GM Celebrates 100 Years of Chevrolet and Indy 500

America's most famous race, the Indianapolis 500, celebrates its 100th anniversary this year and so does Chevrolet, whose name was tied to the “Brickyard” from the very beginning. Arthur Chevrolet competed in the inaugural Indy 500 on May 30 1911, a few months before founding the company that bears his name, on November 3 the same year. Today, Chevrolet and Indy 500 are still together, with the Camaro SS Convertible to be the 22nd Chevrolet to pace the Indy 500 race on May 29 as a common celebration for their 100-year anniversary.

“Before Chevrolet was a brand, Louis Chevrolet and his brothers made a name for themselves behind the wheel of a race car,” said Jim Campbell, GM vice president of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “After Chevrolet became a car company, Louis and his brothers continued to race at Indy, forging one of the most storied relationships in automotive racing.

Over the years, the Chevrolet brothers competed many times at the Indy 500, but only one of them managed to win the race. In 1920, Gaston Chevrolet triumphed behind the wheel of a Monroe-Frontenac, becoming the first winning driver to finish the race on one set of tires. Sadly, he passed away later that year during a California race.

After the end of World War 2, Chevrolet started to provide pace cars for the race, with the first being a 1948 Convertible. Including this year's event, Chevrolet cars have paced the Indy 500 22 times, more than any other brand. The Corvette did it ten times, followed by the Camaro, with seven appearances.

“That history includes some of the most memorable cars that have paced the Indianapolis 500, well as many checkered flags won under Chevrolet power,” said Campbell. “

The 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible Indianapolis 500 Pace Car pays tribute to the 1969 Camaro pace-setter, with the two cars sharing the paint scheme. It will also be sold as a special edition model in a limited run of 500 units.

By Dan Mihalascu

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Bumblebee Camaro Crashes into Real Cop Car During Filming of Transformers 3

BUMBLEBEE is racing down a side street to catch up with the other AUTOBOTS, who have found another piece of the ALLSPARK. Suddenly, a DECEPTICON POLICE SUV appears and cuts BUMBLBEE off!

Well, not really, but it sure looks like that in this video. According to The Washington Post, the story goes that a Metropolitan Police SUV was on its way to investigate a suspicious package in the D.C. area when it strayed onto the Transformers 3 set.

Just at that moment, a yellow Chevrolet Camaro a.k.a. "Bumblebee" rounded a corner and slammed into the right side of the police vehicle in the sort of scene you previously would only have seen in a Michael Bay movie.

District Police spokeswoman Tisha Gant told The New York Times that the officer driving the SUV was taken to a local hospital and that the driver of the Camaro was uninjured.

The Camaro seems to be the worst off of the two, having sustained damage to its front end up to the wheel wells. All of us here at Cool Pictures are hoping and praying that Bumblebee will be okay...

By Tristan Hankins

Via: The Washington Post

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2011 Camaro Accessorized with Phantom Hidden Headlight Grille Set

There seems to be no end to the variety of styling accessories for GM's reborn Chevrolet Camaro muscle car. This here styling set from "DJ Grilles" is called the "Phantom Hidden Headlight Grille" and it comprises a very Lincoln-like upper grille with the option of fixed or removable headlamp bezels and a matching piece for the lower air vent. Check out the pics and videos of the Camaro fitted with the aftermarket grilles after the jump, and tell us what you think about it in the comments section.

Via: Dubdaily , Link: DJ Grilles

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VIDEO: Chevy brings 2012 Camaro Z/28 to the 'Ring

Now that the Z/28 program is back on track, GM has begun to test its Shelby-killer super Camaro at the Nürburgring. You can check out the vid below; it shows the car scooting around the track and rolling around on unsuspecting German roads.

Unlike Ford's new Mustang Boss 302, which is more in-line with its original iteration, the new Z/28 shrugs off its Trans-Am heritage for range-topping excess that's high power out-putting with better stopping and handling than the current SS.

When the car comes out next year as a 2012 model, there should be a version of the CTS-V's LSA supercharged V8 under the hood. Whether or not the engine will be re-tuned is anyone's guess at the moment, but if it were to strictly carry over I'm pretty sure no one would complain. After all, it's still got 556 horsepower, 551 lb-ft of twist, and a six-speed driving the rear wheels.

Pricing is still up in the air, but if this is meant to go up against Ford's Shelby GT500 we should be seeing it in the mid- to high-40k's before options. More info as it becomes available.

By Phil Alex

Via: Camaro5

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