We all love them, don’t we? Their engines, wheels, imperfections. Our cars speak volumes about who we are, what we do and how we like to be perceived. They tell stories about our personalities and through their lives may even pick up some battle scars. They get us from point A to point B and everywhere in between. They are, in a sense, our teleportation device from the every day.

I was looking at my Charger this morning and began to notice the many battle scars it’s accumulated over the many years and adventures we’ve had together. I ran my hand over the three deep scratches on the left side of the hood, took a look at the piece of black electrical tape that hides a big chip on the trunk, then noticed the pit marks in the windshield and glass. I looked at the wheels and noticed the shiny polished aluminum that once gleamed was now somewhat faded, and how my once perfect paint now has nicks all over the place. My car has been through a lot with me behind the wheel, and in looking at all it’s imperfections and blemishes, I began to smile, as I knew where every single one of them came from.

The scratches on the hood, for example, came from when the tire on an 18 wheeler came apart in front of me and a piece of it bounced off the hood and up and over the roof. I was on my way down to Florida from NY, and it scared the crap out of me. The chip in the rear deck lid was put there courtesy of a $200k Brabus Mercedes that rear-ended me in 2007 during a 3,000 mile road rally, and the pit marks in the windshield and surrounding glass came from exploding light bulbs that I destroyed while chasing a flaming bus down a runway (true story).

This car has taken me all over the United States and into two different countries. It’s the car I drove in my wedding and the car that makes my five year old nephew Jack giggle with excitement. It does big smokey burnouts at will and is the only car I’ve ever driven that makes police officers let me do illegal things. To put it simply, my 1968 Dodge Charger is part of who I am. CarDomain has made it a point to let owners showcase their cars and at last count had 664,898 rides registered. Think about that for a minute, because that’s almost three quarters of a million stories, adventures and experiences from owners that love their cars. Cool right?

So what’s your story?

Yesterday Rob and I got a chance to talk to Ed Wellburn, Vice President of Global Design for GM. Now, Ed is about as high up on the food chain as you get at GM, and I have to say, first and foremost, he is a super nice guy! We talked quite a bit about the 2010 Camaro, including different versions like the Z/28 (keep your fingers crossed on this one) as well as possible dealer upgrades like spoilers, sport hoods, ground effects and a possible track option. What was great about our meeting with Ed Wellburn was that he made himself totally accessible to us as writers. He gave us his time and answered our questions. He’s also a die-hard enthusiast who truly cares about what the consumer wants. He made it clear that we should watch GM as they have some great things waiting in the wings.

He then asked if we’d driven the new Camaro yet. Um, no, we had not. Twenty minutes later, we were in control of a black SS hammering down 34th St. in Manhattan. Now I could go into a big ole’ review of the Camaro, but I’m not going to because later today we get one for the WHOLE DAY!! BOOYA!!.. Oh yeah and we get to keep it overnight, too.

As most of you know I am a HUGE fan of the Ford Fusion. I ran one in last year’s Bullrun Rallyas a substitute for my wounded ‘69 Daytona, so when I spotted this little blue devil at the New York International Auto Show I had to stop, admire and pay my respects to a little car that has a big spot in my automotive heart. Continue reading after the jump.

Upon closer inspection I see that Ford has upped the ante on my little favorite by giving it 265hp, all-wheel drive and a sports suspension. They’ve also improved the interior as well by providing the driver with sport leather clad bucket seats, full navigation and a cool auto-stick (man… I could have used this baby last year).

Exterior wise a new front fascia with integrated fog lamps, 18″ wheels and rear dual exhaust really make for an aggressively styled package. Combine that with more interior and cargo room and it kinda makes one think twice about cars like the Subaru WRX, or Mitubishi Lancer.

Ford… if you are listening, YOU NEED TO GET ME A PRESS CAR!!! I want an all-wheel drive Fusion Sport to put through its paces. Believe me when I say that if it’s anywhere near as good as the one I drove last year, then the only thing you’ve done is take a great car and made it into an outrageous one… (but I can’t say that until I drive it) … hint, hint, hint…

After driving Dodge’s new Challenger R/T and SRT, I came away with a warm fuzzy feeling that made me want to buy one. Now it seems that Steve Saleen, creator of the amazing Saleen S7 wants to up the ante by trying to improve on what Chrysler has created, with the creation of the SMS 570 Challenger. Continue reading after the jump.

75 more horsepower, 6-piston calipers and a dual induction hood make up the majority of the tweaks. The rest is mainly cosmetic with a new a grill, rear tail section, upgraded interior (I actually like the standard SRT interior better) and a nifty little gauge pod on top of the dash.

I am sure the SMS is a great car and does everything a bit better than the standard Challenger SRT, but the big question is, is there really a market for this thing? Will people want to shell out the sheckles to pay for marginal performance upgrades? Honestly, I don’t think so. What are your thoughts?

Spyker Cars, the boutique car company from Holland, produces some of the coolest vehicles on the road today. From the first look at a Spyker you realize that you are in the presence of something special. These are not cars that are made for the masses, but automobiles that are constructed for the connoisseur. Continue reading after the jump.

Spyker cars are a visual fiesta for the eyes, with heavy influences from the aircraft of days gone by. Climb in and you are greeted to most beautiful dash that has ever been constructed for an automobile–yes, that is a big statement, but one that is wholeheartedly true. A billet gauge cluster is accompanied by some of the coolest toggle switches that I have ever seen. The gear shift lever probably the most pronounced piece of detail with the linkage being fully exposed.

Exterior wise Spyker’s look like a WWII aircraft for the road. Sitting very low, with turbine inspired wheels and stealthy styling, they bring out everything in car that is completely impractical. Are they fast, yes. Do they stop, yes. Do they look outrageous? Another yes.

The beauty of the Spyker is they were not built to compete with any other car manufacturer. They were built and constructed out of the pure emotion for driving with a design philosophy that is simply. Make it perform, make it beautiful and make it unique. And the new C8 Aileron is no exception.

Are you sick of that Subaru Outback sitting in your driveway? Are you tired of driving that old minivan that you said you’d never buy? Are you dreaming of going to those far away lands that you only see in TV ads? Yes? Well then, Ford has the vehicle for you. Say hi to the SVT Raptor, the trophy truck for the masses. Continue reading after the jump.

This thing is about as macho as it gets when it comes to the pickups offered by the big 3. It’s a simple combination really: go out to Baja, Mexico with a bone stock F150 and drive the nuts off it until stuff breaks. Then fix everything with burlier parts, and repeat.

That’s my interpretation of how the Ford Raptor probably came into being. Just looking at makes you feel like your pecks will get bigger. 11.3 inches of wheel travel also guarantee that the Raptor can pretty much devour anything that put in front of it and in relative comfort too. Styling is pure chest hair, with big fender flairs and a mud-splattered paint scheme.

The interior is typical Ford F150 but with a cool auxiliary stack in front of the shifter and a redone cluster. Seats and door panels are color keyed to match the exterior.

The SVT Raptor is a cool truck and I am sure it does exactly what it was meant to do. I’m just not sure there is actually a market for it. I mean here in the Northeast that thing would be useless. Out West, however, who knows? I guess only sales figures will tell.

A legend in Europe for decades, the Ford Transit van is just now making its way over to the States. I was pretty stoked to check this thing out and for good reason: I need a new van. When first viewing it there are a couple of things that you’ll notice immediately. For one, it’s very tall and narrow. And it appears to be based on an automotive platform as opposed to a truck platform. Continue reading after the jump.

Payload is said to be around 1,600pounds, which is a fair amount. But the Transit only puts out 132 hp. This is a concern, as I can’t see myself with a loaded Ford Transit trying to merge onto the Long Island Expressway. Traffic moves at about 80 mph, and honestly, I don’t even know if this thing has the grunt to do 70mph.

Interior space is liberal, with a host of different configurations available. And being as tall as it is, you’ll have a huge amount of space to put cargo. Dash layout is pretty standard, with all the gauges being clearly visible, and easy to read and climate controls are all there as well with no bells and whistles. This is all a good thing because in a cargo or personal van, the best thing you can ask for is ease of use.

All in all I really like the Ford Transit, but the lack of power is a major turnoff. Why they don’t sell the diesel-powered European versions over here I don’t know. If you know, let me know and I’ll write to the powers that be to see if we can make it happen.

This past week Rob and I had a blast covering the New York International Auto Show for CarDomain. We got to enter early, have some great meetings and generally got to poke around more so than your average Joe. All in all, a great experience. One major highlight of the week was our meeting with Ed Wellburn, Vice President of Global Design for GM. This is the guy responsible for bringing the 2010 Camaro to light. We spoke about the Camaro and GM’s plans for the car. Then, when Ed asked if we’d driven one, we simply sighed and said, “no…”

Continue reading after the jump!

What happened next was very unexpected. Not only did GM hook us up with a Black SS automatic to take for a quick blast around the block, but then upon returning it, they said they had a red SS 6-speed to give us for the next 24hrs. Oh the joy! The following day we picked up a fire engine red 2010 Camaro SS, 6-speed. This car was a stripper: no rally package, no leather and no BS. Just a 422 hp V8, six gears and a whole bunch of traffic lights to launch from. Man I love NYC.

First and foremost the Camaro is a looker, and driving one around the streets of NYC on a spring day proved this in spades. Everyone was giving the Camaro looks, even if they didn’t know what the hell it was. Cab drivers, pedestrians, door men, bus drivers as well as the rest of the NYC masses loved it. In fact we didn’t get one negative comment the entire time we were in this thing. Interestingly enough, one comment that we kept getting is that people thought the Camaro was a concept car, and with it’s low profile, chopped roof and aggressive stance, I can totally see why. It just doesn’t look like a production ready car, and when viewed from the front it is a really mean looking SOB.

People have been bitching about the car’s interior and I am not sure why. Yes, it definitely has some new age, retro funk going on, but it works in this car. There is A LOT of gray. In fact everything from the door panels, to the dash, to the seats are gray. But the materials themselves are really not bad.

The gauge cluster and climate controls will obviously be a bone of contention for some people. For example, Rob said that the climate control pod reminded him of a cow’s utter. Hmm… I don’t see it, but hey, I’m not Rob. Gauges are easy to read and are not obstructed by the steering wheel and all the controls are where they should be for easy access. As mentioned, we had a stripper SS, but if I were to purchase one I’d probably get the extra gauge package which includes oil pressure, volts, oil temp and transmission temp. This is a cool option and one that lends itself well to the overall look and feel of the car. Plus I want to know what the hell’s going on if I decide to beat on this thing.

Driving the Camaro is another experience entirely. First off, the 6-speed is SO much better than the automatic. While the automatic is fine it just doesn’t seem to fit the cars personality. Launches are somewhat lazy and uninspiring and really detract from the overall road feel. This is not to say that it isn’t fast–quite the contrary, it’s very fast, but the automatic just doesn’t feel that way. The six-speed cures this. Once in the car I found myself having to lower the seat all the way down and back to gain not only headroom, but visibility. What everyone should know, regardless of the model they’re interested in, is that this car has blind spots. A LOT of them. With a somewhat chopped roof, narrow windshield and windows, I was constantly checking over my shoulders for a better view. The A and B pillars also greatly reduce visibility. For Chevy to get that cool roof line they had to extend the windshield, which means compromising your forward view. At stoplights for example, I was constantly leaning forward to see the signal as the roof kept obstructing my view. It was a total pain in the ass.

During normal highway driving you won’t really notice this, but just wait until you come to a signal. Back seat room in the Camaro is a joke, even for small children, so if and when you buy it I would consider it a two seater. Trunk space is limited as well, with a narrow opening and shallow well. If you’re looking for four usable seats in a modern muscle car then the new Challenger is the way to go.

Power wise the Camaro does not disappoint. The all aluminum small block pumps out 422 hp and hurls it to 60 mph in under 5 seconds. Ladies and gentleman, this car is fast. Turn the traction control off, rev it up and dump the clutch and you find yourself incinerating the tires at will–it’s a riot. 1st and 2nd gear are amazingly tall. Hell, we cruised around NYC all day using just the first two gears–it’s all you needed. Once the lights went out, I took the Camaro out to my neighborhood in Queens, NY. I hit the good ole’ Cross Island Parkway and began trolling for unsuspecting imports and strudel wagons, and as always, I was not disappointed. I ran everything from STIs to a few BMW 3-series, to a standard Caddy CTS and had no issues with anyone. I did however get my ass handed to me by someone in a crazy silver Honda S2000. Man did that sucker move (dude, if you’re reading this, BRAVO!). Also, before all you STi and BMW guys get your panties in a twist, just know that I am just stating what happened, I don’t know if the other cars were stock, modded or whatever, so don’t get all defensive on me.

Brakes on the SS are Brembos but didn’t offer the same binding power as say, those on the SRT-8 Challenger. For what it’s worth, though, they are better than those of the Challenger R/T. Handling wise the car was simply great. Throw the Camaro into a corner and it will not disappoint you. Side to side transitions are great and throttle response out of the corner is smooth and even. I would really love to get one of these on a road course to see what it would do.

At the end of the day all the modern muscle cars out now are really fantastic, so choosing a clear winner is difficult because the margins are just so close. We all know that the world has Ford, Chevy and Mopar guys, and we all have loyalties to each brand. What I would say to everyone though, is to go out and try to drive them all before making a decision if you are in the market for one of these. As said, they are all great cars, each with its own distinct personality, so don’t sell yourself short with the whole, “I’m a Ford guy” or “I’m a Chevy guy.” You’d just be doing yourself a disservice. Check them all out, because right now, regardless of the economy, it is a very exciting time for the auto enthusiast. There are some truly great performing, beautifully designed cars out there, so do your homework, shop carefully and enjoy.

And by the way… yes, I do like the 2010 Camaro SS - A LOT!