Elite Auto Rental Blog

The 2010 Camaro returns with budget-friendly V6 and performance V8 models. See more pictures of the Chevrolet Camaro.

Consumer Guide’s Impressions of the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro

Chevrolet’s ponycar comes back in early 2009 as a coupe that will flip its lid by the end of the year. It’s a great nostalgia trip, but will there be a market for it?

What We Know About the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro

As it was then, so it is now. The Camaro, born 40 years ago as Chevrolet’s reply to the pioneering Ford Mustang, is coming out of retirement (since 2002) for a new fight with the namesake ponycar. It’s set to bow for 2010 in at least two coupe models-V6 and V8, perhaps called RS and SS, respectively. Some reports say the V6 cars will be offered in LS or LT trim, but Chevy hasn’t yet divulged all the details. Convertible versions join up about nine months later. Chevrolet confirmed these plans after splashy concept previews at the 2006 and ‘07 Detroit Auto Shows. Recalling the days when the Big Three were still big players, Dodge is reviving its Nixon-era Challenger (1970-74) for 2008.

General Motors decided to bring back Camaro when the redesigned 2005 Mustang fast proved a hot seller. But Mustang sales have lately cooled, despite the addition of potent pump-primers like the Shelby GT500. Blame record gas prices and renewed public concern over what thirsty vehicles do to the environment. Ford Motor Company’s many well-publicized travails are another factor. All this leads some industry-watchers to think the new Camaro could end up chasing a vanishing market, especially as GM still has troubles of its own. Nevertheless, the project is a go. And though GM has reportedly hit the pause button on several other new rear-wheel-drive cars, it’s unlikely to delay this one, let alone cancel it, after two years of making so much noise about it.

Convertible or coupe, the reborn Camaros will be much like the concepts, only less exaggerated. Wheels, for instance, will probably be no larger than 20 inches max, versus the show cars’ 21s and 22s. Trim and paint will be toned down too. Otherwise, styling will be the concept blend of today’s Chevy Corvette and cues from the 1969 Camaro, resulting in a more-modern look than either the current Mustang or upcoming Dodge Challenger. The new Camaros should also hew closely to concept dimensions. That means about 7.5 inches more wheelbase than the 2002 models, a similar amount trimmed from overall length, and about 5.5 inches more width. These changes should produce a roomier four-seat cockpit, though space in back (and in the trunks) will remain tight.

Also per ponycar tradition, the new Camaros will offer at least one, and possibly two, budget-friendly V6 engines and one performance-oriented V8. Models using the V6 may employ GM’s newer 3.6-liter twincam design with or without direct injection, as found in the Cadillac CTS. The V8, as on the concepts, should be the 6.2-liter base-Corvette engine equipped with GM’s gas-saving Active Fuel Management cylinder-deactivation. If gas prices keep rising, GM’s Bob Lutz has suggested the company may look at powering the Camaro with turbocharged 4-cylinder engines. If Chevy decides to offer the four, it might not be available at the start of production. Chevy may also offer a lower-power, lower-cost V8, as Mustang does. In addition, the latest buzz says an ultra-performance Z28 version might appear for 2011. It would use a version of the supercharged 6.2-liter “LSA” V8 from the 2009 Cadillac CTS-V with horsepower in the 480-500 range. All Camaro engines should team with six-speed manual or optional six-speed automatic transmissions. Four-wheel ABS disc brakes and traction control will likely be standard. Stability control should be included on V8s, optional on V6s. Coupes will likely have front torso side airbags and curtain side airbags. Ragtops may come with jumbo seat-mounted front side airbags providing both torso and head protection.

We said “ragtops” for a reason. For the sake of affordability as well as tradition, Camaro convertibles will retain a folding soft top. A trendy hideaway hard-shell roof would have cost too much for GM’s price target, and might have caused reliability and production headaches. As on the concept, the top powers up or down from a flip-up panel behind the cockpit-no need for a fiddly flexible tonneau to look your best, as on the last drop-top Camaro.

A Notable Feature of the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro

The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro coupes and convertibles will be built at GM’s plant in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, which has long ranked high in independent audits of vehicle quality, among the best in North America. Let’s hope that record continues with the new Camaros.

Buying Advice for the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro

Convertibles never sell as well as sister coupes, and the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro convertible should be no exception. Even so, it’s no more likely to be a future collectible than the fixed-top Camaro, especially if demand comes close to GM’s projected 100,000-unit yearly total. And even if that proves optimistic, resale values of all new Camaros will probably depreciate like those of any volume-production new car. Buy one to drive and enjoy, but don’t expect to make money on it in the foreseeable future.

2010 Chevrolet Camaro Release Date: Dealers should have new Camaro coupes by March 2009. Convertibles are due around the end of 2009.

First Test Drive: We think media previews will be staged in late fall or early winter of 2008.

2010 Chevrolet Camaro Prices: They’re a bit hard to predict, what with an on-sale date nearly a year away. But GM has said Camaro will be a premium car, and it won’t compete with the Ford Mustang on price. Our guesstimate: The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro V6 coupe will start around $22,000 with the V8 model around $28,000. Convertibles will likely start at around $28,000 for a V6 model and range up to $35,000 for a V8.

NEW YORK — Gotham Dream Cars, an ultra-exotic car rental company with locations in Manhattan and Miami, has added the $590,000 Saleen S7 supercar to its premier fleet of vehicles.

Known essentially as a street-legal racecar, the S7 features a 550-horsepower 7.0-liter V8 engine that combines with a curb weight of 2,750 pounds to reach speeds of more than 200 mph.

Gotham Dream Cars picked a candy-apple-red model for its fleet, and it is reserved only for returning customers and members of its DreamShare car club.

“Most people only see unique cars like the Saleen S7 in movies and museums. Gotham Dream Cars is making one available for its clients to drive freely — speed limits permitting,” said Noah Lehmann-Haupt, president and CEO of Gotham Dream Cars.

GDC’s lineup of more than 20 exotic rental cars includes such brands as Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati. The S7 is accompanied by a price tag of $3,950 per day. See the company’s Web site for further pricing details and a list of luxury rental cars that are available.

What this means to you: Even if the full potential of this Saleen supercar may only be seen on the track, cruising the streets in one would still be quite an experience. — Mike Lysaght, Correspondent

Like a scene from a James Bond movie, Anna Hobbs sinks into the plush cream leather of her gleaming Aston Martin as her new Fendi bag jostles for room with a D&G gold leaf bracelet.

It’s a show- stopping scene, not least because most of us are tightening our belts as the credit crunch bites.

Boring though it may be to keep harping on about the rising price of petrol, food and utility bills, the fact is that such mounting costs are leaving a big dent in the disposable income many of us have grown used to.

So what’s a girl to do to maintain her lifestyle without running up huge debts?

While Anna, 37, a marketing director, has a £70,000-a-year salary, her fabulousness is not all it seems.

Her income certainly does not stretch to the £900 designer handbag, the dreamy £110,000 sports car or the glittering bracelet.

Her secret? Like a growing number of women, Anna simply rents her A-list status. She is a tenant of a life she aspires to, yet can’t afford outright.

But renting means she gets to change its components to suit her mood, keep pace with the latest trends - and impress a date.

“I’ve splashed out hundreds of pounds on designer handbags in the past, but within months they’re past their fashion sell-by date,” she says.

I change my bag as often as I change my underwear

“When I heard of companies renting out such bags for less than the cost of a bottle of champagne, it was a no-brainer. It saves me a fortune and means I get to change my handbags almost as often as I change my underwear.

“The same goes for cars. OK, so it costs me my annual work bonus of £10,000 for just 40 days at the wheel of an amazing car, but how else would I get to drive something worth ten times that price?”

Anna is far from alone in her desire for experience over ownership, preferring to rent the things a girl’s heart desires for a fraction of their full designer price tag.

And lots of companies are offering rental schemes on everything from £1,000 bags to £50 million yachts, diamond jewellery, £160,000 sports cars, sumptuous holiday homes and couture evening gowns.

You can even rent your own private make-up artist, because good grooming is a must if you are starring in your own red carpet lifestyle.

Newcomers to the idea of hiring a lavish life could be forgiven for thinking it’s too good to be true. But there really isn’t a catch.

Since husband-and-wife team James and Jo Trafford set up Handbag Hire HQ last autumn, they’ve seen membership rocket from three in its first week to more than 4,000. And it’s easy to see why.

For the princely sum of £7.50 a month, members get to peruse an expanding online array of designer handbags - most worth between £500 and £1,000.

Then they simply pay a fee of between £10 and £35, depending on the value of the bag, to rent it for a week.

‘We’ve spent more than £60,000 on bags so far to cater for a varied client base, including women wanting a handbag for a special occasion and those intent on making a statement in the boardroom,’ says Jo.

A £900 handbag for £40 a week

Keeping up with the (Bridget) Joneses isn’t enough for a generation who, bombarded by the cult of celebrity, aspire to their own millionaire lifestyle. And Jo knows it.

Her members want to be the ones with the latest bag while their friends are still dreaming of the day they might be able to afford to buy one.

Amanda Zuydervelt, 31, is owner and editor of www.stylebible.com, a luxury lifestyle and concierge directory listing many of the companies offering lifestyles for hire.

“For most women, the £900 price-tag of the latest Chloe handbag is out of reach, but £40 a week to hire one definitely isn’t,” she says.

“At the other end of the scale are women who might earn £500,000 a year in the City, but don’t want to spend £150,000 of their salary on a Ferrari when they can join one of the many companies offering such luxuries for a fraction of the price and still get all the kudos that goes with it.”

This is exactly the reason why companies such as ecurie25 are attracting hoards of style-conscious women ready to trade fantasies of themselves cruising the open roads in an amazing car for the real thing.

Co-owner Flora Heathcote says: ‘Buying an annual membership of ecurie25 costs £10,750, which might sound a lot but it gives you access to around 40 days a year driving the finest cars on the planet with none of the hassles of outright ownership.

“It includes insurance, servicing, depreciation, valeting and maintenance. Not bad considering most of our cars have a price tag of at least £100,000 and cost more than £20,000 a year to run.

“But the best bit is that you get to choose from a £2 million fleet of wheels that would leave David Beckham longing. Our cars include the Lamborghini Murcielago, Aston Martin Vantage Roadster, Audi R8 and Ferrari F430 Spider F1.

“Members get to live the highway high life driving around in cars they could only dream of owning. And for most of them image is everything. Now they don’t have to pay through the nose for it.

Hire a car for a hot date

“Many hire a car if they’re going on a hot date or to an important event where they really want to make an impact.”

No doubt the same women poring over the latest Ferrari would also love the aptly named Affordable Millionaire, a business offering limited shares in chic overseas properties - a must for an A-list wannabe on a budget.

Karen Kenneby launched the company in 2005 with the aim of giving people the opportunity to snap up their own little slice of a lifestyle they couldn’t afford.

“We offer 13 shares in most of our properties because that means each owner can use the property for four weeks a year,” she says.

“Buyers have to be members of Affordable Millionaire. They then pay one 13th of the total price of the property, which keeps it affordable and if they decide to sell their share, they pocket any profits if the property has increased in value.”

Karen is offering would-be millionaires a share in plush apartments in Dubai and Paris for £7,000 and £300,000 respectively. And she is deluged with women desperate to snap up their own slice of a Sex And The City lifestyle with shares in a luxury apartment in Trump International Towers in Manhattan at £160,000 each.

“What lifestyle-conscious woman would not want to stop a conversation by announcing she has an apartment in New York, without having to admit she doesn’t own all of it?” she says.

You could be forgiven for assuming that a girl with a rented Prada bag on her shoulder, the keys to a hired Bentley Continental in her hand and a weekend in her fractionally owned New York apartment to look forward to wouldn’t want for anything else.

Designer labels without designer prices

But you’d be wrong. Diamonds are, after all, a girl’s best friend, and even more so when she can borrow them for next to nothing.

Sophie Garrett advertises a stunning £10,000 emerald and diamond ring for rent on her website www.yours2share.com

“I wear the ring only a handful of times a year and it seems a shame for something so beautiful to spend most of its time locked in a safe,” she says.

“So I’m offering other women the chance to hire it and dazzle their peers. It’s not dissimilar to an emerald and diamond ring owned by Victoria Beckham.”

Jenny Pearson recently launched www.hotrockshire.co.uk offering a huge range of upmarket and funky costume and semi-precious jewellery for rent.

“A couple of years ago I was shopping for an outfit for a party and saw the most fantastic necklace, but it was £300,” she says.

“Could I afford it? Well, yes, but the question I kept asking myself was whether I could really justify spending it on yet another piece of jewellery that I’d wear just a couple of times.”

And that was the inspiration behind Jenny’s jewellery hire website, which offers the opportunity to buy membership at £50 per year or £7.50 per month and then rental on an individual basis, or to rent on a one-off basis at a higher rate.

Meanwhile, girls are stocking up on designer labels without the guilt of designer prices by visiting boutiques such as The Dresser in West London, where stylists, socialites and fashion editors ditch their high- end purchases after a few outings.

They are sold on at significantly reduced prices, meaning ordinary mortals get to parade in current, or at the oldest, last season’s collection from designers such as Stella McCartney or Cavalli for little more than High Street prices. And who’s to know?

Sadly, though, our intrepid A-list lifestyle tenants will still have to dig into their pockets for suitable shoes.

Hygiene concerns mean our favourite heels are the only ingredient of a designer lifestyle not available for rent.

But what you save by hiring the rest of your red- carpet ensemble will surely pay for a pair of Christian Louboutin’s finest to call your own - credit crunch or not.

Large SUV: Lexus LX 570

Starting price: $74,700
Power: 383-hp 5.7-liter V-8
2nd place : Audi Q7
3rd place: Cadillac Escalade

Elegance and proficiency are hard to bake into big SUVs — but Lexus has. From a power-sliding middle row to more over-the-top gadgetry than any other SUV in its class (there is a 19-speaker Mark Levinson stereo, for example, and you can — get this — control the speed of the electric windows!).

Dynamically, systems such as Active Height Control and terrain-sensing antilock brakes (they allow the LX 570 to stop quickly even in sand, which normally defeats conventional ABS technology) make the LX 570 a superlative-spewing winner. If you need so many seats, you won’t find better.

9 of 10 Mid-size SUV: Porsche Cayenne GTS

Starting price: $69,300
Power: 405 hp 4.8-liter V-8
2nd place : Range Rover Supercharged
3rd place: Volvo XC90
Of all the Cayennes (there are now four models), this is the standout: The aggressive front and rear fascia come from the Cayenne Turbo, and a 20-mm-lower stance and improved dynamics give it insanely impeccable ride and handling. The performance is so good, you’ll marvel at how Porsche engineers managed to make a 2 1/2 ton truck feel almost as dynamic as one of their precision sports cars.

Crossover/Wagon: Lexus RX400h AWD

Starting price: $42,980
Power: 268-hp 3.3-liter V-6
2nd place : BMW X6
3rd place: Mercedes-Benz R320 CDI

Luxury? The RX400h is dripping with perks.

Gas mileage? 25 mpg average, 27 highway.

Conscience? It was the first luxury hybrid.

There’s also an amazing 38.3 cu. ft. of cargo volume–suitcases ahead of the competition. And impressive refinements and Toyota dependability. Lexus thinks of everything

7 of 10 Large sedan: Mercedes-Benz S550

Starting price: $86,700
Power: 382-hp V-8
2nd place : Maserati Quattroporte Automatic
3rd place: Lexus LS 600h L

Mercedes is masterful at crafting top-flight luxury sedans, and this latest edition of its flagship sets a new gold standard. The S550, although not as powerful as the super-high performance 518-hp S63 AMG, strikes the perfect balance between power (382 hp), space (109.4 cu. ft. of passenger space vs. 95.8 average for the competition), and relative value (the S63 AMG starts at $127,000).

Throw in the luxury-hotel feeling of the interior — complete with concierge-like electronic systems — and it’s easy to see why Mercedes still owns this segment.

Mid-size sedan: Jaguar XF Supercharged

Starting price: $62,975
Power: 420 hp 4.2-liter V-8
2nd place : BMW 550i
3rd place: Audi S6

If Jaguar’s new owners, India’s Tata Motors, needed any convincing about whether the British marque was capable of building great cars, the XF surely put those to rest.

The sexy XF is one of the freshest and chicest designs around, and compared to the competition, it’s loaded for the money. Remarkably, the XK serves up that ever-elusive “customer surprise and delight” that car marketers drone on about but rarely deliver.

To wit: The start-stop button silently heart-throbs in red — ba-boom, ba-boom, ba-boom — and on start-up, all air vents swing open, while the cylindrical gear selector, which sits flush at rest, rises to the occasion. I applaud moving away from those old-fashioned forms and conventional ideas. Oh, and it drives like the wind, too.

5 of 10 Small sedan: Audi RS4

Starting price: $66,910
Power: 4.2-liter, 420-hp V-8
2nd place : Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG
3rd place: BMW 335xi

Ask an automotive engineer — off the record — to state a benchmark, and chances are he’ll pick an Audi. And then there’s a high-water mark like the RS 4, which is innovation-rich, ridiculously quick, and competent at everything from daily driving to track-tough floggings.

Touches like bi-xenon high intensity discharge headlights, an aggressive front diffuser, and a svelte spoiler on the rear deck are icing on a rocket.