camaro generations · 2012. 5. 7. · then back to los gatos and then finally to la jolla,...

Camaro

May 2012

Camaro Club of San Diego Monthly Newsletter

Generations

Contents 1 Title Contents 3 Officers, Club Info, Meeting Info 4 -5 CCSD News Flash 6-10 My Camaro: Phyllis & Mike Mazaika 11-12 Camaro On Sale In Germany 13-19 Speed Bump Madness – Part 1 20 Camaro Lexicon: Hockey Stick 21 Events Calendar 22 Newsletter Editor ’s Message 23 Parting Shot

Page 2

CCSD 2012 Officers President: Jody Vacala Vice President: Ken Garcia Secretary: April Moyer Treasurer: Teresa Meyer Activities Director: Curtis Darnell Car Club Council Rep: Cal Montgomery Newsletter Editor: Rob Quisenberry Webmaster: Kari Raley

www.camaroclubofsandiego.org

Sponsored by:

Next CCSD Club Meeting: When: Wednesday, May 02, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. Where: Courtesy Chevrolet in Mission Valley 750 Camino del Rio North

Note: You do not need to own or drive a Camaro to belong to the club. Anyone who loves Camaros and is interested in these iconic automobiles is welcome. Club Meetings are usually the first Wednesday of each month at 7:00 PM.

Camaro Club of San Diego P.O. Box 421164 San Diego, CA. 92142-1164

CCSD News Flash: Ken Garcia Wins “Best Camaro”

Ken Garcia, VP of the Camaro Club of San Diego, won "Best Camaro" with his 1969 396 Convertible Camaro at the Heart Beat Happening - XIV on 29 April 2012 at the Bates Nut Farm in Valley Center. There were 266 cars and 21 Camaros of all ages.

CCSD News Flash: Ken Garcia Wins “Best Camaro”

My Camaro: Phyllis & Mike Mazaika CCSD initiated a program this year whereby club members can have their names drawn to display their

cars in the Courtesy Chevrolet showroom. The Mazaikas showed their car at the April meeting.

My Camaro: Phyllis & Mike Mazaika

he’s called Black Beauty, and that name is appropriate. This is one meticulously maintained and restored Midnight Black1984 T-top Camaro Berlinetta. Purchased new in Danbury, Connecticut in June of `84, this car has been garaged most of its life. Primarily Phyllis’s car (since Mike had a string of fun cars to drive), it was moved to Los Gatos, California a year later. There Phyllis drove it daily to Ponderosa Elementary School where she taught the Gifted and Talented Program. Years later the Mazaikas relocated to Austin, Texas, then back to Los Gatos and then finally to La Jolla, California. This car has seen three Desert Runs and a car show with CCSD. With just 81,300 miles on the odometer it’s a real head-turner.

S


Under the hood is a 305 cubic inch V-8 mated to a three speed automatic transmission. City mileage is 9 MPG, but highway mileage is better at 20 MPG. Black Beauty recently got a major facelift from Chariots of Fire, who buffed out the paint and repainted the bumpers and pin striping. They also did some work on the upholstery and mounted larger tires.

One interesting and unique feature of the Berlinetta is the futuristic dash and controls. The use of digital read-outs and LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) was revolutionary for 1984. Back then most gauges were analog. The shape of the buttons and the design of the dashboard were inspired by the Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet. GM scientists and engineers helped design the electronics for the 747 and transferred that knowledge to the Camaro.


GM ad from the early 80’s


The control module for the stereo system rotates on its vertical axis so that it can face either the driver or the passenger. Very advanced for its time. The Editor

The Camaro On Sale in Germany! Many of the most popular German high performance cars are now shifting away from V8s to smaller turbocharged V6s. German auto enthusiasts looking for a V8 are forced into the very expensive high end models. Up until now there were no affordable alternatives. But now the Camaro is for sale in Europe and it is getting considerable

attention. When GM did their German market research they were told by many prospective buyers that the combination of power and price is absolutely unbeatable. There are no other European models that have a V8 and can deliver over 400 HP for less than 40,000 Euros ($52,387.00)! European drivers are discovering what we have known for years; that

Camaros deliver the most bang for the buck. German buyers were also impressed by the surprisingly large trunk, even in the convertible model with the top down. The distinctive American muscle car looks are also a plus. This car really stands out on European roadways.

The European Camaros will come with Active Fuel Management which shuts off up to four cylinders when the additional power is not required. This is especially important because gasoline prices in Europe are currently hovering around $9.00 per gallon! GM expects the Camaro to sell well not only in Germany, but also in the larger Russian cities, such as Moscow.

[This info is from the German automotive program

Motor Mobil, found on the Deutsche Welle website.

URL =

http://www.dw.de/dw/episode/0,,15536258,00.html ]

This is a significant development because

Germans are major league car lovers; as

much as, or more than, us Americans.

German cars are considered to be some of

the world’s best and German drivers view

driving as a sport and an art form to be

developed.

The new Camaro has preformed very well

on the Nurburgring race track, and many

German autophiles have noticed. The

success of the Camaro in Germany will be

an endorsement, or stamp of approval that

will lift the reputation of the Camaro above

other American models.

The Editor

Speed

ommercial property owners have a right and a

responsibility to control traffic in their parking lots and

provide a safe environment for their tenants and the

public. In order to maintain safe traffic speeds, they often

resort to various “traffic calming” techniques. In the past

this included the use of speed bumps. Speed bumps are

raised humps in the pavement, typically one to three feet

long from front to back, nearly as wide as the traffic lane,

and from 3 to 4 inches high. Speed bumps are commonly

seen in parking lots and sometimes even on public

roadways.

Recent scientific studies, however, have shown that speed

bumps are essentially ineffective at reducing vehicle

speeds. The U.S. Military Transportation Engineering

Agency has been a leader in these studies, since some

military bases can be as large as counties and may contain

hundreds of miles of roadway. The base command is

responsible for safety on these roadways and is liable for

accidents on its property. The military is very interested in

what works and what doesn’t work in promoting traffic

safety.

ness !!!

The Worst Parking Lots

in San Diego…

C

Speed bumps can be easily defeated, however, by high

lift vehicles with large diameter tires, such as SUV’s and

trucks. These vehicles can roll right over the bumps

even at high rates of speed as their suspensions can

quickly absorb the impact. In some cases going over

them faster is more comfortable than going slowly.

Clearly, speed bumps are not effective in equally

slowing all types of vehicles.

The U.S. Army now prohibits the use of speed bumps

on their bases, and the other military services are

discouraging their use as well. Army Regulation 420-1

Section 2-17 states: “Hazardous features such as

transverse ridges, speed bumps, or dips on pavement

surfaces will not be installed or maintained as a means

of controlling or reducing the speed of traffic.”

Speed bumps on Navy bases are

typically removed as soon as a new

base Commanding Officer (CO)

arrives driving his low profile sports

car. Nothing eradicates speed

bumps as quickly as the CO’s new

Corvette, Jaguar or Porsche getting

its muffler crushed and its tail pipes

dented.

The problem with speed bumps relates to the shape:

the narrow footprint of the bump and the steep angles

of the ramps. If the bump is too high, low profile

vehicles such as sports cars can impact the top of the

bump, even if they slow to a crawl. These impacts can

severely damage components at the bottoms of the

chassis, such as spoilers, air dams, oil pans, headers,

exhaust pipes, catalytic converters and mufflers. Many

speed bumps show multiple deep gouges, scrapes and

scratches from such collisions.

Speed bumps should be no higher than

4”, but unfortunately many are…

It is in this spirit that we launch this new series

of articles in the Camaro Generations

newsletter. We hope to identify and expose

the worst offenders in the San Diego area. If

you’ve had a bad experience with speed

bumps, email us the location and your story. If

lawsuits don’t work, then maybe public

awareness and some healthy doses of ridicule

will.

Getting existing speed bumps removed can be

difficult, however. Landlords do not enjoy

spending money on removing or converting

speed bumps, even if they have proven to be a

public safety hazard. Lawsuits related to speed

bump damage are common but are typically

dismissed or denied by the courts. Very few

plaintiffs have successfully sued landlords for

speed bump damage. The best remedy may be

educating these landlords and municipalities of

the damage created by these outdated traffic

hazards. Public awareness might get the job

done.

The military Transportation Engineering Agency

now recommends the use of speed humps (12

feet long from front to back and a maximum of 4

inches high), rumble strips (bumpy pavement

such as cobblestones), raised crosswalks and

textured crosswalks for traffic calming. Speed

humps are safe for low clearance vehicles, are

comfortable for bicyclists and are preferred by

police and fire departments for emergency

vehicles. Speed humps are effective in slowing

down all kinds of vehicles, since going over them

at too great a speed causes the sensation of being

launched into the air.

The Worst Parking Lots in San Diego… Part One

Scripps Ranch

Business Center

Take I-15 north to the Carroll Canyon Road exit, go east

a short distance and there on the right is a business park

that is a veritable Speed Bump Hell. This parking lot

seems to be a natural shortcut for residents of Scripps

Ranch trying to get to the neighborhoods off Appaloosa

Road, but this shortcut won’t be an easy one.

This parking lot has not one, not two, not

three, but NINE speed bumps that could high-

bottom a Hummer H2. Plus, there’s a very

tight traffic circle in the middle to negotiate

and several deep drainage ditches just to make

it extra challenging.

The scrapes and scratches on the white painted monster bumps

are even visible from aerial photos! How many drivers have lost

their exhaust systems to this low speed demolition course?

The bumps are high, narrow, steep and they cover the entire

driveway width, preventing you from getting at least one tire

around on normal pavement. The only way to avoid them is to

get one tire up on the curb, which is impossible if you’re not a

Caterpillar earth mover.

Average speeds through here must be in the

single digits. The businesses in the park suffer

from poor indoor air quality from increased

exhaust emissions, since the cars take longer

to pass through the lot. Not to mention the

noise of the vehicles struggling to get over

these bumps.

Note the stop lines before the traffic circle.

These completely negate the efficiency of the

circle. Although entering cars yield to traffic

inside the circle, they are not supposed to

stop.

What’s wrong with this

picture?

Next month we’ll look at an

example of a good parking lot

with modern traffic calming

techniques that work, and not

one single speed bump. Be

careful out there.

The Editor

A rally stripe that runs along both sides of the body from the nose to the rear window of a Camaro. The stripe begins as a wide vertical band that runs from below the front bumper up the front fender and becomes a tapered horizontal stripe as it runs to the rear, resembling a hockey stick.

Camaro Lexicon: Hockey Stick

Events Calendar

There are a number of fascinating articles and amazing features planned for the near future. Here’s a sample, in no particular order: •Speed Bump Madness: The Worst Parking Lots in San Diego (This issue) •Smog Wars: Why Does Sacramento Want to Crush My Camaro? •The Camaro On Sale in Germany! (This issue) •Second Gen Resto-Mod: A Step by Step Restoration of a ‘72 Camaro. •High Performance Driving for the Real World •The Importance of Tires •Camaro Lexicons (All issues) •Design Analysis: The Italian Connection •Everything You Wanted to Know About Oil, But Were Afraid To Ask. •Trans Am Racing Camaros: Roger Penske and Mark Donahue •Camaros in the Media •Most Effective Camaro Performance Mods: What Works (and what doesn’t…) •Coolest License Plates & Brackets

Newsletter Editor’s Message: Coming Soon…

•Camaro Spotter’s Guide •How to Wash Your Car •How to Clay Bar Your Car •How to Wax Your Car

Remember to submit your articles for publication. Otherwise this newsletter will just be full of my stuff. Just e-mail a Word Doc or a PowerPoint slide show to [email protected]. The article about the Campo Cruise was too big to include in this issue, so look for it as a separate special issue.

mailto:[email protected]

You have got to be kidding!....

camaro generations · 2012. 5. 7. · then back to los gatos and then finally to la jolla,...

Documents