Have you guys seen the new/old Camaro yet?

[bparker]

I absolutley LOVE this car and P R A Y that GM puts it into production asap!

[Klaus]

The Camaro That Almost Was

If you want to get a good look at the Chevrolet Camaro concept car, you'd better get down to Detroit's Cobo Hall pretty early - or stick with the images on TheCarConnection.com. The lines form early and last long. There's no question that the Chevy show car is the top draw at this year's North American International Auto Show. But it almost didn't get there, at least not in the form we've seen.

As TCC previously reported, an early attempt to revive the Camaro nameplate in time for the January 2005 Detroit show was scuttled by General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner, who felt it was simply too retro. Wagoner sent design chief Ed Welburn and his team back to their digital drawing boards, and "within about three weeks, maybe four," recalls Welburn, they had something serious going. Soon, the sketches were transfered to a lifesize clay model and rolled out onto the well-guarded patio behind the GM Design Center, in Warren, MI. "When I walked out onto the patio and saw it, it was obvious it was a Camaro," Welburn, himself a Camaro collector, tells TheCarConnection. But he still wasn't satisfied. "I liked it, but I wanted them to push it farther."

At that point, the decision was made to bring in a second studio, a top-secret facility located well away from the main design center, and known by the cryptic codename, Studio X. Where the first studio's work bore a strong resemblance to the relatively tame '68 Camaro, Studio X came up with an alternative that, according to Welburn, "had a lot of flare," more like the iconic '69. The photo here gives a look at the two versions. Or, if you prefer, three, as the Studio X clay model, on the right, features two optional faces. And in it, you'll get a clue to what happened next.

Digital design is a wonderful thing. The main design worked better, overall, than the Studio X prototype, which seemed a little two edgy, a bit too much like the Cadillac XLR. But it had some intriguing details lacking from the first design. Ultimately, the two competing teams were able to borrow some of each other's ideas. One of the Studio X grilles was melded onto the main design team's overall shape, and by mid-2005, Welburn and his bosses, CEO Wagoner and car czar Bob Lutz, were ready to sign off on the show car that debuted to so much acclaim early this month. Along with the running prototype on display in Detroit, by the way, a second version, with no running gear, was milled, painted, and ultimately shipped to the West Coast, for a belated presence at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

Now, the big question: will they build it? "It's just a concept," Welburn repeats, open like a mantra. But after he takes a breath, he admits, "We all feel very connected with that car." Though he can't confirm production plans, he does tell TheCarConnection, "We do need to move very quickly" towards making a go/no-go decision. Considering the stir Camaro is creating, we're betting approval will come within the next several months, with production likely to begin within as little as 18 months. And obviously, we'll report the details along the way.



No Nudes is Good News?

Okay, we autowriters often talk about going topless, but we're normally thinking about the joys of putting the top down in a convertible. Apparently, some folks had a very different idea of how to approach things at this year's North American International Auto Show.

Seems sometime around 2:30 on Monday morning, a young woman snuck into Detroit's Cobo Hall, long after the show was closed to the public. She did more than peel back her, ahem, convertible top. Stark naked, she climbed atop the Dodge Challenger concept car. Civic duty be damned, a dozen or so workers decided to help out by snapping pics with their cellphone. Guards finally interrupted the impromptu modeling session, the Detroit News first reported.

As details come out, it appears two of the overnight Cobo crew, more than a little under the influence of devil rum (or was it beer?) convinced an aspiring young model that they were talent scouts. How that led to her au naturel pose, well, we'll just have to use our imagination/

No word yet whether officials at the conference center will take disciplinary action - or if any of the union workers will care.

Incidentally, while automakers have toned down the auto show skin game in recent years, there was a time when sex really was used to sell cars. Back in the early days of the Jaguar E-Type, it was not uncommon for topless models to drape the car at the old London Motor Show. Perhaps the young woman on the Challenger thought she was auditioning for a job. A few years back, Chrysler touched off a bit of a scandal with one of its typically-wacky auto show previews. Models were assigned to pose in life-size recreations of classic paintings. The event generated unexpected headlines, however, when local papers learned the model's body suits were, in fact, body paint on bare skin.

[NEOCON1]

boys and girls at GM are designin some hot rides

[bparker]

And another

[HIHUMMER]

Sweet! Sure bets my '97..yes..laugh it up f-ckers!

Time for them to step up with the redesigned GTO..2008, right?

[RIC-H0]

I think the B-pillar would actually look good on it. It would add to the authenticity of it, and break up the chrysler look that it kinda has!
IMO

Ric-H0

[AlamoJim]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by bparker:
You would make a nice Sally though....
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>
oh no - she blows sally fields away...no comparison.

[HummerNewbie]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by HIHUMMER:
...maybe that's why I have a thing for Smokey and the Bandit. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

You can call me Bandit if you like

[Klaus]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by HIHUMMER:
...maybe that's why I have a thing for Smokey and the Bandit.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I copied the original soundtrack from tape to CD (the CD has never been available).

[Sewie]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by bparker:
B I T C H I N C A M A R O ! ! !
B I T C H I N C A M A R O ! ! !
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I ran over my neighbor!

I think I have that tape around here somewhere.

[HummerNewbie]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by HIHUMMER:
Sure bets my '97..yes..laugh it up f-ckers! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thats probably not as having an '85 TA like I did

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by GMPartsGuy:
It's a done deal from my sources. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Damn, I hope your sources are right!

[Klaus]

Autoextremist
On the Table

GM. Fresh off the triumphant return of the Camaro at this year's Detroit Auto Show, rumblings coming from deep within GM's Design Staff suggest all is not well with getting the "right" car into production (it will be made by the way, despite Bob Lutz' vague statements to the contrary during its introduction). A major stumbling point? Right now, there is an intense debate going on about the need for a "B"-pillar. Right-minded designers are adamant that the "B"-pillar is not necessary structurally for safety and most critically, for aesthetic reasons and that it wouldn't be an authentic Camaro with a "B"-pillar, period. The bean counters, of course, are saying that to do the car without a "B"-pillar would be too costly. If there were ever a time when the bean counters should be told to step aside at GM, it's this one. The Camaro concept cannot be built with a "B"-pillar, it would literally destroy the whole freakin' car. Add in the fact that all the engineering to support a pillar-less design for the convertible version is already in place, and you have the no-brainer of this young year. If GM screws up this car, there is no hope - so it's really quite simple: Don't.

http://www.autoextremist.com/page6.shtml

[KenP]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by HummerNewbie:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by HIHUMMER:
...maybe that's why I have a thing for Smokey and the Bandit. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

You can call me Bandit if you like </div></BLOCKQUOTE>It was on Spike the other night. We have the collection on DVD.

[HIHUMMER]

No..my first car was an 89 TA...black/gold with the bird on the hood...maybe that's why I have a thing for Smokey and the Bandit.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by HummerNewbie:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by HIHUMMER:
Sure bets my '97..yes..laugh it up f-ckers! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thats probably not as having an '85 TA like I did

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by GMPartsGuy:
It's a done deal from my sources. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Damn, I hope your sources are right! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[bparker]

I absolutley LOVE this car and P R A Y that GM puts it into production asap!

[bparker]

Another

[Ipedog]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by bparker:
B I T C H I N C A M A R O ! ! !
B I T C H I N C A M A R O ! ! !
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I love that song!

[DarthKarl]

Very sweet.


I kinda like the look of the new Dodge Challenger as well.

[AlamoJim]

I'm not mikey...but I like it...
not quite the ground clearance I would like.

[NoMoGMPG]

It's a done deal from my sources.