The 1959 Chevy Impala is a vehicle that has an unmistakable presence on the road. With its long, sleek body, dual headlamps, aircraft-inspired styling, and distinctive tailfins, it looks fast even when it's sitting still. This presents a challenge to any custom car builder: how can this rolling work of art be resto-modded without losing its original style and character? Steve Cook Creations attempted to do just that, and we'd say the result was extremely successful. The judges for the Al Slonaker Memorial Award — one of the most prestigious awards in the automotive industry — agreed, selecting this car as the award winner in 2024.

When tragedy strikes and a car you love gets totaled, it's easy to become discouraged or frustrated. Nick Relampagos felt this impulse when a racing accident caused his pro-touring 1970 Camaro to spin into a concrete barrier. But rather than give up, he chose to rebuild it better than ever. The result is a wild 750-horsepower track machine that's packed with high-end upgrades and custom-built carbon fiber parts. Autotopia LA recently interviewed Nick about the story of his car and how it ended up in its current form.

The classic formula for any hot rod is to take the biggest V8 engine available and drop it into a relatively small, lightweight chassis. General Motors understood this, but rather than starting with a car, it applied the formula to its recently-debuted GMT400 truck platform. The 454ci big block V8 was normally found in heavy-duty full-size pickups, but starting in 1990, GM dropped it into a 1/2-ton short-bed model and called it the 454 SS. This menacing muscle truck was sold under the appropriate RPO code "B4U" and came with a variety of performance and handling upgrades. Its success forged a new market segment for trucks like the SVT Lightning and Ram SRT-10.

The 1968 Ford Mustang Highland Green Metallic GT390 fastback that served as the stunt car for the infamous chase scene in the movie Bullitt was unveiled at the Petersen Automotive Museum on Wednesday, June 3, 2026. Automotive historians, fans of iconic actor Steve McQueen, and gear heads the world over have been searching for this car since the filming of the movie wrapped in 1968.

Our project Z/28's interior was a mess. When we pur­chased the car, the interior looked like a remnant from one of those movie cars that has had its in­sides blown out by a terrorist bomb. In reality, our 1969 Camaro interior was a terror: the seat covers were ripped and torn, the carpet was faded and shredded, and the door panels were all of the above. But from the bright side, we were lucky - all the correct parts were in their correct places. At least no one had replaced the original 1969 seats with high ­backs from a 1973 Camaro.

In the end, your Camaro will be judged by its exterior fi­nish. No matter how good the interior looks, or how de­tailed the engine compartment is, people always look at the paint first. If the paint falls short, they usually don't bother to check out the rest of the car. But if the paint is really slick, really deep-looking, then you'll have to fight off the spectators with a stick.