Yesterday, I was at a Chevy event, where they showed me their new Blazer SS EV; maybe it’s EV SS? Some combination of those letters. I’ll write about that soon, but first I just want to show you something, something that exists and yet doesn’t exist, at least not in the way I wish it did. It’s also quite removed from my usual sort of content, but maybe that’s healthy every now and then?
Part of what Chevy showed us yesterday were two things we were not allowed to take pictures of: one was a life-size mannequin of Ralph Nader with thick, rubberized skin that was used by the company between 1966 and 1979 as a way to vent frustrations, with employees encouraged to kick, punch, and stab, and bite it. It’s in really rough shape now, and I’m not sure why they bring it along to these events, especially since you can’t kick it anymore? It’s very unsettling.
Then, there was this:
What are we looking at here? Well, the other thing we were shown that we were not allowed to photograph was GM’s Charlotte Technical Center, which is an R&D facility for motorsports products, and is a wildly advanced and shockingly immaculate facility full of fabrication and testing equipment and advanced simulators, all with the goal of shaving fractions of seconds of lap times of various racing events. It’s pretty remarkable.
But, I’m not allowed to show you any pictures. Except in the lobby, which is where I saw that car up above.
There were two of them there. By “them” I mean two Next Gen NASCAR cars, but with bodies modified to resemble the Chevy Blazer EV – currently, there are body variants designed to resemble the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, the Ford Mustang, and the Toyota TRD Camry. So this is what GM is planning for their Blazerized version, which will replace the Camaro. For reference, here’s a production Blazer EV:
I think what they’ve actually done, by applying some of the SUV Blazer’s aesthetics to the proportions of the NASCAR car, is made the shooting brake that I wish they actually sold.
Yes, a shooting brake! Like one of these:
I mean, look how fantastic this thing looks!
That looks like a proper modern-yet-old-school shooting brake! What if GM actually sold a car like this? A true, two-door, sporty wagon, not too big, not SUV or crossover height, but low, like a car. They even have a good name ready to go from their past: Nomad, the sorta-shooting brake they used to make back in the ’50s:
This general shape – lower than an SUV, two doors, a bit of sporty athleticism – this would be exciting. Enough with the crossovers and SUVs, already! The work is already, done, GM! Just give us this neo-Nomad in combustion or EV form or, hell, both, maybe a hybrid, too, and I think they’d have a winner on their hands!
They could even offer a huge, ridiculous wing as an option, like the one there. Why not? Life is for the living! And, it’d be a nice counterweight for the rear hatch!
Yes, this could be a winner. Well, a winner for the vanishingly tiny niche of people like us who read the Autopian and give a shit about “shooting brakes” and you can say “Clownshoe” to and not have them imagine clown footwear. But hey, a win is a win, right?
I saw an old chevrolet Nomad at a Car Show last year. That is THE COOLEST car I have seen in person in YEARS!
Wait until you see them lifting a wheel on the drag strip. They look even better!
Question Time: Why do they bother making NASCAR vehicles resemble their consumer counterparts. Is it because people still like to imagine the thing they bought at Ben Dmeover Chevrolet/Buick/GMC has anything at all to do with the identically-named thing they see bumpin’ n rubbin’ on race day?
Not just NASCAR even – IndyCar racers are gradually morphing into closed cockpit, more covered wheel affairs more like IMSA prototypes than anything else.
This is wagon my tail.
Just a caveat, this will not be replacing the Camaro in Cup. They are just going to run the current Camaro’s as “Chevrolets” until the replacement is finalized. This is a concept for a new EV series that would be a feeder for the Big 3 (Trucks, Xfinity, Cup) at short tracks and road courses. They had their concept at the Chicago Street Race last year and were doing laps with live pit stops to show what it would look like.
Supposedly there is also discussion to run these at smaller local tracks and get pro drivers to come out and show them off. If that happens, it might be a good way to convince racing fans at the rural level that EV’s can put on a good show.
It will be interesting to see what NASCAR does with this concept. Chevy seems ready, even more so than for their Cup program, so maybe they give us a bigger tease this summer/fall?
Why doesn’t Chevy just make them look like Corvettes?
Chevy has relegated the Corvette to GT racing, they want to keep the C8 on IMSA and WEC tracks only. It’s why they changed the Prototype cars to Cadillac to replace Corvette as well.
I also don’t see how the Corvette with it’s mid-engine design could be fit into the FR design of the current cup car. It wouldn’t look terrible, but also not great.
The GT thing makes sense, I don’t actually want to see a Corvette cup car. Since NASCARS have no relationship to regular cars anymore, they should have more fun with the design instead of just putting Camry headlight stickers on front or whatever.
Why do they tease?
Is it really a shooting brake if none of the doors open?
Well, it doesn’t look horrible. GM did a Nomad concept on the Kappa platform (see Solstice) back in 2004 that looked OK. This comes across to me as much more Nomad than Blazer.
They’re not that far off with the Lyriq V-series. Subtract doors, add wing.
That looks good.
It’s funny that they’ve just reinvented the wagon, but hey, we arrived at the right answer anyway.
*People brainstorming in a GM design studio somewhere*
“Guys, what if we made an SUV, but lower?”
“WTF you talking about, Greg?”
“Like, you know, an SUV. Like a Blazer. But what if instead of making it taller this time, we made it shorter? Like, longer than it is tall”
“I’m having a hard time picturing what you’re describing, Greg, but it sounds like something new and interesting. Work up some sketches”
Let’s peer pressure them.
EVEN KIA IS DOING IT, GM. You wanna get upstaged by the people who gave us the 2001 Rio?
They should make it as a limited run. They could sell dozens and still call it a success.
It’s a fascinating “what if?” for Ford fans too – when Ford announced the discontinuation of the Fusion, a big question was its Cup series entry.
While most people said well duh the Mustang, there was a small contingent that offered “why not the Edge?”
What is Chevy going to race in NASCAR? They don’t make the Camaro anymore. They can’t race this unless Ford and Toyota do the same thing.
The whole thing really damages GM’s credibility.
Ahem, it’s think it’s the Blazer. My evidence for this is the headline and article stating that we’re looking at Chevy’s Next Gen NASCAR Version Of The Blazer EV.
It’s racing the “Chevrolet” for the time being, presumably until this is feasible and/or Ford or Toyota develop/have accepted improved models of their current stuff (the rules allow manufacturers to run whatever last met the standards for more or less however long they want).
With NASCAR fans, the variants are endless!
Shooting Brake
Drinking Brake
More Shooting Brake
Wife Wants to Take a Brake
Shooting Up Brake
Drake Brake
Unpaid Work Brake
Habit Brake
All-Star Brake
Clean Brake
Damn that’s hot. Blazer indeed.
I love it that I kinda can’t tell if Torch is kidding about the Nader mannequin.
The public response to this would be whelming. GM would sell hundreds of dozens of these.
It isn’t replacing the Camaro, it’s the BEV concept that the manufactures have been showing off with their styling cues on the bodies. Ford did one with the Mach-E as well. They might race in their own standalone EV sprint series but it’s not replacing the Camaro body in the Cup series.
So, a new Malibu Maxx SS? I’m down with that. That was a great car.
Actually, this thing reminds me of what it would look like if the Bishop were to re-imagine the Lada Niva for 2025.
Is this really going to race in NASCAR? It’s incredible looking.
Might have to change the name to NASCUV
That really DOES look good!
The first car I recall ever getting excited about was the Nomad. No wonder I still love wagons.
That is a very handsome NASCAR. It would immediately surpass the Mach-E Rally for the top of my “want” list if it was available for sale as an EV.
They really should offer it as a real production car, and should be fairly feasible using the BEV3 chassis.
One would think a shooting brake/cube car design would be almost ideal for a BEV skateboard platform. I think it’s a matter of convincing most buyers that you can have all the benefits that actually matter of a CUV (better headroom, cabin area, visibility, etc.) in a shooting brake with the added benefit of greater range.
But people are shockingly adverse to cars with 2 doors because of the 3 times a year they think about the possibility of putting people in the back seat.
I don’t get it. I transport a kid more often than not and I’d still prefer a 2-door hatch over my 4-door hatch with child locks.
Somewhere between this and the Genesis X you could get a sweet shooting brake. Always properly torque your caliper bolts.