My Favorite Ride: Woman finally finds and buys the 2010 Camaro of her dreams

Jennifer Taylor has owned so many Chevrolet Camaros in her 49 years. Nine to be exact. The first car she had as a 16-year-old was a brown 1984 Berlinetta with a fast V-8 engine.

After someone scratched up the paint with a key in the high school parking lot, insurance covered the cost of repainting the car. Brown turned to electric blue.

That Berlinetta was sold years ago, as were several others through the years; Camaros manufactured in 1991, 1993, 1995, 1998, 2000 and 2002 came and went.

She's held onto a black 2010 Z-28 that's got just 20,000 miles on it.

But the Camaro she longed for, a manual transmission silver-with-black-stripes 2010 SS, eluded her for more than a decade.

When the car first came out, after a seven-year Camaro production hiatus, Taylor wasn't able to afford one. She's worked as the parts and inventory control manager at Bill DeFouw Chevrolet in Lafayette the past 31 years.

So when the 2010 Camaros hit the showroom floor 13 years ago, all she could do was window shop as she admired the shiny new cars daily. "I just didn't have the money," she sighed.

Fast forward eight years. Taylor's mother, Rita Hicks, died in 2018, and her at-loose-ends father was spending a lot of time at the car dealership where his daughter works.

Carl Hicks was intent on finding that 2010 SS his daughter wanted, and enlisted help from the dealership sales staff. They looked and looked, and couldn't find one in decent condition.

In the spring of 2022, auto mechanic and racing enthusiast Carl Hicks passed away without finding the car he sought. Taylor settled his estate and inherited some cash. Some went to a savings account, some was invested and some was set aside, earmarked for a certain 2010 Camaro SS that had to be out there somewhere.

It was. Just 112 miles down the road.

Taylor's life partner joined the search. In September, he saw a Facebook Marketplace ad listing the exact car. Immaculate condition and hardly ever driven, just 4,500 miles on the odometer.

"I've never looked at or bought anything on Facebook Marketplace, and I figured it was probably a scam," Taylor said. "He told me about it, and a few days went by, and I asked him if he had messaged them and he said he hadn't."

She found the car on the site and sent a message to Glenda Chestnut, who was selling he husband's beloved Camaros. "She responded back the next day and said her husband was not well and was in the hospital. She said she had to get him well before before she could show the car."

Last week's My Favorite Ride: Man's cherished Camaros in search of new owner

Taylor could wait. "I told her there were no worries at all, that I wasn't in a hurry, that I had been looking for this car for years. I told her I was seriously interested and didn't care if I had to wait until spring."

A few weeks later, Chesnut contacted Taylor with news that Larry Chestnut had died, and she was ready to sell the first of his three Camaros. The special one.

"She was ready to show the car, and I said I was available. She said, 'How about tonight?' I didn't want anyone else to see the car first, so I drove down. I was so excited to see that car."

She arrived in Bloomington to find Chestnut's three Camaros parked side-by-side in a garage, so close together she was unable to open the car doors to look inside.

"It was raining, so she wouldn't let the car out of the garage. And she had to deal with the title since his name was on it, so I would have to come back."

Glenda Chestnut called Taylor the next day. If she still wanted it, the car was hers.

"She was firm on her price, but she took off a thousand dollars, I think because she liked me and she knew how much I loved the car."

Rain was in the forecast that day, so Taylor went the day after to seal the deal. She and her partner drove to Bloomington with $34,000 cash, divided into envelopes well hidden in their vehicle.

When they counted it out together at Chestnut's kitchen table, Glenda handed back a $50 bill. "She said if there was a discrepancy at the bank, she'd let me know and I could mail her the difference."

Taylor drove the car to Lafayette that evening, her partner following behind. She took it slow and steady the entire distance, and he noted she had driven "like a little old lady" the entire way.

She will treasure it always. "If my dad had found this car, he would have bought it for me."

Imagine if the two men were to meet in heaven.

Carl Hicks: "I left earth before I could get my daughter the car she always wanted. It's hard for people to understand, but she's crazy for Camaros. Especially the 2010 SS, silver with black stripes and with a manual transmission. I just couldn't find one."

Larry Chestnut: "No, I get. I left that very car behind when I transitioned here. I loved that 426-horsepower Camaro, and so did my wife Glenda. She promised to sell the car to someone who would cherish it as much as I did."

Have a story to tell about a car or truck? Contact My Favorite Ride reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812--318-5967.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Woman searching for a decade finally finds manual 2010 Camaro SS