DEFEND YOUR RIDE: John At The Saint Croix River Valley

Q: Why did you choose that car?

A: Oh, it was nice!

Q: Was it something you have always wanted?

A: This particular model was just made for 2010, but when they had Camaros in the past, I wasn't a big fan. I had a Chevelle back in '67. That was a nice car! In 1970, I had a Lincoln Mark III, so this car is kind of a replacement for the Lincoln.

Q: Your long lost beloved car. Well, it's nice that you have another one that you love just as much.

A: I like this car. It's lots of fun.

Q: What are some of the things that you and your car do together?

A: We go all over the place. We went to Houston and the Catskill Mountains last summer.

Q: How did it handle in the mountains?

A: Great. It's not lacking in power. It's just six cylinders, the smallest engine they make. But this is not your grandfather's six cylinders. That's for sure.

Q: It must be hard not to drive it super fast.

A: I'm just trying to keep from getting pulled over for speeding.

Q: Do you have a lead foot?

A: Well, I like to stay up with the traffic. I've only had three tickets before I bought the car and I've gotten three tickets since I bought this car! They really like to pull me over in this one.

Q: It really gets their attention, doesn't it?

A: Yeah, it's hard to blend in. When the cops see a crowd of us, they will pull me over. The last trip I took was to Fredericksburg, Virginia. I took our other car, a Chevy Cruise. It doesn't gain any attention. I drove it as fast as I would have driven the Camaro, but I wasn't bothered at all.

Q: What kinds of comments do you get in this car?

A: Just this morning someone said, ooh that's a nice car. I get that one a lot.

Q: I bet that makes you feel great. What music do you listen to in your ride?

A: All the way from Bach and Beethoven to James Brown and everything in-between.

Q: Do you use this car mainly for fun?

A: I use it every day in the summertime and in the winter we pretty much put it away. I'll take it out in the wintertime, but it has to be dry out.

Q: You gotta take good care of the baby. Would you consider this your dream car or is there something else out there?

A: I think this is about all I really want. I've never really been too much of what you might call, a car buff, or a collector. I just thought, what the heck? It's time to have something fun.