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Spring has finally sprung in Detroit and the thoughts of restless natives are turning to cars, cruising and Woodward Avenue. Has Chevy got a car for you.<\/p>\n
The springtime-edition Camaro SS convertible has arrived on dealer lots. Cancel the European family vacation. Forget the second home up north. Write a check for 50 grand and you\u2019ll be the envy of this summer\u2019s Dream Cruise. They say spring comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. They ain\u2019t lyin\u2019. Turn the key on the SS and it sounds like Simba waking up hungry. Groooowwl. Males will drool. Lionesses will purr. Meoooowwww.<\/p>\n
Behold the King of Beasts.<\/p>\n
I haven\u2019t driven a car in a long time that stirred interest like the SS. It was like chauffeuring a Hollywood celebrity. Cruising Metro Detroit, men and women alike poured from homes and businesses to admire the Captain America-handsome steed with the voice of James Earl Jones. \u201cI\u2019ll park that for you,\u201d teased one feline who looked like Kate Upton\u2019s brunette sister.<\/p>\n
My wife would have been jealous if she weren\u2019t transfixed as well. And she\u2019s normally allergic to the muscle cars I bring home. She wanted to go topless (ahem, the car) and go cruising on Woodward all week.<\/p>\n
What makes this alpha male tick?<\/p>\n
Two things: Looks and power. The Summit White SS convertible is rolling sinew. Under its massive shoulders bulge 21-inch painted aluminum wheels. These saucers are nearly as large as the 22-inchers on the Cadillac Escalade or Chevy Tahoe\u00a0SUVs Like a lion\u2019s noble nose and firm jaw, the Camaro\u2019s front end is formidable. Extending for what seems like acres, the great snout gives way to a slim forehead of a windshield topped by a mane of blue tonneau rag top. Up front, the SS sports Camaro\u2019s updated face \u2014 aerodynamically sculpted for maximum airflow when exercising. Chevy narrowed the headlight cowl and expanded the lower air opening to increase down force over the big front spoiler. The blue-striped hood bulge is rippled with air intakes that work in tandem with the front ducts to suck air through the engine bay.<\/p>\n Ooooooh, that engine. Behind the Camaro\u2019s signature maw is Chevy\u2019s signature LS3 V-8 \u2014 shared with the outgoing C6 Corvette \u2014 producing 426 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque. The growl from the vacuum-actuated dual exhaust headers nestled in the new-for-2014 sculpted rear diffuser doesn\u2019t stop at idle .<\/p>\n Step on the throttle and the growl becomes a throaty roar over 4,000 RPM. And like any addiction, it must be fed. I revved it on the open road. At traffic lights. In the parking lot. Roar, Roar, Roar.<\/p>\n The deafening exhaust note helps you ignore the voices in your head saying this beautiful hunk of muscle can be terribly impractical.<\/p>\n The windows are so narrow you\u2019d have better visibility out of a WW2 pillbox. The convertible\u2019s C-pillar is wide enough to obscure the Grand Canyon.<\/p>\n Backseat legroom is scarce. The ragtop handle requires the strength of Zeus to secure into place. And the car handles like a pig. Throw this athlete into a corner and suddenly it\u2019s wallowing about like a linebacker on a badminton court. Thank goodness for traction control.<\/p>\n Clearly, this isn\u2019t a track car. Like a Hollywood celebrity, it just acts the part.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n There are two kinds of performance car. Exhibit A: Stiffly-sprung sports cars that live for twisty back roads. Slashing Porsche Boxsters, agile BMW M4s \u2014 even the SS\u2019s chassis-stiffened cousin, the Camaro ZL1. And there is Exhibit B: Comfortable cruisers that rule the stoplights with raw power. Mighty\u00a0Mustangs On a 60-degree day this April, the wannabe kings were prowling Woodward.<\/p>\n In Royal Oak, I pulled into to a lot full of big cubic inch alpha males. Marking his territory, a Mustang owner sniffed around my SS \u2014 musing, critiquing, dismissing. The side vent gills are faked with decals, he pointed. Four square gauges you\u2019ll never use \u2014 oil pressure, oil temperature, transmission temperature, battery voltage \u2014 hog the center console. The 21-inch wheels hobble hard cornering, and so on.<\/p>\n This Camaro\u2019s just for show! Well, welcome to the strip.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/images.intellitxt.com\/ast\/adTypes\/icon1.png\")
<\/a>. Captain America could slay four Hydra agents with these shields.<\/p>\nEngine roar’s addictive<\/h3>\n
Comfortable cruiser<\/h3>\n
<\/a>, asphalt-pawing Chargers, the Camaro SS. Unlike the ZL1, the SS doesn\u2019t come with magnetic shocks or stiff springs. This is a dragster, not a road racer. Cheetahs rule the rural prairie, lions rule the urban jungle.<\/p>\n