Joel Rosen, the dyno-tuning speed merchant from Brooklyn partnered with Baldwin Chevrolet, creating BALDWIN-MOTION & THE GREATEST CAMAROS.
It’s been more than four decades since Joel Rosen and the partnership between Baldwin Chevrolet and Motion Performance, Baldwin, LI, NY, built and delivered the last Baldwin-Motion Supercar – an L88-powered 1974 Corvette. Yet fans are still in awe of the Man from Motion and his outrageous big-block Chevys that set NHRA-AHRA national records and came with written, money-back performance guaranties. Back in the day, nobody – not Carroll Shelby, not Don Yenko, and not the folks at Nickey – marketed brand new 500-plus-horsepower specialty cars backed up by national records and a money back performance guaranty. Joel “Mr. Motion” Rosen did – and not a single Baldwin-Motion customer ever came back for a refund!
Baldwin-Motion built, raced and sold the most outrageous, low-volume, high-performance new-car-dealer-delivered Camaros and other Chevrolet models you could buy during the freewheeling Sixties and Seventies. Baldwin-Motion Chevys have since become highly prized, mega-priced collectibles that best define the Decade of Extreme Performance!
“Our evil, ground-pounding, adrenalin-pumping Baldwin-Motion Phase III 427 and 454 Camaros, supported by ‘in-your-face’ advertising and marketing, captured the hearts and wallets of those who believed that there truly was no substitute for cubic inches!”
“You can question hype, but you can’t argue with time slips,” said Rosen. “It wasn’t rocket science. We raced what we built, did lots of winning and record-breaking and sold many 427 Camaros. It worked for Ford during its Total Performance years, and it later worked for us on a much smaller scale.
And, we went one step beyond the competition. We guaranteed in writing that a totally streetable Phase III 427 Camaro, driven by a Motion-approved driver on an NHRA or AHRA-sanctioned drag strip, would run 120 mph in 11.50 seconds or better. If the car wouldn’t deliver, the customer could get his money back. However, that never happened!”
Built at Motion Performance in Baldwin, fine-tuned on Sunrise Highway (traffic be damned!) and validated at local drag strips, Rosen’s big-block 1967-1974 Camaros represented the birth of independent Chevrolet “tuner” cars. Baldwin-Motion Camaros were essentially build-to-order, killer street cars limited only by a buyer’s imagination and financial resources. Bragging rights came standard!
“Motion Performance has special significance to dyed-in-the-wool Chevrolet historians. It’s the famed company started by Joel Rosen that’s responsible for producing some of the most awesome, fire-breathing Corvettes, Camaros and Chevelles ever unleashed to the public during the late-1960s and early-1970s.” Miles Cook, Car Craft, November, 1996
Motor Authority’s Kirk Bell writes an excellent feature about the demise of the Camaro and the 12 greatest Camaros of all time, but somehow the 427 and 454 Baldwin-Motion Camaros, built from 1967 through the mid-1970s, fell through the cracks.
For the second time in its history, the Camaro is dead. Chevrolet killed the Camaro in 2002 after a 32-year run, then revived it again in 2010 only to kill it again after the 2024 model year.
Rumors say it will return as an electric performance car, possibly a sedan. Only time will tell, but if it does it will need to live up to the style and performance that have made the Camaro an enthusiast favorite since 1966.
Over its lifetime, the Camaro has run through six generations, and each has produced its special models that have increased an already high baseline for performance. From the initial SS models, to the malaise of the 1970s, to the revival of performance in the 1980s, to its return for two retro-inspired generations in the 2000s, here are the 12 best Camaros over the lifespan of this fabulous pony car.
Continue reading BALDWIN-MOTION & THE GREATEST CAMAROS @ https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1101740_the-10-greatest-chevrolet-camaros-of-all-time
BALDWIN-MOTION & THE GREATEST CAMAROS are showcased in https://www.amazon.com/Motion-Performance-Tales-Muscle-Builder/dp/0760355606/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1493151743&sr=1-1&keywords=MOTION Performance, Tales of a muscle car builder
The reasons behind the Camaro-Firebird delay were multifold. In addition to DeLorean flexing his muscles, there were parts delays from Fisher Body and glitches switching from Lordstown to Norwood assembly plants in 1969. The new Corvette was also delayed, primarily because of quality problems with the new fender flares. Chevrolet planted a potent 350/360 LT1 engine in the new Z/28. Thanks to a .030-inch bore increase, the new 396/350 and 396/375 big blocks actually displaced 402 cubic inches. Neither 396/375 nor 350/360 solid-lifter engines were available with AC but could be ordered with automatic transmissions.
