Looking Back at the 2004 Chevy Nomad Concept Car
In the early 2000’s, many American car manufacturers began introducing re-imagined, retro-looking concept automobiles that were a literal “throwback” to the vehicles of the 1950s and 1960s. Many of these cars served as the manufacturer’s featured centerpiece at their respective displays on the International Auto Show circuit. Some of these cars – such as the Chevy Camaro, the Chrysler PT Cruiser, and the Dodge Challenger – would find such favor at these shows that they’d move past the concept phase and actually see the proverbial “light at the end of the production tunnel.” Unfortunately, a great many more of these automotive masterpieces served a singular purpose. Namely, attract consumers to the shows so that they could see the future wares that automobile manufacturers planned to introduce for the coming model year.
In 2004, Chevrolet introduced the world to a re-imagined Chevy Nomad. The Nomad was first introduced at the 2004 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. This concept vehicle, while inspired by the Chevy Nomad of the 1950s, was more closely related to General Motors new Kappa rear-wheel-drive platform and served as the precursor to both the Pontiac Solstice and the Saturn Curve concept cars. The designers of the 2004 Chevrolet Nomad wanted to deliver a contemporary version of the classic 1954 Chevy Nomad Concept car, which in turn had been inspired by the 1953 Corvette.
The car featured round headlights gently curving front fenders, a Corvette-inspired grille, forward-leaning B-pillars, a single rolled fascia under the tailgate, and an exaggerated tailgate with chrome ribs that was very reminiscent of the car’s much older counterpart. While each of these design cues was reminiscent of and paid homage to the 1954 Motorama car, the 2004 version also integrated some of the latest 21st-century technology into its DNA. This new Nomad featured LED headlight and taillight assemblies. With both sets of lights (front and rear) fully integrated into the car’s aesthetic, the LED lighting was selected for its bright luminescence as well its high degree of visibility, even from a moderate distance. Like the 1954 Nomad, the majority of the body panels on the 2004 version were constructed of fiberglass. The fitment of the panels was vastly improved over the original Corvettes of the early 1950s.
Moving inward, the car’s interior featured a semi-circular speedometer with a top speed of 150 miles per hour. This speedometer was integrated into an instrument cluster that gave the dashboard a three-dimensional appearance with its anodized blue aluminum background and special recessed lighting. Other niceties of the car’s interior included black leather seats along with special “bowtie” insignias that ran the length of the dashboard. Even the driver and passenger seats appeared to undergo a transformation. For 2004, both the driver and passenger seats were given specialty badging on their headrests.
The latest Nomad featured a sport-car based platform akin to the Pontiac Solstice and the Saturn Skye, both of which were developed into production models around this same platform. The car featured independent front and rear suspension attached to a rigid chassis that used a pair of full-length, hydroformed frame rails as its foundation. The 2+2 passenger configuration (4 passengers total) sits on a 107-inch wheelbase. The car was powered by a 250-horsepower DOHC turbocharged Ecotec 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine mated to a five-speed Hydramatic 5L40-E electronically controlled automatic transmission.
Why introduce a 2+2 station wagon? Why even bother designing one? The answer is actually pretty straight-forward. The Nomad was designed to be a “practical” sports car. Unfortunately, General Motors had already made the decision to discontinue both the Pontiac and Saturn lines as part of a corporate restructuring. As the Nomad would have likely been built at the same plants as the Sky and the Solstice, the project never moved beyond its concept phase.
