Camino LS6

You did some awesome work, DF. It was veryclose between yours, Z's, and BV's. Everyone did a great job!

Well, that was with almost no wind. If the wind we had yesterday had hung around, we would have been closer to your number. Small favors, I guess.

Super cold, plenty of snow on the ground, and a huge storm predicted for the beginning of the week. Single digit wind chills this morning.

I agree - to a point. I think the Solstice points the way toward making a 4/8 Camaro strategy work. The GXPs were real performers, and the V8 conversions were monsters. The current Camaro is large and heavy by toady's standards, which makes the appellation of "pony car" a bit of an ill fit. The originals slotted in at a much different place within the market of their day. Striking the right balance here will be critical. The V8 is a requirement if the name is Camaro, but the rest is subject to change. I also see what Ford is doing with the new Boss 302 as a real factor which Camaro needs to address. A well-executed Z/28 on Alpha could be a knockout punch. If that is in the plan, I could see the current supercharged car being released without the Z/28 badge.

See the full competition thread here:

I think the recently deceased Solstice coupe could also inform the design of the 6th gen.

I'd bet closer to 3 than 5.

The shape of the Buick Avant lends itself perfectly to adaptation to second gen Camaro styling - you read my mind there, Hyper.

Whew! What a job this turned into! When this contest began, I expected a few entries and an easy decision when picking a winner. Instead, the contest has turned into one of the best in recent memory here at C&G. Not only was there great participation, but the entered designs were of excellent quality. I am very pleased that picking a winner became harder as each new entry was posted. What a great effort by all who participated. Early on, member SeanLoh got things going with a chop that established the GMC All-Terrain HD concept as a base for designs from other resident artists. His entry set a tone that carried through as a theme for the duration of the contest. It was also the only design that dared to go fully topless. Next up to tweak this theme was our most prolific C&G chopper, MDM with a pair of very nicely-rendered Chevy K5s that hit the DNA of the Blazer dead on. Just when I thought that we might have defined the direction for the K5, Black-Knight posted a pair of sketches depicting a trimmer, leaner, vision of the 2-door SUV. It's sharp lines and Grand-Cherokee proportions gave me pause. Here we had a design that exemplified the simplicity and no-nonsense ethic laid-out in the contest parameters. It was time to start weighing the entries on multiple criteria. Speaking of the design parameters of the contest, NOS and MDM demonstrated just what happens when you forget the rules with a couple of decent chops that just didn't qualify as K5 Blazers. In an impressive effort, Z28luvr01 refined the All-Terrain theme into a K15 Jimmy that kept the faith with a GMC branded beast that had Roger calling it "game over". But there was yet more to come. At this point, the "KFap" Blazer offered a bit of levity and a lack of structural integrity in a C&G-typical absurdity tangent. After that bit of fun, and a Ford-based entry by MDM, the Dodgefan onslaught began with the first of his three entries. This wholly realistic rendering depicted a K5 that should be on Chevy lots everywhere right now. It featured a quickly controversial upright "B" pillar that had some crying foul. As an owner of a last gen 2-door Tahoe, what I saw was a solution to a very real blindspot in my own SUV. It may not have the style that the larger, canted, pillar does - but it would be a godsend for visibility. This entry also featured a most welcome description of DF's concept. Enter the wildcard. Leave it to Blackviper to challenge all pre-conceived notions of what a Blazer should be! In a wonderfully-detailed sketch, he stretched the imagination and left me thinking of alternative platforms and drivetrains, materials and surfaces and a new concept overall for the Blazer nameplate. This original, and creative take on a new K5 had me thinking of just how the concept could be made steel (or carbon fiber and aluminum). I'll have more to say about this one later. Enter Dodgefan V. 2.0 - easily the nominee for best adherence to the rules of this contest. If that were the only criteria, it would have been the hands-down choice to win. Based on the Colorado it is as current and producible as DF's first entry. But it takes the idea af a basic off-road capable machine as specified in the rules to the exact spot I was hoping this contest would lead. "No-nonsense" is on full display here. The only downside is the dated design of the Colorado on which this entry is based. I'll have more on this one too later. DF's third design takes us back to the All-Terrain concept once again. It also takes chances with both the door/b-pillar shaping, and the wheelbase. Ther are elements to this design that I love, and it has me thinking of other variants. However, the wheelbase runs counter to what has always been a major advantage of the Blazer - its manueverability. Finally, NOS offered up a quick sketch that immediately had me flashing back to BV's excellent concept. It also had me considering the only Achilles heel of DF's second effort. A fusion of these three would, in my mind, create a Blazer that fits the times and does homage to the original. I would love to see the synthesis of those three efforts explored to result. Such a design would have been the hands-down winner here. However, the contest has to culminate in the naming of a winner from among the designs entered. So, I spent some considerable time looking for the design that best balanced heritage and future and concept with reality. I narrowed the field to three finalists. They are: BV's convention-challenging vision. If you haven't enlarged this one, do it! The detailing is flat out awesome. DF's second effort: And Z's entry: There is only a whisker of difference in the merit of these three, and they represented a very tough choice. But, in the end, I went with the most fully realized design, and the one that best balanced all of the factors involved to create a 2-door SUV for the immediate future. Congratulations Z, the watch is yours!

There still seems to be some debate on the ambulance. Last night a pair of 2010 Solstices went across the block. The first and last 2010s produced ahead of Pontiac's demise. VIN# 001 was a coupe that was to be part of a special edition for the 2010 model year all done up in Trans Am blue and white. VIN# 30 was the last 2010 Solstice built. Both cars were GXPs. Sold as a pair, both went for a paltry 73k.

Happy Birthday!

Nicely done, Ted. That's what this car wants to be. That said, I love the shooting brake as an automotive form - if done well. Oh, and just to pick nits, there was no Z-3 coupe - it was the M-coupe.

I'm right there with you on this. Smaller, lighter, and styled like the '70 1/2 would be a fine recipe. One thing these guys are wrong about is the lightened Zeta - it is happening. I sure would love to see this new Alpha Camaro sitting in the showroom next to a new Zeta Chevelle. All would then be right with the world.

Hmmm

I have it narrowed down to three finalists. I think I'll have a winner for you all tomorrow.

The Sultan of Brunei has quite the collection of one-off exotic shooting brakes - some are quite fine looking.

When I think shooting brake, I think of something more like this: http://www.astonmartins.com/virage/v600_vantage_shooting_brake_roos.htm

Barely a shooting brake... almost a coupe.

My pleasure.

I just reviewed all of the entries, and man, is this ever a tough decision to make! Excellent, excellent, entries. I'll post a new thread once I have decided on a winner. In the meantime, I welcome comments on all of these designs.

Hopefully this is NOS' entry: Uploaded with ImageShack.us

It was?!! Wow! That takes balls to try to do something like that.

Enjoy!

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