2010 Camaro/16 year old son...help!

[KTMracing09]

Originally Posted by concerned mama16

hi, my 16 year old son desperately wants a 2010 Camaro LS. It has been his dream for a few years. He was worked hard, gotten good grades and has earned the privilege. But then....we went on the test drive and the power and magnitude of speed/acceleration scared the daylights out of me. I cannot put him behind the wheel of such a forceful machine. He has no idea about horsepower and I'm certain lacks a healthy respect for such. Does anyone know about speed limiters available. Do they even exist? Is that even a possible solution to this dilemma. I've been told about Superchips, Predator, or Diablo to look into to determine if we can put a cap on the speeds, or in any way limited the acceleration and speed potential of the car..... I'm really out of my element here. Any words of wisdom would be very much appreciated.

Yea. I just turned 15 and my dad bought me a SS2/Rs, im so greatful for it. And ur son sounds like he deserves it.

[JaxJags]

Originally Posted by concerned mama16

hi, my 16 year old son desperately wants a 2010 Camaro LS. It has been his dream for a few years. He was worked hard, gotten good grades and has earned the privilege. But then....we went on the test drive and the power and magnitude of speed/acceleration scared the daylights out of me. I cannot put him behind the wheel of such a forceful machine. He has no idea about horsepower and I'm certain lacks a healthy respect for such. Does anyone know about speed limiters available. Do they even exist? Is that even a possible solution to this dilemma. I've been told about Superchips, Predator, or Diablo to look into to determine if we can put a cap on the speeds, or in any way limited the acceleration and speed potential of the car..... I'm really out of my element here. Any words of wisdom would be very much appreciated.

Get him a fourth gen camaro.

[Revo1]

OP:As long as this thread's still alive 36 months later, I'd like to know what happened? Did you buy the Camaro?

[Camaro_hx]

Originally Posted by Revo1

OP:As long as this thread's still alive 36 months later, I'd like to know what happened? Did you buy the Camaro?

...................

[NoDak Scotty]

Teenage girl: "Is this car fast?
Your son: "Sure is!"
Teenage girl: "Wow, can you show me? Speed really excites me!!!"
Your son: " Well jump on in, let's go!"
Now with all of 3 months driving experience, a pretty girl asking to be impressed, and, er, no blood flowing to the brain, what do you think he will do?

Mama, this is not about being a cool parent. It's about being a responsible parent, which you are or you wouldn't have asked the question and voiced your concerns. Now follow up and buy him a nice, safe, pick up truck. Tell him, "Hey it comes standard with a bed!"

[jgleason]

My first car at 16 was 1970 Chevelle SS396 4sp. I'm still here. Got my daughter a 2LT with all the nice modern safety features.

[jgleason]

Originally Posted by nashstat

I would never give my 16 year old a fast car like that. If he really wants a sporty car, I would give him something a little less powerful and safer like a VW GTI or Hyundai Genesis 2.0...

I would do this as a safety thing more than a trust thing... you have seen some of the wreck pics on this site!

I hate to tell you, but a GTI wrapped around a pole looks just as bad as a Camaro.

[fielderLS3]

A new GTI is also as fast an a new V6 Camaro.

Giving a 6 second 0-60 car to a first time driver is just a bad idea. Maybe your kid is a great driver, but you won't know that until he actually starts driving. Even if he is the best 16 year old driver on earth, he is still a 16 year old driver.

When I was 16, I was probably one of the most responsible drivers you could find at that age. I had no accidents, no tickets, no problems. That being said, looking back, I was a completely different driver even at age 18 or 19 than I was at 16. At 16, I would have been in over my head with a car like that. Power is too addicting, and too tempting. All of us with a car like that will occasionally have some fun with it. The difference is you don't want to give it to someone who does not have the experience to know where the limits are and keep it under control. Wait a few years. Once your son is experienced enough to handle it, then go for it.

In the mean time, if you want your son to have a sporty, fun car, look for something like what my dad let me drive at that age... an older (1.6L) Miata. Fun to drive, sporty, great handling, relatively cheap, reliable...basically everything you want in a sports car minus the type of power that will get him in trouble. When he grows up a bit more and is ready, then graduate him up the power ladder.

[Camaro_hx]

buy him the CAMARO!

[JHart]

the camaro is my 2nd car. i got it when i was 17(back in august), and it's an SS M6. i've been driving since i was 15 in a 2004 chevrolet colorado, it was slow, but i did mod the piss out of it to make it a decently quick truck, but looks matter too. the camaro was my early HS graduation present, and yes it's powerful, the v6 your son could drive, as long as you were sure he was responsible. my grandparents gave me the truck to drive and prove i was responsible before i got my camaro, now i have it, and recently traded the truck in on a 2006 nissan altima SER. i done all required maintenece and mods to my truck myself and earned it doing odd jobs. if i were you, i'd get your son a little truck(as my colorado), then if he earns your trust get him the camaro as a graduation present. this coming from a 17 year old, take it like a grain of salt, he'll respect you more in the long run, as when i was 15 i wanted a used z06. got the truck, and at first was a little dissapointed, then got into moddin it and i hated to trade it in, just let him do the maintence and stuff and it'll show him the value of a dollar and he'll respect you 2 for doing it for him, as he'll see it as an award for his responsiblity and good grades.
my old truck(done all maintenece and mods MYSELF with MY money)


current

[Goldman]

I read some initial posts, but I really didn't go through all 10 pages. Please just use common sense, for a young kid, you are looking at all the wrong spec for a car. Safety period, should be what he needs.

Many of us would agree, it's better to be safe than.....

[Deemos]

I can't really believe it hasn't been said yet but, if you really worry about your son's ability to drive and handle a more powerful car and some potentially dangerous driving conditions you should really invest in defensive driving courses at a local driving school. Driving school is one of the best damn things I thought up of for myself when I was a teen (I was thinking long term things I could do to gain more knowledge to increase my driving capabilities.) They teach you proper methods to correcting over/under steer,(like on an FR giving her a bit more of controlled gas to get your rear end back in line instead of instinctively slamming on the brakes.) You can even take special winter courses if where you live is prone to predictable levels of snow and ice. The techniques you learn from it is an awesome lifetime tool and it will drop his insurance rate a good deal. At this age bracket he can use all the help he can.

Get whatever vehicle you can reasonably feel comfortable getting him and he should be damn happy as hell that he even gets his own car purchased for him. I had to buy my first car (97 miata ) which I still have now. If I wanted to use a vehicle before I had to borrow mom's at the time baseline Toyota Corolla. That damn thing got speed wobbles just thinking about going over 60mph.

[Revo1]

LOL. That is all

[Tiko310]

Boy, if only all of your 16 year old versions were here.