ON THE TABLE
Monday, October 10, 2011 at 05:23PM October 12, 2011
Fiat-Chrysler. Editor-in-Chief's Note: So now there's a "real" JLO spot for the Fiat 500 as opposed to the rip from the music video. Guess what? It may even be worse than the rip from the music video. Ponderous, overwrought and a not-so-subtle lift in tone and pace with the Eminem Super Bowl spot for the Chrysler 200 - only translated to daylight, in New York - the question becomes, how on earth did anyone arrive at the thought that JLO has any connection to the Fiat 500 whatsoever? Or that her driving around New York saying how she's connected to "my world" somehow makes sense when that couldn't be further from the truth? It's all just flat-out laughable. Watch the huge miss here. Not to beat a dead horse, but if I'm a Fiat dealer, I am not a happy camper today. - PMD
(Chevrolet)
Chevrolet has announced its most powerful convertible ever – the 2013 Camaro ZL1. Like the coupe, the Camaro ZL1 convertible features a supercharged 6.2L “LSA” engine, SAE-rated at 580 horsepower (432 kW) and 556 lb.-ft. of torque (754 Nm). That’s enough to exceed the output of 2+2 convertibles of many performance-luxury cars, including:
2012 Aston Martin DB9 Volante – 470 hp / 443 lb.-ft.
2012 Mercedes SL63 AMG – 518 hp / 465 lb.-ft.
2011 Porsche 911 Turbo S – 530 hp / 516 lb.-ft.
2011 Ford Shelby GT500 – 550 hp / 510 lb.-ft.
The Camaro ZL1 convertible boasts advanced powertrain and chassis technologies designed to deliver exceptional performance on the road or track. In fact, it’s the same balance of acceleration, handling and ride quality that enabled a Camaro ZL1 coupe to lap the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife course recently in 7:41.27 minutes, according to Chevrolet operatives. The 2013 Camaro ZL1 will make its debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show next month and will arrive at Chevy dealerships late in 2012. The Camaro ZL1 Coupe will arrive in showrooms right after the first of the year.
(Chevrolet)
Chevrolet has confirmed that a version of its all-new Colorado midsize pickup will be built and sold in the United States. Launching this month in Thailand, versions of the Colorado will be rolled out in other regions around the globe. “The new Chevrolet Colorado is generating a lot of excitement as we begin its launch in Thailand,” said Chris Perry, vice president, global marketing and strategy for Chevrolet. “We think the design, capability and fuel efficiency of the new Colorado will make it attractive to U.S. customers.” Product details, timing, pricing and the production location will be announced later, says Chevy. The current-generation Colorado will be produced in Shreveport, La., through the 2012 model year. Will this move Ford to match it? The company has already stated that it would not bring its new global Ranger here due to the fact that it's too close in size to its iconic F-150, but that doesn't mean that they won't come up with something else.
Editor-in-Chief's Note: Our friend Casey Shain ("artandcolour") is at it again with yet another series of his wonderfully provocative digital musings. This feature has grown to become very popular with the design community, so we're happy to present more of Casey's work. Casey's target this issue is Lincoln, and this is what he had to say: "Since I read that Lincoln is going to ditch the current twin-grilles, I've been wondering what they'll replace it with. It seems terribly short-sighted to me to totally revamp the Lincoln lineup with the twin grilles only to change to a new corporate face after only 1 cycle, but what do I know? I wondered how the '70s/'80s Lincoln 'Parthenon' grille would translate to more contemporary cars. They range from the sublime to the ridiculous, and I've also included a few other various chops." Enjoy Casey's work (along with his commentary) below. - PMD
Lincoln Mark IX coupe. Since the Lincoln tombstone grille was so often compared to Rolls-Royce's, I thought I'd start out with the Phantom Fixed Head coupe. I actually left the exact Roller grille, but gave the rest of the car Lincoln cues. I think it works well, but why wouldn't it given the donor car's brutal beauty... I call this "modern but traditional glamour."
Lincoln Mark IX LSC V12 Biturbo coupe. Base photo was Peter Schreyer's Kia GT concept. Just about the only thing left are parts of the glass area and wheels. I modified an actual '71 Mark III radiator/grille, and airbrushed the rest of it, to create an AMG/M/V Series rivaling 2+2 sports coupe. This one is "radical glamour," and one of my favorite chops, ever.
Lincoln MK/h hybrid hatch. Perhaps one chop too far, lol. I wanted to see how the formal grille could translate to an aero hybrid hatch. I used a second generation Vibe as the base. Perhaps the swanky curvaceous body isn't terribly Lincoln, but the laid-back grille was pretty successful. The last Mark VIII used a similar shape, if not size. Town Car "slivered" C pillar windows with a gold Lincoln Star logo embossed in them lend some brand ID. Call this least successful of the three Lincoln chops, "practical glamour," an oxymoron if I ever heard one! I'll probably try a different small hatch using Lincoln's own Concept C as a base. I've tried chopping the "C" before though, and it's hard to change that brilliant singular expression and have it look decent!
Jaguar Shooting Brake. I think the recent Jaguar coupe concept was beautiful, but too close in shape to the current XK coupes. I think they should use a smaller coupe to expand their body styles, perhaps making it a long roof coupe like I've chopped.
Hyundai Shooting Brake. I changed the Euro-only i40 5-door hatch into a 3-door long roof shooting brake. I think this could be a "segment buster" in the USA, a big brother to the Veloster.
Chrysler Satellite Hatchback. A simple 3-door version of the new Lancia-based Chrysler Delta 5-door. I made it a "coupe" and gave it a more dramatic C pillar.
BMW 1 series Sporthatch. I know that BMW makes hatchback versions of the 1-series in Europe, but it's a bit dumpy compared with the sport coupe and convertible we get here. I extended the roof of the USA sport coupe and changed the rocker panels to carbon fiber to "add lightness" in the words of Colin Chapman. In "M" version as here, I think it could help take the place of the late, funky, Z3 coupe.
