Two-minute spot showcases new Camaro and best part of car culture.
Cars, no matter how sophisticated they have become, are still just machines. Yes, they can think with their computer brains and keep a certain distance from the other machines in front of them on the road or check to see if other four-wheel mechanical creations are in their blind spots or brake to avoid collisions, but those abilities only make them more capable machines than they were in decades past. They think a million things at once, yet feel nothing. Their drivers do, though. They feel excitement, joy, and the bonds of friendship. As nice as cars such as the Chevrolet Camaro are to look at, their truest beauty lies within the people driving them.
The commercial above is a great example of that beauty. The WestCoastMaros Camaro Club and Chevrolet teamed up to display it one rev, shift, and fly-by at a time. It shows four people at their various jobs checking their phones and receiving an important message. They immediately respond by getting up and leaving. You can then hear a Camaro firing up. The quartet heads toward an unknown point, each of them in a different sixth-generation Camaro. They range from a blue convertible to a supercharged ZL1. After blasting down winding back roads and zooming through city streets, they all rendezvous on an open desert plain. They exchange friendly handshakes and warm hugs. After they all embrace, they turn to see several more Camaros headed their way and smile.
It’s a wordless display of one of the things that makes car culture so wonderful: unity. We’ve seen it at car shows before, especially those that focus on a particular car or brand of automobile. People of all colors, genders, political affiliations, income levels, and nationalities are united by their common love. Complete strangers talk with one another and joke and laugh and share stories and become closer. Sometimes they leave as friends. Humans may be flawed creatures, but scenes like those are perfect just the way they are.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
