swivel inwards (and outwards). They don't, and it's possible that their small size is part of the reason -- they're not as exposed as normal-sized mirrors.
I left the Camaro parked on this busy street yesterday during commute hours and half-expected a nice surprise when I returned. The combination of non-folding mirrors and wide stance (e aho laula?) had me wondering.
Fortunately the Camaro's mirror didn't suffer the same fate as the one of this longterm car, or this one. Unless there's clever shear-off hardware fastening it down, a drive-by clipping of the Camaro's mirror would likely jack up the sheetmetal of its door as well.
Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor.
Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS
I was reading an article recently that mentioned the Camaro was voted a winner in Ward's Interior of the Year awards earlier this year. It competed in the sports-car category, up against the Hyundai Genesis coupe, the Mazdaspeed 3 and the Nissan Z roadster.
Which sports car gets your pick for best interior?
Warren Clarke, Automotive Content Editor
Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS
Something is rattling in the vicinity of the big shield of shiny plastic on the driver's door. It happens with every booming bass note from the stereo and since the stereo is naturally quite bass-heavy, it rattles quite a lot. When I pressed against the shiny grey plastic, the rattling stopped. Hopefully it can be fixed, because it's kind of annoying.
James Riswick, Automotive Editor @ 21,270 miles
Categories: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS
