This is a story based on a real life experience I had one day on vacation. This was in May 2010, long before Rio came out. The locations and cars are are based on my experiences.
"Here we are guys. Orlando International Airport." Tom said as he was getting out of the Ford Escape. The crew were on holiday in Florida.
"So where do we go?" Tulio asked.
"We should find our way to the Hertz area."
"Why do we need to rent another car?" Linda questioned.
"Because I thought it would be nice. Besides, if you're heading to Daytona USA, you should be going there in a nice car." At that moment, the birds flew down. Two Spix's Macaws, a Canary, a Red-crested Cardinal and a Toco Toucan were smiling at them. "Hi guys."
The crew were looking to rent a car. They found the Hertz cars in one area. They went past the SUVs, the compacts, the Premium Collection Mercs and Audis, and the Green Collection Toyotas and Insights. They arrived at the Fun Collection.
"Cheese and Sprinkles..." Linda muttered. Tulio's face lit up. There were several American coupes and convertibles parked there. To the left, a Corvette ZHZ convertible sat there proudly. A couple of 2010 Ford Mustang V6 coupes, one red, one white, were gleaming in the light of the parking lot. A Synergy Edition Chevrolet Camaro LT fought for attention with it's distinctive lime green colour, and black racing stripes. But the one Tom was looking for was in between the Mustangs.
"There it is." Tom remarked. "A 2010 Chevy Camaro SS." The black body contrasted with the whites, yellows and greens of the other cars. The Chevy bowtie was displayed on the front. Walking around the side, he studied the coupe profile of the Camaro. He noted the 20 inch wheels, the small side windows and the sleek profile. As Tom walked around the back, he saw the trunk lid spoiler with an SS badge on it. The four tail lights helped add some colour to the rear end, along with a bowtie and a Florida license plate. Two big exhaust pipes rested ready for some big business. Going back over to the front, he lifted the hood. A 6.2 V8 engine occupied the space in front of him. Tom could tell it was a L99, good for 400 horsepower and getting power to the rear wheels through an automatic gearbox. It could also deactivate some cylinders when more fuel economy was needed.
Closing the hood, Tom opened the door, and slid behind the wheel. The interior was just as distinctive. The dish shaped wheel steered the car, while the tachometer and speedometer stared out of their pods. There was a leather gear stick between the two leather seats, along with four auxiliary gauges. A Sirius satellite radio was on hand to provide entertainment. Tom looked back. Linda was there in the back seat. It was cramped, but she wasn't complaining, especially when she was in a car like this. Being with Blu, Jewel and the gang helped too.
"What do you think?" Tom asked.
"It's amazing." Linda replied. "If a little cramped. But when you're in a car like this, who's complaining?"
"Maybe that guy." Tom pointed to a Toyota Prius that was just rolling away. The driver looked over at the Camaro. Linda failed to suppress a laugh. The passenger door opened, and Tulio entered.
"This is one hell of a car." Tulio remarked. "You sure this is a rental?"
"It is." A Hertz employee said. "Just let me scan this, then enjoy." She pulled out a scanner, and scanned the little bar code at the corner of the windshield. 10 seconds later, she gave the thumbs up. Tom turned the key. The 6.2 L99 V8 rumbled into life, reminding Tom why he loved muscle cars. The sleek black Camaro SS rolled out of the parking area, and circled down the ramp. Once it had reached the bottom, it roared out onto the highway.
"This is incredible." Blu said.
"Mind telling us a little history about the Camaro?" Jewel asked.
"You sure?" Tom asked. Every bird and human inside the car nodded. "OK then." He continued driving along. "The Chevrolet Camaro was introduced in 1967 as a rival to the Ford Mustang, which was first made in '64. There's one right there." He pointed out to a 1965 Mustang as the 2010 Camaro drove past. "While it could never match the Ford's sales-1,000,000 'Stangs were sold in the first four months-It could sure as hell match the car. Several trim levels were available. The SS was the high performance variant, like the SS we're in now, while the Z-28 was manufactured so Chevy could go into Trans-Am racing. The first-gen Camaro is a true legend, and inspired the design of the brand new Camaro.
In 1970, there was a redesign. The new Camaro was designed to look more like a sports car, although it still had a muscle car heart. In 1973 though, the muscle car died. New insurance regs, along with the '73 oil crisis sapped the power from the massive engines, and the Camaro and Mustang became shadows of their former selves.
Now, in 1982, the Camaro got it's redesign again. This is when the muscle car got it's street cred back. The Camaro SS, Z-28 and IROC-Zs locked horns with the Mustang GT and 5.0s. This was the period in which the Camaro would also spawn a dedicated police interceptor variant.
The fourth-gen Camaro came along in 1993. This was a car with a sleek body with either T-Top or convertible roofs, and engines ranging from 3.4 V6s to 5.7 V8s. The SS and Z-28 models were top contenders for stoplight races, and it looked like plain sailing, especially with new styling and Corvette engines. Sadly, on the Camaro's 35th anniversary in 2002, production was stopped, in order to refocus GM production. The Camaro was dead.
But it lived. In 2005, the brand new Ford Mustang was released and people went bananas all over again. In 2006, a new Camaro Concept was shown at the North American International Auto Show. Reaction was so good, GM started production again in 2009. After 7 years, the Camaro was back in the game. With the V6 and V8 engines providing propulsion, the LS, LT and SS Camaros were quickly snapped up. Finally these cars looked great, went great and were priced great." Tom finished his history lesson.
"Wow." Was all Rafael could say. Nico and Pedro looked astonishingly at each other.
"Hang on." Tom noticed something. "Toll booth." There was a toll booth ahead. Tom stopped the car, wound down the window and put some coins in. The barrier opened. "Full speed ahead!" The Camaro shot forward in a burst of noise. The L99 V8 shouted as the throttle fed a constant fuel supply. In 4.7 seconds, the Chevrolet was at 60mph and Tom released the accelerator. The Camaro settled back into a cruise. "That is why the Camaro is so popular." They were now heading towards Daytona.
"Just out of interest, what TV and Films has the new Camaro been in?" Tulio asked.
"Let me think..." Tom replied. "First off, Transformers. The Camaro is portrayed as the disguise and alt-form of Bumblebee. In three films. Beats the Beetle he used to be. Then you've got My Own Worst Enemy. Henry is an ordinary working guy in Surburbia. He drives a Chevy Trailblazer, and has a kind family. Also in the same body is Edward, a gun-toting, Camaro-driving, free-wheeling super spy." Tom continued to drive the Camaro, occasionally revving up to speed, then letting the car settle into a cruise again. "Hawaii Five-0, the new series. The protagonists drive a Camaro RS, as well as a Mustang GT 5.0 in the pilot. Finally, not sure if it counts, but I drove a Camaro back when I was in Tokyo. Happened to be a black SS, just like this one." He smiled at the memory. Back in Tokyo, his Camaro SS, along with the Honda Today that two of the other officers had were among the most distinctive cars in the police department.
Cruising along, they came across a 1994 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra convertible. The driver looked over to the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS coupe that was drawing alongside him. Tom rolled down the window.
"Nice car." The driver of the SVT Cobra said.
"Thanks." Tom replied. "Can you believe it's a rental?"
The Mustang driver's eyes went wide. "Really?"
"Yeah. Why not check out the Hertz lot next time you're down at Orlando International?"
"I'll think about it. Wanna cruise?" The Mustang rolled forward, the engine growling.
"You're on." Tom muttered. The Camaro dropped down a gear and went up to meet the Cobra. The Mustang and Camaro rolled with each other until the Ford went onto an off-ramp and the Chevrolet continued on it's course. It continued to turn heads with it's shiny black paint and muscular styling. It looked slightly cartoonish, but people still stared at it.
They were now about 20 miles into their journey. Tom decided to turn on the radio. Him and Tulio scanned through the stations. They tuned into one station.
"Prog rock?" Tulio asked.
"No thanks." Tom replied, turning to another station. It had some news. In French.
"Sacre bleu!"
"Oh stop complaining!" Finally, Tom found a station. BBC Radio One was broadcasting from Britain, so they were a few hours ahead, but they had decent music and spoke English. Kid Rock's All Summer Long was just starting. All the birds started singing along while Tom continued to drive the Camaro down the highway.
It was 1989, my thoughts were short my hair was long
Caught somewhere between a boy and man
She was seventeen and she was far from in-between
It was summertime in Northern Michigan
Ahh Ahh Ahh
Ahh Ahh Ahh
Splashing through the sand bar
Talking by the campfire
It's the simple things in life, like when and where
We didn't have no internet
But man I never will forget
The way the moonlight shined upon her hair
And we were trying different things
We were smoking funny things
Making love out by the lake to our favorite song
Sipping whiskey out the bottle, not thinking 'bout tomorrow
Singing Sweet home Alabama all summer long
Singing Sweet home Alabama all summer long
Catching Walleye from the dock
Watching the waves roll off the rocks
She'll forever hold a spot inside my soul
We'd blister in the sun
We couldn't wait for night to come
To hit that sand and play some rock and roll
While we were trying different things
And we were smoking funny things
Making love out by the lake to our favorite song
Sipping whiskey out the bottle, not thinking 'bout tomorrow
Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long
Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long
Now nothing seems as strange as when the leaves began to change
Or how we thought those days would never end
Sometimes I'll hear that song and I'll start to sing along
And think man I'd love to see that girl again
[Repeat Chorus x2]
Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long
Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long
Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long
Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long
The song ended, but the smiles were still stuck on everyone's faces. The Camaro still continued to impress, both the people inside it and the people looking at it. They were now near their destination.
"Here we are guys, Daytona USA." Tom announced. They were going along a road that ran through Daytona. To one side was Daytona International Speedway, their destination. "Prepare for landing." Tom steered the Camaro into a parking space. He turned off the engine and unlocked the doors. "Cabin crew, doors to manual." Everyone got out. They stared at the race track grandstands in front of them.
"So this is Daytona Speedway?" Nico asked.
"Of course. It has a big sign on it saying Daytona Speedway, right?" Tom answered.
"Sweet!" That was Pedro.
"OK guys. Photo opportunities." Tom got out the camera. First up, everyone posed for a shot, then Linda, Blu and Jewel got their photo taken. Nico and Pedro were next, and then Tom had his photo.
"Hey there!" A voice called out. "That's a real nice car!" It turned out to be an American in front of a parked SUV.
"Thanks. The finest from Hertz!"
"Really? Well that's fantastic! Tell you what, how about a photo in front of the Daytona sign? Then a quick burnout from the scene." Tom and Linda stared at each other, then he quickly got into the Chevy and started the engine. The Camaro rumbled to a stop in front of the Daytona Speedway sign. Linda aimed the camera at the black muscle car in front of her and pushed the button. A camera flash told Tom that the photo had been taken, and he quickly dumped the throttle. The Camaro took off in a wall of tyre and engine noise. He then returned it to the parking spot, and got out.
"That was awesome." Rafael said. "You and that car go together like stars and stripes!"
"McDonalds and fries!" Nico spoke up.
"Blu and Jewel!" Pedro said, earning a smile from the macaws in question.
"Cheese and sprinkles!" Everybody stared at Blu. "It's a Minnesota thing." He said with a sheepish smile. Tom tried to hold back a laugh, and couldn't.
"Let's go guys. Daytona USA awaits." Tom announced. Everyone walked into the adjacent building.
20 minutes later, they were sitting in the grandstand as some NASCAR stock cars raced by.
"I bet you didn't know that the sponsors work in soundproof rooms." Tom said.
"I didn't know that." Tulio replied. "But these things are loud! I bet they need them!"
"They do. A standard NASCAR starting grid consists of 43 cars, all going full throttle. That's not to say 43 cars will still be running at the end of the race..." Everyone was watching the stock cars going round the track.
Later on, the Camaro was parked on Daytona Beach. Tom got into the car after having his photo taken with a family and the Camaro. All the birds were either sun bathing, or entertaining themselves in some way. Rafael had buried Nigel up to his neck in sand, Nico and Pedro were making some music and singing, Tulio and Linda were sun bathing, and Blu and Jewel were on the hood of the Camaro, lying down and catching some sun. They looked at each other, then kissed each other.
"Jewel." Blu nervously said. "I just wanted to say that I... I..."
"Guys!" Tom suddenly called out. "I've just realised something. This car is a rental!" Everyone present face palmed. Hard.
Author's Notes:
First off, thank you for taking the time to read this story. This is based on an actual experience. I did indeed rent a Camaro from Hertz Orlando, then proceed to drive to Daytona Speedway.
Secondly, I'm sorry that I left out Fernando. I got so wrapped up in writing that I didn't realise I'd forgotten him until the end. I apologise!
I hope everyone enjoyed reading this story, as much as I enjoyed writing it. I got some good memories from that experience...
Finally, let me know if you've rented or are about to rent a black automatic 2009-2010 Camaro SS from Orlando International Airport's Hertz Fun Collection, will ya? That happens to be the car that I rented in May 2010.
Until next time, bye!