Camaro Day!!

A couple of weeks ago, Payne Chevrolet hosted a Camaro Day. This is the second time they've done it - both were very successful.

Last year, I heard that they got a radio station up here broadcasting - of course they were mentioning the free hamburgers we were serving, so we were swamped with people.

This year was a lighter affair, because since we (wisely) didn't include the radio station this time, we got people coming over who were just interested in the Camaros we had on display.

And they were beautiful. We had really old ones that had been souped up and tickered with over years. We had a Camaro convertible from the 90s that was impeccably cared for. And we also had a couple of our most memorable sales from this year's new, 2010 Camaro.

One of those sales was the Bumblebee Camaro - a new coupe designed to resemble Bumblebee from the "Transformers" series (most of the "Transformers" characters are "played" by GM vehicles in the recent film series). The owner of this Bumblebee Camaro had the most adorable grandson who came with him, who told me how much he loved Bumblebee and how it was his favorite car. His grandfather even told me that the kid would sneak into the garage at night and tell his family, "Shhhh! Bumblebee is sleeping."

Just adorable. They were very nice to talk to and had a lot of fun.

Another new Camaro we had was one purchased by a young local girl, who had us paint the hood, roof, and trunk of her black SS Camaro completely pink. At first, many here were skeptical about the procedure, but since the customer is always right (and hey, she was paying for it!), we sent it to the body shop to get done. And let me tell you, we were all completely wrong, because this Camaro looks AWESOME. If she had gotten it painted completely pink, it would have looked silly, but since she mixed the pink with the black, it ended up looking really cool. My favorite part was where the body shop painted the Chevy bowtie logo in the front pink, too! It tied the whole thing together.

It is wonderful that we have the opportunity to gather the local community and have events like these. Everyone involved had a lot of fun, and it was a great experience altogether, especially for me, since this was the first major event I've been involved with since I started here at Payne.

Hope to see you next year!!

**I'll be posting pictures and video of the event as they are available**

Beautiful Springfield and Robertson County

Springfield is a beautiful place to live and work in. But for those that didn't grow up or live here for a long time, moving into town can be difficult at first. In any relatively small town, where people are very familiar with each other and not familiar with you, it can be weird at first.

So that's why I've put together a handy guide of things that I've learn since I came to town. Hopefully it will assist those who are new, and maybe inspire those citizens of Nashville, Clarksville, Bowling Green, and Hendersonville to come take a look at the town and our store.

1) Springfield has a wealth of local restaurants that are great places to eat. If you are driving into Springfield from the south on Memorial Blvd., it might be a bummer at first to see so many big signs for fast food joints and no immediate indication of nice local eateries. However, as you delve further into the town, you'll find truly wonderful places like The Depot, The Catfish House, and (for the ladies) Burdett's Tea Shop. Take a look for these places on Google Maps before you head up to buy your new car at Payne, that way whenever you inevitably find the Malibu of your dreams and drive off the lot with it, you'll have a great place to celebrate at.

2) Also good info for the ladies: the men in this town will open doors for you. All. The. Time. This might make a traditional woman blush and a more liberal lady a little peeved, but know that the guys in this city mean well. It's incredibly refreshing, really, to go to a place where people still have manners.

3) Robertson County is still a thriving agricultural area. In fact, it is called the tobacco capitol of the world! Dark fire tobacco is grown here, and from what I hear it is just a revelation to pass a barn that is curing the leaves. The smell of the tobacco burning is supposed to be very aromatic. Even if you aren't a tobacco user, surely you must appreciate the work that goes into growing a quality crop.

4) This county is also home to the Bell Witch. She haunts people... or something.

5) Springfield was a candidate to be the official home of "The Simpsons." When the "Simpsons" movie premiered in 2007, Springfield, TN was one of 13 Springfields across America that competed to host the film's premiere. Vermont's Springfield was the eventual winner, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Homer lives there. The 2009 episode "Coming to Homerica" included a joke referencing Homer and Marge's Springfield as "Tennessee Titans country," so there is evidence and still hope that just maybe, perhaps we are the One True Springfield.

6) Springfield is home to the best darn Chevrolet dealership in the world.

Well, I hope this guide has been helpful. Here at Payne, we have nothing but respect for the town we belong to - the town that the Payne family has called home for more than 80 years. Supporting this dealership means supporting a group of employees that really try to give Springfield a good image every day. And really, doing so is just good business - not one of us wants anyone from Nashville or Clarksville to walk away with a bad impression of the town, because then they might get a bad impression of us. So we do what we can for Springfield, because it has done has much for us.