CHICAGO 2009: Chevrolet Stingray Concept to Star in Transformers
This is the star of the new transformers movie, coming to cinemas later this year, called Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. It's being called the Stingray Concept at the Chicago Motor Show, but in the movie, this "character" will be called Sideswipe. It's obviously a dream car from General Motors and Chevrolet, but this Stingray Concept takes inspiration from both the original Stingray Racer concept of 1959 (from which it thankfully 
doesn't borrow the exhaust pipes that look like noodles), and the current Corvette C6.
I think it also might be an exercise of design at GM, which is probably keen to see public reaction to this car. Want to know why? Because I think this concept might hint at what's going to turn into the Corvette C7. Although the Corvette C7 was meant to be released in 2012, it has now been "delayed indefinitely" according to the official line at GM, because of the financial crisis, of course. But providing General Motors stays afloat, I can't see them ever dropping the Chevrolet Corvette. I would guess that the new C7 Corvette will turn up by about 2014, possibly later. So because the new Corvette is going to be delayed so much, expect more drastic changes that would originally have been planned, at least from a design perspective. So while this concept might look outlandish now, it will look just about perfect for Chevrolet's hero model in 2014.
Because although the face of this car is obviously futuristic and grotesque, the rest of the car is quite neatly proportioned, and if you visualise more conventionally Corvette-like headlights on this car, I think you'll realise that what I'm talking about makes sense.
WTF?! #7: This Post Has a Lot of Smarts
No, really. This WTF?! installment is about Smarts. The car, of course - but not like you might think. Unlike some other motoring enthusiasts who might hate the Smart ForTwo, I can totally see its appeal and importance in the car universe. I just wouldn't be seen dead in one. That sounds kind of hypocritical, but that's exactly how I feel. I understand and appreciate a Smart, but I don't want one. And don't you all dare call me a fence-sitter.
And a Smart used to make me go "WTF?!" - like everyone I know - but now that we've all seen Smarts on the road, after a while, they don't seem so nuts. As previous WTF?! posts have proved, there are wierder cars out there.
Like these cars pictured here, which are, you guessed it, Smarts. The old one - not the original, because believe it or not, they've been building Smarts since 1998. Anyway, someone decided that they simply weren't wierd enough, so these redesign kits were built, so you can make your car look like a squashed version of an infinitely better one. So I've done enough talking for this post - you can look at the pictures, the awful names they've been given, and laugh. And maybe let out a few WTFs yourself. Because they are truly spectacular.
The Smerrari
The Smamborghini
The Smorsche 911
The Smaudi A3
The Smerrera GT
The Smorvette
