Hi from Kyiv, Ukraine

[Rainfarer]

Hi, everyone

My name's Vladimir, and this white beauty is Fury (3.6L 2016 RS). Since I was a kid I've always wanted a black 1970 Dodge Challenger that I would buy from some old man and rebuild with my own hands. Since there's a pretty dumb law in my country that prohibits importing of any car older than ~20 years or so I had to postpone this dream untill better times.

This January I though to myself that I'm 38 and while I'm working towards my dream scenario I can buy myself something modern and decided to testrun a 2020 Challenger. Though I liked the car visually it didn't feel comfortable or "mine" in the driver's seat. I was thinking of trying a Mustang, but one day I stumbled upon a Camaro ~5 min from my home and with "Ah, what the hell" attitude I've called the guy and arranged a meeting. And then it was like the moment in King's Christine - the car spoke to me the second I saw her and when I landed in the driver's seat she just would not let me go. I'm somewhat of a tall guy (192cm), but the car fitted like a glove. I've never felt myself this comfortable and calm behind any wheel of any car untill this moment. Next day I signed a deal and she was mine. I did the custom switchable exhaust, replaced ATF fluid to get rid of the shudder, replaced front calipers with the ones from SS, did a complete soundproofing and many more small improvements and on a cool evening of February 23rd I got her to the guys to tune the exhaust a little bit and left her there. The guys lifted her up and told me that all will be done in 2 days...

...and on February 24th the hell broke loose. Next thing I knew I was evacuating my family out of Kyiv, evacuating my studio, doing all kinds of war related stuff and basically survivng. I could not reach Fury since the garage these guys operate in was in a complex next to a military buildings so it was out of reach. For 1,5 months all I could do is open a security app on my phone and check on her battery life remotely. When the guys returned to Kyiv and I was finally let in the garage to get her it was literally one of the happiest moments in my entire life. Since then we're back together and she's one of the few things keeping me sane these days.

And now I'm happy to be here as a part of this cool community, I hope to have a chance to get to US someday and attend a live meeting )

[Thunderstick]

I can't imagine what you're going through but if it's any comfort welcome to the family! Thoughts are with you!

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

[Rainfarer]

Originally Posted by Thunderstick

I can't imagine what you're going through but if it's any comfort welcome to the family! Thoughts are with you!

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

Thanks for a warm welcome)

[90503]

Yours is a story for the ages. Amazing and gives us all hope. Good luck to you and your country. Stay alive. Enjoy your Camaro. Post up more pics! We'd love to get an unfiltered view of what's going on over there.

Hope to see your Camaro in Ukraine's Victory Parade one day soon! God Bless and welcome.

[KirkH]

There are several blue and yellow flags of support in my neighborhood. Hope to see you in Kentucky at CamaroFest one year.

[witenite]

Stay safe my friend! Welcome to the C5/C6 family.

[The Maverick]

Originally Posted by Rainfarer

And then it was like the moment in King's Christine - the car spoke to me the second I saw her and when I landed in the driver's seat she just would not let me go. I'm somewhat of a tall guy (192cm), but the car fitted like a glove. I've never felt myself this comfortable and calm behind any wheel of any car untill this moment.

This reminds me of my first time I drove a sixth gen - what I would later call my "eight hour test drive" - when I was lucky enough to get one as a rental for a work trip over the Sierra Nevada mountains of California.

I was amazed at what Chevy had accomplished in terms of handling and performance with a naturally aspirated V6. I was fully expecting to see a V8 when I pulled off the freeway and popped the hood to find out exactly what I was driving - years of V8 snobbery ended right at that moment. Driving that sixth gen over the course of two days, including some unexpected icing and snow flurries over a high pass, far exceeded my "fun run" down the California coastline that I had taken years before in a rental fourth-gen convertible with an "it was just ok" six-cylinder engine.

The fuel economy on that sixth gen impressed me as well - when the rental clerk handed me the keys to a Camaro, I figured a fuel stop would be added to my itinerary - but I was able to complete the 400+ mile round trip with no fuel stops, and even returned with the fuel gauge at about the 1/4 mark.

Before I sadly turned in that rental car, I took a photo of the VIN so I would know what I was going to be looking for - and not long after I had my 2016 RS.

Stay safe, and welcome to the forums! There is a wealth of knowledge to benefit from here, and a forum search can often be the quickest way to troubleshoot issues with your sixth gen.

[chevy pilot]

Stay strong UA.

[Sir Nuke]

Welcome to our happy little corner of the net, and to Camaro5/6. There is a BIG fridge on the back porch with anything you can think of in it...help yourself...of course only take what you can LEGALLY have. Make yourself at home on one of the big fluffy couches, kick your shoes off, put your feet up on one of the tables, yes we are allowed to do that, mom's, wives', husbands, girlfriends and boyfriends here don't care....and take it easy.



oh...btw....every once in a while a food fight breaks out...so you may not want to wear nice clothes here.

Welcome!!

[Dave-G]

War is madness..Prayers for you, and Ukraine. Welcome to the group, you have a beautiful Camaro.

[Rainfarer]

Honestly, I did not expect to see this much support and receive such a welcome here. Thank you for your kind words, everyone. (and a huge separate thanks for all the things US is helping us with. People over here will never forget your choice to do the right thing in this situation)

[Anjilslaire]

Fantastic car, and amazing story. Welcome.

[mlee]

WoW... I can only imagine what you have gone through and currently going through. Sometimes a car becomes low priority but certainly happy to see how in this situation it's been able to lift your spirits.

Welcome to our community and hope you can keep us posted going forward.

Stay safe brother.

[1badtie]

Wow awesome are Camaro's popular over there?