[TAG UR IT]

As y'all already know, GM is currently bringing in automotive reporters and journalists from numerous media outlets to try out the all new 2016 Camaro. Oh...and they also brought a few of us incredibly lucky Camaro5/6 mods in as well to get our thoughts. Pretty cool as I've been driving Camaros for the past 16 years, have owned 5, currently own a 2014 ZL1, and now I get the chance to go and try out a 2016 Camaro? Hell yeah! BRING IT ON!!!

Well, this lucky SOB (and his friend Glen) made the trek up to Detroit where we picked up our Camaro after having met with an entire crew of GM employees and other participants. We were given information on the drive and were told about certain places of innovation and interest along the way. The folks who put this on informed us that should we go out of our way to hit these points of interest and post a photo to social media, that we could potentially win one of many prizes....tickets to Indy 500, tickets to NASCAR, tickets to the World Series, etc. All they said was first off, no one knew which location was going to have the prizes, the further away the points of interest were off the beaten' path, the more likely it was for you to win and you had to be first there and first to post up a pic to social media with the car and location in the pic as proof.

So....Glen and I were the first ones to the Homer Laughlin China Factory in West Virginia (actually the only ones that went) and we posted numerous pix to Instagram, here, and FaceBook. Then today I get this email....YOU WON 2 TICKETS TO THE WORLD SERIES!!!!

Yeah...ok...so I'm freaking stoked. Like....NO KIDDING!!!

But....my Cubbies got swept and well.....while I'd love to go, I'm sure there are others who'd LOVE to see their home team play. Couple that with the fact that I just got to partake in the event of a lifetime and I'm already a pretty happy camper. So what to do with two World Series Game 3 tickets? Give them away, of course!!!

So here goes....

How about this..........

Let's have a little contest!

Let's hear YOUR favorite #FindNewRoads road trip story. Where did you go? What did you do? Who did you go with? What made is special?

Let's hear your favorite Camaro road trip story and we'll pick a winner "soon." It does not matter what generation Camaro you were in....you could have been 5 years old with Mom and Dad in Dad's 1st Gen Camaro. And while you are at it, if you have a picture of you guys from that road trip along with the Camaro, PLEASE post it up! You want to take the cake and win this contest? THIS is how! I'll figure out a cutoff date here soon and we'll decide who the winner is going to be. Once that is figured out, I'll get you guys in touch with GM and two tickets to the World Series Game 3 will be sent YOUR WAY!

Sound like fun?

Well let's hear it! Bring those Camaro road trip stories and pictures!

[GTIanZ28]

My introduction to Camaros' was way back in high school around 1990.

My dad was a pastor and our youth group leader had a 1971 forest green RS Camaro. Pretty sure it was a 305 small block V8.

We had a youth group event a couple hours away and of course everyone wanted to ride in the cool car there and home. Being the pk I landed the return trip home with my high school sweet heart and I in the backseat of the car.

Not sure how PC I can be with these comments. But, late at night riding home I hit third base in the back seat of the camaro while our youth pastor was hauling ass on one of the best driving roads in America. It was highway 101 in Southern Oregon. Our youth pastor was having fun hugging the corners and letting the engine breath. The funny thing about the car is that the rear suspension was rubbing and scraping on the bumps and during heavy cornering due to the weight of 4 people in the car. I remember the car handling great and squating in the corners while the engine just purred away with that beautiful V8 rumble. Looking back on it now I'm betting the rear shocks were dead and in desperate need of replacement.

Amazing experience as a highschool kid. One of those memories that never fade.... Even 20+ years later.

What I'm unsure about now. Did I have a love for camaro's before that experience or is it because of that experience?

Like this but not a z28 and no duckbill:


edit: I didn't realize the schedule. No way I can make it Oct 30th. Hope my story got a laugh and was somewhat enjoyable.

[mlee]

[SSport16]

My story of my first Camaro is not a road trip story but a story that started my true passion for Camaros. I purchased a loaded Camaro SS, Black/Black back in 1998. It was first new car and I worked so hard to save for it and paid half cash. I was so excited, a 22 year old kid with a dream car that I worked so hard for. Fortunately a few months later I was able to purchase another vehicle with my then girfriend, now wife, so the SS became my weekend toy car. I enjoyed her so much, road her hard, but babied her at the same time. A few years later I got married, bought a house and put her in a nice 2 car garage. I had the car for about 6 years and my daughter was born. We were living in NY but decided to move to NC, better life for our daugther and for us...so I decided to sell the SS with the intentions of getting a C6 Corvette after we had moved...so you know how that goes, life happens, my son was born a year later and just caught up in everyday life. Kept the itch and never lost it, ordered a 2010 Camaro SS back in 2008, dealer screwed me over, ended up backing out of the deal a few months after it was supposed to be built. So that brings me to my 2016 SS that is built and I will be taking delivery hopefully very soon. I never lost the itch and I along with my 2 kids we are ecstatic about the car! My 8 year old knows everything about this car, engine specs, models, trims, etc. People crack up when we go to car shows, the dealer, and anywhere there are cars around when he sites specs out loud, it is so awesome that my son already has such a passion for the Camaro, just like me! My passion had never died and continues on through my son as well! Now to make new memories with my new 6th generation Camaro SS soon. Road trips are on the horizon and in the works. The itch was there from an early age and has burned on ever since!

Long live the Camaro, truly an American muscle sports car that is so iconic and so American like apple pie, hamburgers, football, and baseball!

[Ryanbabz71]

Best memory was this past May. 3rd year going to the Chevy event before the 500. This year was the first time both my kids went with me since my wife was working that Sunday. I think my daughter enjoyed it more than either of us. She loved watching the Indycars practice. We hit almost 90 into turn 3 (it didnt feel like we were going fast at all) and on the second lap crossed the start finish line at appx 75 mph. You cant hear them saying go faster lol. It was a blast this year. Photos below speak for themselves, hope they enjoy the memory as much as I do.

https://youtu.be/3uWc7muWB4Y



Watching practice right before Ed Carpenter crashed





Crossing the yard of bricks

[TAG UR IT]

Keep'em coming!!!

[slinkeril]

Howdy! Here is my story hope it gets some laughs

This took place 15 years ago, I just graduated high school, and had this whole great idea of what I wanted to do with my life, where I wanted to go, what I wanted to be, but firstly and more pressing was this 6 free months I had before college started and my life took off. I’ll never forget it, I was working part time at a bowling alley and a gas station pumping fuel to save up some money so I could buy my first car, and also have some cash to spend that summer on whatever. Flash to the end of July, and so far the summer had been a major disappointment so far, went to a few baseball games (Mets of course) and just worked the whole summer and with the start of college looming I started worrying I would never get anything fun before I had to begin “real life”! I get a call from my friend Joe that he and his sister are going to Florida for a few days and the 3rd person who was supposed to go could no longer make it and they invited me to come along. I worried I couldn’t afford the flight, and hotel etc., but of course I said yes!! A few days had gone by and I was trying out where I was going to get this money for a plane ticket and hotel, I was doing everything in my power to put together as much money as I could and I was hit with a sweet surprise! I found out they were in fact driving and because the other guy backed out he already paid his hotel part and I was covered! I was so excited to find out I was a few weeks out of going on my first ever road trip with a couple of my good friends driving down to Florida for nearly a week!!! I am so ecstatic at this point, it never occurred to me to ask whose or what car we were driving in. Turns out it was his 88 or 89 Camaro (that light blue color), now I suppose it could have been worse, but man was that a tight fit!! We all took turns driving and left from Connecticut, and it was no fun being the one in the back seat as nearly the whole back was full of our stuff for the trip. Since the plan was to drive straight through nonstop (which didn’t end up happening hah!) I volunteered for the night shift thinking I could sleep in the day and not deal with traffic driving at night, as I can’t stand traffic and didn’t have my license for more than a year at this point, I was sadly mistaken. Got zero sleep during the day, and struggled to stay awake through the back roads of Georgia and South Carolina!!! It didn’t help either that we stopped in North Carolina for a few hours to visit with a friend who had just moved down there a few months prior. After what was maybe 18 cups of coffee, lots of great conversations, and a car that was completely covered almost from top to bottom with bug splatter we finally arrived at our destination after 28 hours of almost nonstop driving. It was not only my first road trip but my first real vacation ever and although it was a grueling marathon trip, it was one of my fondest memories and such a great time I would never had done it differently. Once in Florida we did all the typical touristy stuff! went to Disney ( my first time!) spend a lot of time on the beach, visited Daytona beach a bunch and checked out the speedway, which itself is an awesome sight, it was such a massive structure!!! A few months later I had saved up enough for my very first car, while I wanted to mimic my friend and get the Camaro, I couldn’t afford one and had to settle for the Z24 instead, my buddy still busts my stones about that to this day, the running joke is still remember that time you confused a 8 with a 4 and got that wimpy car! Anyway ever since then I have always wanted to get myself a Camaro and really shut him up! But for me I like the restored late 60’s so my future goal is to one day own one from then!
That was my one and only real road trip story, the farthest we ever drove, and it was so much fun
Anyway good luck to everyone, and as a huge lifelong Mets fan I hope I get picked for this, and I’ll definitely be brining my buddy who invited me and made this story possible! thanks!

[mlee]

^^^ Awesome 1st post...


Reading it reminds me of my 1st long road trip in a 1070 Firebird Formula 400 (my 1st car). Since I'm not eligible anyway it can be a Firebird LOL.

Same situation... out of High School except I had a pretty bad ass car that I worked many hours to pay for from the time I was 12 or so mowing lawns and working in auto shops changing tires and stuff. Anyway, before real life begins we decide to take a road trip out of the desert in AZ and go snow skiing in Flagstaff AZ. 3 of us packed in just like the story above and none had ever been on a ski slope before. Had a total blast except on the ride home while getting gas for some reason I decided to check the radiator fluid. The car was cool so no issues except I left the cap off. During the ride out of the mountains on a long downhill grade toward Phoenix I decided to hammer it and give her a good run. All this did was blow all the water out of the radiator so at the bottom of the hill we were totally screwed.

A couple of us had to go walking for a bucket of water and navigate some mean guard dogs out in the middle of nowhere to do it. Made it back home to Yuma with plenty of stories to tell.

[mattcohen]

Hi All,

I apologize in advance for the long story. My Camaro #FindNewRoads story started in 2006. At the time, I was 16 years old, in my junior year of high school. My neighbor had just gotten his license, as he was a year older than I was. His first car... a 2004 camaro ss. Now, I will be honest, I was not a car guy, but this was the coolest car ever. I was secretly jealous of my neighbor, but was lucky enough to ride shotgun on many, many rides in this beautiful vehicle. That September, we set out on a mission. It was myself, my neighbor, and one more friend. We had planned on taking road trips every weekend to different baseball ballparks on the east coast. We went to see the Mets (obviously), Yankees, Pirates, Red Sox, Orioles, and Nationals. As September came to a close, we were pretty broke from our escapades, but, as Mets fans, promised that our next trip would be to the World Series to see the Mets play. We were so sure this was our year. We worked our butts off to make a little extra cash to be able to pay for tickets and finally made enough money by the middle of October. However, as Mets fans know, unfortunately, 2006 was not our year. We lost in a gut-wrenching game 7 in the NLCS to the St. Louis Cardinals. My 2 friends and I were devastated. After a week or so of being depressed that the Mets were not in the World Series, we realized that the Mets future looked bright and promised ourselves that they would be back again in the near future. And we would be there to cheer them on. Boy, were we wrong. The next 2 years ended in heartbreak as the Mets blew 1st place leads in September and have never been back to the playoffs since. Since then, my neighbor traded in his Camaro, we all grew up and have moved on with our lives, but every October, we hope for a Mets World Series.

This story should have just ended with me telling you about my high school days with my 2 friends and how we used to drive to baseball stadiums to enjoy games and how I deserve tickets to the World Series for that reason. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Fast forward to this year. This past February, I lost my best friend (the one who joined my neighbor and I on our baseball trips) to drug addiction. I hate sharing this part of the story. I am tearing up just writing this post. It has been a tough year this year. My friend was there for me for everything. I had known him since preschool and it was tough to grasp onto the fact that he was no longer going to be there. He was there when my grandfather passed last November. He was there when my dog died a year before that. He was also there for the good times. Parties, my birthday (tomorrow, October 25), everything. But, he will no longer be there and it is not easy to deal with.

The one thing that has helped me deal with this pain, is the Mets magical run this year. It has helped take my mind off things while watching the Mets do the impossible. Of course, when they clinched their World Series appearance, I immediately went to StubHub to buy tickets for game 3 (October 30). However, ticket prices were way out of my price range as the cheapest ticket was over $600 for just standing room only. I have been refreshing the page every 30 seconds since that day, hoping someone will post cheap tickets, but nothing so far. I truly hate to use my tragic story to my advantage. I contemplated for a few hours on whether or not I should share it with strangers, just to get World Series tickets, but I think it is what my friend would want. So, I am sitting here, writing this article and begging for these tickets. You will make me the happiest man in the world! At the end of the day, I know that there is a slim chance that this story will be the winning one, but I am hoping for the best. I know there are plenty of other great stories here, but I ask that you please consider me when picking a winner. I am not sure how you plan on contacting the winner, but I will keep checking back to see if you have chosen a winner. Last, but not least, Lets Go Mets!

-Matt

["prima"Donna]

I would say that the best road trip I can remember is the trip we took the day after taking delivery of the HWAY STR from Virginia to New York.

We bought our 5th gen from a friend I knew 20 yrs earlier that had moved to Virginia when we lost our jobs, and we had also lost touch with each other.

We re-connected in 2008, and it turned out that he was managing a Chevy dealership there. when we decided to buy the 5th gen, his dealership had already pre-sold all their allotments for 2009.

Fast forward to January of 2009. someone had backed out on their pre-order and there was an allotment available. my friend asked, "did we want it?" I said, "hell yeah, we do!"

That's where the road trip story of a lifetime began. we took delivery in May of 2009, so there were not many new Camaros on the road yet. they were so new, and so rare, that we became rockstars as we made the trip home from VA to NY.

We had people practically driving into us as they were hanging out of their car windows, on the highways, to take pictures of the new Camaro.

Every time we stopped at a rest stop, we would come back to see swarms of people surrounding our car, all anxious to ask us a million questions about it, while also asking if they could take pictures.

It was so exciting. I'm sure many of you 'early delivery 5th gen owners' remember those days well.

By the time we made it home to NY, many hours later, due to all the attention, we were so thrilled as we pulled into our driveway, still getting tons of attention.

We were just about the first 5th gen here on Long Island back then. it was many months later before we ever saw another one.

I will always remember that road trip as the most exciting trip of my life.

The picture I am posting is of us on delivery day: 5.18.09 - VIN #7085


I would really really really love to win a chance to see my beloved Mets play at CitiField in NY in Game 3. I have been a Mets fan my whole life. I still vividly remember when they won their first World Series in 1969, and their second in 1986.

This will be their 3rd!!! as Tug McGraw used to say, "ya gotta believe." well, I do. Let's go Mets!!!

[KaBoom1701]

I'm not one for long stories.....so....

My daughter loves taking rides in our Camaro. So when I sold my 13' V6 Camaro last year my 5 year old daughter had been asking me where the car went.......

Every Saturday morning we would get up and make a early morning donut run together before the rest of the family got up.

Well when I finally was able to drive my 13' ZL1 home....now we can continue our tradition!

It's funny..she has three older brothers but my daughter is the one who loves cars and Camaros.

[TAG UR IT]

"prima"Donna, CONGRATULATIONS!!! You are going to game 3 of the World Series!!!







I had several people check over the thread and it was pretty much unanimous. I don't think any of us could ever forgot our first drive home in our brand new Camaros!

Heh...my first road trip in my new 2010 Camaro so long ago...WOW. Dana and I flew up to Pittsburg where Tom Henry picked us up from the airport. We went over to the dealership where I saw THR #2...and man, it brought tears to my eyes!!! We then met up with Jamie McPherson and his wife and got the chance to go to a Pirates game. How COOL was that! Baseball related too!

Then after a 200 mile trip to Carlisle for a 2 day car show, I drove back to Pitt with the wife where I dropped her off at the airport....only to get my start on a 2 day...LONG 2 day road trip back to San Antonio...23 hours, 47 minutes, 1,627 miles....and SO many looks. SO many people wanted to stop me and talk to me on the way home. SO many pictures taken. Yeah..you know it. Just like you...I felt like a ROCKSTAR all the way home.

Then with the 2014 ZL1....oh man...this time people TRIED to stop and look but I was gone before they could get the cameras out! Ok, ok...so people did take pix and I loved every minute of it. But still, road trips are IT for me. Every Fest...to Fest 1 in Georgia, Fest 2 in Phoenix (SLALOM ANYONE!!!!!! ), Fest 3 in Indy...Fest 5 in Baytown...(ok, so I flew to fest 4...lol). Fest 6 in Bowling Green. Oh man...the road trips are the best and the people...THIS IS WHAT IT's ABOUT. Family, friends, Camaro's, and good times.

So again, congrats to "prima"Donna and we all hope you have an absolutely fantastic time watching your Mets win game 3!!!

[GTIanZ28]

Read through instructions twice right?

Oops! Congratulations prima_dona! Enjoy the game! Wonderful contest.

2nd story!

My first camaro. A 1995 Z28 in forest green with t-tops and tan leather interior.

I was 22 or 23 years old. Recently out of the Army and starting college. The car was used from an out of town private seller. Had my dad go with me to go buy it.

We showed up and the car looked perfect.... Ran well and looked perfectly maintained. The owner had history with quite a few different camaros.

Bought the car and proceeded to drive home.... My father in the car we drove to the sellers house in. Myself, in the freshly waxed camaro. After pulling onto the highway I pulled up next to my father in his car. And being a young man happy to buy his first sports car I punched the gas. Hit 5500 RPM or so in 3rd gear and suddenly pop pop pop pop..... Instantly off the gas!

I thought that I had just blown the motor in the used car I just bought. Nursed the car back to a mechanic and it turns out that whoever previously changed the spark plugs didn't snug one of the rear plugs. I had literally blown one of the plugs right out of the block.

They put the plug back in and the car ran like a champ for the next 5 years of ownership. Great engine and great car!

[mlee]

Very nice!!! Congrats Donna!!!

On my 1st drive home I almost couldn't get there with people wanting to take pictures and stop me in the parking lot. Fun times those were and thanks for all the great stories... especially the "getting to 3rd base" in the back seat one. LOL