Driven Diary: Muscle and Memory

This is the second installment in my "behind-the-art" look at some of the cars featured in my Driven mashup series. This time around we take a look at the iconic 1971 Chevy Chevelle. Like many "muscle" cars of its time, it was offered as a two-door sport coupe, as shown in the featured mashup below, and distinguished by its powerful V8 engine, rear-wheel drive, and lightweight body.

The ‘71 Chevelle was part of the second generation produced from 1968-72. Design changes for that year included a reworked front grille and large single-unit headlights, as seen in the four-door hardtop sedan model shown below.

Muscle Where It Counts

Under the hood is where the Chevelle really stood out, offering a range of powertrains for every type of driver. The legendary Super Sport (SS) model could deliver up to 365 horsepower, making it a serious contender at the drag strip. Though new federal emissions regulations were beginning to take effect, the '71 Chevelle maintained a strong performance identity.

A Muscular Mash

The base image for the featured mashup, like the one featured in the previous post, was taken at French Lake Auto Parts in Minnesota in the fall of 2024:

A new background was then inserted using the photo below from a different car.

Finally, some embellishments were added in using the two photos below.

The completed work is shown again below, followed by an alternative version of the mashup that leaves us with a different muscle memory, again showing how changes in source images and blending effects can dramatically—or more subtly as is the case here—transform the overall look and feel.

Sources
Wikipedia.com – Chevrolet Chevelle and Muscle car pages
HowStuffWorks.com – 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454: Muscle Cars