They should have sent a poet with this new Chevy Camaro.

You may remember that last December, my beloved 2010 Camaro SS was stolen. It was found about a week later missing its engine, transmission, bumpers and seats. It was, quite possibly, the darkest day in American history.

After dealing with my insurance company and its check clearing, in mid-January, I ordered a brand new Camaro SS. Chevy warned me that it may take a bit of time on account of logistics problems and the chip shortage. I figured, well, that’s no good, but I can wait a few months.

I got it on Aug. 3.

The good news is that it’s everything I hoped and more. Look at it! Look at its power and glory! Have you ever seen something so beautiful? I sure haven’t, unless my girlfriend is reading this, then I totally have and the car is in second place.

Anyway, I wanted to celebrate a couple weeks ago, but I had some music festival or something. But now it’s time. Way back in the Before Times, by which I mean 2019, I listed five Camaro-driving songs, so it’s time to finally list five more to honor this momentous occasion.

Deep Purple — “Highway Star”

“Highway Star” is earlier than anything in the previous edition, because most of my other driving songs are hair metal, but this is absolutely proto-hair-metal. The vocals are in a slightly lower register, and the guitars aren’t quite the same, but the vibe? The feel? Oh, it’s there. And like hair metal, it lends itself perfectly to reckless driving.

In fact, I think I’m gonna go a bit outside the box on this one. It’s not always time to drive recklessly. I mean it usually is, but sometimes it’s not, and those times deserve a soundtrack too.

Stevie Nicks — “Edge of Seventeen”

This one was a surprise to me when it came on the radio—mercifully satellite radio again, not whatever passes for terrestrial radio these days—but it really, really works. Don’t believe me? Go for a drive and put this song on. Something about the tempo I think, or maybe it’s the steady beat. But oh, it works.

Also, I’ve sung this one’s praises before, but I’m doing it again. Hugely underappreciated song. You, specifically, don’t appreciate this song enough. For shame.

The Offspring — “All I Want”

If you played “Crazy Taxi” on the Dreamcast in the early ’00s, you definitely get this one. But that was apparently over 20 years ago, so you might not have. If that’s the case, get off my lawn.

In this game, you’re a cab driver. You pick up passengers and drop them off at their destination. But you don’t have to stick to the roads and, in fact, get more points for driving as recklessly as possible without crashing. So it involves a lot of using staircases and ramps and taking shortcuts through parks. Basically, how I drive in real life now. Doing it to the same soundtrack brings me nostalgic joy.

Dragonforce — “Through the Fire and Flames”

This should really speak for itself. A blazingly fast song that just never lets up for even a second is tailor made for being behind the wheel of a car with an engine the size of many other cars. Additionally, it’s surprisingly fun to sing along with.

I haven’t really explained my methodology, but the singalong capabilities are really crucial to whether a song is a good driving song. It should suit the mood you’re trying to achieve, yes, but it should also work for impromptu karaoke. Because if your voice is as catastrophically bad as mine, there are only so many places you can sing without offending others. You’ve gotta take advantage.

Whitesnake — “Here I Go Again”

OK, one hair metal song. But it’s unavoidable. It’s impossible to separate Camaros from Whitesnake. Go ahead, try. Just try it. You can’t.

Anyway, I’d write about Whitesnake more, but I’ve got this really awesome muscle car in the driveway and, frankly, you’re not as fun. Sorry, you know it’s true.

Follow editor Daniel J. Willis and tweet column ideas to him at Twitter.com/BayAreaData.