2011 Chevy Camaro Convertible: Up Close
As I strolled the few blocks from my hotel to Chevy’s event to show off the new Camaro convertible a number of status-seeking cars zoomed by me on the streets of Los Angeles.
In a city that prizes appearances, this convertible has them in abundance.
Our up-close posts are designed to let readers know what a car is like in real life. What the materials feel and look like, how roomy the front seat is and if there’s a lack of trunk room. There are no real surprises with the Camaro convertible. If you’ve sat in a new Camaro coupe, the convertible feels no different from the driver’s seat.
Well, no different except for the lack of the claustrophobia-inducing hardtop overhead.
The top of the windshield, where the droptop connects to it, is extremely sturdy. It actually might be the thickest I’ve seen. That helps with the overall solid feel of this car, which gives up little structural rigidity to accommodate the soft-top, according to Chevy.
The trunk seems decently big with the top down at 7.85 cubic feet. It expands to 10.24 cubic feet with the top in place. The coupe is slightly more spacious at 11.3 cubic feet. The rear seats make up for the lack of trunk space. They’ll be used for luggage more than passengers, I’d guess.
I can imagine driving the exact V-6 Camaro convertible I sat in last night’s event along California’s scenic ocean drives. You definitely don’t need the V-8, but it will obviously be on sale alongside the V-6 for those who want to hear that exhaust.
The convertible is all about looks and emotional impact; the power isn’t as important. Plus, the V-6 is a wonderful powerplant that we’ve gotten to know well this past year. It makes us anxious to go for an ocean drive in this one, but that will have to wait until it goes on sale in February.
