1971 Chevy “Pushmi-Pullyu” Found on eBay

Like many children, I was enchanted by the movie Doctor Dolittle. No, not the one with Eddie Murphy – what do you take me for? I mean the '60s version with Rex Harrison and Samantha Eggar! It was a great movie full of music, stunning locales and fanciful creatures. One of the latter was the aptly named Pushmi-Pullyu: an alpaca with two heads, one at either end of its body.

"What does this have to do with cars?" you groan impatiently. Well, I'm getting there.

A Kansas motorist owns what appear to be two very special 1971 Chevy Kingswood station wagons. Why are they special? Because each has been cut in half behind the front doors and stitched back together, end to end. The result is a sort of automotive Pushmi-Pullyu.

Why would anyone want a car that can be driven both backwards and forwards without having to look in the rear view mirror or turning around? I don't know, I would have thought why would anyone build such a car would be the more pertinent question.

Regardless of either of these two questions, you can own this piece of...uh...automotive exotica for the low, low price of US$9,000. Not bad, though you can pick up an unmodified '71 Caprice sedan with similar mileage for less than US$1,000.

Though I suppose you can't drive that in reverse while facing forwards. Well, maybe with a couple of hockey sticks and a rear view mirror taped to a baseball cap. You wouldn't draw as much attention as the two-way Chevy, though. Well, that is until you inevitably crash.

What were we talking about again?

By Tristan Hankins

Link : ebay

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Video: 1964 Chevrolet Cheetah a.k.a “The Cobra Killer”

When Carroll Shelby unveiled the legendary Cobra racecar, in 1962, American road racing changed forever and the Corvette's domination went up in flames. Seeing this, Chevrolet was in need of a "Cobra Killer". Racecar builder Bill Thomas and designer Don Edmunds were commissioned for the task and this is how the Chevrolet Cheetah came to be, the car that in 1964 could reach a speed of well over 200 mph (320 km/h). Check out the video after the break for more details.

Thomas, who was also known as "Mr. Corvette", used a Corvette small-black V8 as the donor engine. He increased the displacement to over 6 liters and fitted it with Rochester Fuel Injection, which he himself had developed.

Maximum power is said to have been around 520 hp, which was phenomenal in those days. The innovation didn't stop there, as Mr. Thomas used an advanced spaceframe chassis, seen at that time on European racers, and managed to distribute the weight almost perfectly between the front and rear axles (48:52 front/rear).

Unfortunately, just as the Cheetah started to rise as a true "Cobra Killer", Thomas' shop burned to the ground. Shortly after, Chevrolet had a change of heart and decided to drastically reduce its racing program, so the Cheetah's career came to an abrupt end.

By Csaba Daradics

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Chevy Drops the Top on 2011 Camaro Convertible at LA Auto Show

The latest addition to the Camaro family is the all-new Convertible model, which received its world premiere in Los Angeles. The four-seater model comes with a power-folding soft-top that retracts in about 20 seconds, with a folding, one-piece tonneau cover that neatly hides the folded top being standard on higher-spec models.

GM's engineers were keen to point out that the rag-top Camaro comes with significant structural changes that give it "superior bending and torsional stiffness than its closest competitor" (we'll assume the General is pointing its arrows to Ford's Mustang), and better torsional stiffness than the BMW 3-Series convertible.

"Our goal in development was to make the convertible match the coupe as closely as possible in ride quality, handling and overall performance," said Al Oppenheiser, Camaro chief engineer."To compensate for the reduced structure of an open car, engineers often will make the suspension softer, making the convertible a boulevard cruiser. Instead, we took the more difficult, but better path of bolstering structure rather than softening the suspension. We didn't change a strut, bushing or spring rate from the Camaro coupe."

As with the coupe, power comes from a standard 312-horsepower direct injection 3.6-liter V6 engine delivering 29 mpg highway, and an optional 6.2-liter V8 unit producing 426 horsepower for the SS model with the manual transmission and 400HP when paired to a six-speed automatic.

The new convertible version of the Camaro begins production in January and goes on sale in the States in February 2011 with a starting price of $30,000.

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LA Show 2010: GM giving out free Hot Wheels Camaro Convertible model cars

Now here's a simple yet cool and, if we take our younger years as an example, very effective way of promoting your products. GM's Chevy division will be offering free Hot Wheels Camaro Convertibles each day of the LA show, which runs for the public from Nov. 19-28 at the LA Convention Center, to "kids of all ages" - we'll take that without any restrictions...

The toy model car is a limited edition version created by Hot Wheels especially for LA Auto Show visitors, to celebrate the world premiere of the 2011 Camaro Convertible.

"Camaro and Hot Wheels are a natural fit, bringing smiles to the faces of car enthusiasts of all ages," said Chris Perry, vice president of Chevrolet marketing. "With the real Camaro Convertible making its debut in Los Angeles, Hot Wheels and Chevrolet will let thousands of Southern Californians take home a pocket-sized Camaro."

Along with the Hot Wheels giveaway, Chevy's stand will also feature several games including the Kinect Joyride with the all-new Chevy Volt on the new Kinect gaming system for Xbox 360.

2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible Fully Revealed with: Photos, Videos and Details

The Los Angeles Auto Show this week will see the long-awaited 2011 Camaro Convertible getting its first public outing before going on sale in February of 2011 with an estimated starting price $30,000. Today, General Motors released more photos and details as well as a couple of new videos of the soft-top variant of the Camaro, which has been in the works ever since the introduction of the coupe model but was constantly delayed due to the firm's financial troubles.

GM says the conversion from coupe to convertible comprised of four strategic reinforcements to enhance the body structure including, the addition of a tower-to-tower brace under the hood, a transmission support reinforcement brace, underbody tunnel brace and, front and rear underbody "V" braces. The company's goal was to match the coupe as closely as possible in ride quality, handling and overall performance.

Additional safety structural reinforcements include a hydrofromed tube in the A-pillars, an inner reinforcement bracket in the windshield header, a reinforced front hinge pillar and reinforcements inside the rockers.

"To compensate for the reduced structure of an open car, engineers often will make the suspension softer, making the convertible a boulevard cruiser," said Al Oppenheiser, Camaro chief engineer. "Instead, we took the more difficult, but better path of bolstering structure rather than softening the suspension. We didn't change a strut, bushing or spring rate from the Camaro coupe."

According to GM, the result of the structural changes to the convertible body give it better torsional stiffness than the BMW 3-Series convertible.

The Camaro Convertible comes equipped with a standard power-folding top that retracts in about 20 seconds. Furthermore, a folding, one-piece tonneau cover is standard on 2LT and 2SS models and optional on 1LT/1SS.

Other changes over the coupe model include the relocation of the radio antenna to the boot and the trunk lock cylinder from between the taillamps to an area between the rear seat back cushion and driver's side interior panel.

The soft-top four-seater will be offered in similar model configurations as the Camaro coupe, meaning buyers will have a choice of two engines, a 312HP 3.6-liter V6 delivering 29 mpg highway and an 6.2L V8 with 426 horsepower. A six-speed manual transmission will be standard, with an optional six-speed automatic.Finally, nine production exterior colors will be available available, with tops offered in black or tan. All models will be equipped with rear parking assist as standard.

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Chevy Releases Fresh Images of New Camaro Convertible, Starts from $30,000

We all remember how fast the Camaro Neiman Marcus Edition sold out - if you don't, check out the story here. Now it's time for the General to promote the far more affordable standard model that will get its first public outing at the LA Auto Show next week, with sales scheduled to start in Spring of 2011. Mesmerized by the social media hype, GM released a new batch of pictures on its Facebook page.

The new soft-top pony car from Chevrolet will be offered with two engines choices: the 312 hp 3.6-liter V6 engine, with direct fuel injection, and the more potent 6.2-liter V8, delivering 426-horsepower for the SS version. Prices are set to start at $30,000, with the destination fee (850$) included, for the base V6-powered model.

By Csaba Daradics

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