GM Uses Ford Body For New Car !!!

[csv8]

Chevy chases Ford
Graham Smith
18nov05

A wildly wicked Chevrolet, actually built from a Ford, has given a much-needed spark to General Motors in the US.

The world's biggest carmaker is facing huge losses and falling sales, but that hasn't stopped it aiming for the spotlight at the giant SEMA after-market car show in Las Vegas.
Chevy was happy to follow Ford's lead and created the Bowtie Deuce - a move as outrageous as, say, Holden taking a Falcon GT, changing the stripes and rebadging it with the red lion as its own interpretation of the iconic Aussie muscle car.

The special Chevy paid homage to the 1932 Ford, the vehicle that has come to define the American hot rod.

It was actually built by a group of craftsmen who work for American television star Jay Leno.

Ford has dominated the hot rod scene in the US, thanks to the 1930s originals shaped into all-American muscle cars, many home-built specials with modern engines and running gear.






So Chevrolet effectively went with the flow by using a classic '32 Ford roadster body as the core of the Bowtie Deuce.

"Sure, it's a 32 Ford, but we've added a Chevy front, used a Chevy powertrain, and styled its interior like the original Corvette," says one member of the Bowtie Deuce team.

Even so, it was still a '32 Ford and sitting in the middle of the General Motors stand at one of the world's biggest car shows.

Leno's team - which looks after his huge collection of cars in LA - built the SEMA car with help from staff at the GM Performance and GM Performance Parts divisions. It will join the 80-plus cars - and a jet-engined motorcycle - that the Tonight Show host already owns.

The Bowtie Deuce hot rod began with a steel reproduction '32 Ford roadster body, but the Chevrolet involvement came early. The body is perched on a 1932 Chevy frame and was given the grille and bonnet from a '34 Chevy to create the exterior impression of a Chevy roadster hot rod - at least when viewed from the front.

Underneath the retro skin is a souped-up 450kW 7.0-litre LS2 V8 from a 2006 Corvette, which has been mated to a Tremec T56 six-speed manual gearbox from a Chevy SSR pickup. The final drive goes through a Getrag differential lifted from a Cadillac CTS-V.

Custom independent front suspension is used along with a rear end from a 2005 C6 Corvette and disc brakes lifted from a Cadillac CTS-V.

The result is a clean and tidy interpretation of the all-time classic hot rod, but the use of a Ford body means it will forever be seen as an admission that General Motors is a bit player in a hobby owned by its rival.

Herald Sun

[csv8]

What a compliment!! GM FINALLY realises how good Fords are!!! :eclipsee_ :eclipsee_

[TheSneakiness]

It's blasphemy!!!

[GreenMachine]

I just don't know what to think about that... 32 Fords are cool, retrotech is cool, Chevy drivetrains are cool, big car companies doing customs is cool... That car is exceptionally uncool.

[big_waity]

Originally Posted by GreenMachine

I just don't know what to think about that... 32 Fords are cool, retrotech is cool, Chevy drivetrains are cool, big car companies doing customs is cool... That car is exceptionally uncool.

Can't disagree with any of those comments. I love the car, but, I think that if they can't build a decent car, it's their own bloody fault.

[RED_EL_XR8]

Bill Ford selling the plans and blueprints for the Edsel to GM was a slick piece of corporate dealing.

He first offered the design ideas from the Zephyr but these were found to be almost identical in design to the VS Commodore so no sale was made for these.

[XplosiveR6]

i guess its GMs way of saying, if you cant beat em, join em

[SSBUB]

i think its a cool lookin roddy

[RavenLS1]

its not bad, but a quad cam version would be better.

[12]

Read that last week. Had a smirk on my face as I was reading it.

GM US announced yesterday 30'000 jobs to be cut in North America. Not good news at all.

[BadMac]

Originally Posted by csv8

What a compliment!! GM FINALLY realises how good Fords are!!! :eclipsee_ :eclipsee_

I think you mean were. unless you are saying Ford hasn't moved past 1932.

You could also view it as a slap in the face, GM took the best thing Ford has produced and showed that by applying bits from the GM parts bin it could be improved to be almost as good as a GM product. ing_sm

[myxr6]

Most of the rods I have seen have chev engines in them anyway.

[Franky]

I like the look of it, but as I said with the awful Holden concept.... stop living in the past goddamnit!

Seems now days companies are building cars for the hell of it for no real purpose

[csv8]

BadMac. Diesel and Turbo Territories are coming. Tom O'Gorman said this week "We are already looking at ways to expand the Territory brand with new powertrains, like diesel and turbo."

[flavze]

Love it, have to agree with Greenmachine word for word on that one!