Former Tonight Show host Jay Leno recently managed to get some seat time in a new 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS, and talked about the experience in this video review for Jay Leno’s Garage. Jay manages to lay down some burnt rubber in a few spots, takes the car for a spin outside his garage, and ends up giving a thumbs-up on the experience.

Speaking of the 2010 Camaro, don’t forget to enter our Driveline Blog “Taste for Speed” Giveaway.

1. Send an email to jeff@drivelineblog.com with your email address and full name, along with a digital photo of your current vehicle.
2. In the body of your email message drop in a few words explaining why you think you should win this $200 prize package. (No more than 250 words, please.)

Entries must be received by 6:00pm MST on Tuesday, July 7th Friday, July 17th. The winner’s photo and written justification for winning the prize package will be posted on Drivelineblog.com on the morning of Wednesday Saturday, July 18th

Check our our original post for more details.

The kind folk at Dr. Pepper and Carl’s Jr. / Hardee’s Restaurants have sent word that they’re launching a prize giveaway that gives six lucky motorists the chance to drive home in a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro.

Here’s how it works: For the next few weeks, purchasing a large combo meal (or large beverage) at a Carl’s Jr. or Hardee’s restaurant will net you a “Dr Pepper Camaro” instant win game cup. Each cup will be printed with a game code that can be entered at www.drpeppercamaro.com for the chance to win a variety of prizes, including the possibility of winning one of those six Camaros. While you’re scoping out the aforementioned site to see if you’re a winner, you can also while away your free time by playing a web game called Drive-Thru Derby.

Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s, and Dr. Pepper have also offered up a “Taste for Speed” gift pack ($200 value) for Driveline Blog readers. This gift pack includes the following goodies:

• Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s and Dr Pepper coupons for free food and drinks
• 2010 remote controlled Camaro
• Meguiar’s Complete Car Care Kit (includes Car Wash Shampoo & Conditioner, Gold Class Wax, tire protectant and the Quick Interior Detailer kit)
• Super absorbent ShamWow (8 count pack including a variety of sizes)
• An assortment of other freebies, including a T-shirt, baseball caps, insulated coffee mugs, and antennae toppers

In order to win the gift pack, drop an email to jeff@drivelineblog.com along with the following:

1. A digital photo of your current vehicle of choice. The sky (and the ground) is the limit here: Whether you commute to work in a Red Ryder wagon or wing your way to the office in a P-51D Mustang, we want to see it!
2. An up to 250 word justification of why *you* deserve to win this prize package more than anyone else. Extra credit will be given for entries written in the form of a Haiku or in the meter of Green Eggs and Ham.
3. Your email address and full name. The winner will be contacted via email, and we’ll then ask for a street address to mail out the prize package.

Entries must be received by 6:00pm MST on Tuesday, July 7th Friday, July 17th. The winner’s photo and written justification for winning the prize package will be posted on Drivelineblog.com on the morning of Wednesday Saturday, July 8th18th.

Lingenfelter Performance Engineeering (LPE) — perhaps best known for its tire-shredding Lingenfelter Corvettes — has announced that it will be producing a line of body components for the 2010 Camaro. According to a post on the LPE website, the following components will be available for purchase by Q3 2009:

• Front Fascia & Rocker Extension
• Front Splitter
• Grille Bar Insert with Wire Mesh Texture
• Hood with Air Extractors
• Rear Deck Lip Spoiler
• Rear Fascia Extension with Exhaust Tips
• Rear Tail Lamp Panel

Pricing and additional details have yet to be revealed, but LPE promises to release that info soon.

If you’re already saving your pennies (or contemplating taking a hammer to your piggy bank) to buy Lingenfelter’s 800 HP Intercooled Twin Turbo Package for the 2010 Camaro SS, these new body components may fit the bill.

After years of development, the production version of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt was recently unveiled by General Motors.  The vehicle should arrive in dealer showrooms in late 2010, and will likely have a pricetag in the $25-$35K range.

There are a host of technological and production hurdles that remain before the Volt can see the light of day, but its clear that GM has been making steady progress towards making the Volt a reality.

GM may have killed off the EV-1 electric car years ago, but it seems determined to compete with Toyota for bragging rights as the technological leader in the development of next generation, energy efficient passenger vehicles. Time will tell if the Volt lives up to the hype, but the dogged determination GM has shown in getting the vehicle to market is praiseworthy.

What do you think? Will the Volt help GM emerge as a leader in 21st century vehicle technology, or will it remain an also-ran to the likes of Toyota and Honda?

GM recently announced that a 2009 Corvette ZR1 — driven by GM Development Engineer Jim Mero — managed to compete a lap of the famed Nürburgring race track in Germany in an astonishing 7:26.4 seconds. That’s well into supercar territory, and once again demonstrates that the Corvette engineering team is one of the best things the General has going for it.

Maybe GM should put Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge J. Juechter and his team to work on the Chevy Volt? I’m sure a Volt tweaked by the Corvette squad would be blowing Toyota’s vaunted Prius into the weeds, and get better mileage in the process.

Related:

• The Corvette Z06 is a Success. Is the ‘Blue Devil’ Next?

_{(Source: GMnext Blog) [- Jeff James]}

I was strolling through a local Radio Shack recently and came across the new Zip Zaps Micro RC car of the Bumblee Camaro from the upcoming Transformers film.

The squashed image above this post (nabbed from the Radio Shack site) doesn’t do the car justice, so I’ll be posting a few more photos of the real deal shortly. Optimus Prime and Barricade — with the latter in police Mustang livery — are available as well.

It doesn’t transform, unfortunately, but driving a miniature next-gen Camaro around my desk (and stressing out the family dog and cat) seems to have appeal enough for me.

Check out the Radio Shack ZipZaps page here, or the latest Transformers movie trailer here. (Source: Radio Shack) [- Jeff James]

The C6R racecar continues to dominate the GT1 class in the American Le Mans Series, while brisk sales of the C6 and Z06 continue to bring a smile to the beleaguered brass at GM.

Now there’s news from AutoWeek that the oft-rumored “Blue Devil” super-Corvette — reportedly boasting close to 600hp and aimed at the pinnacle of supercar exotics, like the Ferrari Enzo and Carrera GT — may have been given the green light for production.

The Corvette has always been an affordable, everyman’s sports car that — for the price — can dust cars costing several times as much. The Z06 takes that even further, boasting performance that can shame the likes of the Ferrari 360, Pagani Zonda and other exotics.

That could make the Blue Devil an interesting challenge for GM, as the Corvette’s hallmarks have always been — in the words of new Corvette Chief Engineer Tom Wallace, as quoted in a recent Cleveland Plain Dealer article — “styling, performance and . . . affordability“.

Would wealthy types who normally plunk down their spare change and pocket lint for a $300,000 exotic consider a super Corvette, even if it did match the Enzo’s quarter mile times or cost a third of what a Maserati MC-12 does? Status, exclusivity and cachet are a big deal for this crowd, so the Corvette’s most potent feature — its awesome price to performance ratio, even in $100K Blue Devil form — may not be a factor to those consumers.

There’s no doubt that the talented Corvette engineering team can make the Blue Devil a reality, but chasing the Enzo and the Carrera GT — while simultaneously keeping the ‘vette true to its roots by being affordable enough for joe six-pack to realistically dream about saving up to buy one — may be the more difficult challenge. (Photo: Worldcarfans.com)