Concept on the freeway??

My friend (who knows a huge car nut and would be able to recognize the camaro) said he saw a silver one on the freeway (the 110 in LA) going the other way. He said it had HID's, huge wheels, and 4 taillights (2 per side). SO obviously this was the concept. I thought they didnt let it go above 30-35 (cant remember exactly), let alone freeway speeds. Just thought id share.

Sure it wasn't the Challenger? I have seen pics of a silver Chally that is production spec.

I thought they didnt let it go above 30-35 (cant remember exactly), let alone freeway speeds.

Around 45 mph actually...but that is the $5M+ hand-fabricated concepts. Test mules are another story entirely. They use test mules to test every possible driving situation and environment. I wouldn't be surprised if what he saw was one. If it isn't now, it will be sooner or later! :)

Sure it wasn't the Challenger? I have seen pics of a silver Chally that is production spec.

i asked him that before and he said it had 4 tail lights (as opposed to the one big light bar on the challenger).

Are they going to have HID's though. he said the wheels looked like 22's and hes got the eye for wheel sizes

i asked him that before and he said it had 4 tail lights (as opposed to the one big light bar on the challenger).

Are they going to have HID's though. he said the wheels looked like 22's and hes got the eye for wheel sizes

From what I've seen, GM has yet to have anything larger than a 20" wheel on any test car (pre-production or test mule) and supposedly, the headlights are still not finished.


:shrug:

I wish he had a camera with him :(

Jay Leno has been tooling around in a siver one for some time. My best friend who is a (certified car nut and has the concept poster on his wall in the place where his 2010 will go) has seen him twice in the car-once once the 210 FREEWAY :eek: and then again about 2 or 3 weeks ago at the grocery store in Santa Clarita.

He talked with him for a while and even popped the hood. The freeway deal really took me by surprise based on limits placed on journalists and others.

EDIT:I knew they let him take it to Bob's Big boy last year (see vid), but apparently they let him hang on to it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heR6lf4T3z0

Summary: Its good to be the Jay!

Jay Leno has been tooling around in a siver one for some time. My best friend who is a (certified car nut and has the concept poster on his wall in the place where his 2010 will go) has seen him twice in the car-once once the 210 FREEWAY :eek: and then again about 2 or 3 weeks ago at the grocery store in Santa Clarita.

He talked with him for a while and even popped the hood. The freeway deal really took me by surprise based on limits placed on journalists and others.

Summary: Its good to be the Jay!

That sounds cool! Maybe he had one built like "bumblebee." Basically it's a "real" car with a "camaro" fiberglass (or whatever they used to make bublebee) body on it??? :shrug:

Really, on the 110 in LA. That freeway is crazy with High speed and the worst possible traffic (because it runs through downtown). I dont know man, it could have been the test mule. You know we saw the Pics of Camaros standing at LAX.

I wouldn't think the silver concept would be on the 110 freeway. Too much can happen on a congested freeway with gawking drivers. And the car wouldn't be able to hit freeway speeds. It's a hand built concept and not a test car. Far too much liability and GM wouldn't stand for it.

As for test cars as we have seen most are in camo or body in white. There is a reason for that too. Body gaps and fit and finish are easier in body in white to detect. Most test cars that will be on the road won't be painted anything but white or camo as paint and color testing can be done on GM property w/o the need for real world tests.

Now not saying it's not possible as we just got some pics of prototype Camaros arriving at LAX all in camo or white but I would certainly question the color and if it was the concept car. Could it have been a white non-camo test car.

As is said for all sightings pictures are priceless!

ya i asked him if he got pics but thats when he said it was going the other way. he said silver so it wasnt the camo one that was just spied in LA. the white one afaik was only photographed on GM's test track.

he knows his stuff and i trust him he saw it on the 110. maybe it was Jay?

ya i asked him if he got pics but thats when he said it was going the other way. he said silver so it wasnt the camo one that was just spied in LA. the white one afaik was only photographed on GM's test track.

he knows his stuff and i trust him he saw it on the 110. maybe it was Jay?

Silver? Odd. All the ones we have seen to date were black or white test mules. He might have seen a new concept no one has seen yet. I mean other than a Camaro. Could be something from another car maker. Maybe Mustang?

Maybe he saw a GTR?

Jay Leno has been tooling around in a siver one for some time. My best friend who is a (certified car nut and has the concept poster on his wall in the place where his 2010 will go) has seen him twice in the car-once once the 210 FREEWAY :eek: and then again about 2 or 3 weeks ago at the grocery store in Santa Clarita.

He talked with him for a while and even popped the hood. The freeway deal really took me by surprise based on limits placed on journalists and others.

EDIT:I knew they let him take it to Bob's Big boy last year (see vid), but apparently they let him hang on to it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heR6lf4T3z0

Summary: Its good to be the Jay!

I very seriously doubt he was allowed to hang on to it. I also don't see Jay Leno going to the local grocery store, let alone taking a million-dollar hand built only-running-model show car to the grocery store.

On top of that, the silver prototype was booked solid for public apperences and such most all of 2007.

That said, there are prototype Camaros being evaluated here. Having lived in Long Beach, and at times seen an amazing parade of prototypes, mules, and yet-to-be-released cars along the 210 corridor in "Detroit-West", I wouldn't doubt for a minute that someone might have spotted a Camaro running around down there.

But if he's insistent he saw a silver one (instead of white) he saw a Nissan GTR, not a Camaro.

I think most people who love cars would love to 'see' what your friend 'saw' -

What I can tell you is:


Jay Leno does not have a 5th Gen Camaro.

The Silver concept was not seen on any interstate in California.

Not sure what your friend saw - but it was not a Silver 5th gen Camaro on a freeway in California.

I will be the last person to argue with the Fbodfather on all things Camaro, for fear of waking up with a horsehead in my bed (black suburbans don't scare me, I'm a Pontiac guy :) )

But to clarify a few things-

-There are two seperate reports of sightings in this thread-the original poster's friend and mine.

-I never intended to post what my friend told me about his multiple sightings of Leno/the car. (He told me weeks ago) But when I saw this thread I thought "hmm, that's probably not a coincidence."

-As for my friend, he actually got out of the car and talked with Leno for 10-15 mins about the car and Leno opened the hood for him and talked about how great it is and how big (popular) it will be when it comes out.
-On its face it sounds like total B.S. based on what we "know" of Camaro development, so I grilled my buddy like a kansas city ribeye steak.

But he knows what the new Camaro looks like since he's obsessed with it and has the concept poster on the wall in his third parking space in his garage and is in line to be one of the first to get one from his local dealer.


It makes no sense to me. I couldn't reconcile it when he told me and I can't now. But I believe him. :confused:

The bottom line is it really doesn't matter because son they'll be building plenty for anyone who wants one. :thumb:

;)I think most people who love cars would love to 'see' what your friend 'saw' -

What I can tell you is:


Jay Leno does not have a 5th Gen Camaro.

The Silver concept was not seen on any interstate in California.

Not sure what your friend saw - but it was not a Silver 5th gen Camaro on a freeway in California.

We all know how carefully Scott picks his words (and how we overanalyze every syllable). So let me be the first... He did say your friend didn't see the "silver" camaro. It might have been a white one?! Right?

Holly Crap! My friends, friend's, garbage man's, cousins, step-brothers, uncle just saw Chewbacca and Greedo driving the Convertible concept on Highway 1 near Malibu.

I told him I didn't believe him, because Chewbacca would never be seen with Greedo.

He then told me that his friends, friend's, garbage man's, cousins, step-brothers, uncle knows a lot about cars and that the orange convertible concept had a Z28 HEMI.

Wow!!!!

It was headed to Santa Monica, so everyone out there keep your eyes peeled fro Chewy!

Jay Leno has the money and ability to build his own 5th gen look-a-like, if he was so inclined...and being a big time collector, I'm sure if there were a way, he'd be the one to pry one from the General too tho...;)

Just for thought...If GM wanted to have "quiet" testing why in the hell would they give a car to a celebrity? duh..... :confused:

There will be plenty of time to promote the car later with celebrity endorsements, etc... I think that they are more concerned with getting a quality product out now through testing.

Patience people patience.....

Holly Crap! My friends, friend's, garbage man's, cousins, step-brothers, uncle just saw Chewbacca and Greedo driving the Convertible concept on Highway 1 near Malibu.

I told him I didn't believe him, because Chewbacca would never be seen with Greedo.

He then told me that his friends, friend's, garbage man's, cousins, step-brothers, uncle knows a lot about cars and that the orange convertible concept had a Z28 HEMI.

Wow!!!!

It was headed to Santa Monica, so everyone out there keep your eyes peeled fro Chewy!

I won't go anywhere near as far as you have above. However, the point was made that:

1. Jay Leno didn't keep a 5th gen prototype for his personal use outside of GM photo ops, and the idea that he drove one down to the local grocery store was completely the product of someone's imagination.

2. If someone spotted a silver, quad-circular tail lit car they didn't immediately recognize on the 210, it wasn't a Camaro.

3. At least 2 Camaros are here in the US (pics of them still on the cargo pallets at LAX started circulating shortly after this thread started).

4. With the 210 corridor housing a large number of pacific rim car company HQs, west coast HQs of US car makers, and quite a few design & fabrication shops for both concepts and tuner cars, and the fact that there's a ton of real world testing done on LA freeways, especially the 210, it's very possible if not a given, that someone might get a glimpse of one of the Camaros. If not on the 210, then around the LA or SoCal area.... since that's where the car came in the country.

3. At least 2 Camaros are here in the US (pics of them still on the cargo pallets at LAX started circulating shortly after this thread started).



Nothing new, but courtesy of the civic guys. :lol:
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/288/camaro2aw8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/1471/camaro3ho0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/4987/camaro4eg8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/728/camaro5aq0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/4406/camaroxa4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/7357/camaro39jpgdn3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/7357/camaro39jpgdn3.b140ea1784.jpg (http://g.imageshack.us/g.php?h=520&i=camaro39jpgdn3.jpg)
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/722/camaro32ap8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/9484/camaro22sk2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/4658/camaro6on8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/4130/camaro8bk0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/3332/camaro11le6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I have a fellow LT1 camaro friend here in Columbus who called last week saying he saw a "new camaro, silver with black stripes on I70" during day light hours. He's not the type of guy who would randomly make up something like this. I hope I'm quick enough with my phone camera to get a picture if I spot one.

its the chupacabra!!

Scott,

The only real city driving the silver concet has had was back in the Spring of '06 in Dallas, right?

I believe ftom the pics and videos I saw from this filiming you took it aorund White Rock Lake and Downtown.

There are multiple vehicle testing facilities in/around Los Angeles. I worked for one. You can often catch camo'd mules and pre-production cars heading out of the city very early in the morning as they go on their 400-500mi routes to log miles. Watch them head back into the city around 3-4pm.

If Scott said the Camaro isn't in california right now, it probably isn't. But that doesn't mean something else isn't out there, be it GM, or another make. Tell your friend to snap a pic next time :)

while the Silver car has seen a couple of city streets -- and yes, Leno drove it into Bob's one evening -- but that was it -- the Silver car wasn't on the freeway -- it is speed limited to 50mph or less............

No -- none of the cars from LAX either --

Cars WILL be in Mesa at the Desert Proving Ground, Milford Michigan, Kapuscasing (sp??) Canada (cold weather testing) -- that's about it for now!

while the Silver car has seen a couple of city streets -- and yes, Leno drove it into Bob's one evening -- but that was it -- the Silver car wasn't on the freeway -- it is speed limited to 50mph or less............

No -- none of the cars from LAX either --

Cars WILL be in Mesa at the Desert Proving Ground, Milford Michigan, Kapuscasing (sp??) Canada (cold weather testing) -- that's about it for now!

I drove by the Mesa DPG sat... it was dead.. even the track was quiet at my secret photo spot.... Guess i should make this a daily occurrence now!