A Tale of Two Chevys - The Doppelganger

My Sunday morning routine is pretty simple. Coffee, walk the dog, drive to the gym in the red Camaro we bought for our boys to use, workout, hit Giant Eagle for bagels and muffins and head home. Last Sunday morning, however I deviated from that scintillating agenda to drop $20 gas in what I lovingly refer to as "The Old '96er". Despite my constant lecturing to the contrary my 17 year old son, the primary driver of The Older 96er, has a habit of letting the tank get down very low. Modern, fuel injected automobiles not taking kindly, I remind him constantly, to running out of gas so my generosity was as much "prophylactic" as it was charitable. With Costco being on the far side of town it meant taking the long way home. That long way home had me stumbling across The Old 96er's doppelganger. 
 

You don't see many "fourth generation" Camaros anymore especially up here in Rustville Cleveland. The body on these Camaros might be of a rust proof fiberglass/plastic blend but the undercarriage is  rust friendly iron. To find another fourth generation Camaro is rare; to find another red one just like The Old 96er is just flat our freaky. Finding it so arbitrarily only adding to the delightful randomness of the whole experience.

 

Chevrolet and Pontiac's 1993 update of the 1982 Camaro and Firebird went a lot deeper than just a swoopy, plastic body but this body is all anyone really remembers. A delightfully handsome design that came at a time just as the market for these types of cars was starting to wane. Another example of GM's incredible bad timing and product planning that led ultimately to bankruptcy. GM pulled the plug on these cars after 2002.

 

There's little to distinguish a 1993 Camaro from a 1996 Camaro. However, while The Old 96er has aged gracefully, this '93 looks like it's been put a way wet. Very wet and very often. My "put away wet" vernacular suggesting this car was neglected and abused more than actually driven hard.

Staying youthful looking takes a combination of hard work and luck. Hard work in terms of exercise, diet and clean living. Luck in terms of being born with great, rust proof genes (we all know those people who are born with those great jeans. We secretly despise them.) You don't see many 18 year old Camaros like mine here in Cleveland not to mention a 21 year old Camaro like our well worn doppelganger. Our lovely "Old '96er", on the right, has spent much of it's life pampered by loving owners up to an including me. Who knows what the doppelganger's story is. I'm sure it has some tattoos in some unsavory places.

"Camaro", in case you've wondered, is a made up word. Legend has it that Ed Cole, then president of GM, came up with the name one morning while taking a shower. Us fans of car wish the origin of "Camaro" came from some place with a tad more mystery and intrigue. Perhaps Camaro is a code word for soap on a rope?
 

 

Doppelganger sounds like a made up word too but according to wiki -- 

 

dop·pel·gäng·er

ˈdäpəlˌgaNGər/

noun

noun: doppelgänger; plural noun: doppelgängers

1. an apparition or double of a living person.

   "he has a doppelgänger named Donald, his invented twin brother"