In my opinion, the 1999 Nomad Concept was the best looking showcar that GM has produced in the last 20 years. At the time I thought that the sliding rear roof section was just plain unworkable from a production standpoint. Now that the same sort of mechanism is going to market in the 2003 GMC Envoy XUV, it looks like it could be managable.

I see tremendous potential in the Nomad, with its combination of utility and performance. While the market for sedans and coupes continues to shrink, "crossovers" appear to be a hot commodity for the forseeable future.

Could the Nomad succeed?

 

The irony is that the original Nomad also had it's start as a concept on a different vehicle. The style was displayed on a Corvette concept in the early 50s, and GM management at the time didn't feel it was worth the time. It's theme later in the 50s came out on a different model, and did very well.

 

The 1950's Nomad concept you're refering to had the nose of a '53 Corvette grafted onto a steel station wagon body. I've heard conjecture about a future Nomad being piggybacked onto the Belair project. However, I've started to wonder if the Belair itself has any future - the Belair site on Chevrolet.com has recently disappeared. As I recollect, the Avalanche and SSR pages were posted continuously.

The beauty of the Nomad Concept was that it incorporated the sliding roof AND rearward opening doors for accessing the backseat. If you take away the well integrated conveniece features, you're left with a two-door station wagon. There's a reason why conventional two-door wagons disappeared, and no manufacturer should consider reviving the concept without clever design improvements. (The stubby, hatchback coupe version of the BMW Z3 proved that point pretty well.)