Americans used to look at micro cars and fantasize about flicking them off the roadways with full-size SUVs or V8-powered muscle cars. Then, gas trucked past $4 a gallon, and we began to think, “Gee, I really don’t need 5,000 pounds of steel and gas-sucking family bus to get to work.” The Smart fortwo, Fiat 500, and Scion iQ soon appeared on U.S. shores. Now, Chevrolet thinks there might be room for an even better micro. [...]

I knew it. I just knew someone, somewhere, would complain about the cabin plastics in a review of the 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. [The guilty party shall remain nameless, for now.] Let me put this to rest: if you’re worried about the grain of the plastic on the door panels, the center console — or anywhere else for that matter — then you’ve completely missed the point of this car. [...]