Spotlight Feature – Bumblebee (Car and Movie History)

For this week’s Cars in Review I decided to switch things up a bit and write about the infamous Bumblebee. I know all you Transformers fans out there were just itching for this post so I figured why not give in to the urge and write. Seeing as Bumblebee was featured throughout the movie franchise, it may be a crazy question to ask, but what edition is your favourite? Let us know in the comments and keep reading to find out the ins and outs of this wonderful robot. 

Okay let’s begin with the fact that the car choice for Bumblebee was not always a Chevrolet Camaro although the true die hard fans would know this. In Transformers Generation l, the prequel, and the animated series, Bumblebee was a Volkswagen Beetle in a Saturn Yellow shade. Throughout the movie there were 5 different model year Camaros featured – a 1977 model in the original 2007 film, a 2009 (production car that was launched in 2010) in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, a 2012 SS in Transformers: Dark of the Moon, a 1967 SS in the beginning of Transformers: Age of Extinction, and a 2016 – the model he transforms into – in Transformers: The Last Knight. Other vehicle models for Bumblebee included: a 1967 Volkswagen Beetle (the disguise in the 2018 Bumblebee movie), a 1941 Willy MB’s Jeep (another disguise used in the 2018 Bumblebee movie), and a 1937 Mercedes Benz 320 Cabriolet D (a WWII era car seen in a flashback in The Last Knight).

I’m sure most of you would agree with me when I say the 2009 model (which really was a production car that was going to be launched in 2010) is the most popular given it is the one that really started to define the Camaro as we know it today. So for this week’s review, the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS will be dissected and compared to the one featured in the movie. To begin, 2009 was a really big year for a lot of people, especially in North America. We were all trying to get used to a life outside of a recession once again, after falling pretty hard into that hole with no real way out it seemed. The auto sector, among many groups, were part of those hit the hardest and it wasn’t just North America’s economy that took the blow. People all over the world felt it, but those in Europe felt it equally as hard as North America.

Many car companies that have origins in these parts of the country were suffering the most, and this included Chevrolet, who interestingly enough is an American division of General Motors. But in looking to bounce back, Chevrolet hopped on the same band wagon that Ford was already motoring through when they decided to introduce the Mustang. Now when one of America’s largest automotive companies makes such a big and important introduction as Ford did, its competitors have to clapback when they can. So that’s exactly what Chevy did with the Camaro. 

The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS came adorning a price tag of anywhere between $26,995 and $41,430 in Canada at the time of introduction. But here’s the really interesting part, because, and I want you to really stop and think about this, when a car is being marketed through movies by a person who directed super bowl commercials, things will be so much more exaggerated than reality allows, and that’s exactly what happened with this car. On paper, this car is perfect, it’s got the huge V8 engine under the hood, comes with a six speed manual transmission, features an independent rear suspension, and comes in rear wheel drive but Chevrolet made a lot of sacrifices if only in the name of design. 

But let’s talk about this for a little, we will get back to writing about the specifics soon, but I really want to highlight or dig into this concept a little more. Because the question on everyone’s mind after reading that would be, “Why did Chevrolet decide to do this, especially so close to coming out of a recession?” Well the answer is actually quite simple, it was a strategy. To make a long story short, Chevrolet wanted to preserve the retro-inspired concept car design that helped to generate a huge amount of public interest, while offering it at a competitive performance package price point. Given what was happening in the economy around them at the time, and to its sibling cars (the Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger/Charger) the company was more worried about their own financial situation than anything else. All of this led to sacrifices in the following areas: interior design, visibility, and overall practicality. We can explore the ins and outs of the mentions previously in the appropriate categories as they come up although you can follow this link to find out more. 

Engine, Transmission, and Performance

Under the hood of the 2010 Camaro SS you will find one of two options – a 6.2L V8 designated as either an LS3 (manual transmission) or an L99 (automatic transmission). When opting for the LS3, the engine produces 426 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque, compared to the L99 which produces 400 horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque due to its lower compression ratio and Active Fuel Management System. It can’t be argued in this section that Chevrolet did anything to compromise the power offered, especially with the points highlighted earlier for this section and the inclusion of Brembo brakes. However performance is the one that’s semi affected. The platform Chevrolet decided to use was borrowed from General Motors Australian Holden division although it was modified, but it made the car too heavy. The weight was blamed for the acceleration and handling dynamics compared to its rivals.   

2009 Concept Car – For the movie appearance the 2009 concept car saw a 6.0L LS2 V8 engine under the hood. It was able to produce approximately 400 horsepower, however, no torque was specified for the movie car. Like the 2010 SS, it came with a 6 speed transmission but featured a modified Pontiac GTO chassis. In terms of the suspension, this car came with a fully independent setup that allowed the front and rear wheels to move separately of one another, while the vehicle is also equipped with a full time four wheel drive system (AWD) that continues to power all four wheels.  

Interior, Exterior, Comfort, and Cargo

I don’t normally write about the exterior of the car in other Cars in Review posts but for this one it might be essential to really get a full overall understanding of this car. The exterior features a muscular, retro inspired design with a standard rear spoiler and unique “halo” headlights. The consumer does have the option to go with an RIS package that includes HID headlamps and unique taillamps. As mentioned earlier, it comes with larger wheels but even bigger than this, it comes with the option for 20 inch in the RS package. It also sees a decorative vent design and has a wide stance with aggressive styling that includes a stripe running down the hood and deck of the car. 

Independent to the movie but still related, Chevrolet offers this car in what they call a “Transformers package”. Now, unfortunately for those true fans, your car will not be able to transform into Bumblebee as it does in the movie, but it will come with the rally black stripes and badging, so close enough. 

This was also an area Chevrolet compromised on and it’s unfortunate because, of all the other aspects this might be the biggest deterrence in buying one after a full analysis is given. The car has an aggressive, low slung design with a low roofline and high decklid – two things working against each other – which ultimately results in poor visibility, large blind spots, small windows, and an overall cramped feel for rear seat passengers. Chevrolet took the idea of a “concept car” and ran with it, completely ignoring the practicality aspect. 

Although, when it comes to the interior of this car, it’s not quite a different story. It does come available with jet black cloth fixings and trim door sills, as well as power door locks, mirrors, windows, and seats, but Chevrolet was highly criticized for its use of cheap and hard plastics. They completely eliminated the aluminium features inside the vehicle which also took with it the specialness that it carried and made the steering wheel large and awkwardly shaped, included unintuitive climate controls, and a clunky shifter in the manual transmission models.

2009 Concept Car – For the movie version, the prop cars were built by SSV for General Motors and had several differences from the standard production Camaro that was yet to be released to the public. It included things like: 

• Unique front and rear fascias and lighting 
• Custom mirrors, door handles, and wheels 
• Tinted windows (which were made darker for the second movie) 
• A custom hood for the second movie 
• Non-functional plexiglass side windows and a functional Pontiac GTO air conditioning system
• Autobot shield badges and “Transformers” logos for its appearance in the second movie 

Infotainment and Connectivity

For the 2010 SS, Chevrolet decided to equip it with an audio system that featured (and get ready for this throwback) AM/FM/CD/MP3 playback, XM satellite radio, and basic connectivity options such as an auxiliary input jack. The standard system included a 6 speaker, 80 watt setup for the 1SS whereas the 2SS came standard with a premium 245-watt 9 speaker Boston Acoustics sound system that featured a centre dash speaker, door woofers and tweeters, and rear deck speakers. Talk about having the coolest ride in town! For the display, the vehicle itself did not have a touchscreen or MyLink system that was later introduced for 2013 and a factory installed GPS navigation system was not available as an option for this model year either.   

But when it came to the connectivity options features like: 

• An auxiliary input (as mentioned before) 
• A USB port which was included as an option part of the “Convenience and Connectivity package” or standard only on the 2SS trim level that could be used to control devices like an iPod or a USB driver, with album and artist information displayed on the head unit
• Bluetooth – Available standard only on the 2SS version and primarily supported hands-free calling
  • Some drivers reported being able to stream music although the functionality was not consistently available or a straightforward feature as part of the original factory head unit 
  • A simple auxiliary jack connected was the primary method for non-call audio from a mobile device 
• OnStar – General Motors OnStar system that provides emergency services and turn-by-turn navigation assistance through a live operator came standard across all models  
• Steering Wheel Controls – Audio controls that came mounted on the steering wheel were included only with the Connectivity package but came standard on the 2SS model

Although in terms of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, aftermarket systems were required which were widely available for the 2010-2015 Camaro models.  

Safety and Driver Assistance Features

When it came to the safety and driver assistance features, here’s another place that Chevrolet was lacking. They did equip this car with a lot of standard safety features that included things such as a one year subscription to OnStar (as mentioned above), air bags – which also included head curtain side-impact for both front and rear passengers, beyond the standard driver and front passenger ones, four wheel antilock disk braking with Brembo calipers (as mentioned above), electronic stability control (StabiliTrak), full-function traction control, and electronic brakeforce distribution, with a feature called “launch control” coming only on the SS models with a manual transmission.   

Other standard features included: daytime running lights (DRLs) with automatic light control, a tire pressure monitoring system, LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) system in the rear seats, front seatbelt pretensioners and load limiters, theft-deterrent system with an engine immobilizer, and an emergency interior trunk release. 

Now when you compare this vehicle to the modern day ones, you will see a really big difference – the technology back in 2010 was very minimal to what is offered today. The only really significant driver assistance feature that was offered was the ultrasonic rear parking assist (a fancy way of really saying a back up camera, without the actual use of a camera). It used sensors to audibly alert the driver of obstacles when in reverse although this late addition was only available on the 2SS trim model. This vehicle also failed to include: a rear view camera, blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning, or forward collision warning – all coming as standard features in today’s new releases and visibility was a common complained about issue across the reviews. The car’s styling and high beltline were the two reasons many listed although the optional rear parking assist became a very valuable addition.  

Warranty and Maintenance Coverage

Chevrolet offered a couple of different types of warranty for this vehicle. They are as follows: 

• Bumper-to-Bumper – Covered 3 years or 36,000 miles (whichever came first) and this included coverage on tires for any defects in material or workmanship, and towing to the nearest authorized dealer for warranty covered repairs 
• Powertrain Limited Warranty – Covered specific components such as the engine, transmission, drive systems, all internally lubricated parts, seals, gaskets, etc for 5 years or 100,000 miles (whichever came first) 
• Rust-Through Coverage – Covered for 6 years or 100,000 miles (whichever came first) 
• Roadside Assistance/Courtesy Transportation – 5 years or 100,000 miles  

It is important to note, these coverages listed above are well overdue their period no matter when the vehicle is purchased since these were part of the original factory warranties. Any current coverage will be through a private extended warranty or service contract. 

This model uses a system called the “Engine Oil Life System” which essentially helps to determine the optimal oil change interval. This can be up to 7,500 miles (or more, under optimal conditions) but it is not recommended to exceed 12 months. The general schedule is every 7,500 miles and includes: 

Mileage Interval	Recommended Maintenance
Every 7,500 miles	Change oil and filter (per Oil Life System), rotate tires, inspect brakes, inspect engine air filter, check all fluid levels, lubricate doors
Every 15,000 miles	Repeat 7,500-mile services & replace cabin air filter
Every 30,000 miles	Repeat 7,500-mile services, replace engine air filter, replace cabin air filter, inspect fuel system
Every 50,000 miles	Perform 30,000-mile services, plus replace automatic transmission fluid and rear axle fluid (if equipped with a limited-slip differential)
Every 100,000 miles	Perform 50,000-mile services, plus replace spark plugs
Every 150,000 miles	Perform 100,000-mile services, plus flush the cooling system and inspect accessory drive belt

Final Thoughts

Without giving too much away, we will have another special treat for you in next week’s post, so make sure to stay tuned! In the meantime, since you made it to the end of this post, why not check out a post we shared a while ago on tips on getting your car ready for Winter linked here.