[2Muchmark]

Hi Everyone,

First, please don't attack me. This is not a hate-post about the Camaro. I love the Camaro. Instead, this is about my experience of trading "sideways" to a new car that I also love.

Here's some background: I bought 10 Firebirds in various flavours between 1987 and 2001, plus a 2010 2SS and finally a 2013 2SS 1LE, and loved them all.

Ok - "Love" is too strong for the 1LE. Let me downgrade that to "Like".

The 1LE was fun to drive on a nice smooth highway, but sucked on the streets in Montreal thanks to potholes and general bad road conditions.

A bigger problem for me though was just overall value, and what I will call fun-value.

"Fun Value" includes attributes like Speed and cornering, but also includes things like Cost of energy, maintenance, ease of use, and a dozen other things, with cost of energy being the big factor.

I would love to open it up on the highway, starting the drive with a big grin. My grin disappeared quickly though when I would see the gas gauge fall before my eyes, small bumps making a big bang, and excessive tire wear (1LE's have hard sticky tires), and low traction when the temperature drops.

The biggest downer to me were the seemingly endless "hidden" costs of oil. Lots of oil spills happening all over the place, explosions including one here in Quebec last year, the huge disaster in the Gulf, etc.

I was having a really hard time at the pump. I can afford the gas this was not problem. Instead, I had more and more trouble, buying so much gas for a car that got such terrible milage, and paying companies for that gas that seemed to care very little about the damage they cause or show little interest in properly cleaning each of their messes.

I'm also a little bit of a science and numbers guy. In my business, we stream video and charge per minute for it. We manage lots of servers and look at stats and bandwidth, write software code, and forever try to improve things. When I'm relaxing I'm reading PopSci, watching Cosmos, Daily Planet, reading sci-fi and sci-fact. I'm not a "Granola" or a "tree hugging hippie", but I do know that rising CO2 as well as other "greenhouse gasses" are raising the temperature of the planet.

So I did a quick calculation. How much do I really "enjoy" my Camaro, and is that Enjoyment worth the cost? My answer was no.

So in January I put it up for sale and finally sold it last week. I then went to the dealer and drove away in a brand spanking-new Chevy Volt. In case you don't know, an over-simplified description of the Volt might be that it is an electric car that uses a gas motor as a backup. (I wanted a Tesla but the price out of my budget for now).

Like the Camaro, the Volt is alot of fun. Really! It's not a sports car and can't be compared to a Camaro, but in many ways it is more fun. Some of my on personal reasons why it is more fun is this:

- Very comfortable to drive. Sure its not as fast, but I could never drive the Camaro passed the speed limit without breaking the law anyway).

- It's cheap. I have driven over 700 Kilometres so far and not spent a dime on gas. I am getting about 70 Kilometers on a full charge at the moment, and a full charge costs me only $1.52 in electricity. The same distance in my Camaro would cost me $170.00.

- It's fun. I am now balls-deep in numbers, learning how to coax more and more distance out of every single charge.

- It's quiet. Don't get me wrong - The V8 Camaro has a sound like no other and they are pretty quiet considering, but a Volt is silent.

- I no longer worry about the price of gas. Here as of today June 4th 2014, the cost of regular gas is $1.48 per Litre, or $1.58 for super, or for you American readers out there, $5.97 per Gallon.

So in conclusion, if you are someone like me who is a little worried about the planet, is tired of big oil dismissing eco concerns, likes high tech, and is maybe just kinda tired of paying so much for gas, you just may want to consider a Volt or other electric car. Sure, your friends may laugh and pick on you as mine did to me, but so what? Listen to your friends concerns, but then do your own research and consider giving one a test drive. Coming from a guy who has owned 12 F-body V8's, the Chevy Volt is genuinely cool.

MODS: I hope you don't delete this post. I meant no disrespect to Camaros or Camaro owners.

[sstephen17]

The salesperson that sold me my 2014 2LT owns a Volt. He loves that car. The Volt would actually be a more practical car for me as I drive to the train station five days a week (2 miles away). But I didn't want practical, I wanted something bold and unique. I wanted a Camaro.

[DRKS1D3]

Enjoy your Volt, but what did you expect from a 6.2L engine...40mpg? As far as suspension, the 1LE is a "track-pack" option that is...you guessed it...track-oriented (i.e. stiff suspension).

P.S. As far as the environment mumbo-jumbo, electricity is produced by burning coal (also a fossil fuel). Whatever allows you to sleep better at night. Good luck and enjoy!

[NJBourne23]

This post makes me sick

Just playing, sucks to see you go but if you feel that car is better suited for your needs, then you made the right one. If you decide that car isn't working out either and want your Gen5 club card back.......we will have to think about it

Enjoy the new car

[Pitboss]

I never hate on anyone who decides to go with eco-friendly car choices like the Volt, Prius, etc. The less fuel they use, the more for me to play!

Enjoy your new ride!

[gajagfan]

I respect everything you have said. Fuel costs are real, and I think many on here think they look cool by acting like it does not matter to them. I am by no means ready to make the move you did, but we are looking at alternatives to my Wife's Tahoe as we look for a new vehicle for her. Your choice is no different that the ZL1 vs 1LE vs SS vs 6 cyl arguments that happen here on a regular bases. You did what was right for you, and that is all that matters!

PS: I got a Prius as a rental car for a day, and kept trying to keep it in the most efficient range, so I get what you are saying.

[Dwarfey]

Tips and tricks for your Volt.

-You can change the amps from 8 amps to 12 amps in order to charge you vehicle faster.
-Sport mode- you can take a 1LE crosswalk to crosswalk, the instant torque is insane.
-I don't know about you, but here the kWh rates change depending on time of day, so you can program your car to begin charging at say 6pm if it is plugged in before then.
-Use mountain mode if you know you're going to climb stuff and engage it like 20 mins before. Or else you car will sound like it is being overworked cause the little motor is trying and trying its best.
-The Bose speakers are pretty nice if you have them

[ELIC1]

sorry i can wrap my head around this. good luck and better you then me

[fbodfather]

thank you for choosing another Chevrolet! The Volt is a great car - but unfortunately until you drive one, you don't know what you're missing.

Sorry to hear about the Camaro - but you bring up a good point: The 1LE is NOT for everyone - same for the new Z/28. It's crucial that people understand that the 1LE and the Z/28 are bred for the track - not for the everyday street.

Good luck with your Volt and we hope it will be everything you wished for and more!

Scott

[kevint]

Originally Posted by DRKS1D3

Enjoy your Volt, but what did you expect from a 6.2L engine...40mpg? As far as suspension, the 1LE is a "track-pack" option that is...you guessed it...track-oriented (i.e. stiff suspension).

P.S. As far as the environment mumbo-jumbo, electricity is produced by burning coal (also a fossil fuel). Whatever allows you to sleep better at night. Good luck and enjoy!

Your bold has been discussed before, and isn't always true.

[IAMTHEDANGER]

Good on you. Pick whatever car suits your needs and you'll have more fun with it.
It bugs me when people (like my dad) think global warming doesn't exist.
The earth is heating up and it's because of us.
Hopefully there will be a breakthrough and we can produce affordable, eco-friendly, cool cars. That way people can get behind something like that and maybe make a difference.
I'd love to see a nice looking hybrid camaro.

[Evergreen6]

The Volt is a cool car in its own right, its enthusiasts an esoteric and dedicated crowd for sure.

You're gonna miss that 1LE though....

...Oh MAN you're gonna miss that 1LE.

[BigRed585Lbs]

Cruze, maybe.
Volt......NEVER.
Unless they make a ZZZZZL1.

[ToolFan66]

My SS isn't a DD so it don't bother me in the least, but I wouldn't mind having a Volt to commute back and forth to work in.

But I just ended up getting a 16-18 MPG Tacoma for my DD.. LOL!!