Even a new Chevy Malibu Hybrid attracted some attention during the show. It seems that the miserable CAFE standard of 35 mpg is going to put a big squeeze on the future of GM performance cars. More of these hybrids will have to be on the road if the new Camaro and Corvette are to survive.
After the rains, everything dried up and it was back to business as usual for the car show.
And then came that furious drizzle that was mentioned earlier. Michael Gregorich was one of the hardboiled vehicle owners we spoke of-he even left his hood open during the rain. Way to go, Mike.
Look familiar? Doug Watt and his '69 Yenko clone were featured in our '08 Nova special issue and he, too, received an award for drag racing his car. It's very cool to see a nice vehicle being raced and then street driven by the owner.
Here is another vehicle that is attempting to please the smog Nazis, a smogless hydrogen car that emits only water vapor. It probably won't be long before the greenies complain that the humidity levels around the planet are rising due to the H20 emissions of the hydrogen cars. In the meantime, Chevy and GM will try and comply with the new standards. It's kind of like the 1970s again, sky-high fuel costs and new government laws that legislate vehicle emissions and mpg; hopefully, we will never see gas lines again.
How often do you see a convertible '61 Bel Air? We gave Sharon and Gary Durnall an award for having a gorgeous car that we don't see much of.
Who doesn't love a wheels-up shot? They terrify, satisfy and mystify the viewer from the grandstands.
Check out this beautiful two-tone '67 Nova. Willie Roe launches off the line and is dialed-in at 9.45. It looks like after the race Willie can pull the Nova over to the car show side and win an award for best paint. We didn't wait for that to happen, so we gave him an Editor's Choice drag race award.
Diane Branham was pretty in pink with her black '71 Nova with pink stripes on her hood and her jacket. This Nova had such great bodywork and design we gave Diane an Editor's Choice drag award.