This same Camaro would also make an appearance at the Chicago Auto Show, which took place Saturday, February 25th through Sunday, March 5th, 1967 at The International Amphitheater in Chicago, Illinois. By this time the car had acquired the name "Camaro Cabriolet". This can be seen on the license plate of the picture taken at the Chicago Auto Show. This is the car that sat next to the Cherokee with the undecipherable license plate.
UPDATE: Evidence has been found that this car was called the CARNIVAL before it was named the Cherokee.
On page 45 of Camaro! From Challenger to Champion: The Complete History, Gary L. Witzenburg talked about a few of the Camaro “Dream” Cars. Speaking about this particular car he wrote that, “a pearl blue SS-396 convertible called 'Cabriolet' was fitted with heavy-duty suspension and engine mounts, and other high-performance components, plus simulated air scoops on the hood.”
The interesting thing about this car is that Chevrolet had already shown it without its special “Cabriolet” license plates back in November/December 1966. I believe it is the exact same car that was used to “introduce” the SS 396 to the public at the Detroit Auto Show. The color pictures from the Detroit Auto Show clearly show that it was painted a special dark blue. There was even a sign on the front of the display that stated that it had “special paint and trim.” That special trim included a non-standard deluxe interior made up of sun visors, dash board, deluxe steering wheel, lower portion of console, boot cover, seats, and door cards that were all white. This picture clearly shows the white sun visors, white steering wheel, white boot and the top of the white dash board. While I can’t make out any different “air scoops” on the hood from the picture of the car in Chicago, it did have a standard SS hood on it when it was shown in Detroit. The wheels are the only major difference. At the Detroit Auto Show the car was displayed with the optional Rally Wheels with white wall tires but in Chicago the car appears to be wearing American Racing “Daisy” wheels with red line tires.
On a different note, I’m not sure why they would choose to display the car with only one of the headlight doors open. Possibly this was a failure of the door cover to shut after a performance of the cars features was given.
