Autoblog

We knew the Chevy Beat was making an appearance in the overly-named Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The new news is that one of its "triplet" siblings, the Chevy Trax concept, is joining it, as you can see above. The two are chasing/following Bumblebee on Philadelphia's JFK Boulevard. Proof of GM's new commitment to building more smaller, fuel-efficient cars, you ask? Eh, well, as you may remember, Trax and the third triplet, Groove, were not slated for production like the Beat, so this is (unfortunately) probably just a movie special. At least one Autoblogger is happy, though (raises hand), because Trax is the one he voted for last year. Transformers Live Action Movie Blog wonders if the Beat and Trax might be portraying the Autobot "Twins" in the sequel. Sacrilege? Well, if the movie Bumblebee can be a Camaro instead of a VW beetle, there's no reason Sideswipe and Sunstreaker can't be Chevy-branded "world cars" instead of twin Countaches. If that turns out to be the case, though, it does kinda make one wish Lambo paid to be part of Michael Bay's party instead of Batman.

[Source: Jalopnik via TFLAMB]

Click above for a photo gallery courtesy of AB reader Aleks Witko

Thanks to reader Aleks Witko, who sent in the enclosed shots of the SS-ified (but certainly not sissified) 2008 edition of Bumblebee. The Transformers crew was shooting scenes at Drexel University in Philly, and Aleks scored some nice overhead shots of the car down on the street below. (One nice thing about movie sets: the lighting's going to be good.) Even better (for him), he reports, " Lucky for me, I also got to meet Megan Fox." Lucky, indeed.


[Source and Photos: Aleks Wytko]

Autobot Bumblebee wasn't quite himself at the end of Transformers -- as in, there were quite a few chunks of him missing. For Transformers 2: Rise of the Fallen, the producers gave Bumblebee a solid buffing out, and he's returned with a new front spoiler and some stripes. The hood scoop and spoiler -- especially seen from the side -- give the already bulldog-ish Camaro a nice goose on the badass scale. If this is the treatment that the Z28 will get, we're all for it. Click the link for more pics and video from the set. Thanks for the tip, Ed!

[Source: Transformers Live]

You know how there was a question of whether or not we'd ever see the Chevy Beat for sale in North America? The answer to that question is looking more like a big fat yes. Of course, a subcompact like the Beat makes perfect sense in a landscape where gas is selling for well over $4 a gallon in many areas. Our quasi-confirmation comes not from El Generalissimo, however, but from the set of Transformers 2, which was recently given its tagline: Revenge of the Fallen. In the photo above, next to Bumblebee, is the Chevy Beat -- partially covered, but the Beat nonetheless. You know what putting it in the movie does, right? It makes people want it. Last summer, it was the Camaro. Next summer, it looks like GM's gonna make the Beat a big star. You can see the above photo and more from the set at the Transformers Live Action Movie Blog. Thanks for the tip, Cory!


[Source: TFLAMB]

Now that the blockbuster film's pretty much made its run through theaters and we've all gotten our Transformers fixes taken care of, there really hasn't been much else to say about it. Still, when something so totally cool as this model Bumblebee shows up, we just have to share. We know it's hard to top the Ecto 1, but this might just be the paper (yes, paper) model that does it.

The only way to make it more stunningly awesome would be the ability to actually transform into a Camaro. That would be the coupe de grâce of paper modeling. Alas, that's not the case. As it stands, however, color us very, very impressed.

[Source: Engadget]

To say we've been looking forward to the Transformers movie would be a bit of an understatement. Of course, nobody knows that better than you, our fair readers, as you've seen over two dozen Transformer posts over the past year. Why not, we all used to wage Autobot vs. Decepticon battles in our back yards, and the cartoon was a Saturday morning staple for years. When we got a call from General Motors that they would be holding the world premiere of one of 2007's biggest blockbusters and we were invited, you could imagine the excitement.

Before the movie premiere, GM Design held a special dinner at Flemmings, which is across the street from the Palladium theater in Birmingham, MI. The free food and drinks were great, and the chance to discuss design with some of GM's best and brightest was very cool. We'll post later on a great conversation we had with Camaro interior designer Micah Jones, but the big event was the Transformers movie world premiere, and you can read our impression of the movie after the jump.




[Editor's Note: Although the following account is a brief preview of the movie, it is in no way a serious spoiler review. If you're curious, read on, but if you want to remain totally in the dark, stop here and wait until next Wednesday when Transformers hits cineplexes nationwide.]

There's a movie coming out on July 4, 2007, and you might have heard of it. It's called Transformers. In case you haven't heard of it, it's about an epic battle between giant, impossibly sophisticated mutating robots fighting over the source of all life. One of those robots, Bumblebee, is a 1976 second generation Camaro -- an impossibly unsophisticated car. The movie will explain.

In the mean time, Inside Line got some wheel time with the slightly enhanced Autobot, who looks like he could have started his acting career as an extra in The Dukes of Hazzard. The original 4-cylinder was swapped out for a 350-hp 5.7-liter V8, but that and the other mods aren't outrageous, and don't really alter the fact that it's still a beat up old yellow Camaro. Actually, though, the car sounds like it'd be kinda fun -- especially the line locks. Inside Line has a bunch of pictures to go with, and while the '09 has a lot more obvious cool, the '76 looks like it has a lot more character. (No pun intended.) And it would need to -- Bumblebee hooks the lowly Shia up with uber-fox Megan. Let's see if you can do that with your yellow '76 Camaro.

[Source: Inside Line]

Back when Star Wars Episode 1-3 were being made, die-hard fans (read: geeks) were dressing up like their favorite Tatooine character, and making elaborate home-made movies that put themselves in the action. Well, it looks like the upcoming Transformers movie has reached another level of popularity, as shorts are now being made from the comforts of some fans' (or their parents') basements.

30-year-old newbie filmmaker Ruben Martinez made a very well produced and written stop-motion Transformers movie that he's showing on YouTube, and we can honestly say we're quite impressed. The production was created using a few TF toys, a Logitech web cam, and some free stop-motion software. The end result is a clever four minute clip with some genuine Transformers comedy, and interaction reminiscent of the old cartoon. Ruben even has a MySpace page dedicated to his favorite toy. He says he's planning on doing more movies, too. We're looking forward to seeing what else he comes up with. Follow the jump to see his first effort.

We're still a few weeks shy of the premiere of Transformers, and our favorite robots are everywhere, from Autoblog to YouTube to MySpace, where you'll find a cover of the Transformers theme song from the movie soundtrack by Mute Math.

[Source: YouTube]

It's official: the Transformers are taking over Autoblog, and we gleefully surrender. Any other time a 1976 Camaro sits on a turntable, we wisely give it precisely zero attention. Throw a few Transformer logos on the stand less than a month before the movie hits theaters, and the story gets front row treatment.

The Barcelona Motor Show opens on June 9th, and kids and grownups alike get to see first hand what the old Bumblebee looks like up close. We think the stand would be even cooler if it were the '09 Camaro, but hey, the '76 version was pretty cool too. You can see it by hitting the jump to view the short clip.

[Source: Carscoop]

If you're starting to get the feeling that you may see the entire Transformers movie if you just sit down to watch all the trailers and scenes, we're with you and we're not complaining. We've been peppering you with any clip from the upcoming movie that we can find, this time we're bringing you a quick glimpse of the 2009 Camaro, followed by part of an epic battle between Optimus Prime and Bone Crusher.

Transformers is now officially only one month away, but we've been psyched for this movie for months. From the clips we've seen so far, Michael Bay's imagination is way cooler than the stuff that we came up with in our back yard. If you're a fan of the movie like we are, Mr. Bay's website has lots of good info, so check it out. And you can watch the newest clip after the jump.

[Source: michaelbay.com]