The 1967 Camaro as Seen at Auto Shows & Unique Promotional Exhibits in 1966/1967

[SMKZ28]

Just found some professionally produced color film footage of spectators being interviewed in the Chevrolet section of the 1967 Chicago Auto Show which took place Saturday, February 25th through Sunday, March 5th, 1967 at The International Amphitheater in Chicago, Illinois.  Several commented on how they are interested in or like the new Camaro. 

Camaro signage and a few of the display cars can be seen in the background or near the interviewees.  The color film documents the color of two of the Camaro convertibles.  One was brown and one was red SS with a white nose stripe.  It also looks like there was a black coupe.

See the footage between 01:52:02 and 01:55:13 here: http://www.historicfilms.com/search/?q=1967+chicago+auto+show#p1t6010i0o823

[SMKZ28]

It can also be confirmed that a non-RS 1967 Camaro Z28 was also in attendance at the 1967 Chicago Auto Show.  The color film footage shows that the car was painted white.  It also has a rear spoiler and a Z-28 rear license plate.

See it at 01:53:06

[SMKZ28]

Just found some fantastic color photos showing the Camaro "Dream Cars" that were on display at the 11th Annual International Automobile Show which took place Saturday, April 1st through Sunday, April 9th, 1967 at the New York Coliseum in New York, New York.  Some of these pictures seem to be the color versions of known black & white photos but there are also some new ones I have never seen before.  They show the yellow "Californian", the red "Cherokee" with the red interior and the Z-28 which can definitely be confirmed as being white!  Since the other two wore special auto show paint jobs, the white paint was probably a different color than what was normally available on regular production cars.

I found them at the Petersen Automotive Museum Digitization Project.  The website gets the correct venue for the pictures but it has the wrong year.  They are mislabeled "1968 12th Annual New York Auto Show."

https://archive.petersen.org/pages/home.php

Additional photos and information on these cars can be seen in this thread starting in Reply #73, page 5 and continuing through Reply #77, page 6.

[SMKZ28]

More from the Petersen...

The second and fourth photos are cropped versions of the first and third.

[SMKZ28]

More from the Petersen.....

The white Z-28 photo is a cropped version of the second photo.

[SMKZ28]

I devoted a couple of posts earlier in this thread to the bright orange 1967 Pontiac "Dream Car" known as the Skydiver Firebird convertible.  I found three additional photos of the car as it was also displayed at the 11th Annual International Automobile Show in New York.

I wrote earlier in Replies #109 & 110 on page 8 of this thread that, "the Skydiver made its debut at the Chicago Auto Show in February 1967.  A caption in the book entitled, “The Definitive Firebird and Trans Am Guide: 1967-1969” by Rocky Rotella states that it, “featured pearlescent orange paint and a similar interior treatment.  It was intended to attract youth interested in the sport of skydiving.”  The July 2017 edition of Smoke Signals: The Official Publication of the Pontiac-Oakland Club International has an article on page 8 entitled “Skydiver: 1967 Firebird 400 Show Car Found!”  In it author Mike Noun points out that “when the Skydiver made its debut at the 1967 Chicago Auto Show, Pontiac went all out and presented the car on a large display floor that appeared like an open parachute.  To make the display that much more visible from across the show hall, a couple of additional, vertical orange-and-white parachutes were presented off one side.”

These pictures came from the Petersen Automotive Museum Digitization Project: https://archive.petersen.org/pages/home.php

The fourth is a cropped version of the third.

[SMKZ28]

CRG Member Mike (group/7) posted a new photo of the 1967 Cherokee Camaro in another thread focusing solely on the Dream Car itself but I feel it should also be a part of this thread because it was taken at the 11th Annual International Automobile Show held at the New York Coliseum in New York, New York Saturday, April 1st through Sunday, April 9th, 1967.  This is the first picture I have seen of the event that shows one of the  non-Camaro "Dream Cars" that people were allowed to sit in.  In the corner of the picture you can see what looks to be a white 1967 Camaro RS/SS 396 convertible with Rally Wheels.

Additional photos and information on the New York Auto Show can be seen in this thread starting in Reply #73, page 5 and continuing through Reply #77, page 6 as well as Replies #137-139 on page 10.

[SMKZ28]

Here is a photo of what the person who posted the photo on Facebook states is the 1966 Miami Auto Show.  The show must have taken place sometime in the Fall of 1966 since these cars are 1967 models.  In the photo you can see a 1967 Camaro with base hub caps and a 1967 Camaro convertible.  I have not been able to find out any information on when this auto show took place but several responses said it was held at the Dinner Key Auditorium.

I found the photo on the "Old Dealerships" Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2120630181518995/

[Jon Mello]

An article on the Chevy display at the NY Auto Show from the NY Daily News.

[SMKZ28]

An article on the Chevy display at the NY Auto Show from the NY Daily News.

WOW!  Thanks Jon for the fantastic preview article on the 1967 New York Auto Show.  It clears up and confirms many of the things I was wondering about.  Remember the debate on what the rear license plate said on the first Cherokee Camaro Dream Car when it was displayed at the Chicago Auto Show in February 1967?  This article confirms that it was originally called the "Carnival Camaro."  Interestingly, by the time the show opened in New York in April the car would be displayed with its more familiar name, Cherokee Camaro. 

In addition, the article also mentions that a 1967 Indianapolis Pace Car was at the show.  That must be the white 396 convertible with the rally wheels seen in the background of the photo posted in Reply #141 of this page.  I was wondering if this particular car was an Indy Pace Car but the door was not visible in the photo.  Now this article confirms that it was.  The question now becomes, was this car one of the special 1967 Indianapolis Pace Cars used by the track to pace the actual race?  The article does call it a "Super-Special 500 Pace Car."   I don't have the time right now to look up the dates in question but is it possible that one of the actual pace cars was displayed at the New York Auto Show (April 1-9, 1967) and then shipped to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway?  Does anyone know when IMS received their actual pace cars?

Additional photos and information on the New York Auto Show can be seen in this thread starting in Reply #73, page 5 and continuing through Reply #77, page 6 as well as Replies #137-139 on page 10 and the afore mentioned Reply #141 on this page.

Additional photos of the Camaro Women's Fashions mentioned in the article can be seen in this thread starting in Reply #62, page 5 and continuing through Reply #67 on page 5.

Additional photos and information on the Chevy Junior mentioned in the article can be seen in this thread starting in Reply #59, page 4 through Reply #60, page 5.

The photos of the Chevrolet Road Rally Slot Car Game mentioned in the article as "given away each hour" came from Picclick.com

[SMKZ28]

Many more photos of the "Electrovair, an experimental battery-powered Corvair" mentioned in the 1967 New York Auto Show preview article can be seen here: http://www.pilotcarregistry.com/rare-vintage-photos.html

Info on the electric car program can be seen here: http://www.pilotcarregistry.com/60-s-gm-electric-car-program.html

[group/7]

Scott, thanks for the images of the Electrovair, and the link to the early GM photos of the '67 Camaro.

I'm not sure if this was seen here before, not a Camaro, but an earlier '64 version of an Electric Corvair, I think this was also GM,

 maybe in conjunction with another company ? I can imagine all that extra weight in the rear made the handling more dodgy than

 it already was 

You do great research !

Mike

[SMKZ28]

Scott, thanks for the images of the Electrovair, and the link to the early GM photos of the '67 Camaro.

I'm not sure if this was seen here before, not a Camaro, but an earlier '64 version of an Electric Corvair, I think this was also GM,

 maybe in conjunction with another company ? I can imagine all that extra weight in the rear made the handling more dodgy than

 it already was 

You do great research !

Mike

Thanks Mike!  I've never scene that photo of that first gen Corvair.  Like you mentioned, since they were known to be a handful handling wise in stock configuration I wonder what it was like to drive this thing?

[MO]

I'm not sure if this was seen here before, not a Camaro, but an earlier '64 version of an Electric Corvair, I think this was also GM, maybe in conjunction with another company ?

You do great research !

Mike

Great pic, have never seen that one. This may be a clue: calvair 11 stir lec stirling electric hybrid GM experimental 64.jpg

[SMKZ28]

Guys, here is an article on the Calvair: https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2013/12/22/sia-flashback-calvair-gms-stirling-effort