Stielow's Next Camaro [Archive]

Steve Chryssos

03-18-2006, 06:43 AM

The May issue of Hot Rod magazine contains a press release on Mark's latest Camaro. It sure looks like John McBride did the rendering. As you might expect, the car carries Mark's clean and simple trademark look. At the same time, some dark 18" Fikse wheels (sorry, no dubs) add a dimension style and function to the otherwise white exterior. McBride can make anything look good. Drivetrain is a hybrid fuel Ecotec 4 banger. NAW! I'm just yanking on your spline. Relax! It's a LS7/six speed. A stock clip will carry DSE suspension and the back end will have a DSE Quadra-Link. Brakes are from Baer.

As the car represents his tenth first-gen project, it's called Project X. Gosh, that sounds familiar? I'm not sure if that's pronounced "ex" or "ten". :hmm: Nobody's perfect. A name change might be in order. Hey, even Ferrari screwed up when they called their latest super car the Ferrari Enzo Ferrari. People call that particular Ferrari the Enzo, I'll just call this car Stielow-X.

No I will not scan in the picture for you as I am on the road. Go get a copy of Hot Rod for yourself. Lots of killer P-T stuff in that issue. It might not be out for a week or two though, so be patient. (I got mine here at the Hot Rod & Restoration Show in Indy)

Bill Howell

03-18-2006, 06:52 AM

So, lets see here, If Charley follows tradition, in a few months this car will have a new zip code. Now, logical deduction means Charley may have something for sale soon. HHHHHUUUUMMMMMMMM???????

Let me do a little figuring.......................................... .................

I could sell the goat,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Camaro,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

malibu,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,

One of my pickups,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Nope still not enough to buy anything in Charley's stable,

Sorry guys, I'm just sitting here thinking out loud.

Nevermind this post.:guilty:

I guess I will buy a Hot Rod this month anyway just in case.....:lmao:

TitoJones

03-18-2006, 08:41 AM

The cat is finally out of the bag!!
We are very proud sponsors of Stielow's new Camaro X project. Look for an upcoming article on how to install an LS7/T56 into a 1st gen Camaro, exclusive to HOT ROD magazine. There is some pretty cool stuff in the car already, should be viewable at the 06 SEMA show.

Tyler

trapin

03-18-2006, 08:54 AM

Sounds like an interesting project. I was wondering when Mark was going to start tinkering with the LSX stuff.

Do we know if the engine is stock or did he horse around with it any?

Turbos? Supercharger?

Charley Lillard

03-18-2006, 09:27 AM

Mark is planning on keeping this one for awhile....LOL..Of coarse I have heard that before. No turbos or blower. Nothing really fancy, just well executed as usual...

USAZR1

03-18-2006, 12:47 PM

I thought Hot Rod didn't care about Protouring stuff? :poke:

trapin

03-18-2006, 01:16 PM

Well, if you can't beat 'em......................

Ralph LoGrasso

03-18-2006, 01:34 PM

It's cool to see they finally did the press release on this car, like all of the stielow cars, I'm sure it'll be killer. The renderings I've seen look great, the exterior of this car screams the "less is more" theory.

indyjps

03-18-2006, 02:24 PM

even if hot rod doesnt care about pro-touring theyll cover about anything steilow does, he is a powerful force in the aftermarket and his cars sell magazines.

Charley Lillard

03-18-2006, 07:05 PM

I think I remember something about Popular Hotrodding's circulation going up 15% when they were covering the build of the Thrasher. I never heard what the Mule did.

TitoJones

03-18-2006, 07:59 PM

I'll give the 1 and only sneak preview of the Camaro X I can-

AFX Spindle Serial Number 000001.

Thanks for the inspiration Mark.

Tyler

coolclassiccars

03-19-2006, 04:05 AM

i can't wait to see this one, since we all know this thing will be a bad #$@%#%,camaro x,ilike that better than some names,the tag on the mule was cool '' elmule'' love that.:headbang:

Bob Johnson

03-19-2006, 05:58 AM

I thought he had always done his builds in Popular Hot Rodding..Why Hot Rod this time?

trapin

03-19-2006, 06:42 AM

I thought he had always done his builds in Popular Hot Rodding..Why Hot Rod this time?
Well...like Charley said, when PHR had his Thrasher build in the magazine their subscriptions went up 15%. I'm sure they had another surge when Mule was covered. Since Hot Rod is the boss they probably felt a nice surge in subscriptions would benefit them more than it would PHR which probably already has a solid subscriber base.

Steve Chryssos

03-19-2006, 08:13 AM

Yeah, for a magazine that is critical of pro-touring, they sure do have a lot of coverage. Look back over a range of months and you will see no shortage of street cars with four fat tires. But the tone in this issue is far more positive and appropriate. Instead of saying "these cars suck", they are saying: "No, do it like this..." Much better to offer a hand up than to condescend and criticize.
I had plenty of long airport and airplane hours yesterday to completely devour Hot Rod May 06. It's awesome. This issue should be used as a template for all future work. Just enough pro-touring stuff. And rather than whine and pigeon-hole the style by only featuring modern street rods, they positively influence the trend by emphasizing function. George Poteets Pure Vision Charger, a Holman Moody 64 Fairlane, a Baer Brake test--even that bad ass Solstice qualifies in my book. Personally, I'm not looking for Hot Rod to become ALL pro-touring. I need plenty of well rounded, non-Pro Touring stuff to keep me from getting bored. So overall, this is the perfect issue.

Damn True

03-20-2006, 12:30 AM

Agree with you Steve. That issue was their best work in a long long time. I would have liked to see more of the detail stuff on the Charger and Fairlane but overall I didn't feel like I'd wasted $5 like I have in the past.

I, like most of us, am a huge fan of Stielow's work. His stuff strikes me as something within the grasp of most of us and it would be a car we wouldn't be afraid to drive. Big difference between looking at some part of a car like G-Force and thinking "geeez I wish I could do that" and looking at the Mule or Thrasher and thinking "I'm GONNA do that".

Bob Johnson

03-20-2006, 04:08 AM

Well...like Charley said, when PHR had his Thrasher build in the magazine their subscriptions went up 15%. I'm sure they had another surge when Mule was covered. Since Hot Rod is the boss they probably felt a nice surge in subscriptions would benefit them more than it would PHR which probably already has a solid subscriber base.
I'll bet Hot Rod already sells 10 times as many magazines as Popular Hot Rodding. PHR needs to keep that ace in the hole to replace Super Chevy and Car Craft in some of the newsstands. You just don't find Popular Hot Rodding on a newsstand down nere..I agree that Stielow's builds are more within the grasp of the average Joe..nice detailed not over the top builds..very informative and well written..magazine guys also love it...they don't have to write the article either..Mark does a great job..

Steve Chryssos

03-20-2006, 05:39 AM

Last ABC (audit Bureau of Circulation) statements show PHR at 130,000 or so with Hot Rod approaching 700,000.

Steve Chryssos

03-20-2006, 05:41 AM

Also Thrasher was built in Chevy Hi Performance. after completion there was feature style edit in PHR including One Lap.

JohnnyGMachine

03-20-2006, 06:56 AM

Hey Steve,

Thanks for the heads up, I wasn't sure when the rendering and article was to be printed. Mark was great to work with and had a pretty clear vision of what he wanted. We played around with a couple wheel choices and ultimately he came back to his original choice which is the Fikses you see in the sketch. The car is clean and purposeful and of course will be another well executed Mark Stielow Camaro.

I look forward to seeing the issue - ooh, a killer Fairlane???!!! I wanna see!

John

Charley Lillard

03-20-2006, 07:10 AM

Also Thrasher was built in Chevy Hi Performance. after completion there was feature style edit in PHR including One Lap......
My screwup..It was when the Mule buildup was being covered in PopHotrodding that the #'s went up.

Steve Chryssos

03-20-2006, 07:27 AM

Correct. That plus PHR TV plus a strong alliance with Goodguys. Lightning in a bottle.

Bob Johnson

03-20-2006, 07:34 AM

Last ABC (audit Bureau of Circulation) statements show PHR at 130,000 or so with Hot Rod approaching 700,000.
I wonder how those numbers would change if PHR had the newstand presence? What is the breakdown of the circulation figures as subscriptions vs newsstand for each. I'll bet the subscriptions of PHR are closer to the subs of Hot Rod than the newsstand numbers of each

syborg tt

03-20-2006, 07:49 AM

to bad PHR is a better magazine, however the last couple issue's of Hot rod have been pretty good

Steve1968LS2

03-20-2006, 07:57 AM

to bad PHR is a better magazine, however the last couple issue's of Hot rod have been pretty good

Thanks.. Hot Rod is good book though. I have a HARD time finding PHR on newstands at all.

Think about it.. you need a car mag before jumping on the plane. You go to the newsstand and what do you see? Hot Rod.. Even if you are the biggest PHR or CHP fan in the world you will buy the Hot Rod because #1 It's good and #2 It's about the only choice.

Now repeat that scenario over and over. :shrug:

You guys will love the new July issue.. PHR is going up to 150ish pages with most of that being more edit! :woot:

olds87

03-20-2006, 10:34 AM

Is this car going to be a 1969 camaro?

StRacerDuke

03-20-2006, 10:46 AM

Okay, it's been about a week. Isn't it time someone posted a rendering?

Steve Chryssos

03-20-2006, 11:23 AM

I wonder how those numbers would change if PHR had the newstand presence? What is the breakdown of the circulation figures as subscriptions vs newsstand for each. I'll bet the subscriptions of PHR are closer to the subs of Hot Rod than the newsstand numbers of each

Single copy sales for PHR are at 25%. Which is extraordinary for the industry as a whole. Hot Rod is at 12% which is more typical. Sadly, the newsstand distribution industry is in shambles. Unless you are one of the magazines that women buy on the checkout line, distribution is hit or miss at best. Hot Rod does well because total circ is over 500,000. But any niche magazine--not just PHR--that is at 200M or below is doomed on the newsstand. At best, distribution is spotty. So publishers go out of their way to bolster the subscription side of their circulation because that is the only segement that they can control.

The only way for PHR to positively explode is if Martha Stewart or Paris Hilton somehow took up hot rodding.

It is what it is.

trapin

03-20-2006, 11:35 AM

I'll bet Hot Rod already sells 10 times as many magazines as Popular Hot Rodding. PHR needs to keep that ace in the hole to replace Super Chevy and Car Craft in some of the newsstands. You just don't find Popular Hot Rodding on a newsstand down nere..I agree that Stielow's builds are more within the grasp of the average Joe..nice detailed not over the top builds..very informative and well written..magazine guys also love it...they don't have to write the article either..Mark does a great job..
I'm well aware that Hot Rod sells more magazines then PHR. What I meant was that.......if there's going to be a surge in subscriptions, Hot Rod probably feels like they could use it more than their subsidiary (PHR) which (at 130,000) is probably pegged right where they want them to be.

Or course I'm just guessing....I could be wrong.

Steve Chryssos

03-20-2006, 11:54 AM

I'm well aware that Hot Rod sells more magazines then PHR. What I meant was that.......if there's going to be a surge in subscriptions, Hot Rod probably feels like they could use it more than their subsidiary (PHR) which (at 130,000) is probably pegged right where they want them to be.

Or course I'm just guessing....I could be wrong.

That might have been true six months ago, but David Freiburger is now the grand imperial wizard presiding over a bunch of titles including PHR. So he wants Popular Hot Rodding to increase in circ as well. Hot Rod and Car Craft are two of only four or five automotive titles that have posted circulation increases over the last two ABC statements, so Freiburger is the golden boy. Let's hope they don't kill him by piling on all of those title. As is, they have surgically attached a Blackberry to his hand.

Steve1968LS2

03-20-2006, 12:02 PM

That might have been true six months ago, but David Freiburger is now the grand imperial wizard presiding over a bunch of titles including PHR. So he wants Popular Hot Rodding to increase in circ as well. Hot Rod and Car Craft are two of only four or five automotive titles that have posted circulation increases over the last two ABC statements, so Freiburger is the golden boy. Let's hope they don't kill him by piling on all of those title. As is, they have surgically attached a Blackberry to his hand.

Yea, sort of a Borg deal.. lol

David "officialy" starts with the new (bigger, badder) July issue that kicks off our redesign. Everything is bigger which means I have a ton more to write. If you like Hometown before your gonna LOVE it now. :)

David is "editorial director" over some crazy number of titles.. something like 10 .. To say he is busy is an understatement. PHR already looked pretty damn good with our artwork so is input has been more along the lines of tweaking the book rather than a complete extreem makeover.

trapin

03-20-2006, 12:05 PM

I'm looking forward to it. I've given Hot Rod crap in the past but I've laid off them of late due to a few issues I liked. My Boss subscribes to them and usually throws his copy on my desk when he's done with it.

They haven't been half bad, of late.