"Lost and forgotten" -- that's the condition this '62 Impala SS was in when Flavio Robles found it three years ago. It's always a pity to see a classic car left to rust and decay, so Flavio took it upon himself to give this old Chevy a second chance. Three years later, the Impala has been restored to immaculate factory condition, and you'd never know about its humble beginnings unless he told you. Thanks to many long hours of work and lots of restoration parts from Classic Industries, this '62 looks brand new again.

Outside the Classic Industries showroom, we see all different styles of car projects, from barely-streetable drag machines to meticulous factory restorations. Although we enjoy checking out both of these extremes, it's nice to see something that's squarely in the middle ground: a clean, simple street car with a few tasteful modifications. John Vargas's 1973 Camaro fits the bill, and is a great example of a clean second-gen with plenty of style.

Today, new truck buyers choose from a limited selection of paint options, typically including variations of black, white, silver, and occasionally a subdued metallic champagne, burgundy or navy blue. However, this wasn't always the case. Back in 1969, even utilitarian pickup trucks were available in a wide range of vibrant hues such as bright red, orange, yellow, olive green and turquoise. They may not be available anymore, but these exciting colors proved that even if you needed a work truck, it certainly didn't have to be boring.

The term "bubble top" has become a catch phrase in the Impala restoration community, and we often hear people asking what it really means. Take one look at the rounded roof of this 1961 Impala coupe, and you'll start to understand. The curved glass, smooth lines, and lack of B-pillars cause this car's roof to appear similar to a bubble, hence the name. The term became especially important one year later in '62, because GM produced a select few Impalas with leftover '61 "bubble" tops before transitioning to the more angular "crinkle top" later that year.

One of the things we love about classic cars is their ability to instantly transport you back in time. They remind us of different periods of our lives, and different periods in our country's history. This 1964 Chevy truck, for example, takes us back to a time when pickup truck design (and car design, for that matter) was changing dramatically. This period marked a transition from the sleek aircraft-inspired style of the '50s to the more angular designs of the '70s. This '64 model exhibits characteristics from both eras, but still manages to blend them seamlessly into a style of its own.

In today's world of extremes, subtlety is an often underrated trait. When it comes to automotive restoration, there's certainly nothing wrong with building a vehicle that turns heads everywhere it goes, but sometimes it's nice to fly under the radar. Tony Pellegrino, the owner of this 1972 GMC truck, wanted to build a pickup that featured tasteful modifications without going over-the-top. So, he chose a 3/4-ton C2500 long bed model with subdued white paint, and added a few parts to make it his own.

The '64 Impala is what a student of literature might call an archetype. This word is defined as "the original pattern or model of after which all others are based". Essentially, an archetype is something that perfectly exemplifies a certain purpose or style. So, what exactly does the '64 Impala exemplify? Lowriding. The '64 Impala has become so closely linked with lowrider culture, it's almost hard to see the car built any other way.

After its release in 1962, the first-gen Chevy II / Nova didn't exactly scream "muscle car". In fact, the first 1963 Super Sport model didn't even officially offer a V8 engine. However, plenty of hot-rodders saw the little Nova as an ideal platform for their high-performance ambitions. Soon, V8 swaps were common, and before long, many dealers were offering to drop small-block engines into their new Novas for an additional fee. These lightweight V8-powered cars became hugely popular among enthusiasts, and thus a muscle-car icon was born.

There's no doubt the Chevrolet Camaro is a masterfully-designed piece of engineering. After all, this eye-catching appearance is one reason why it has stood the test of time, and captured the hearts of enthusiasts for more than half a century. But, have you ever wondered how each of the six iconic generation designs came to be? GM designers have given us a rare look behind the curtain, so we can better understand the design elements and Camaro history.

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