News and chewing gum for the eyes

MUSTANG v CAMARO: WAR AGAIN?
 

It’s 1966 and General Motors desperately need to respond to the runaway success of Ford Motor Company’s Mustang ponycars. American youth are demanding affordable performance and FoMoCo has the right product for the times. Chrysler meanwhile is offering the muscularly Dodge Charger and Plymouth Barracuda, but it’s the Mustang that is selling like hot dogs and GM needs a slice of the action.

Enter the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird, known corporately as F-bodies. The rest, as they say, is history. For 35 years the corporations fought each other and, apart from Ford’s ’74-78 Mustang II wilderness years, the two manufacturers did very nicely thank you in sharing the cake. Though Ford never lost faith that their “horse” was a stayer, GM drew a line under F-body production with the end of the 2002 model year, simply losing interest in the volume sports coupe market despite the fact that something like 150,000 Mustangs a year were continuing to gallop off the production line.

Fast forward to the present and we have another twist to the story. Maybe. You see there are strong rumours concerning a resurrection of at least one of the GM coupes. It could be a case of “Come back Camaro, all is forgiven”.

What you see here is admittedly a computer-generated “virtual concept” (if you will) 2007 Camaro, as sniffed-out by Popular Hot Rodding magazine, but don’t be surprised if it translates into livin’, breathin’ sheet metal in the showroom. Yes, it could well be Mustang and Camaro head-to-head once more.

The magazine reports that insiders are speaking of an RS V6 base model, a 5.3-litre 327 V8 SS option and possibly a Z-28 hi-performance variant following later. Other sources claim the Camaro is to share the same platform as a new Pontiac GTO and come with a 6-litre LS2 motor. What’s for sure is that GM will say nothing officially for the present.

MORE THUNDER FOR THE GULF

FUEL ALTERED SHOOT-OUT AT SHAKESPEARE COUNTY supported by



“Mr Gasket Performance Gp”, JWR & AMPAR

Swedish BB Fuel Altered driver Kenneth Feldthusen, European class record holder for the quarter mile at 6.745-seconds / 203.75mph, is expected to be a star attraction at the NSRA’s Hot Rod Drags at Shakespeare County Raceway on September 17 and 18. Feldthusen’s Northrace team modified ’34 Chevy roadster, packs a 463-cubic-inch Keith Black methanol motor with 16-plug Brad Anderson heads, and is likely to be paired against Briton Frank Bennett’s newly-built Keith Black 511-cubic-inch motored ’32 Fiat Topolino in what should be a furious grudge match.

Both cars form part of a scheduled six-car appearance by members of the Nostalgia Fuel Altered Association, which exists to re-create the wild smoky drag race action that these ultra-twitchy machines were renowned for in the early seventies. This formative year has seen some of the teams suffer extensive (and expensive) damage due partly to the sometime necessary use of 20-year-old parts, but Association co-ordinator Lawrie Gatehouse reports that teams are investing what it takes in time and money to upgrade their machinery for the rest of the season. Next year should see ten or twelve NFAA cars on the “circuit”.

Prize money from Mr Gasket Performance Group is posted for participants.

Shakespeare County Raceway, September 17- 18: Feldthusen (left) versus Bennett?

IT’S BACK TO ‘49 FOR CHEVY’S *HHR

Take a 1949 Suburban station wagon, drop it on a four-cylinder front-wheel-drive platform, throw in the likes of air conditioning, power door locks, electric mirrors, cruise control plus an audio system complete with an iPod plug in, then paint it purple or electric blue or something equally bold, add sticky graphics and you’ve got… the new Chevy HHR. And it’s not a concept, it’s in production.

The HHR’s retro-styling follows closely the similar treatment applied to Chevrolet’s controversial SSR “crossover” roadster pickup, but perhaps offers more practicality with its versatile “flip and fold” seating. The 60/40 split rear seats allow a huge level cargo floor to be created, while with the back of the front passenger seat folded forward an 8ft-long ladder, surfboard, kayak or stuffed alligator can be accommodated. Concealed storage compartments have been designed into the top of the instrument panel, and under seats to hide the likes of cameras and phones.

As part of a launch marketing programme, Chevrolet have been touring the country with four customised HHRs, including a dragster wagon packing a 500hp Corvette LS2 V8 and a “music machine” variant with a stereo system kicking-out 1,200 watts. The more down-to-earth base HHR stickers at $15,990 including domestic delivery and comes with a 2.4-litre engine delivering a modest 143bhp and giving an estimated 30mpg (US).

There’s a 2.4-litre option, plus a choice of manual or four-speed auto transmissions.

*HHR stands for High Heritage Roof, says GM. Obvious really

JEEPERS! YET MORE CONCEPTS

Just when you might have thought it inconceivable that Jeep could possibly come up with yet more imaginative variations on their compact 4x4 platforms (remember, we’ve already seen the Dakar Wrangler with a roof rack fit to carry a camel and enough Jerry cans to cross the Sahara, plus the Star-Wars-style Willys off-roader), the Frankfurt Motor Show will reveal to the world a pair of fresh offerings from the corporate drawing board. And vehicles based on both designs will go into production, says Chrysler.

Most conventional of the two concepts is the Patriot, intended to demonstrate a “modern interpretation of classic Jeep styling; rugged, strong and capable”. Patriot incorporates Jeep’s newest off-road technology, aimed at making it the most capable vehicle in its class.

RETURN OF THE RENEGADE

As part of a mid-summer makeover for UK-spec RHD Wranglers, Jeep have announced a “special edition” reviving the Renegade nametag last used on CJ models of the 1980s. Just 55 copies of the Wrangler Renegade are scheduled to be available, priced at £16,300 and packing 15x7 alloys and a seven-speaker CD player. The Renegades come in either black or light khaki body colours and, as with all new UK Jeeps, offer European roadside assistance for three years or 60,000 miles plus a seven-year anti-corrosion warranty.

At the same time, the Wrangler Sport, on which the Renegade is based, gets three jazzy new colours --- Flame Red, Solar Yellow and Electric Lime Green. Plus free sunglasses?

JEEP: Jumps Enemy Earthworks Perfectly?

Automotive historians have never come up with a really definitive explanation for the origin of the word “Jeep”, although strong favourites have always been that (A) it came from “GP”, which was a military contraction of the wartime “Truck, ½-ton, 4x4, General Purpose”, or (B) that “Jeep” was taken from the name of a rodent-like character in the then-popular comic strip Popeye who could seemingly achieve any task.

It’s said that at a Press demonstration in 1940 a US Army quartermaster, having just demonstrated the prototype model’s off-road abilities, exalted “That Jeep can do anything”, likening the truck to the character. And the name stuck, whereas the little 4x4 kept going.

Now, courtesy of a general knowledge question and answer session in the motoring section of the Croydon Guardian, comes option C, which is that Jeep is an acronym for Just Enough Essential Parts. No, sorry, I don’t buy that one. From day one this little workhorse came “fully-loaded”. Spare fuel cans, shovels, axes, gun racks etc, etc, etc.

It so happens that this year is the 60th anniversary of the birth of the first civilian Jeep --- the CJ-2A. Daily Telegraph writer Erin Baker drove a 1948 model around London recently in a comparison with the current Wrangler, which she found “boring”. The CJ, on the other hand, she loved, even though the ride was obviously militaristic. As Erin said, you can take the Jeep out of war, but you can’t take war out of the Jeep.

DENNIS “DADDY” STONE

A much-respected character of British drag racing, Dennis “Daddy” Stone, sadly passed away on the 22nd July, aged 81.

The Stones worked their way up through a 1500cc Anglia, a Lotus Cortina and an E-type Jaguar before they bought “Opus One” in 1970 with” Daddy” Dennis and son Dave sharing the driving chores. Initially, the car was painted green, with the almost invisible name “Do What!” pencilled on the body, this being”Daddy” Stone’s reaction after a waitress in an American diner asked how he’d like his eggs cooked for breakfast.

At the Santa Pod Easter meet the following year, Dennis ran 11.52 seconds at 115mph to win his class with the car. In August of ‘71 he smashed through the UK ten-second barrier with a 9.9 effort that gained a win in the final of Top Competition Eliminator at Blackbushe.

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(With thanks to Classic American Magazine, from where most of these dates have been taken)