Dec
31
The Bel Air is a salute to a nameplate that saw its heyday in the 1950s. While retaining the style cues from the original, such as bench seats and a steering column-mounted gearshift, the Bel Air features a very modern Vortec 3500 turbocharged five-cylinder concept engine.
Gary Cowger, president of GM North America, described the Bel Air as a “modern, American convertible” that “catches the essence of the breed.”
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Bob Lutz, chairman of GM North America, said the automaker aims to keep design concepts close to reality. Three production cars in the GM lineup–the Hummer H2, the Cadillac XLR and the Chevrolet SSR– were concepts just a few years ago.
“These are vehicles that we believe people would love to drive today, not years from now,” Lutz said.
“Design concept vehicles shouldn’t try to reach 20 or 30 or even 10 years into the future. Concepts of course should tease the future certainly, but they never leave the realm of understandable possibility.”
Lutz said that philosophy is what inspired the Pontiac Solstice roadster concept. Using GM’s proprietary “math-based” computer-aided design system, the Pontiac roadster went from sketch to running concept vehicle in just four months.
The lightweight two-seat roadster is powered by a 220-horsepower engine and features saddlebrown leather interior surfaces and a two- gauge driver-oriented cockpit.
Lutz said it is targeted to be affordable for younger buyers, and that he expected it would grab market share among two-seat cars.
