Cars weren't the only area in which Chevy gained success on the race track. The new NASCAR SuperTruck Series by Craftsman debuted during 1995, featuring fullsize pickup entries from Chevy, Ford, and Dodge, and again, Chevy took the inaugural manufacturers' championship, with driver Mike Skinner winning the drivers' championship.
Cavalier, now a long-time Chevrolet best-seller, received a complete redesign for 1995, with changes in everything from new aerodynamic exterior styling to a new 2.3-liter L4 engine under the hood. Dual air bags were offered in Cavalier for the first time.
All-new Chevy Blazer models turned heads on road and off as the former fullsize two-door Blazer became Tahoe at the beginning of the '95 model year. A new four-door Tahoe soon followed, offering impressive comfort, luxury and utility combined with rugged fullsize truck power and strength.
The two new Chevy SUVs obviously impressed the truck world, resulting in the first-ever back-to-back Motor Trend Truck of the Year awards-for Blazer in 1995, and for Tahoe in 1996.
Corvette saw its third tour of duty as the official Indy Pace Car in 1995. Sporting two-tone paint and embroidered seats, Corvette was piloted by Jim Perkins around the pace lap for the 79th annual racing event. Only 527 street version replicas were produced, making this the rarest Corvette Pace Car to date.
A complete new line of Vortec V-6 and V-8 gasoline engines extended enhanced Vortec power and performance to Chevy C/K trucks and fullsize sport utilities in 1996. Innovative third-door options for both S-10 and C/K Extended-Cab Pickup models were also introduced for 1996. The third door allows for quick and easy access to the extended-cab area for people or cargo by providing a door on the passenger side for C/K Pickup, and the driver side for S-10. A new Sportside model debuted for the S-10 line this year as well.
The 1996 model year also marked the end of production for Corsica, Beretta, Caprice/Impala SS, and Lumina Minivan, longtime Chevrolet mainstays.
When 1997 rolled around it did so with excitement not seen in a long time. The new Corvette captured the hearts of enthusiasts everywhere and was featured on the covers of nearly every magazine catering to high-performance sports car fans. At the heart of the newly styled body was an impressive LS1 powerplant-the first totally new V-8 design for Chevrolet since 1955. Another vehicle introduced in '97 carried a familiar name-Malibu. Gone from the Chevy lineup since 1983, the new Malibu was a far stretch from its beginnings with its front-wheel drive and import styling. Malibu was still a low-cost family sedan, but long-time Chevrolet fans had come to expect more from the nameplate.
C5 Corvette was hugely popular and for '98 a hardtop version was introduced. Camaro followed in the Vette's footsteps with a slightly redesigned F-body. Though the Camaro still retained the majority of its previous lines, it was fitted with a detuned version of the Corvette's LS1 (with 305 hp), new taillights, a new front-end treatment, and a host of other small refinements. A Camaro SS was also offered in 1998 and came with a ram air hood and a whopping 320 hp.
The popularity of trucks saw some of the biggest sales gains in history. For 1999 Chevy's Silverado received a completely new look as well as a new Vortec series of engines (one of which boasted an impressive 6.0 liters, 300 hp, and 355 ft-lbs of torque).
The '90s finished off with a flurry of activity with a new Impala, a new Monte Carlo, and new designs for both Tahoe and Suburban. Impala drew a lot of attention from enthusiasts looking for a version of the previous fullsize powerhouse, but were greeted with a front-wheel-drive, V-6-powered family sedan. The Monte Carlo sported a new and aggressive look but lacked power anything near what one would expect from the street version of Chevy's NASCAR racer. With talk of the demise of the Camaro, only time will tell what the future holds for the future of performance.