  Top: The airbrushed airwork on Dorothy Lavoie’s 2010 Camaro from Ottawa; bottom: Dave and Shelly Smith came from Florida with their 2002 SS, which is now thoroughly modified. Click image to enlarge |
The Camaro weekend included live entertainment and trophies, and also marked the Canadian debut of the 2012 supercharged Camaro ZL1 and 45th Anniversary Edition. These will go on sale later this year. But the biggest unveiling, at least in terms of size, was a mosaic formed of 587 vehicles in the parking lot, surrounding a signature bowtie of freshly-made yellow Camaros. GM is trying to get it recognized as a Guinness world record.
There were a lot of yellow Camaros at the event, many of them themed as Bumblebee, the Camaro robot from the movie Transformers – including the car that appears in the latest installment. Dorothy Lavoie of Ottawa not only had a Bumblebee-themed license plate on her yellow 2010 model, but she also had a rendition of the movie character airbrushed on the hood. She bought her yellow car when the lease on her 2006 Monte Carlo came due and she saw it on the dealer’s lot when she drove in.
She was unaware of the movie tie-in until a co-worker told her about it, and she decided to differentiate her car with the painting. She found a painter on the Internet, “but he only did motorcycles, not cars. I told him it was for a Camaro and he loves them, so he did mine.”
Her car received a bit more special treatment at the show. Several members of the Detroit-based team responsible for putting the newest Camaro together, including Scott Settlemire – known as the “Fbodfather” among enthusiasts for the Camaro’s F-Body platform – were walking around the show, and as they did for anyone else who desired it, autographed Lavoie’s car under the hood. It’s a tribute to the passion these owners feel for their cars that the team was kept busy signing throughout the day.
“Scott Settlemire told me I needed to come here,” said Dave Smith, who brought his 2002 Camaro SS from Molino, Florida. “I was at the F-Body Gathering in Atlanta and he was there. I wanted to see the plant tour primarily.” He has owned his car since it was new and has since done considerable modifications to it, both under the hood and in the suspension. It’s the fifth Camaro he has owned over the years and he does all of the work himself.
 An original 2002 Utah State Trooper car that is now used to promote a police charity in Michigan. Click image to enlarge |
One who didn’t was Pat Lewis, who received his 2002 Camaro pretty much as its previous owner did it up. That was the Utah Highway Patrol, and Lewis’ retired State Trooper car still carries all of its original equipment, including its lights, sirens, radio and 423-horsepower engine. It’s one of two retired police cars that he uses for Michigan C.O.P.S. (Concerns of Police Survivors), a non-profit organization that helps the families of officers lost in the line of duty. “I do volunteer work for C.O.P.S., fundraisers, career days at school,” Lewis says. “The police all know who I am and the organization.” He covers up the decals and disconnects the lights when he’s driving it, but at events like this, he turns it all on to draw attention to the organization and its work.
GM hopes to host another such event in future, but a for-sure will be the 2012 Camaro Nationals, held once again by the Ontario Camaro Club. For more information, or to see more pics from this year’s show, visit OntarioCamaroClub.com.
