ASHTABULA — Ashtabula resident Robert Eckenrod purchased his first Camaro in 1969.
“I was 22 and had just left Vietnam. It was yellow with white bucket seats,” he said. “Growing up in the muscle car era, I just loved Chevys and Camaros.”
Thirty-eight years later, the Chevy Camaro still holds a special place in his heart. But Chevy stopped making Camaros in 2002, until 2010.
That news of Camaros on the production line again got Eckenrod and other Camaro aficionado excited.
So much so, that Todd Nassief and his sister, Marybeth Nassief, general managers of Nassief dealerships in Ashtabula and Jefferson, respectively, came up with the idea of a “blast from the past.”
The Nassiefs hosted an old-fashioned new car launch Saturday at Nassief Chevrolet Pontiac Cadillac Honda, 5456 Main Ave., which meant covering the new 2010 Camaro the way dealerships used to back in the 1960s.
At 12:45 p.m., in front of an eager crowd, Todd Nassief, pulled back the white cover and the sight of the 2010 Camaro drew cheers and applause.
The Camaro launch included several Camaro enthusiasts and their cars, music from the ’60s, and Eckenrod, who purchased the fully-loaded, silver, 2010 Camaro, with black leather seats, a V-6 engine and that new-car smell for $29,900.
“It’s my baby,” he said, as on-lookers “oohed and aah’ed.”
Anna Chrzanowki of Ashtabula bought her first Camaro at Nassief in 1983.
As she eyed Eckenrod’s new car, she said, “I’m jealous.”
Her friend, Bernie Muto, talked of the “good old days” when she owned a 1982 Camaro, then later, a 2002 Camaro.
Marybeth Nassief said she is excited that the Camaro is back.
Todd Nassief said their father, the late George Nassief, would have loved Saturday’s festivities.
“They used to hide the new cars by putting newspaper up on the windows so the customers couldn’t see the new cars,” he said. “They would make a real big deal of it. Then they would invite the customers in. It was all very exciting.”
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