I’m starting the new year with one of the cars that’s kicking off the beginning of the sixth generation of the Chevrolet Camaro.
Chevrolet stuffed my 2016 Camaro 2LT tester with more than $4,000 in options. One of them is the $1,950 RS Package, which includes 20-inch aluminum wheels inside run-flat tires, high-intensity discharge headlights, LED taillights, special front grilles, and a rear spoiler. Another is the $895 dual-mode performance exhaust with quad pipes. Perhaps the most noticeable add-on listed on the window sticker is the $1,495 3.6-liter direct-injected V6. It may not generate the bestial amount of output that the SS’s LT1 does, but 335 horsepower is not too shabby. Even better: the six is hooked up to a six-speed manual. Total price after the destination fee is $35,150.
I’ll be driving this Red Hot review special up and down the streets and highways of Central Texas. I’ll even fit in a road trip from Austin to Houston next week. If you have any questions about my experience in the 2016 Camaro 2LT, post them below, on the forum, or hit me up on Twitter.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
