(cover art provided by publisher)
I’m a Chevy girl. Three out of the four everyday driver vehicles I have owned in my life thus far, including my current Equinox, have been Chevrolet. My parents currently own two Chevrolet vehicles as well (A 2012 Malibu and a 2017 Silverado High Country). I am a Chevy girl through and through. When the “new” Camaro debuted I drooled and seriously considered making it my next car. I didn’t because it’s a bit impractical for someone who commutes on a 5-day a week basis and drives 1000 miles on road trips a year. Plus I’d cry if it got dinged and I park amongst college students who don’t seem to care if they fling their doors into the side of your car, drag their backpacks along the side of you car SUV, or tap your truck in the parking lot. Plus, in all honesty, one of the biggest reasons I didn’t get a Camaro is that I’d likely get myself into trouble with a high performance modern day muscle car like the Camaro because let’s face it- I already have kind of a lead foot. So, instead I drool at the ones at the dealership when I take my Equinox in for service or give ones I run across in the wild a long, loving look (I promise I am just admiring it not casing it Camaro owners).
I was not disappointed by Larry Edsall’s Camaro 2016: Chevrolet’s Modern Performance Car. This book is made for the Camaro enthusiast.
The book details the blood, sweat, tears and engineering behind the newest Gen6 Camaro and details it’s ultimate production. But first it starts with a little bit of history- detailing several of the previous generations of Camaros and the return of the Camaro in 2010 which to be successful needed to satisfy the expectations of both longtime staunch Camaro/Chevy enthusiasts as well as catch the eye and imagination of newer car enthusiasts- which no doubt was a daunting task.
The the book gets into the good stuff- what went into the Gen6 Camaro creation including one of my favorite parts of the book the four pages of concept design illustrations of the Gen6 in Chapter 4. But don’t be fooled- the book doesn’t just talk about the design concept but instead goes in depth with chapters on the design and features of the exterior, interior, power plant under the hood, even the assembly plant and the launch of the car in May 2015. Basically- this book is the birth story of the Gen6 Camaro complete with a shout out to it’s direct family tree.
While I highly recommend this book- it is for different reasons than I usually recommend books of this nature. This one I don’t merit solely on it’s photography – not that there isn’t any- there is and it’s fine representations of the drool-worthy Camaro- but I actually recommend Camaro 2016 based on the words that tell the story of the Camaro from many perspectives and includes the voices of the very people involved with the designing and making of this modern iconic car, right down to people on the assembly line.
The book itself is a wonderful, high quality 160 page hardback book that includes both color and a few black and white photos that is 9.8 inches by 11.2 inches…just perfect for the car room, living room or book shelf of your favorite Camaro or Chevy enthusiast.
Author Larry Edsall spent 12 years at AutoWeek magazine after working as a sportswriter/editor for daily newspapers in Michigan. He then moved on to establish editorial content for automotive websites and was featured on the National Geographic television special “Driven.” He’s the author of nearly 20 books, is the editorial director of ClassicCars.com, writes a weekly feature for the detroit news and is an adjunct faculty member at the school of journalism and mass communications for Arizona State University. You can find some of his writings here on ClassicCars.com or you can find him on twitter @LarryEdsall.
____________________________
For Full-Disclosure purposes (I am looking at you FTC): I received a copy of Camaro 2016: Chevrolet’s Modern Performance Car from the publisher for the possibility of review on this blog. The words and opinions on the book are my own.
Click here for other installments of Amy’s #NASCAR Reading List