1994 Chevrolet Corvette 2-door 5.7l on 2040-cars

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Chevy dials up the razzle dazzle for Special Ops concept

Inspired by naval camouflage schemes used during the First World War, Chevy created the 2016 Silverado Special Ops concept, which is on display this week at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Based on the 1500 Z71, this Silverado wears a three-tone paint job that mixes different shades of blue, which Chevy says gives the concept visual depth. The appearance is a riff on early 20th Century color configurations used by the US and British navies. Called razzle dazzle, the look is meant to disguise ships' size, speed, and direction. On the Silverado, it simply adds character and gives the truck a more military bearing. The concept also gets flared wheel arches, a sport bar in the bed with LED lights, and a utility storage system. The grille is fitted with black accents and has a thin LED strip running across the top. Inside, orange is used for the door pulls and glove box handle, and the instrument panel and arm rests have more dazzle coloring. The truck also gets an upgraded exhaust kit, six-piston brakes, and a performance air intake. Chevrolet Introduces Silverado Special Ops Concept Military-inspired truck reinforces capability with go-anywhere style LAS VEGAS – Chevrolet's 2016 Silverado Special Ops concept imagines a unique rescue vehicle for special-operations forces. It is based on the Silverado 1500 Z71, which features a new front-end design and new technologies built into its strong, high-strength steel body structure and fully boxed frame, and draws its design inspiration from naval design aesthetics. "This Silverado concept is a multipurpose truck that reflects the go-anywhere, do-anything commitment of special-forces teams," said Jim Campbell, GM U.S. vice president of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. The naval-inspired camo appearance, called Razzle Dazzle, was developed more than 100 years ago to disguise a ship's speed, direction and profile to the enemy's eye. It is based on a three-tone blue exterior color, marked by a distinctive array of varying colored lines and shapes intended to mask the ship. "We created light, medium and darker shaded areas within camouflage bands flowing down the hood, body sides and tailgate," said Todd Parker, director of design, Chevrolet Accessories.

The Jitterbugs somersaulted at the 1986 Chicago Auto Show for the Chevy Nova

Judging by the vintage videos that the Chicago Auto Show has been uploading, if you wanted to check out the latest vehicles and watch some dancers in the same place in the late '80s and early '90s, then the Windy City event was definitely the place to be. We've already seen the Footlockers pitching the Cavalier in '88 and a troupe of women singing about the Geo brand in '91. Apparently, the trend went back even further, though. Just take a look at this group called the Jitterbugs selling some badge-engineered products from Chevrolet at the 1986 show. Flanked by the Chevy Nova and Spectrum, these guys managed to do a few pretty impressive jumps and somersaults but mixed them with some rather uninspired spins, as well. Also, wait for 1:24 into the clip to see the least enthusiastic backup dancers that the world has ever known. The Jitterbugs are even further proof that Chevy's habit of mixing dancing and its vehicles goes back even further than the Volt. News Source: ChicagoAutoShow via YouTube Auto News Marketing/Advertising Chicago Auto Show Chevrolet Videos Chicago chevy nova

There's an impending shortage of new trucks in America's heartland

URBANDALE, Iowa — Jerry Bill is worried the novel coronavirus could hurt business at the Des Moines auto dealership he runs, but not because of a shortage of buyers for the big Ram pickups on his lot. "Our biggest issue will be if we don't get more inventory," said Bill, general sales manager of Stew Hansen Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, which sells around 2,700 new vehicles a year in Urbandale, a suburb of Iowa's capital Des Moines. After a drop in sales in April when consumers stayed home, Bill expects pickup truck sales to end May similar to where they were a year earlier. And if demand remains strong, Bill said he will run out of popular models in June. Fiat Chrysler began slowly restarting Ram truck assembly lines on Monday after a two-month shutdown. The U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter at its sharpest pace since the Great Recession of 2007-2009 because of lockdown measures aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus. Economists warn the second quarter will be much worse. Still, far from the lockdowns of states like New York, Michigan or Ohio, dealerships like Stew Hansen have provided FCA and Detroit rivals General Motors and Ford a rare bright spot: strong sales of pickup trucks in America's heartland. Overall U.S. sales of cars and light trucks crashed to the weakest pace in 50 years last month. But sales of big Detroit brand pickups, particularly in southern and western states less affected by the outbreak, significantly outperformed the market, industry executives and analysts said. Pickup trucks are one of the most profitable automotive segments in the world. They account for a huge portion of the Detroit automakers' profits and formed a huge lure for Peugeot, which expects to merge with FCA by early 2021. The pressure is now on to boost pickup truck production and send vehicles to dealers in parts of the country with dwindling supplies. That is particularly true for GM, which is running short of certain truck models after losing 40 days of production to a strike last fall. "If you don't have what someone wants, they can choose to go to another brand," said Cox Automotive analyst Michelle Krebs. 'Easiest swap ever' Detroit automakers in March rolled out large discounts — such as interest-free loans for seven years — to keep vehicles rolling off dealer lots.