10 WHEELS · Georgetown & Acton, October 27, 2011 The Camaro ZL1 Convertible debuting at the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show boasts 580 hp and 556 lb/ft of torque Chevrolet to unveil Camaro ZL1 in '12 Chevrolet announced the brand's most-powerful convertible ever, the 2013 Camaro ZL1, will debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show late 2012. Like the coupe, the Camaro ZL1 convertible will be built at the Oshawa Assembly Plant, and features a supercharged 6.2-litre `LSA' engine, SAErated at 580 hp and 556 lb/ft of torque. That's enough to exceed the output of 2+2 convertibles of many performance icons, including: · 2012 Aston Martin DB9 Volante-- 470 hp, 443 lb/ft · 2012 Mercedes SL63 AMG-- 518 hp, 465 lb/ft · 2011 Porsche 911 Turbo S-- 530 hp, 516 lb/ft · 2011 Ford Shelby GT500-- 550 hp, 510 lb/ft The Camaro ZL1 convertible's power is complemented by advanced powertrain and chassis technologies designed to deliver exceptional performance on the road or track. In fact, it's the same balance of acceleration, handling and ride quality that enabled a Camaro ZL1 coupe recently to lap the N¸rburgring's Nordschleife course in 7:41.27 minutes. The suspension of the ZL1 convertible uses the third generation of Magnetic Ride. New, twin-wire/dual-coil dampers at all four corners enable faster response, with damping levels now adjusted up to 1,000 times per second-- about one adjustment per inch of vehicle travel at 60 mph-- making the system exceptionally responsive to changing driving and road conditions. The Camaro ZL1 convertible will also offer Performance Traction Management as standard equipment, which is exclusive to General Motors. --Carguide Magazine Metroland Media Group Teens more likely to crash in first month of driving According to a new study from the U.S.-based AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, teen drivers are approximately 50 per cent more likely to crash in the first month of driving than they are after a full year of experience driving on their own, and are nearly twice as likely to crash as they are after two full years of experience. Analyzing the crashes of new drivers in North Carolina, researchers found that three common mistakes--failure to reduce speed, inattention, and failure to yield accounted for 57 per cent of all crashes in which teens were at least partially responsible during their first month of licensed driving. Additionally, when researchers looked at specific types of crashes in relation to how long the driver had been licensed, they found that some types of crashes occurred at relatively high rates at first and declined particularly quickly with experience. For example, crashes involving left hand turns were common during the first few months of driving but declined almost immediately. The high initial rate and subsequent steep decline in certain types of crashes appeared to reflect teens' initial inexperience followed by rapid learning. Crash types that decline more slowly appear to result not from lack of understanding, but from failure to master certain driving skills. --Carguide Magazine Metroland Media Group