This weeks’ Throwback Thursday video features a commercial for the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Transformers Edition. The Camaro has been showcased in a long list of movies and television shows over the past 50 years, but the most significant modern role – and the most significant role for the 5th gen Camaro – was serving as Bumblebee in the new Transformers series.
This commercial starts off looking like a campy, low quality local Chevrolet commercial. It even features an old guy in a cheap suit yelling about discount prices with a black and yellow Camaro in the shot. After the old guy catches a football, a random mascot with a fake hammer runs in from the side and begins to pound on the hood – simulating the theme of smashing prices.
Unfortunately for the mascot, this isn’t just any yellow and black Camaro – this is Bumblebee from Transformers. Upon being hit with the hammer, Bumblebee transforms from the muscle car to a huge robot, grabbing the mascot and throwing him through the front of the dealership.
If you follow the Transformers series, Bumblebee would never do this, as he is part of the human-friendly Autobots, but this commercial is intended to be funny – and a giant robot which transformed from a Camaro SS only to fling away an annoying sports mascot is kind of funny. More importantly, it showcased the 2011 Transformers Edition Camaro, which proved to be a popular option for those Chevy fans who like bright yellow cars.
After Bumblebee tosses the mascot aside, he transforms back into the Camaro, doing a smokey burnout and a quick donut before racing towards the camera at the end of the video.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
