Camaro Taking Charge in the Drifting Scene
The Camaro, an unlikely candidate among the high revving, turbocharged import scene that makes up the drifting world, has made some big waves in the recent Formula Drift competition rounds. The big beast, with its roaring LS7, is far from the favorite competitor. The Formula Drift events take place over the course of the season which runs from early April until the first weekend in October. The events are a series of 7 rounds that follow a go, no-go head to head elimination format. The driver pool is narrowed down to the top 32 after 2 initial (non-consecutive) qualifying laps and then work their way down to the final two, to battle it out for the number one spot. Drivers are judged according to speed, line, angle, and whether or not they have the ability to hit their "clipping points"- basically the apexes and other racing lines on the track. The overall impression from a run also plays a major part in the decision- whether or not the run seemed sloppy, or rushed or panicked can affect the driver negatively if the opposing driver completes the track slower but has a more collected or calm feel to it. The judging is conducted by three judges that remain in the series for the duration of the season, promoting consistency of judging throughout the season.
The Camaro's are driven by none other than veteran Formula D drivers Conrad Grunewald who moved from his trusted platform of his C5 Z06 Corvette and Ryan Tuerck who migrated chassis's from the Gardella Racing Pontiac Solstice. What this means is there are two solid performers tearing up the asphalt with two very well built Camaro's.
The Gardella Racing Camaro Tuerck is driving, is decked to the hills with suspension components from Eibach and powered by a reworked LS7. Engine management is provided by AEM, and traction provided by Nitto NT05 tires wrapped around Enkei RPF-01's. Braking duties are dictated by Wilwood, while combustion and ignition duties are given to NGK, Brian Crower, and Ignite Racing Fuels. An ACT clutch helps put the power to the ground, while the exhaust scavenging duties are provided by Kooks. Altogether not a bad set up- especially considering the car is fully race prepped being stripped, caged and lightened and more than likely seam welded throughout the body. Most of us will never know what a dream that car probably is to drive.
However, Grunewald's car is a different beast altogether. He opted for an LSA crate motor transplant from the CTS-V (can you say ZL1…?) modified and putting somewhere near 600 stamping American horses to the Hankook tire shredding rear end. The suspension department is covered by Eibach and Pfadt- two names born and bred for the race track. Luke Lonberger and BR Racing took charge of the build and tuning the car to Conrad's standards. Conrad left his previous car and sponsors after a disagreement and inability to reach a middle ground with more team management in Grunewald's hands, so after much deliberation he decided to move forward on his own. Conrad Grunewald Racing was born and GM and Hankook agreed to lend a helping hand. The press release from Hankook went like this:
LOS GATOS, CA – BR Racing by Luke Lonberger in partnership with Conrad Grunewald Racing reveal they are in the process of building a 2010 Camaro SS in preparation for the 2010 Formula DRIFT Championship competition.
"I am very excited to be able to drive such an iconic American muscle car in the Formula DRIFT Championship," said Conrad Grunewald, driver and owner of Conrad Grunewald Racing. "Our main goal is to have the Camaro ready for the 2009 SEMA show but our preseason testing should start immediately after the show. I have a great amount of confidence that BR Racing and Luke Lonberger can build this Camaro into a highly competitive car and I look forward to getting back out on the track."
Hankook Tire Corporation will provide tire sponsorship for the 2010 Formula DRIFT season. Grunewald announced the Camaro will use Hankook Ventus R-S3 tires on custom Forgeline aluminum 3-piece wheels. The car is to be controlled by Eibach's Multi-Pro-R2 two-way adjustable dampers and coilovers. A GM Performance LS-A supercharged 6.2 liter V8 controlled by the AEM Universal EMS and expected to make over 600 RWHP will power the Camaro. All body work will be constructed with carbon fiber from Seibon Carbon.
The pair of Camaro's placed… wait for it... wait for it… 1st and 2nd at Round 2: Road to the Championship, at Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA on May 6th and 7th. This is of course after Grunewald's 1st place at Long Beach in Round 1. Grunewald is the only the second driver to achieve two consecutive 1st place finishes back to back (The first being Samuel Hubinette in 2007 in his Dodge Charger.) To see the two newest and most heavily watched (scrutinized for the car choice?) candidates soar to the top brandishing American muscle where Japanese power reigns supreme is a huge step for both of these companies and drivers and their respective teams. Both teams worked incredibly hard to get to this point, and although the season is still young, we can reasonably expect to see these two machines piloted by very capable drivers continue to place well over the coming months.
For more information on Formula Drift, visit www.formulad.com
For more information on each driver and/or his team visit:
http://www.gardellaracing.com/com/drift_about
GM Military Discount
GM has been renowned for their military discount for the past year, and now they're making it even better. In a bold move, GM has decided to expand their military discount to the spouses of military personnel and retirees through the end of May, which happens to be National Military Appreciation Month. What this means for military professionals, both past and present is that they have the ability to include their families in the discount that ranges anywhere from $500, up to $4,000 of the MSRP of Chevrolets vehicles.
Chevy has implemented a special badge for the cars purchased with the Military discount in the month of May. The badge is the iconic yellow ribbon that has become symbolic of military personnel support since 1979 in the United States. On the badge itself it reads "Honor and Valor" around the edge 
of the badge surrounding the ribbon. The badge can be applied (at the purchasers request) to the cars purchased using the discount, at no additional charge. Since the beginning of 2010, GM has applied the discount to over 70,000 personnel and their families with a value of more than $60 million. GM will also donate $100 to the charity Cell Phones for Soldiers. This charity, founded by two teenagers, is geared at helping servicemen and women deployed overseas have an available means of contact to loved ones at no charge. The charity was spawned after the teenagers, Brittany and Robbie Bergquist, heard a story of a deployed soldier accumulating an enormous bill from calling home to speak with his family. Cell Phones for Soldiers accepts old or unwanted cell phones and recycles them through ReCellular, who in turns pays Cell Phones for Soldiers enough to provide an hour of talk time which is then sent via phone cards to deployed soldiers. Since May 2010, Chevrolet and its dealers have collected more than 50,000 cell phones. Since the program began, proceeds from phone collections have provided more than 114 million minutes – or more than 200 years – of free calls home for U.S. troops.
Also in addition to the GM Military Discount is the $750 discount on selected Buick, Chevy and GMC models offered through USAA, the premier financial services group for the armed services. "We are committed to offering military professionals and their family members the best value in the industry," said Dan Akerson, General Motors Chairman and CEO. "As a former Navy man, I hold the highest regard for the men and women of our Armed Forces – past and present – who help keep our country safe and preserve our precious liberties."
So, if you or your loved one are currently serving in the military or previously served in the military (which includes the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and National Guard) in either Active Duty roles or Reserve Units, and you're looking at buying a new car- this would be the time to do it!
GM and Chrysler Hostage Crisis: Resolved
All 1,704 hostages have been returned safely thanks to the heroic efforts of numerous individuals in the court system and on both sides of hostage negotiations.
Ok, actually GM just lawyered up and said "Give us our cars back." And Allied basically said "…Ok." And that's the lowdown skinny on it. But in all reality there was a very large legal process that took place (and is still taking place) and ten days after the suit was filed, the reclamation of the vehicles was allowed (read: court mandated by the US District Court of Michigan's Eastern District).
The biggest concern for GM was the depreciation of the vehicles in captivity- the longer the vehicles sat in storage, the longer dealers were without cars that had already been purchased with customers awaiting delivery. The Atlanta-based Allied basically bore the brunt of the suit, coming from GM and Chrysler. When a company of that magnitude sues a smaller logistics company, it's hard blow to recover gracefully from, despite how right or wrong either side actually is. Allied requested a 15% raise in their agreement with GM to account for increasing gas prices, and to be able to continue to pay union wages. After March 17 Allied announced that they would no longer be able to serve customers who did not agree to the new terms of the proposed contract. Allied still maintains that GM owes them $3.6M from the dispute due to the recent spike in gas prices from the conflict in Libya, et al. Whether or not GM is going to settle the dispute out of court is still up for debate, but my guess is Allied seems to have kicked the hornets' nest and will be suffering the consequences in the near future. I believe it's going to be very hard for Allied to make a comeback after such an enormous dispute with such an integral part of their company's income.
The next few months are going to be critical for Allied to pick up the slack of their lost business, and whether or not they recover will be based on how they handle the situation with GM. If GM pays out their supposed bill (not likely), then Allied might recover in slow fashion, but in this day and age of our sluggish economy and high gas prices… it's going to be tough.
The 2012 Camaro ZL1 as heard by Motor Trend
At the top of the automotive journalism food chain, there are a few select individuals with the right strings to pull that can get sneak peeks of just about anything. The guys over at Motor Trend happen to have the know-how and some pretty fantastic connections and were able to set up some (relatively) "alone time" with Chevy's answer to the GT500 and Boss 302. Instead of taking it on the chin, like we've been doing for the last couple of years- Chevy listened when we complained about our spankings. The answer they have given to us and the world of motorsports is nothing short of a pants-wetting great answer. The ZL1 is a monster. The time that they've put in to creating this magnificent piece of power is starting to show and we can only hope that it will be a Ford stomping beast.
The ZL1 has been rumored to be released in February of 2012, so we can speculate that it's going to be a few more months before we get to read a review of exactly how aggressively this beast can be driven around a track. But the LSA powered monster has been seen at the 'ring doing some pretty impressive hot laps. So until the clock really winds down on the release date, we'll just have to wait to see what the big boys think. Regardless of how it drives, Motor Trend got to hear how it sounds and thankfully for the rest of the world- they brought a camera. There's really only one word to sum it up: magical.
The raspy LSA with its ever so faint whine of the supercharger is incredible. In person, I'm willing to bet it will make old men cry, small children wail, and panties drop from coast to coast. It's going to be a mean machine. With the supercharged LSA, and magnetorheological suspension and brakes derived straight from the ZR1- it's power and handling should be superb. 550HP is a spectacular number, and so is the ability to put it to the ground in a thorough fashion. The 20x11 (yes, you read that right- 11 inches wide) rear tires should help this feat immensely.
The car looks mean, sounds mean, and I'm sure it's going to drive mean…but will it be enough to put the Shelby in its place? I honestly think so. If for nothing else, these two will be so closely matched that it's going to be such an epic battle to see who comes out on top, it will be worth paying attention to regardless of the outcome. The Shelby GT500 does 0-60 in 4.4 seconds, and the quarter mile in 12.1 seconds. With 550HP/510LB-Ft, the Shelby will certainly be a contender at 3,820 lbs and revised gearing for the 2012 model year. It has lost 120lbs since the 2011 model year with the implementation of an aluminum block instead of the previously used iron block. The ZL1 should be somewhere right around 3,900 lbs and with an ever so slight advantage on gearing, it just might be enough to put the Shelby in its place.
Between the two it will be a show of who has better handling and the ability to keep the most traction while putting the most power to the ground. Needless to say, I can't wait for the new Camaro to come out, and really can't wait to see the competition between the two get heated. Until time crawls closer to the final due date, we'll just have to wait and dream.
Until then, marvel at Motor Trends unique first listen to the beast:
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Camaro Goes to China
On the 22nd of March, GM officially announced that their latest move will be taking the Camaro (named Ke Mai Luo-sound it out phonetically, it is actually Camaro) to the land of dragons, emperors and (surprisingly) booming car markets. The move may not have been sparked by the recent tragic events in Japan, which will surely put a void in the market for at least a small amount of time, but the Ke Mai Luo will be marketed as a luxury import there. GM hinted that they do not currently have plans to send over the true American muscle- the V8, but rather will be providing the Chinese with the 3.6 liter V6. This might come as a surprise, but considering the cost of the V6 model- around RMB 500,000 ($76,2XX USD)- it doesn't come as a surprise that GM might just want to get its' feet wet before jumping in the market head first. As a somewhat surprising note, GM noted, "In recent years, China's luxury sports car market has been flourishing, highlighted by the midsize luxury segment (priced at RMB 400,000--800,000), which grew 141% in 2010. At present, this segment is dominated by cars with European design. The Camaro, with its "masculine" styling, will be a welcome addition."
The statements above may be true, but only time will tell if the classic American sports car is going to be able to carry its weight across the world. The international opinion of the Camaro will be interesting to watch unfold, particularly if the Camaro decides to be taken seriously across the way. But this isn't the Camaro's first venture into an Asian market. The Camaro has been available in both Japan and South Korea for some time now. The recent trend in fuel sipping awareness may play a factor in the decision not to include the ZL1 and SS in the lineup for China, but it's not likely that this was the deciding factor. The plans to release only the 3.6 V6 is probably a ploy to see if the market proves a worthy investment, and if it succeeds, the more powerful platforms could be later released. There also seems to be no word on whether the convertible will be released in the Chinese markets either, but with plentiful smog, and many of the prominent regions being either humid and rainy or cold, the convertible might not be a viable contender for the market anyway.
All of the questions that the world, in particular China, wants to know will be answered next month at the Shanghai Auto Show. The word from GM has been kept pretty mum so far, and with their official press release not longer than two sparse paragraphs, interest is building to see what
exactly the giants will do. The thought of the American manufacturer now taking products to
China is a big step in the right direction, considering that less than a year and a half ago- on June 1st, 2009 they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Since that filing and Federal help, the company has seen enormous improvement under new CEO Edward Whitacre, an entirely revamped new car line up focused on fuel economy and consumer needs and an entirely new outlook on the world market that seems to have previously been partly ignored. Regardless of past mishaps, GM is definitely taking giant strides in the right direction, and the future of the Camaro looks bright.
Camaro ZL1 Rumors Continue and Camaro ZL1 Wallpaper Images
Just because we now know the truth of the Camaro ZL1 (Not the Z28!), doesn't mean that rumors and speculation will not continue concerning the vehicle. Not every bit of information on it is released yet, and this new bit of rumor-mill concerns the price-tag that the Camaro ZL1 will carry upon release. Car and Driver claims that they've gained news that the vehicle will start with a base price of $47,000. The number seems about right (although, in my opinion, a little lower than what Chevrolet would price the vehicle, with its impressive LSA engine, enhanced performance aspects, and costly Magnetic Ride Control suspension). I had expected to see a price tag just north of $50k, but, if Chevrolet can manage to keep it lower, I'm all for that as well.
Nothing's official until it comes directly from the horse's mouth, of course, but this is an interesting bit of rumor to start with. I'm sure that, over the next few months, Chevrolet will slowly release more and more information concerning the vehicle to capitalize on all of the press that it's currently receiving.
Now, while we drool over the ZL1's potentially very affordable price tag (affordable, that is, for all of the car that comes with it!), and just drool in general over the vehicle's performance aspects and incredible components, here's a batch of images to help satiate you (just a little bit, I know), until you get your hands on one of these in person. They're all full 3000x2100 pixels in size, and show the ZL1 in all of its incredible beauty.
