No, not Las Vegas. Vegas, as in more than one Chevy Vega. Three, to be exact, when a tornado took out a Michigan barn, totally destroying three of the infamous hatchbacks.
Normally, this would be cause for not much more than a little giggle for the removal of three more examples of a Chevy nightmare. Except for the fact that two of them were painted black, with gold pinstriping, a paint scheme chosen by GM Vice President John DeLorean for the company's 1975 Cosworth Vegas to wear. The third car, also a Cosworth, was white, so probably a 1976 model and with only 18,000 miles on it. These were not merely pedestrian Vegas left in a barn to rust, but vey rare hatchbacks with Cosworth aluminum blocks under their hoods.
Despite having relatively poor performance, they cost $600 less than a Corvette in 1975 and 1976. The Cosworth Vegas' high price and fragile engines made for sales in the 3,500 range, which makes it one of the rarer nameplates in GM history.
So let's have a small moment of silence while you check out our gallery of pictures from the tragedy. Then, for a vastly larger (like 300 pictures!) gallery of the smashed Michigan Vegas, click here. For an interesting history of the Cosworth Vega (including how GM's alleged cheating on an EPA emissions test cost them dearly), read this.
[Source: CosworthVega.com via Hemmings]
Normally, this would be cause for not much more than a little giggle for the removal of three more examples of a Chevy nightmare. Except for the fact that two of them were painted black, with gold pinstriping, a paint scheme chosen by GM Vice President John DeLorean for the company's 1975 Cosworth Vegas to wear. The third car, also a Cosworth, was white, so probably a 1976 model and with only 18,000 miles on it. These were not merely pedestrian Vegas left in a barn to rust, but vey rare hatchbacks with Cosworth aluminum blocks under their hoods.
Despite having relatively poor performance, they cost $600 less than a Corvette in 1975 and 1976. The Cosworth Vegas' high price and fragile engines made for sales in the 3,500 range, which makes it one of the rarer nameplates in GM history.
So let's have a small moment of silence while you check out our gallery of pictures from the tragedy. Then, for a vastly larger (like 300 pictures!) gallery of the smashed Michigan Vegas, click here. For an interesting history of the Cosworth Vega (including how GM's alleged cheating on an EPA emissions test cost them dearly), read this.
[Source: CosworthVega.com via Hemmings]
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