Well I started looking at new cars a few months ago. My E55 was over 130k miles and I had dumped WAY too much money into her in the last year. At first I was drawn to the new Mustang, it's a great re-design. I worked on getting a GT350, but couldn't find one at MSRP so I moved on. I got serious in my car search a few weeks ago and drove Mustang GTs, Challenger SRT and Scat Packs, BMW 2/3/4 series, Subaru WRX and WRX STIs, and an Audi S5. Some were new, some were used, I was trying to keep the price under $40k.
I wasn't even considering the Camaro until I saw a used ZL1, that was the first time I sat in it and thought "I could live with this visibility, as long as there is a backup camera!" Then I started the ZL1 up and drove it: WOW! That thing is a beast. Unfortunately it was also a 3 owner with a wreck, tune, and leaking magna strut.
After driving the ZL1 I decided to go look at other newer Camaros. I went to a guy I knew at a local Chevy dealer. The 2015s were on fire sale so I drove a 2SS M6 and honestly I didn't like the shift throw/feel. He also had a 2016 1SS, MRC, NPP, A8 in stock. I didn't want an automatic, but I started it up and sat in it anyways. Well, after hearing it start and sitting in it I wanted to drive the beast. Spinning the tires out of the dealership quickly got me over my A8 transmission hangups. That's when I got the permagrin.
I'm absolutely astounded by how amazing everything in this car works together. I'm still having trouble putting the power to the ground without spinning the rears, but I'll get there. Once I get past 1500 miles I'm heading to a drag strip to practice launch control and Driveway Austin to take some classes on the track!
