The Miata, everybody seems to agree, caught lightning in a bottle when it first came out. The nimble and zippy roadster segment had all but been abandoned at the time, and if Mazda hadn’t gotten the MX-5 right, there’s no… Read More ›
Concept Cars
Did the 1961 Pontiac Monte Carlo concept foretell the Pontiac Firebird? – David Conwill @Hemmings
The GM Y-body senior compacts (Buick Special/Skylark, Oldsmobile F-85/Cutlass, and Pontiac Tempest/Le Mans) were practically sized cars with some interesting mechanical innovations, including an all-aluminum V-8. The Tempest/Le Mans sported a flexible driveshaft and a rear transaxle.When they came out… Read More ›
Was Ford’s Astrion meant to be a super-sporty Thunderbird or just another concept car? – Daniel Strohl @Hemmings
As noted when we posted the video on Ford’s Styling Center the other day, the advanced design that much of the first half of the video focused on is something of a mystery given how much time and energy that Ford and… Read More ›
Did the series of Ford Probe concept cars go on to influence the production Ford Probe? – Daniel Strohl @Hemmings
They both arose from the same economic factors and in the same general time period. They had some styling similarities, emblematic of that time period. They both relied on collaborations with Ford-adjacent companies. And, of course, they shared the same… Read More ›
Was Chevy’s rear-engine XP-819 really a contender for the Corvette badge, or was it something else entirely – Jim Koscs @Hemmings
One word might best sum up the arrival of the 2020 Corvette, the first mid-engine model in the Chevy sports car’s nearly 70-year history: finally! Mid-engine Corvettes had been teased as engineering cars, prototypes and concepts for more than 50… Read More ›
Anything but a shrinking flower: How codename Daisy, the 2004 Shelby Cobra concept came together – @Hemmings
[Editor’s Note: Chris Theodore’s book, “The Last Shelby Cobra: My times with Carroll Shelby,” released last year, recounts not only the former Chrysler, AMC, and Ford engineer’s relationship with his boyhood hero, but also the development process for the 2004… Read More ›
Twenty years before the FCA-PSA merger, Chrysler tried to build its own Citroen 2CV -Daniel Strohl @Hemmings
Long before anybody’s wildest imaginations could have conceived of Chrysler (not to mention Dodge and Jeep) becoming part of a multi-national carmaking company that included some storied Gallic brands, perhaps one of the most important Chrysler concept vehicles of the… Read More ›
Long-lost ‘Little Red’ 1967 Mustang Shelby GT500 worth millions recovered and restored – Gary Gastelu @Fox News
A long-lost experimental 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 EXP that was discovered rotting away in a field nearly two years ago has been fully restored and put on display at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Ariz. The vehicle was used by legendary… Read More ›
To get an idea of how big a deal the Neon was, consider all the concept cars Chrysler based on it – Daniel Strohl @Hemmings
The Neon was a big deal! Automakers rarely build concept cars for the heck of it. The paper that designers draw on is cheap; the real-life versions, even the non-working ones, aren’t. So concept cars typically arise from a purpose,… Read More ›
Never-built Virgil Exner concept car rendering takes form 75 years later – Daniel Strohl @Hemmings
Never-built Virgil Exner concept car Metalshaper Wray Schelin says he can teach an absolute beginner in metalshaping how to form a car fender in just a week, and he’s decided to back that claim up by assigning his metalshaping students… Read More ›