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I've had mine for 11 months now, and I live, work, and drive in a place where the bar for what is considered "exotic" or "unusual" is higher than a lot of other parts of the country. As someone said at dinner last night: "The reaction that a Lamborghini or Ferrari might get in a lot of other places is kind of reserved for a Koeniggsegg or a Bugatti in SoCal."
So accordingly, Camaros or even Corvettes don't exactly turn heads around here. But I have noticed some trends:
The people that have the strongest, most positive reactions to the car are younger. Like, under 35. This probably bodes well for GM's styling and marketing prospects soon, if not now. Older people I know have a difficult time seeing the outward differences between a 5th Gen and my 6th Gen. My mom (73 years old) has to ask EVERY time we drive together and she sees a 5th or 6th Gen "Is that the same year as yours?"
I get dirty looks, but not challenges from contemporary Mustang owners. I expected a lot of stoplight aggression when I bought it, but came to realize that they know what's up too, and know that unless I completely suck and they have a driver mod, they're going to lose. I DO get challenges from cars that don't match up at all. Civics, Integras, and even a Tacoma pickup last night. I think they mostly are looking for a free show.
But mostly, it's young people. It will snap the necks of groups of kids walking home from school as you pass, and they'll flock to it at Cars and Coffee. We had dinner with an old friend and his new fiance (and her teens) last night. Her oldest son is 14, and when my wife told him what I drove, it was all over. I got 45 minutes of phone pictures of his future first car, a '68 Chevy C-10, his personal manifesto on why Ford sucks, questions about my SS, and regurgitation of some of the same magazine articles that helped sell ME on the car last year.
I mentioned that I was heading to a nearby gas station with 100 octane so that I could blend up a tank of 93 for my long weekend, and my wife suggested he ride with me on the trip. His excitement was off the chart, and he loved every second of it. He was clearly a bright kid, has a lot of car knowledge for his age. He wants to own his own shop someday, so that he can have and work on cool cars. I suggested he go to college, get an engineering degree, and get into the industry and MAKE cars, and he'll likely be able to afford to drive something pretty cool.
I remember a similar ride or two when I was that age, and I never forgot them. There was probably advice, and knowing my 14-year old self, I am sure I disregarded it. But rides like that, and moments like seeing something awesome roar past as I walked home from school formed the foundation of the desire and motivation I had to work hard be able to have great cars as I got older.
Sorry for the long post... just my two cents.
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