On the 2010 Power Tour with Dr. Jamie Meyer

[NewsBot]

Dr. Jamie Meyer, or as we refer to him, the "Luckiest Man in the World," is actually getting paid to be a part of the Hot Rod Power Tour in his official capacity as Product Integration Manager for GM Performance Parts. While those of us desk-bound this week are a little envious, at least we can live vicariously through Jamie as he brings us updates from the road. First, let's take a look at the GM caravan:



The General has pulled out all the stops to highlight both their production vehicles and GMPP's crate engines and accessories. Speaking of crate engines, one of the noteworthy cars in the fleet is the E-Rod '55 Chevy, powered by a squeaky-clean 430 horsepower LS3.



This emissions-legal crate motor returned 22 MPG yesterday, if you can believe it! The other transplant patient in the bunch is the car Jamie is driving (and why we think he's so lucky), a fourth-gen Camaro with the beating heart of a new ZR1 Corvette under the hood, a 638 horsepower supercharged LS9. This car is about as extreme as you can get, and still have OEM reliability on a punishing endurance run like the Power Tour.



We'll be bring you more information on this car later in the week, so keep an eye out. In addition to the over-the-top crate motor showcases, the convoy is being escorted by a pair of Q-ships; one is a stock Cadillac CTS-V, powered by the LS9's little brother, the LSA. It "only" makes 556 horsepower, which still makes it far and away the most powerful factory Caddy ever built. The other is a Chevy HHR SS, which is being driven by GM Powertrain engineer Bill Duncan. He's the guy who did the stage kits for the 2.0l direct-injection turbo four cylinder LNF engines as utilized in the Cobalt SS and late, lamented Saturn Sky Red Line and Pontiac Solstice GXP, in addition to the HHR SS. Almost 300 horsepower is achievable out of these engines, while keeping your warranty intact and your emissions clean, and any GM dealer can install the kit on any LNF car.



Of course, GM is also showcasing Camaros and Corvettes; an Indy Pace Car is among the mix of five different SS and V6 fifth-gen F-bodies, and if we couldn't trade places with Jamie behind the wheel of the LS9 Camaro, driving the Power Tour in a Corvette Grand Sport 'vert wouldn't be bad at all, either.



Per Jamie, the scope of the Power Tour is something that has to be experienced to be understood. "This is a huge event. You can’t explain to people how big it is. As a reporter trying to cover this, there’s just no way you can accurately demonstrate how big it is. They had 3500-4500 long-haulers! That means there’s four thousand crazy people who get in a hot rod on day one and they drive it to the next city for seven days in a row, and we’re leading the pack."






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