Team Hall & Nass 2009-2014 Crazy Clips Vid

21 07 2014

Team Hall & Nass Corvette Z06Team Hall & Nass 2009-2014 Crazy Clips Vid

http://youtu.be/d7FfTvwNu2w

This video is an extremely condensed selection of some crazy event clips we @ Team Hall & Nass and #Motorama LIVE filmed between 2009 & 2014. Most of what you’ll see here is never before seen, raw, and unpublished footage.

NOTE – A lot of the early days footage was shot in SD, so unfortunately, we had to process those scenes in SD to include those clips. Darn those days before we acquired all the 1080p GoPros!

ALSO NOTE – Some scenes were filmed on a closed course, with professional drivers … (blah, blah, blah). But some of it is from our road rally days, back when we didn’t give 2 flips about “the rules” (as if we ever really did anyway). Haters gonna hate, but our fans are gonna LOVE it!

So get in, sit down, strap in and hang on tight! We’re about to shred a LOT of tires, pass a LOT of cars and show you a glimpse of what we’ve been up to over the past 5 years.

In closing, we’d like to remind you …

IF YOU’VE JUST BEEN PASSED, YOU’RE NOT HALL & NASS





How Chevy Drives Innovation @ SXSW

6 03 2013

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Team Hall & Nass and #Motorama LIVE went to South by SouthWest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas to discover how Chevrolet goes all out to drive home an automotive presence at the SXSW Interactive, Film and Music conference held annually in Austin, Texas.

Ride along with us in a “Catch a Chevy” as Connie Burke, Communications Manager for Chevrolet, explains how Chevrolet has managed to drive crowds, make relationships and generate traffic via their creative interactive approach to developing a strong automotive presence at a conference not traditionally known as being automotive related. It’s a true rolling case study in brand marketing meets interactive presence LIVE in action. Come along with us an enjoy the ride!





3 Years/36K Miles Bumper to Bumper Team Hall & Nass #Motorama LIVE All Access Movie

5 12 2012

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http://youtu.be/g1bzdW1lXRc

Welcome to the 3 Years/36K Miles Bumper to Bumper Team Hall & Nass #Motorama LIVE All Access Movie, celebrating our 2 Year Anniversary of #Motorama LIVE on Twitter! 3 Years/36K Miles Bumper to Bumper takes you on a journey of fast cars, cool people and amazing events with Team Hall & Nass and Motorama LIVE from the first week of December 2009 through the first week of December 2012.

This 42 minute feature movie contains a LOT of never before seen footage from our Team Hall & Nass years and the best of the best clips so far from our Motorama LIVE years. We could have gone back further and included a LOT more footage, but if we didn’t cut it where we did and condense it down to these 42 minutes, it might have become ‘Gone With the Motorama’, and let’s face it, no one should watch that much of our foolishness in one sitting.

So gather your friends and family around the computer, television or your mobile device, get some salty snacks, some frosty cold beverages, and enjoy some of the craziest, zaniest “best of” moments captured in the 3 Years/36K Miles Bumper to Bumper Team Hall & Nass #Motorama LIVE All Access Movie!

Thank you to EVERYONE who has supported us over the last several years, from our friends and families, our fans, our sponsors, our OEM friends, reps, event managers, everyone who has ever used the #Motorama hashtag on Twitter, and last, but certainly NOT least, our amazing #Motorama LIVE staff members, without ALL of whom none of this would be possible. I cannot thank each and every one of you enough.

Join us for #Motorama LIVE every Wednesday from 9-11 PM Eastern on Twitter! Just search on and use the #Motorama hashtag to join the conversation! #Motorama LIVE, THE most fun automotive enthusiast and motorsports #Carmmunity on Twitter!





NORC 150 MPH Class Team Hall & Nass Z06 ORR May 2012 Full Course Run

21 05 2012

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN7_lcU2MRo&list=UUhOss6OGf1l4diaw_SNuTIw&index=6&feature=plcp

The Mission – Drive down 90 miles of two lane blacktop on a closed public highway, breaking the light beam on the other end at as close to a perfect 150 MPH average in 36 Minutes FLAT as humanly possible.

The following is the Motorama LIVE Team Hall & Nass Corvette Z06 Open Road Racing in the 150 MPH Class at the Nevada Open Road Challenge (NORC) on Nevada Highway NV 318, May 20th, 2012. This is the Spring race, which is an exact replica of the Silver State Classic Challenge (SSCC) that runs every September.

PLEASE NOTE – Our race grid footage was chopped off to allow this video to begin at the true exact zeroing ‘0’ of the SSCC atomic timing and scoring clock on professional editing software. This video shows our entire run in all of its raw, unedited glory, then continues on less than a minute after the finish line as we say our recorded time aloud and exchange high fives. So sit back and enjoy 36 minutes of LS7 singing along two lane blacktop for 90 miles in an attempt to average a perfect 150 MPH average speed in 36 minutes flat on NV 318.

Additional information on this run:

As stated above, the goal in the 150 MPH Class at NORC and SSCC is to run the 90 mile course on NV 318 in 36 minutes flat at a perfect 150 MPH average. This is time/speed/distance racing on an uber scale.

The Result – Silver State Classic Challenge official timing and scoring listed our run as 36:00.5473 seconds at an average speed of 149.9620 MPH.

What is interesting is that our clocks (and the one on this video) show us as running it in 35:59.88 seconds at just a tick over 150 MPH. Ironically, note that IF our time of .12 of a second off of perfect had been recognized as our official scoring time, it still would have only been good enough for 3rd place out of the 14 entrants in the 150 MPH Class, as the winning time was a 35:59.0164. Yes, the competition in the 150 MPH Class is THAT tight! However, SSCC official time puts us in 6th place overall in the 150 MPH Class.

This video just goes to show that no matter how good YOU may think you are in time/speed/distance Open Road Racing, the fact remains that in the end, you are ONLY as good as someone else’s timing system in the official record books. Like it or not, sometimes, those are just the breaks in ORR.

We race because we love the speed, the people and the cars. The love of the sport is our friend, even if sometimes, the timing clocks are not.

We’ll be back …





Team Hall & Nass and DSTROYR at the Silver State Classic Challenge

15 09 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact
Landon Communications
PR Representatives for Team Hall & Nass
+1.702.940.9632
Berry@LandonCommunications.com

Team Hall & Nass and DSTROYR at the Silver State Classic Challenge

Team Hall & Nass look to DSTROY the competition at the famous desert race

DALLAS, Texas, September 15, 2011 – Team Hall & Nass today officially announces its continued sponsorship alliance with one of the coolest emerging lifestyle brands in the United States, DSTROYR, for the upcoming Silver State Classic Challenge Open Road Race to be run on Nevada Highway 318 on September 18th, 2011.

DSTROYR was started by artist and designer Jon Chase as a blog, with a mission to shine a spotlight on the local in and around the community of Riverside, California. Today, the DSTROYR site covers a wide variety of endeavors and helps spread the word about the latest, coolest things coming out of Southern California in the artistic community, motorsports scene and beyond.

DSTROYR is on a mission to turn people on to something new. While the DSTROYR brand of apparel began from a simple necessity to promote their site, today it has become a reflection of influences. The concept behind DSTROYR is simple – be the best you can be for yourself. DSTROYR’s motto is “Whatever you desire to excel at, kill it, own it, DSTROY it!”

Team Hall & Nass driver Berry Lowman said, “DSTROYR is one of the coolest enterprises we’ve encountered on the automotive/speed/rally lifestyle scene. Their designs and their message are on the cutting edge, which is exactly where Team Hall & Nass likes to be. We believe in Jon’s philosophy and continue to support their cause. Pairing up with DSTROYR for the Silver State Classic Challenge will enable us to look and be that much better while we DSTROY the competition!”

About DSTROYR

DSTROYR is an alterative clothing franchise brand that represents the best elements of the speed lifestyle while also encouraging people to try new things and do their best at whatever they do. DSTROYR is the brainchild of artist Jon Chase, whose talented designs have been featured on major clothing brands and performance-themed artworks, sites and styles all around the globe. Check out the latest designs and cultural happenings on DSTROYR.com.

About Team Hall & Nass

Established in 2009, Team Hall & Nass has quickly become one of the premiere open road, rally racing and automotive performance review blogging teams in the United States. With a lighter, more humorous side than many involved in the automotive racing scene, their zany personalities tend to generate a lot of buzz and interest at every event. Decals bearing their beloved “anti-Hamthrax” (speeding ticket-avoiding) mascot, Pirate Pig, can be found on street vehicles and race cars of fans and competitors alike around the globe.

With a team philosophy to have as much fun as possible with fans and fellow competitors, while making every effort to get the most out of every event (or at least have the most fun trying), their tagline is as much a tongue in cheek sentiment of fun as it is a statement of fact – IF YOU’VE JUST BEEN PASSED, THEN YOU’RE NOT HALL & NASS!

For additional information on Team Hall & Nass, visit TeamHallnNass.com, view team videos on YouTube.com/TeamHallnNass or interact with them directly on Twitter at Twitter.com/TeamHallnNass.

Please note that Team Hall & Nass will be conducting pre- and post-Silver State Classic Challenge interviews with select media outlets as time permits. If you’d like to schedule an interview in person or via phone, please contact their media firm with your request.

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Team Hall & Nass 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible NASCAR Drive Away Experience and Review

27 04 2011

Team Hall & Nass 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible NASCAR Drive Away Experience and Review

Preface

This particular tale will be different from any other review or adventure you have read from either Team Hall & Nass or Motorama LIVE before. To say our time spent with this particular 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible was a unique experience would be a massive understatement for a host of reasons. We’ll get into a few of those wild tales below. Somewhere in the mix, we may also manage to do a review on the car, too.

However, before we launch into our crazy adventure and impressions of the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible, we’d like to point out that this story is being prepared for both our Team Hall & Nass site, as well as our Wednesday night 9-11 PM Eastern Time #Motorama LIVE enthusiast discussion on Twitter. So while this is technically a Team Hall & Nass adventure, it is also being conducted with our Motorama LIVE audience in mind. If you’re confused by any of this, visit both our TeamHallnNass.com and MotoramaLIVE.com sites for information on what both entities are all about.

One Treat of a Favor

It all began when a local DFW area Chevrolet dealership called one day with a question. They asked if we were planning to attend the NASCAR races at Texas Motor Speedway in April, and if we wouldn’t mind doing them a favor. They asked if we could represent their dealership at the NASCAR dealer VIP event in the Team Chevy pavilion and take delivery of a 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible for them at the track after the Sprint Cup Series night race. If so, we would get the full Team Chevy Dealer VIP treatment, including hospitality tent access, food, drinks, free tickets to the race, and the opportunity to participate in the Team Chevy parade lap as part of the dealer “drive away” program. As an added bonus, after the race was over, Thomas said we could keep the car for a week or so to put the break in miles on it, drive around with the top down and enjoy. If only more people called up to ask such favors of us! Of course, it took about half of a millisecond to say “YES!”

We arrived at Texas Motor Speedway the night before the dealer drive away event to enjoy the NASCAR Nationwide Series race, courtesy of our good friends on the GM Communications Team. While watching a highly competitive race, we were treated to something even more fun to watch. A father and his young son who were sitting directly in front of us were both rooting for Ford driver Carl Edwards, who held the lead of the race numerous times throughout the night. While seeing young race fans show their enthusiasm for motorsports always warms our hearts, this kid was priceless. Every time Edwards took the lead, he did a celebratory dance and high fived his dad. Then, in a rare exhibition that would make any veteran NASCAR fan proud, when perennial bad boy Kyle Bush wrecked, this little guy jumped up, pointed at the track, and broke out into a full on running man dance! So when it became apparent that his favorite driver was likely going to win the race, we decided to capture the moment on the likely chance it would be highly entertaining. Enjoy the video of his celebration here – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEhtLKnY7wE&feature=channel_video_title.

Our 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible Parade Lap Adventure Begins

On the day of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, we arrived at the Chevy Chalet in time to enjoy hanging out and having dinner with the owners and managers of the North Texas Chevy Dealers. Afterward, we were led into the infield of Texas Motor Speedway to a row of 43 special decaled triple black 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertibles. We were assigned car number 17, with Chevrolet decals on the doors. While the inside of the car was covered in dust from sitting at the track with the top down most of the weekend, the outside was shining like new money. We got into the cars, strapped on headsets that were linked to race communications, and headed out in a procession from the infield onto the surface of the track on the front straightaway.

The sight of 43 matching drop top muscle cars anywhere is an amazing sight, but sitting behind the wheel of one as you drive out onto the surface of a NASCAR track in front of over 100,000 cheering fans mere moments before a race begins is beyond intoxicating. For someone who’s been around racing all their life and longs for a ride in the big time, honestly, it’s addicting!

We pulled up in front of the driver introduction stage and picked up the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver of the #1 Tracker Boats Chevrolet Impala SS, Jaime McMurray. While we drove around the apron of the track on the parade lap, the wind howling between 20 and 40 MPH on a blustery Texas evening, we cautioned him about coming out of two onto the backstretch. After circling the track and driving down a pit road crowded with the cars and crews of all 43 teams, we headed out to a secure parking lot to “officially” take possession of the Camaro from GM.

Our 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible Drive Away Adventure Begins

After enjoying the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race from the stands, we headed out to the parking lot to retrieve our Camaro, drop the top, and begin the drive back to our house, roughly 30 miles from the speedway. Thus began a dance everyone lucky enough to have purchased and/or driven a brand new muscle or performance car knows all too well. The mental battle between knowing you must keep the engine RPMs at lower levels for the first 500 miles until the rings are properly seated and those run in miles are on the engine versus the almost uncontrollable urge to drop the hammer and experience that roar and rush that only a hot rod car can provide. Well, in Team Hall & Nass world, just because you keep the RPMs low doesn’t exactly mean you have to drive like a senior citizen. Once we broke free of the race traffic and found some clear highway closer to home, the heads up display started to show numbers a bit more to our liking … all while keeping the revs moderate.

Admittedly, I am a very lucky person. My whole life I have owned, rented, borrowed, raced, rallied or somehow had access to some of the best new muscle, speed and luxury cars America builds. So while I have a wide-ranging palate and appreciation for driving new hot rods, it is rare that one truly gets under my skin. Sure, there are many cars I get excited about. That happens all the time. However, this particular Camaro really appealed to something deeper in me, which became apparent as soon as I got it home.

That first night, I spent hours sitting out in my driveway inside of the triple black Camaro SS Convertible with the top down, the dials lit up, the radio down low, and just took it all in. The longer I sat there, the more this old feeling came back to me. One I haven’t felt since way back in the early ‘90s on the first night after I bought my 1994 fourth generation black on black Camaro Z28. The longer I sat there, the more that feeling came over me. This was not what you feel sitting in a Corvette. It was not what you feel sitting in just any cool new car. This was a feeling I only get in a Camaro. This is something I’ve felt many times over the years, as I’ve owned a few Camaros and have always had at least one model (if not multiples) in my possession all the way back to that first 1979 Z28 I bought when I was 16 years old. This is a feeling you get when you encounter an old friend you haven’t seen in ages and almost forgot how much you missed until they are standing there, and suddenly, all that lost time just vanishes and you’re back in a place that seems just like yesterday. Yes, I knew this particular car was not going to be just another drive and review project. This was special. This was a homecoming. This was a Camaro.

My History with the Chevrolet Camaro

Before I can describe the fifth generation Camaro SS Convertible properly, I should first briefly share my longstanding history with being a Camaro aficionado. My love, and even sometimes ‘less than love,’ relationship with the Chevrolet Camaro has existed for as long as I’ve had a drivers license. Having owned and driven many second, third and fourth generation Camaro Z28s over the years, and having kept a fourth generation Camaro Z28 as a semi-regular daily driver for the last 17 years, I’ve got quite a few “butt in seat” miles of Camaro driving experience.

As much as I love driving and racing C6 Corvettes, to me, there is still nothing quite like driving a hot rod Camaro. They have always been quick, twitchy, sideways, unapologetic beasts to drive. They do championship level burnouts with little throttle effort, they command respect at drag strips and race tracks everywhere, and they can whip most cars that cost up to 10 times more without any fear of trying to be something they are not. Since 1967, V8 Camaros have always provided those people on a more conservative budget with the experience of driving a slightly detuned Corvette in a less expensive wrapper (minus the dark period of disappearance from 2003-2009). But more than anything, as long as Camaros have been built and sold, they have always been the ‘best bang for buck’ vehicle Chevrolet has offered. With each new generation, Motor Trend always declares it so.

Describing the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible

In November 2009, Team Hall & Nass got behind the wheel of every flavor of the all new fifth generation 2010 Camaro Coupe (base and RS V6 automatic and manual, SS and SS/RS L99 V8 automatic and LS3 manual models) while at the SEMA show. When we drove the cars, we were immediately smitten. We hijacked the LS3 six speed manual for a clandestine run down the Las Vegas Strip and a few hard blasts around some off the Strip backstreets. We quickly discovered that while the new Camaro had plenty of power, it also had a few shortcomings. It was too quiet due to a restrictive exhaust, it was hard to see out of in any direction, and it just didn’t seem to want to drive sideways very easily. All things I wasn’t expecting. The car wasn’t perfect, but then again, the Camaro was never supposed to be. What it did better than anything was capture the essence of the original first generation Camaro in a visually stunning way. If that was the goal, then it was a goal well met.

Fast forward to April 2011 and we find ourselves in the newly released 2011 Camaro SS Convertible. Our 2SS-optioned car with an automatic rang in at $42,532 on the maroney. It had every single option you could get except for the RS package, and the only RS options it was truly missing were the HID headlights, the halo lights, the HID fog lights and the smoked rear taillight lenses. That would have pushed the sticker up another $500 and change, putting a completely loaded SS/RS Camaro Convertible at roughly $43,000. So HIDs and white SS badge versus red SS/RS badge aside, this car had it all.

A lot has been said about the excellent modern retro exterior and interior styling of the fifth generation Camaro, and how well it captured the first generation. The only thing we could add to that would be to say GM did a great job keeping the lines of the convertible top the same as the coupe. Rare is the drop top that looks good with the top up, but the 2011 Camaro Convertible manages to do just that. In fact, the only thing that looks different between the exterior of the coupe versus the convertible would be the smaller back window on the soft top, which significantly decreases outward visibility on a car already known as unnecessarily difficult to see out of by everyone. Otherwise, they look darn near identical.

However, drop the top, and this all new Camaro Convertible really shines. With the top down, the car looks even better. It may sound funny, but while most muscle cars look mean in coupe form, the Camaro actually looks even meaner with the top dropped. Top down operation is as easy as turning one center latch that releases two locking pins, push and hold down the top button, and all four windows drop and the top folds back flush into the rear boot in about 10-12 seconds. Putting the top up is about a 24-26 second operation accomplished by pressing and holding the top button, then pulling down and twisting the one center latch, which locks the two pins. All four windows are a one touch up and down operation via the drivers’ door switches. This is a feature that all new vehicles should have. Kudos to GM!

Another advantage of the Camaro Convertible is that the aforementioned visibility issues in the fifth generation coupe vanish with a release of a latch and the press of a button. Well, all except for the still too low windshield header, but those who enjoy increased rollover protection should not be so choosy. With the top up, you can lose a Mack truck in the rear blind spots, but a few days of adjusting your sightlines and learning to tow your mirrors out a bit further go a long way toward learning to deal with similar visibility issues that plague most convertibles on the market.

Speaking of the large windshield header bar, it houses the world’s shortest sun visors. Some may even say they are “cute” … but at least they are wide and effective. They serve as a great place to mount a radar detector, but they sure are short! Of course, as short as the dash to windshield height is, they have to be short or else they would block too much of the forward view.

The center stack old school gauge package adds to both the retro flavor and the visible vital information you need when you plan to drive the car hard. The additional vital operation information that you can easily scroll through in the center pod of the gauge cluster is a very welcome addition to the fifth generation Camaro. The LED light strips along the tops of the color door inserts are cool, although we don’t understand why GM didn’t extend them all the way across the matching color panel in the dash to finish out the illusion. Also, it would have been nice to have the same LED lights in the cupholder rings and as ambient lighting in the floors like the Ford Mustang has. And having the capability to change the colors of the LED lights would have also been a really nice touch. Maybe we’ll see this come refresh time?

The seats in the Camaro SS are one of the best overall interior features of the car. The leather, the stitching, the bolsters, the two-stage heating, the adjustable headrests and the SS embroidery are all spectacular! If only the C6 Corvette had these seats, we’d be able to remove the headrests to use the HANS device when we track the car, then simply put the headrests back in for regular street driving versus having to replace the entire seats to use the HANS. Are you listening Team Corvette engineers?!? Please and thank you.

Much has been said about the fifth generation Camaro steering wheel. Some like it, many do not. We found it to be decent. We like the controls for the audio system, the phone (via Bluetooth connection) and the cruise control. We also like that you can access both layers of the center gauge cluster menu from the left stalk without taking your hands off of the wheel. Our only gripe with the wheel is that the spokes are about an inch and a half too tall for optimal hand and thumb wrap position.

One thing GM engineers hit right on the mark on the Camaro that they failed miserably with the C6 Corvette are the paddle shift buttons. You click on the right to upshift, and on the left to downshift. Just like every race car and video game steering wheel on the planet. Try that sequence next time you’re in a paddle shift C6 Corvette and see what happens (but be careful)! Of course, the lag time in the downshifts mirror the second to second and a half delay the Corvette has, making the whole GM paddle shift program beyond annoying for us to use. If GM would adjust the push to downshift timing to instantaneous shifting (to match the upshift timing), then this system would be fun to use!

Two questions we have on the otherwise very well designed and executed interior of the new Camaro – who came up with the radio design and why was it not designed with a navigation screen? Between the sun glare on the screen with the convertible top down and the obvious limitation of ever being able to have a navigation radio option, someone fell asleep at the drawing board here. Different is cool and all, but functionality is key in vehicle electronics. Even the badly outdated navigation screen in the C6 Corvette would be welcome over this in-dash experiment. Head unit complaints aside, the Boston Acoustics sound system rocks! The bass is hard hitting, the highs are crisp, the mids are smooth, and there is always enough sound to rock out even at high speeds with the top down. Kudos on the sound of the stereo even if there is a glare and navigation fail.

The trunk has as much room inside as the C6 Corvette Convertible, once you pass your items through the very restrictive opening. A high trunk lip makes it challenging to get anything bigger than a 24” suitcase in, and the shape of the decklid makes it difficult to access the side areas. There is a netting guide inside to remind you how much space the convertible soft top requires when it is down, but you can easily move that netting to utilize the entire truck space should you need to. Just remember when you do, if you try to put the top down, something is going to get smashed or possibly broken. So using the netting as a guide is a good visual trunk space rule of thumb.

Driving the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible

The 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible is an absolute blast to drive! It is more addictive to drive around in than anything else in recent memory. You can just cruise along one moment, then in the next moment, twitch your right foot a bit and suddenly be in full hoon mode. Of course, it’s more fun to drive with the top down that up, but that’s true of just about any convertible.

One of the best things GM did outside of the engine bay was putting four piston front and two piston rear Brembo brakes with thick vented rotors on it. They haul it down from large speeds nice and quick, and don’t seem to fade when really pushing the car through the twisties for hours on end. Of course, we look forward to the six piston front and four piston rear Z06 calipers on the upcoming Camaro ZL1. With over 550 horsepower, it’s going to need it!

Inside the car, one of the best things GM did to enhance the driving experience is the heads up display. In a unit that is very similar to the one found inside of the C6 Corvette, you can adjust the height of the display, the brightness, and select display modes of speed only, speedo and tach (which we used), or speedo, outside temp and compass direction. Another cool feature of the heads up display is the radio station and name of each song pops up along the bottom when a change is made. What is absent versus the Corvette is the G meter. What would be nice to have on the heads up would be a scroll feature along the bottom that relays all of the vital temps and tire pressures. Being able to see that information without having to look down at the center gauge cluster or press a toggle button would be very helpful while attacking long runs of twisty terrain, especially while in competition. A great enhanced safety feature idea if you’re listening, GM!

We are big fans of heads up displays, especially when they are done right. Being able to see your speed is helpful in many circumstances. Especially when tracking your entry speeds for corner setup, trying to stay under the speed limit when a cop is near, or simply as a constant visual reminder that you’re probably going faster than you think you are.

For enhanced grip, our car was rolling on 20” rims with Pirelli tires mounted front and rear, which, frankly, boggles our minds. The C6 Corvette in base, Z51 and even Z06 form only rolls on 18s on the front and 19s on the rear. Sure the ZR1 has 19s on the front and 20s on the back, but it also has 638 horsepower! The 20s look cool, but as every hot rodder knows, larger circumference wheels take more power to turn over. It just seems like overkill for the Camaro to have such large wheels. Yes, the Pirellis are super sticky for stock OEM tires and do a great job to aid the overall handling of the car, but when the point of the Camaro has always been that it offers Corvette ‘like’ performance for those on a budget, to force those customers to have to pay for 20” tires just seems a bit harsh. We dig the 20s, but we would dread paying $400-600 per tire for replacement sets of either Pirelli or upgraded Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tires on the Camaro. Ouch!

As mentioned by everyone who has tested both V8 variants of the fifth generation Camaro, we’re curious to know what GM was thinking when they put on an uber silent exhaust. It sounds anemic until you get to wide open throttle, and even then, you can hear that it needs to be opened up to enable less restrictive flow. There is easy power gain to be had just by immediately upgrading the exhaust. I can best sum this up with a comment made by a 60-something year old neighbor lady, who asked, “Why does your new Camaro not sound mean sitting there running like your old Camaro or that new Corvette does?” My sentiments exactly.

When we asked a GM rep about this very issue at SEMA in 2009, the response was, “We’re trying to appeal to a wider range of buyer with a quieter exhaust on the Camaro” and “we know the first thing enthusiast buyers will do is replace the exhaust.” Our point remains the same now as it was then – if you know we’re going to have to replace it to make it right, why not just install the correct-sounding, less restrictive exhaust in the first place? Come on GM. We love this car, but why leave the cork in the bottle? A muscle car should sound like a muscle car, at idle and at wide open throttle. Period. At least you can hear the roar of the exhaust at WOT a lot better with the top down than up. Yet another reason to buy the convertible over the coupe!

Speaking of power, we could go on and on about the wonderful power and fuel economy delivered by GM’s wonder engine, the LS3. It is our favorite GM engine right now (well, aside from the LS7). But the single largest unpleasant issue with the fifth generation Camaro, the one that absolutely boggles our minds, is why do all of the automatic V8 Camaros have the weaker L99 engine installed in them instead of the LS3? The very same LS3 that is already installed in all manual V8 Camaros. Of all the smart moves GM has made in the “new GM” era, this is perhaps the single biggest disappointment/mistake/mind boggler of them all. Why?

It cannot be that the automatic transmission used in the Camaro can’t handle the power of the LS3 when you consider GM has an automatic transmission mated to both the 436 horsepower LS3 in the Corvette and even to the 556 horsepower LSA engine in the Cadillac CTS-V. It can’t be that it’s somehow cheaper to install two different V8s in the same Camaro SS platform on the same assembly line at a similar sales price point. It can’t really be a fuel economy issue, because the LS3 is the most fuel efficient V8 engine GM has ever made. It also can’t be a weight issue, because unless we just happen to be wrong, the LS3 is a lighter engine than the L99, making it a better power to weight ratio option for the Camaro. So why are automatic buyers saddled with receiving the weaker- powered L99 engine when the higher horsepower, stronger built, more fuel efficient LS3 engine is already being installed in all of the manual Camaro SS cars on the same assembly line? We look forward to discussing this with GM and getting to the bottom of this odd issue on Motorama LIVE.

Engine/transmission combination dictations aside, the L99 V8 puts out 400 horsepower, 410 foot pound of torque, and launches the automatic Camaro SS Convertible forward at an impressive rate at any speed! From a standing start, you can easily put the Camaro SS over 100 MPH on any standard length highway on ramp. The fun doesn’t stop there, either. In fact, whether you have the 400 horse L99 automatic car, or the 426 horsepower, 420 foot pounds of torque LS3 V8 manual shift car, the fifth generation Camaro SS pulls hard all the way from 0 to as far as you dare take it. It has been published by Chevrolet from day one that these cars have an electronically limited top speed of 155 MPH. The car is such a hard charger that it is actually hard to resist the temptation to dig into the throttle every time you leave a light, a stop sign, merge onto a freeway, pull out to make a pass, or even when you just happen to have open lane in front of your car.

This brings us to perhaps a touchy area of this review … fuel economy. Get your wallet out, because this is where all that money you saved buying a Camaro SS instead of a Corvette is about to start coming in handy. Under “normal” Team Hall & Nass driving conditions, we struggled to stay in the 12-14 MPG range. In fact, when we went on a highly spirited drive one night with a couple of other road rally teams out in Middle of Nowhere, Texas, to attack some long straights and lots of twisties, we saw a full tank run average of 11.1 MPG. I filled the Camaro up to go on the drive, and I filled it up to get home, all inside of 200 miles. If you get on the throttle a lot in town, you may actually see your averages dipping down into the 9, 8 or even the 7.6 MPG range. We did. And, folks, that’s not being hard on the car or driving it like a buffoon. That’s just having fun every time you drive the car around town. By comparison, I’ve never seen gas mileage that bad driving a C6 Z06 around Las Vegas and having all sorts of stop light and on ramp fun.

In an effort to find out what the absolute best miles per gallon average we could achieve in the 2011 Camaro SS Convertible could be, we drove at constant speeds on a long, flat stretch of smooth highway in sixth gear. Granted, we did so with the top down, because, let’s face it, unless it’s raining out, everyone’s going to drive this car with the top down. While no doubt there is a bit of drag created by the cavern behind the front seats, here is what we found. At 60 MPH, the best we saw was 24 MPG. At 70 MPH, 22.5 MPG. These numbers were only maximized by holding everything rock steady (including our breath) and with the A/C turned off. By contrast, a similarly equipped 2009 LS3 Corvette Convertible Z51 automatic with 3.42 gears and the top down gets 22.5 MPG at 100 MPH with the A/C on and both occupants breathing normally. It’s all about aerodynamics folks. Well, that, and we suspect the L99 isn’t getting nearly as good of fuel economy as the LS3 can, but we are speculating.

The long and the short of it is if you want to have maximum power and see the best fuel mileage in a fifth generation Camaro SS, you should stick with the LS3 six speed manual.

Please note, we waited until we had put all the run in miles on this car before we ran it anywhere close to what you could call hard. Yes, we stretched its legs out to give it a thorough shakedown, but more than that, we exercised a ton of patience making sure we ran the motor in right first, just as if we owned it. After all, someone out there will be buying this car as a NASCAR Parade Lap car, and that owner deserves to purchase a properly run in car. This one is a true gem and should serve them well.

Protecting the 2011 Camaro SS Convertible Come Hail, Highwater, or BIGGER HAIL

As you may have gathered by now, we at Team Hall & Nass are big Camaro fans. So when we were caught off guard by a freak large hail storm here in North Texas, we didn’t let the fear of personal injury keep us from springing into insane action to save the 2011 Camaro SS Convertible from potential hail damage. Our tale was so outrageous that not only did we capture it on camera (and ruin a new smart phone doing so) to prove it happened, but popular automotive site Jalopnik did a piece on our efforts to save the Camaro. In case you haven’t seen the videos yet, here is the Jalopnik story – http://jalopnik.com/#!5793142, a video of our rescue effort – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4Oz_jW4Yyw&feature=channel_video_title and a video summary after the storm subsided – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG4sPVYgrO0&feature=channel_video_title. Don’t try this at home!

The miraculous news is that we managed to keep the new 2011 Camaro SS Convertible from receiving a single dent throughout 20 minutes of pounding hail ranging from pea sized up to golf ball sized. The sad news is that our personal fourth generation Camaro Z28 paid the price with dents covering the hood and both rear quarter panels. As of this story, the dealer we saved the new Camaro for has offered to have his hail dent repair guy look at our Z28 to see what they can do to fix it. Stay tuned for a future update on either a dent repair miracle, or a project Camaro Z28 build up, coming soon!

In Summary

Team Hall & Nass fell in love with the new Camaro SS Convertible for a lot of reasons. As we said before, the new Camaro isn’t perfect, but it’s not supposed to be. The Camaro is a bit heavier, a bit less agile, and not quite as quick as the Corvette, but considering it costs $20K less, it’s closer than the price suggests. If GM’s goal with the new Camaro SS Convertible was to offer a modern day retro drop top muscle car with Corvette ‘like’ performance for considerably less money, then they nailed it. No matter how you order or option the car, it is a lot of fun to drive. The fifth generation Camaro V8 has returned from a long absence to regain the “best bang for the buck” title. Period.

Team Hall & Nass Buy, Wait or Skip Rating

Based on our impressions of our time behind the wheel of the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible, coupled with impressions from other enthusiasts, friends and neighbors we showed the car to and took out for hot laps, we’re going to give the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS a ‘Strong Buy’ rating with one caveat. If you’re going to buy one, buy the manual. Why? Because it is the only way to get the 426 horsepower LS3 engine. If you have the least bit of interest in adding power to your Camaro, either now or down the road, you’re going to want the LS3 over the weaker L99. It’s just a better, stronger, stouter engine. Besides, if you’re buying a muscle car, why wouldn’t you buy the one with maximum horsepower? Exactly.

When you visit your Chevrolet dealer to test drive the new Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible, do us a favor and tell them Team Hall & Nass sent you. If you do buy a Camaro of any variety, please let us know! We always love hearing about our fans’ rides, and so does GM when we tell them about you. In turn, it makes them feel better about giving us access to their cars to review and share with you. We appreciate your support!

Team Hall & Nass and Motorama LIVE Camaro SS Convertible Coverage

We hope y’all have enjoyed our Team Hall & Nass 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible coverage. Be sure to check out our 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible videos, some of which are already posted, with a lot more coming soon on our Team Hall & Nass YouTube channel YouTube.com/TeamHallnNass. You know our Camaro videos are going to be wild! Also, stay tuned as we continue to share our experience of what life is like behind the wheel of other exciting new vehicles on TeamHallnNass.com and on MotoramaLIVE.com.

Our 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible Was a GM “Drive Away” Car

We want to publicly thank our good friends at General Motors, Team Chevy, the GM Communications Team and Chevrolet for allowing us access to the NASCAR events, dealer VIP treatment, and to review one of their cars. Note that this particular car didn’t come from the GM media fleet. It was a brand new car, for sale to the public, delivered to us by Team Chevy as part of the North Texas Chevy Dealers NASCAR “drive away” program. It was a Chevrolet dealer who asked us to represent his dealership at the NASCAR dealer VIP event, and who allowed us to keep the car for 11 days to drive, enjoy and review. Thank you very much. We hope you enjoyed the publicity as much as we enjoyed driving and reviewing your car!

Disclaimer

Due to FTC guidelines, please note that GM did not pay us to write or film any of this, nor did they ask us to. They simply granted us access to the Team Chevy pavilion at the Texas Motor Speedway NASCAR races, two days of awesome race tickets, and the chance to participate in the Team Chevy parade lap and dealer drive away program. We sincerely thank all of you, our amazing fans, for taking the time to read all about it. We appreciate you all!

This site entry has been approved by Pirate Pig, official mascot of Team Hall & Nass. Learn more about Pirate Pig at TeamHallnNass.com. Pirate Pig offers hamthrax protection for all, and would like to remind you, “IF YOU’VE JUST BEEN PASSED, THEN YOU’RE NOT HALL & NASS!” :@)~

Motorama LIVE!

If you are an automotive enthusiast, or would enjoy learning more about cool cars, automotive trends, auto shows, events and anything else that goes on in the automotive world, join us for our wildly popular weekly interactive automotive enthusiast discussion Motorama LIVE, every Wednesday from 9-11 PM Eastern, only on Twitter! Check us out at MotoramaLIVE.com, ‘Like’ Motorama LIVE on Facebook, and of course, follow us on Twitter @MotoramaLIVE Twitter.com/MotoramaLIVE. To join the conversation, just use the #Motorama hashtag and jump in! We’ll see you on Motorama LIVE!





Team Hall & Nass Preview the All New 2011 Chevrolet Volt

1 12 2010


Team Hall & Nass Preview the All New 2011 Chevrolet Volt

Preface

By this point, it seems like everyone from Motor Trend to Bob’s House of Blogs has written something about the pre-production 2011 Chevrolet Volt. So what makes this piece any different? Well, if you know Team Hall & Nass, you know we never do what everyone else does. You are about to receive a three stage Volt blast, complete with pics and videos. Then, once you are all charged up (puns intended), we’ll hit you with a visual charge later this week that no one has brought to you … yet. Prepare to be shocked!

Stage One – Look inside an early pre-production Volt from January 2010.
Stage Two – Ride along on our first (heavily regulated) Volt seat time in September 2010
Stage Three – Peer inside the first factory modified Volt, the Z-spec concept at SEMA
BONUS – Strap in and hang on as we hoon a production Volt, Team Hall & Nass style

Team Hall & Nass Interest in the Chevrolet Volt

As many of you who follow us on Twitter already know, Team Hall & Nass are big self-proclaimed fans of the Chevrolet Volt. We have been vocal supporters of the Volt all the way from early concept to the actual launch. Why do we like it so much? While it is true that the Volt is far from the typical type of ride we usually rave about, the mere fact the Volt is so different is part of the reason we dig it. It may not be the end-all answer to hybrid or EVs, but the Volt is a step in an exciting new direction, and one we support.

Team Hall & Nass love going fast, but we also have a passion for technological advances in the evolution of the automotive industry. If those advances somehow equate to range extending technology, which may enable us to eventually go farther between rally stops at speed on a tank of petrol, while also helping advance the automotive industry toward using less oil (foreign or domestic), then of course we are interested. After all, when you are stopped at the pump, you are losing time, which is not conducive to Hall & Nass. So with that in mind, we dig the idea behind the Voltec technology.

Stage One – Pre-Production Volt First Look

Team Hall & Nass was lucky enough to get inside an early pre-production Volt way back in January of 2010 at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Chevrolet CES booth featured an early, pre-production 2011 Volt to accompany their announcement of an upcoming application that will allow owners to access many cool features inside the brain of the Chevrolet Volt via OnStar telematics. As an aside, that mobile app has since made its debut on the Volt platform-sharing 2011 Chevrolet Cruze, and is currently rolling out for use on many other 2011 GM vehicles.

However, we digress. After much begging, groveling, and our admission of real thoughts of committing grand theft auto just for a peak inside, we were allowed an after hours, fairly unencumbered preview inside, underneath, and all over the pre-production Volt.

While a few top automotive journalists in Los Angeles had been afforded a heavily supervised glimpse inside the same pre-pro Volt right before CES, we were actually the first (to our knowledge) in the automotive enthusiast world allowed inside the car with our cameras. The only bummer at the time was that while we were allowed to touch/taste/film all we wanted, we were not allowed to actually drive the car OR release any of our footage until a ‘TBD’ future date. Of course, we were just so happy to get into the car that we didn’t mind complying with the request. Thus, we stored those clips on a hard drive, awaited TBD notification approval, and never published them. That is, until now. But before we drop that footage on you, there is more to share!

Pre-Production Interior Analysis

Albeit this was our first impression of an early pre-production Volt, we must admit the interior looked a bit futuristic for a car about to see actual production. The gage cluster looked like something straight out of Buck Rogers. The layout of the center stack looked well executed (with the exception of the blinding white plastic) and the button indicating a ‘sport’ mode definitely got our attention. The same white plastic adorned the door panel inserts, albeit with the addition of an odd-looking circle and hexagon graphic across each insert. Different.

The shifter looked cool until you realized that it could potentially be a knuckle buster when you literally put your fist through the center stack to place the Volt in park. There is a true open area, side to side pass through behind the center console that is interesting. We found ourselves wondering if it was left open for improved interior air circulation, or it if was potentially created as a future front roll bar pass through (wishful/hopeful thinking on our part, perhaps)? The front bucket seats felt comfortable and the overall interior space felt quite roomy. The rear bucket seats, split by a true rear center console with dual cup holders, provide a nice break from the typical sedan bench rear seat. While it may have been necessary to create this combination as a measure to cover up the battery tunnel, in reality, it adds a sportier feel to the car. It is a bit reminiscent of the back seat layout in the former Holden/Pontiac GTO. The rear hatch, with its transparent rear panel, provides additional rearward visibility, and reminded us of the previous Honda CRX. It’s a cool touch. The hatch area itself provides a decent amount of cargo room. All in all, the interior looked well put together, if not yet entirely finalized.

Pre-Production Exterior Analysis

The outside of the pre-production Volt underwent many changes from the early concept images we saw back in 2008/2009 to what we were looking at in January of 2010. The body, we were told, was very close to what we would see when actual production began. The car looked good, with minimal body gaps, clean lines, and an overall nice flow and feel to it. The wheels even looked great for OEM pieces. However, the solid pattern grille, the front air dam, the black non-body colored lower panels and the lower portion of the rear bumper all looked like items we hoped would see tweaks before final assembly. They just gave an otherwise amazing looking car a bit of an unfinished look.

Again, this was our pre-production Volt analysis in early January 2010. We wondered at the time if touches such as the white plastic and futuristic interior graphics would be replaced by more conventional or sportier materials, such as solid colors, carbon fiber‘esque’ plastic or leather, and if the exterior pieces we mentioned would be actually “finished out” (all matching paint color) once the actual production cars were prepared. We would have to wait almost nine months before getting our next glimpse of the Volt to find out.

Stage Two – First Drive of the Volt

Fast forward to late September 2010 at the Texas State Fair, where GM treated us to an exclusive Texas media preview of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt. This was our first chance to get behind the wheel and actually drive the Chevrolet Volt (albeit in a heavily controlled environment), as well as our chance to see what, if anything, had been changed on the car in the development process throughout 2010.

Volt Driving Instructions

Before sliding behind the wheel, Team Hall & Nass were given very specific instructions on late pre-production Volt driving etiquette by one of our very good friends inside of GM communications. The instruction set went as follows:

“YOU. Yes, you. NO BURNOUTS! Do you hear me? Yes, of course the car will do it, and no, I am not kidding. NO BURNOUTS, no squealing of tires, no getting the car sideways, and none of that usual crazy Team Hall & Nass foolishness that you like to pull.”

Basically, we were given the oh-so-subtle impression that if we got one inch out of line in the Volt, it was going to be our burro on a skewer. Hmm. It seems as if they are on to us!

After a good laugh, followed by a very somber promise NOT to turn the tires over or break traction in the corners in any manner, we got behind the wheel and drove many laps around the tight, constricted, low-speed parking lot course. With cameras rolling, we were joined by our good friends Adam Barrera of HighMileage.org and Charlie Brumfield of BurnoutRadio.com (who also received the same stern driving instructions).

We were accompanied by a couple different GM folks who did a great job of explaining the car’s capabilities in detail (as you’ll see on our video), as well as kindly reminding us not to get out of hand with the car after we insisted on leaving the Volt in ‘sport’ mode before attacking the course. Along the way, we learned that a local DFW Chevy dealer decided to treat the course like an autocross earlier that morning before the event, so maybe it wasn’t us that had them on the “no burnout” edge after all? Perhaps.

Driving the Volt

So how does the Volt drive? Well, strict tire squealing prohibition aside, it was a treat and a privilege to finally get behind the wheel of the Volt and actually pull the car into gear. With the electric power plant allegedly capable of delivering an instantaneous 273 foot pounds of torque in ‘sport’ mode, we could just sense how much more there was on tap under our right foot to launch the car than we were allowed to use. Even babying the first tight corner at a mere 25 MPH, we couldn’t help but squeal the tires a bit, as the special compound for the “rolling resistance in the name of improved fuel mileage” in the Volt-specific Goodyear tires is so hard that tire chirps are inevitable on just about any type of tarmac unless you are sitting still. The drive train was ridiculously quiet in operation. The ride was smooth. The scene was serene. But we could tell the Volt was hungry for so much more than simply tooling around a parking lot. Thus, it is truly hard to describe what driving the Volt is like, just yet. At this point, all we can say is that we behaved uber well in the hope of getting a future crack at actually driving a Volt in an unleashed environment. More on that in a moment.

Styling Updates

Well, there is some good news, and some not so great news on the styling updates. We’ll cover the latter first. It doesn’t appear as if much, if anything, has changed with the exterior of the Volt since January. We had hoped for at least body-colored lower panels instead of the unfinished looking black bottom. Same goes for the front air dam and the lower portion of the rear bumper. Also absent is an updated grille treatment. Not that these are necessarily bad things, but we do have to admit, they are a bit disappointing considering how well the rest of the detail on the body of this car is finished out.

The interior appears to have received at least one additional color choice for the center stack and door panel inserts other than the aforementioned blinding stark white. However, as witnessed on the two different color combinations made available for our viewing pleasure, neither the stark white nor the black gloss plastic lost the odd graphics overlays on the panel inserts. Couple that with an odd neon green on black color combo and you honestly begin to wonder what they were thinking. Futuristic, yes. But more in a $17K Ford Fiesta kind of way. Even the simplest of the multiple trim level option door panels in the platform-sharing $20K Chevy Cruze are superior in look, feel and design. It is just not the type of surface finish you would expect to find inside an all new, state of the art, well designed $41K vehicle.

Then again, keep in mind that the three Volts we saw at the Texas State Fair media day were technically still pre-production models (albeit 11th hour pre-pros). So maybe there is hope yet for better interior color option treatments and solid body-colored exterior panels available at the time of the production Volt launch. We shall find out very soon.

Volt Feedback

In addition to our first drive of the Volt at the Texas State Fair, we got to spend quality time talking with Jon Stec, a lead engineer on Project Voltec. Over dinner, we spoke with Jon in depth about many of the tweaks we find ourselves wishing Chevrolet would make to the Volt. Not only did we discuss the aforementioned interior and exterior tweaks, but since Jon seemed to be a true car enthusiast, we shot the moon. We discussed simple mods that we feel would make the Volt appeal more to the enthusiast community. Items such as larger diameter wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport tires for improved launch and cornering grip, larger brake calipers and rotors, a lower suspension stance, coil over shocks, a better front splitter and improved rear fairing for improved downforce, racing-style seats, a more aggressive grille and full body-colored exterior trim to finish out the look. While it was a fun and spirited conversation, we had no expectation that anything we suggested would ever see the light of day. Not in this segment, and not from an OEM.

Stage Three – Volt Z-Spec Concept

When we walked into the GM Performance Parts booth at SEMA, we were visually stunned. Just when we thought we knew everything one could know about what the Volt will be, we got broadsided by mods. Behold, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt Z-Spec Concept.

The Z-Spec is much closer to what every Volt could and, more importantly, should be. For starters, it is much more exciting to look at. The mods already make the car look faster, even sitting still. Part of this comes from the full body-colored panels, an enhanced spoiler out front and a trick grille upgrade. Sporting 19” wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport tires not only helps with the look, but should improve handling and grip. There is a slick rear bumper modification out back with what appears to be aero-enhancing treatments, a better body-colored rear panel treatment, and even cooler tail lights than stock.

Peering inside, we found race-inspired stitched leather seats with harness pass throughs, a much improved steering wheel for improved grip and style, a more palatable color and graphic scheme on the front door panel inserts, actual solid color rear door panel inserts, Z-Spec themed logos tastefully embroidered into the floormats, placed on the wheel, and embedded elsewhere throughout the car. The result is a much sportier overall look and feel throughout the car.

Best of all, we were told by GM booth personnel that many of these mods are direct bolt-on pieces from the Euro-spec GM Opel mark. If true, this just goes to show that sometimes a better solution is already waiting for you inside your own global parts bin. You just have to search, swap and enhance. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

We’re not sure if there are any performance modifications lurking under the hood, but we hope the exterior mods are a sign of things to come in performance enhancements as well. As revolutionary as the all new Voltec technology and design are, the Z-Spec gives the Chevrolet Volt a more exciting, actual finished product look that the platform deserves. For $41K, the Z-Spec delivers what every production Volt should.

We do not know if our conversation with Jon had any influence on this car, or if the Volt engineers were already way ahead of the game in the design room. Either way, we’re VERY excited about the prospect of a production Volt Z-Spec seeing the light of day. After all, when was the last time you can recall an automotive manufacturer already adding mods to a production car before the first one even hits the showroom floor? Talk about progressive. All we can say is that if this is the way the new GM rolls, we are impressed. Oh yeah, and GM, release the Volt Z-Spec. Please!

BONUS – Team Hall & Nass Hoon the Volt

Last, but certainly not least, we have an exclusive treat coming up for you, our loyal fans and followers. As you no doubt are already aware, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt is being launched in a select handful of markets around the United States on Tuesday, November 30th. Fortunately for us, Texas is one of those markets. As mentioned above, many outlets have already covered the pre-production Volt from a basic looks, stats and drive under strict supervision perspective. But we’re not going to leave you hanging with just some restricted parking lot type of driving footage just because of tightly controlled, limited access by GM. Oh no. It wouldn’t be a Team Hall & Nass post or video series if there was not some type of hoonage involved. So pull those belts down tight and get charged up, because what comes next is what you have all been waiting to see!

If you are reading this on December 1st or 2nd, then Team Hall & Nass are currently deep in the rolling Hill Country outside of Austin, Texas attending a special event where GM is launching the all new, actual production model of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt to select members of the Texas media. This is a GM driving event, held on twisty Texas Hill Country backroads, covering supposedly long distances over a two-day period. If you are among the early folks reading this post, then there is a very good chance that while you are reading this, we are out on the road somewhere hooning the Volt right now.

We are honored to be one of the first automotive enthusiast race teams on the planet invited to do a full on, non-restricted, multi-day backroad driving session in a production 2011 Chevrolet Volt. We intend to find out how well it will corner, how quickly it will accelerate, how hard it will brake, truly how fast it will go. Best of all, we plan to finally put to rest all of the speculation about how this car will perform in the wild, not based on some corporate marketing or green-friendly message, but according to what our cameras capture as we put the Volt through real world driving paces. We’ll also be looking to see what kind of real distance the Volt’s battery pack will allow it to go, what kind of fuel mileage the Volt’s gas engine will get under duress, if said gas engine really does have to “kick in” under WOT at higher speed conditions to assist a battery sapping right foot (or if that really is just an urban myth), and most important of all, just how well this all new vehicle will perform in the hands of non-Prius loving true driving enthusiasts like us.

Until we get that highly anticipated footage in the can and posted online, we hope you enjoy viewing our picture gallery and videos of the evolution of Volt over the past year from concept to reality on our Team Hall & Nass Facebook and YouTube pages. We encourage you to watch our Volt videos in the following order: Chevy Volt Early Pre-Production First Look, then our Chevy Volt Late Pre-Production First Drive. Then go check out our 2011 Chevrolet Volt pre-production and Volt Z-Spec photo gallery on Facebook by searching for Team Hall & Nass or Berry Lowman.

Last, but certainly not least, be sure to check back later this week to view footage of our actual production model 2011 Volt hoonage on YouTube.com/TeamHallnNass, followed by an updated photo gallery on our Facebook page and a comprehensive write up of the entire experience here on TeamHallnNass.com.

Of course, if you like instant gratification, follow our Twitter feed Wednesday, December 1st and Thursday, December 2nd as we Tweet our impressions and a few action shots live from the road at Twitter.com/BerryLowman (@BerryLowman on Twitter), Twitter.com/AtkinsJennifer (@AtkinsJennifer) and on Twitter.com/TeamHallnNass (@TeamHallnNass).

“We’re SO Not Worthy … THANK YOU GM”

We’d like to publicly thank Adam Dension, Craig Eppling, Donna McLallen, Jon Stec, Kamea Shows, Otie McKinley, Phil Colley, Vicki Cosgrove and everyone on the GM Volt and GM Communications teams for inviting us to these events, tolerating our foolishness, and allowing us access to the Volt throughout various stages of development through the actual product launch. Without their kind, good faith invitations, we wouldn’t be able to bring you, the wonderful fans and followers of Team Hall & Nass, this incredible tale to enjoy.

Team Hall & Nass Chevrolet Volt Coverage

We hope y’all have enjoyed our Team Hall & Nass 2011 Chevrolet Volt Preview coverage. Check out all our 2011 Chevrolet Volt videos on our YouTube channel at YouTube.com/TeamHallnNass. Be sure to stay tuned as we prepare to share our amped up experience of life behind the wheel of the all new 2011 Chevrolet Volt as we charge the remote backroads of Texas Hill Country this week in an actual production model.

Disclaimer

Due to FTC guidelines, please note that GM did not pay us to write or film any of this, nor did they ask us to. (After reading this and/or watching our videos, they may even prefer that we hadn’t)! They simply provided food, drinks, and access to their cars. In turn, we had quite the experience. We sincerely thank everyone at GM, Chevrolet and GM South Central Region marketing who made this possible, and all of you, our amazing fans. We couldn’t do this without you. We love you all!

This blog entry has been approved by Pirate Pig, official mascot of Team Hall & Nass. Learn more about Pirate Pig at TeamHallnNass.com. Pirate Pig offers hamthrax protection for all, and would like to remind you, “IF YOU’VE JUST BEEN PASSED, THEN YOU’RE NOT HALL & NASS!” :@)~





Team Hall & Nass Pair Up with DSTROYR for the Dustball Rally

4 08 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact
Landon Communications
PR Representatives for Team Hall & Nass
+1.702.940.9632
Berry@LandonCommunications.com

Team Hall & Nass Pair Up with DSTROYR for the Dustball Rally

Johnny Hall & Taylor Nass look to DSTROY the competition in a stylish way

DALLAS, Texas, August 4th, 2010 – Team Hall & Nass today officially announced their alliance with one of the coolest emerging clothing brands in the United States, DSTROYR, for their run in the upcoming Dustball Rally 1500, to be held on the highways and byways of the Southwestern United States, August 13th – 15th, 2010.

DSTROYR was started by artist Jon Chase as a blog, with a mission to shine a spotlight on the local art scene and events happening in and around the community of Riverside, California. Today, the DSTROYR site covers a wide variety of artistic endeavors and helps spread the word about the latest, coolest things coming out of Southern California and beyond.

DSTROYR is on a mission to turn people on to something new. While the DSTROYR brand of apparel began from a simple necessity to promote their site, today it has become a reflection of influences. The concept behind DSTROYR is simple – be the best you can be for yourself. Whatever you desire to excel at, kill it, own it, DSTROY it!

Driver Johnny Hall said, “DSTROYR is one of the coolest enterprises we’ve encountered out on the automotive/speed/rally lifestyle scene. Their designs are on the cutting edge, which is exactly where Team Hall & Nass likes to be. We believe in the philosophy Jon founded his enterprise on and support the cause. Pairing up with DSTROYR for the Dustball Rally 1500 will enable us to both look and be that much better as we seek to DSTROY the competition!”

About DSTROYR

DSTROYR is an alterative clothing franchise brand that represents the best elements of the speed lifestyle while also encouraging people to try new things and do their best at whatever they do. DSTROYR is the brainchild of artist Jon Chase, whose talented designs have been featured on major clothing brands and performance-themed artworks, sites and styles all around the globe. Check out the latest designs and cultural happenings on DSTROYR.com.

About Team Hall & Nass

Established in 2009, Team Hall & Nass has quickly become one of the premiere open road, rally racing and automotive performance review blogging teams in the United States. With a lighter, more humorous side than many involved in the automotive racing scene, their zany personalities tend to generate a lot of buzz and interest at every event. Decals bearing their beloved “anti-Hamthrax” (speeding ticket-avoiding) mascot, Pirate Pig, can be found on street vehicles and race cars of fans and competitors alike around the globe.

With a team philosophy to have as much fun as possible with fans and fellow competitors, while making every effort to get the most out of every event (or at least have the most fun trying), their tagline is as much a tongue in cheek sentiment of fun as it is a statement of fact – IF YOU’VE JUST BEEN PASSED, THEN YOU’RE NOT HALL & NASS!

For additional information on Team Hall & Nass, visit TeamHallnNass.com, view team videos on YouTube.com/TeamHallnNass or interact with them directly on Twitter at Twitter.com/TeamHallnNass.

Please note that Team Hall & Nass will be conducting pre- and post-Dustball Rally interviews with select media outlets as time permits. If you’d like to schedule an interview in person or via phone, please contact their media firm with your request.

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Team Hall & Nass Enter the Dustball Rally 1500

4 08 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact
Landon Communications
PR Representatives for Team Hall & Nass
+1.702.940.9632
Berry@LandonCommunications.com

Team Hall & Nass Enter the Dustball Rally 1500

Johnny Hall & Taylor Nass are back with an agenda … to win the elusive Dustball Rally

DALLAS, Texas, August 4th, 2010 – Team Hall & Nass today officially announced their entry into one of the most challenging gimmick rally events in the United States, the Dustball Rally 1500, to be held on the highways and byways of the southwestern United States, August 13th – 15th, 2010.

Hailed among automotive enthusiasts as the “last great American gimmick rally,” the Dustball Rally is one of the most challenging and most exciting events held in the world of automobile rallying. The Dustball Rally is an annual, multi-day, multi-stage gimmick rally, played out over a 1,500 mile predetermined route known only to the event organizers. Competitors are handed a packet of information at each checkpoint containing a quiz sheet. Teams learn of their next destination only by solving a series of riddles, mathematical problems, and by locating a series of clues along the route to fill in the blanks on their quiz sheet. Those answers ultimately reveal the direction they need to head in to reach their final destination each day. It is nothing short of automotive driving and navigation madness at its best.

Driver Johnny Hall and Co-Driver/Navigator Taylor Nass made quite an impression on the 2009 Dustball Rally when they piloted their 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZHZ Z51 convertible to the front of the field each day. That event ran from El Paso, Texas to Las Vegas, Nevada and back to El Paso via a maze of back roads, twisty mountain passes and desert straightaways. For 2010, Team Hall & Nass have entered the Dustball Rally with a “mystery car” with plans to unveil their new machine on the starting grid. No one knows for sure what they are bringing, but if history is any indicator, it will be something unexpected, and without a doubt, it will be fast.

Driver Johnny Hall said, “The Dustball Rally 1500 is the most unique event I’ve ever driven in. We’ve raced in a bit of everything over the years, but nothing comes close to the challenges that await those who are brave enough (or crazy enough) to enter the Dustball Rally. It is an awesome event that no rally team in the world should ever miss!”

Team Hall & Nass’ amazing (and sometimes almost unbelievable) tales of adventure were chronicled in a series of nineteen posts, released throughout September 2009 on TeamHallnNass.com. The tales they shared read not so much like those of a typical gimmick rally team, but more like a real life Smokey and the Bandit meets Cannonball Run story with a gimmick rally thrown into the mix.

Even though the Dustball Rally is “a rally, not a race,” Team Hall & Nass is gunning for the overall win that eluded their grasp last year after a valiant, multi-day front-running effort was robbed from them by the rogue forces of the evil Hamthrax who quite literally blocked their path to victory. For 2010, Team Hall & Nass have made special Hamthrax evasion preparations for the event to ensure they are both highly competitive (and highly invisible when need be) in their quest for victory.

About the Dustball Rally 1500

Hailed among enthusiasts as the “last great American gimmick rally,” the Dustball Rally 1500 is one of the most challenging and most exciting events held in the world of automobile rallying. The Dustball Rally is an annual, multi-day, multi-stage gimmick rally, held on a predetermined route known only to the event organizers. Dustball is a 100% legal gimmick rally, held on open, public roads throughout the Southwestern United States. It is billed as “a rally, not a race.” In reality, it is the world’s craziest scavenger hunt spread out over 1,500 miles, mostly by skilled rally teams in specially prepared exotic and high performance automobiles.

Unlike many underground road races, Dustball Rally winners are not determined based on time, speed or distance. Rather, the winner is the team who successfully solves the most riddles, finds the most clues, and navigates their way across 1,500 miles of highways and byways in time to reach the finish line. This type of an event demands a much greater level of skill, cooperation and competition versus the more typical “find the checkpoint in ‘X’ town and state” format used by most major rally events. The addition of searching for clues in both directions of the course poses a whole other level of psychological challenge that tests the abilities of even veteran rally teams.

The Dustball Rally is organized, produced and promoted by rally veteran Andrew Medley of El Paso, Texas. In addition to the annual Dustball Rally 1500, the franchise also holds an annual one day rally event, the Dustball 500. For 2010, they added a GPS coordinate-based event to the mix, the Dustball Challenge. For more information on the Dustball Rally 1500, or any of the other Dustball series events, please visit DustballRally.com.

About Team Hall & Nass

Established in 2009, Team Hall & Nass has quickly become one of the premiere open road, rally racing and automotive performance review blogging teams in the United States. With a lighter, more humorous side than many involved in the automotive racing scene, their zany personalities tend to generate a lot of buzz and interest at every event. Decals bearing their beloved “anti-Hamthrax” (speeding ticket-avoiding) mascot, Pirate Pig, can be found on street vehicles and race cars of fans and competitors alike around the globe.

With a team philosophy to have as much fun as possible with fans and fellow competitors, while making every effort to get the most out of every event (or at least have the most fun trying), their tagline is as much a tongue in cheek sentiment of fun as it is a statement of fact – IF YOU’VE JUST BEEN PASSED, THEN YOU’RE NOT HALL & NASS!

For additional information on Team Hall & Nass, visit TeamHallnNass.com, view team videos on YouTube.com/TeamHallnNass or interact with them directly on Twitter at Twitter.com/TeamHallnNass.

Please note that Team Hall & Nass will be conducting pre- and post-Dustball Rally interviews with select media outlets as time permits. If you’d like to schedule an interview in person or via phone, please contact their media firm with your request.

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Team Hall & Nass Enter the Bonneville 100 Open Road Race

15 06 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact
Landon Communications
PR Representatives for Team Hall & Nass
+1.702.940.9632
Berry@LandonCommunications.com

Team Hall & Nass Enter the Bonneville 100 Open Road Race

Father and Son to compete together in a race-prepped 2007 Corvette Z06 on US 93A

LAS VEGAS, Nev., June 15th, 2010 – Team Hall & Nass today officially announced their entry into one of the most challenging open road race events in the United States, the Bonneville 100, to be held in Wendover, Nevada, June 24th – 26th, 2010.

In a twist on the usual team configuration of driver Johnny Hall and co-driver/navigator Taylor Nass, this Bonneville 100 effort will consist of driver Berry Lowman competing alongside of his father, unlimited powerboat legend and open road racer, Lanny Lowman.

The father and son duo will work together as a driver/navigator team, attempting to win the Grand Sport 3 (GS3) class, averaging 140 MPH in their race-prepped LeMans Blue 2007 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. To accomplish this feat, they must quickly get up to speed from a standing start, then begin their ultimate quest to average an as close to perfect 140 MPH, staying underneath their class-maximum technical speed of 168 MPH, and above their class-minimum speed of 110 MPH. They must navigate down the many long straits and winding corners of two-lane blacktop that comprise Nevada public highway US 93A for a grueling, but lightning-fast 50 miles. Then they re-grid their car and race back up the same course, in the opposite direction, for another 50 miles. Their time/speed averages in both directions will then be combined, and the car in their class closest to a perfect 140 MPH will win the GS3 class trophy.

It should be noted that this is not the first time this particular duo have joined forces in open road racing. This father and son combo have come together before to compete in the Silver State Classic/Nevada Open Road Challenge in the 110 and the 125 MPH classes, with tech speeds up to 165 MPH. The Lowmans have also seen previous success at the 2008 Bonneville 100, taking home 3rd place in the highly competitive 110 MPH class.

Driver and navigator Berry Lowman said, “The Bonneville 100 is a truly unique event. It is the only 100% legal open road race in the western United States that allows competitors to switch drivers and navigators in between the stages, combining the average times and speeds of both drivers, in both stages of event competition, to determine class winners. This demands a much greater level of skill, cooperation and competition versus the more typical single driver/navigator teams and single-stage runs found at other open road racing events. The addition of racing in both directions on the course poses a whole other level of psychological challenge that tests the abilities of even veteran open road racers to the maximum. It is an awesome event that no open road race team in the world should ever miss!”

About Open Road Racing

While this type of racing is commonly referred to as “Open Road Racing,” it actually occurs on sections of temporarily closed public highway during the racing events. There is no risk to the general public, no oncoming traffic, no section of the road outside of the watchful eye of race command communications, and most importantly, no location on the course in which a race vehicle is ever more than one mile away from a course safety worker. There are typically ambulances with specially trained EMT crews located at each end, or in the middle of the course. There is also typically a life flight helicopter on standby at the midway point of the course.

Even though regular passenger automobiles are eligible to enter, and they typically comprise upwards of 75% or greater of each open road racing field of cars, this is in no way a typical Sunday drive. With speed classes typically ranging from as low as 95 MPH all the way up to unlimited classes at some venues, it is not unheard of to see open road racing vehicles averaging speeds over 200 MPH for up to 100 miles with straightaway speeds in excess of 220 MPH on two-lane blacktop highways with less than optimal curves, not on perfectly smooth, banked corner race tracks.

Safety is paramount to the successful operation of open road racing events and the continuation of the sport. There are varying levels of safety gear required for all cars that enter these events. The faster the speed class, the greater amount of technical safety gear required. Contrary to popular belief, you cannot simply “run what you bring” without adding at least some measure of safety gear to your car and passing a rigorous technical safety inspection.

Due to the nature of this type of racing, it has been deemed the most dangerous form of motor sports in the world. It also happens to be the most exciting to participate in.

About the Bonneville 100

Hailed among the open road racing community as one of the most challenging, and most exciting events in the world of speed, the Bonneville 100 is a two-stage race held on a 50 mile section of US 93A, a public, two-lane highway in extreme northeastern Nevada. The event borrows its name from the storied racing mecca, the Bonneville Salt Flats, which are located a scant few miles east of the starting line, just outside the town of Wendover, Nevada, on the Utah side of the state line.

The 2010 event features three days of activities, with technical inspections on Thursday, June 24th, a public car show of all race vehicles on Friday, June 25th, the running of the Bonneville 100 on Saturday, June 26th and an awards banquet on Saturday night.

The Bonneville 100 is organized, produced and promoted by open road racing veteran Michael Borders of MKM Racing in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is held due to the permission and cooperation of the Nevada Department of Transportation. For more information on the Bonneville 100, or MKM Racing, please visit OpenRoadRacing.com.

About Team Hall & Nass

Established in 2009, Team Hall & Nass has quickly become one of the premiere open road, rally racing and automotive performance review blogging teams in the United States. With a lighter, more humorous side than many involved in the automotive racing scene, their zany personalities tend to generate a lot of buzz and interest at each event they compete in. Decals bearing their beloved “anti-Hamthrax” (speeding ticket-avoiding) mascot, Pirate Pig, can be found on street vehicles and race cars of fans and competitors alike around the globe.

With a team philosophy to have as much fun as possible with fans and fellow competitors, while making every effort to get the most out of each event they enter (or at least have the most fun trying), their tagline is as much a tongue in cheek sentiment of fun as it is a statement of fact – IF YOU’VE JUST BEEN PASSED, THEN YOU’RE NOT HALL & NASS!

For additional information on Team Hall & Nass, visit TeamHallnNass.com, view team videos on YouTube.com/TeamHallnNass or interact with them directly on Twitter at Twitter.com/TeamHallnNass.

Please note that Team Hall & Nass will be conducting pre- and post-Bonneville 100 interviews with select media outlets as time permits. If you’d like to schedule an interview in person or via phone, please contact their media firm (listed above) with your request.

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