2009 Chevrolet Camaro  It's Friday afternoon, our appointment
with the Chevrolet Camaro concept car is at hand, and the gray
clouds hanging over Milford, Michigan, don't look like they're
going to disappear anytime soon. As we head east on I-96 toward
the Milford exit, a few splatters of rain hit our windshield.
General Motors operatives have already warned us that if the
ground is wet, the handbuilt prototype won't be allowed out onto
the proving ground's Black Lake or the south loop--the most
action we'll be granted is to roll the car around under a porte
cochere attached to a testing garage.  All of our worries are
for naught. The clouds remain, but they've shut off their rain
faucets and the testing tarmac is dry. My GM escort, designer
Christos Roustemis, motions for me to get in the car, with a
warning to shut the driver's door behind me slowly and
deliberately. Door closed, I'm sitting in a tall bucket seat
with limited adjustments, so I'm perched a bit too high. The
seat-mounted belts are not usable.