If the Transformers really wanted to blend in with Earth technology in order to fight the Decepticons, they probably wouldn’t have transformed into a rare Corvette prototype, a flame-job purple 18-wheeler, or a bright yellow Camaro. After all, those aren’t exactly inconspicuous. You know what is, however? A Chevrolet Cruze.

That’s why the Cruze gets the full Autobot treatment in China, where this car can pass by the crowds with nary a second glance. The small Chevy gets the bright-yellow treatment, with two oddly-mounted black stripes down the hood somewhere. Autobot badging on the wheels and fenders show off the owner’s allegiance, while illuminated Transformers door sills round out the package. The 1.6-liter Ecotec engine remains the same.

The Transformers Cruze is only available in China right now, and will probably not make it over to America. Because, after all, a transforming robot defender of freedom would be blasphemous if it packed anything smaller than a 6.2-liter V8.

[Source: ChinaCarTimes]

Those fans of Transformers’ Bumblebee can now get themselves a $3,000 package to their 2012 Rally Yellow Camaros, transforming it to the movie-inspired Autobot. Available in all major markets around the world, the Transformers Special Edition Chevy Camaro will be available for order starting in July with deliveries in North America estimated to begin in September.

Clearly Chevrolet believes that the Transformers franchise has helped reintroduce the Camaro to the general public after its seven-year hiatus. And who are we to argue with its impressive sales numbers. Chevrolet claims it sold 40,275 Camaros this year, widening the gap to Ford’s Mustang, who only sold 30,206 units in the same time frame.

The Transformers Special Edition package will be available on 2LT and 2SS Rally Yellow Camaro Coupes and has several more add-ons in addition to the RS appearance package. Your personal Bumblebee replica will include black rally stripes over the hood, roof, decklid and rear spoiler to give it the infamous Bumblebee look. For wheels, black-painted 20-inchers will find their way on the Camaro with Autobot Shield logos on the center caps. Those same logos can also be seen on the front-quarter panels.

For the interior, don’t expect this Camaro to come to life and speak to you, nor will it come with Megan Fox in the passenger seat. Instead, you’ll be treated with black leather interior with yellow accents and Autobot Shield logos embroidered on the front head rests and center console lid.

GALLERY: 2012 Chevy Camaro Transformers Special Edition

To promote the third Transformers movie, Cake Boss uh, boss Buddy Valastro crafted his own homage to the legendary Autobot—and as befitting of the star of a cable reality show, it’s not your average day-old Safeway bakery department birthday creation.

More sculpture than cake, the creation features Bumblebee halfway through transforming from a Camaro into an Autobot, looking like he’s sitting on a Camaro’s front end. Bumblebee’s wings move up and down via sticky, sugary hydraulics, his eyes glow, and the cake even shoots fireworks. As far as we know, there are no event entertainers (ahem) inside.

The cake was a challenge for Valastro, whose team had to sculpt it outside the bakery because at 2,000 lbs and over 12 feet tall, it wouldn’t fit: he said that it was the biggest challenge of his confectionary career. Sure is attention-grabbing, however. If you’re a dedicated fan of the Michael Bay explodathon, now you can watch the movie, drive home in your Transformers Bumblebee Camaro, play Transformers on your Xbox, and spill Transformers cake onto your Transformers sweatshirt. Click the jump to add another healthy dose of Transformers into your life.

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Taking a page from the Ford Mustang playbook, GM is set to launch a torrent of Chevrolet Camaro special editions on a bi-annual basis. After the Camaro ZL1 will be a special edition Camaro based on the car set to appear in the newest Transformers movie, followed by a replica Indy 500 pace car, and then a Camaro Synergy model, which will give V6 buyers all of the V8s performance upgrades sans the small-block mill – sort of like the previous Camaro RS models.

Those new models should carry the car through to 2014, but after that, it’s anyones guess. While so many variants may prove to be distracting, it’s also a cost effective way to keep the Camaro fresh long after the novelty of the car has worn off, and “early adopters” have snapped up the car during the initial excitement.

[Source: Automotive News]

We have to hand it to Chevrolet; rather than an overblown blockbuster ad proclaiming their supremacy, they’ve opted for a somewhat ironic, tongue-in-cheek spot lampooning small-market car dealers.

Of course, Chevrolet had to milk their association with Transformers, and the real Amurrican sport of doing burnouts in crowded areas just to make things complete. But that’s not to say we’re not amused.

Hit the jump to see the teaser for Chevrolet’s Super Bowl ad

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Optimus Prime famously uttered “freedom is the right of all sentient beings”, but one of his fans, a 14 year old boy from China took the liberty of drinking gasoline in a quest to emulate his Autobot hero.

The boy was apparently inspired to drink gasoline after seeing Optimus Prime on TV, and wishing to become a “valiant fighter” just like the hundred foot tall transport truck/robot.

“He began to drink gasoline five years ago, when we found he liked smelling lighter fuel,” said the boys father. The boys parents owned a small stall that sold lighters, and the two often found lighters drained of their fluid. The boys parents confronted their son, but it did little to help matters.

After speaking with their son”… we found our motorcycle’s gasoline was always disappearing, and one day when we found the boy had drunk a half bottle of gasoline stolen from the motorcycle, we were too shocked to say anything,” the father said. The boy exhibited addict-like behavior after the parents locked their motorcycle away, stealing gasoline from vehicles belonging to neighbors. The parents said that the gasoline drinking took a toll on the boys brain.

“Since my son started to drink gas, his IQ has dropped sharply and now he can’t figure out simple addition and subtraction,” the father said. ”Before that, he was a very smart boy, and he could even repair the television. But now he does not know the answer of 7 plus 17.”

The boy has now been hospitalized for “gasoline dependency”. Doctors say that the leaded gasoline has done “serious damage” to his brain.

According to the Shanghai Daily, Transformers is immensely popular in China, with both movies setting box office records.

[Source:  Shanghai Daily]

GPS has made our lives so much easier. So how do you improve the experience? Well, by making it much more fun to get to your destination.  Get rid of that old arrow that shows you the way around and replace it with a cool icon that takes you anywhere you need to go.

In the evolution of the GPS – cool extras like the Darth Vader or Dennis Hopper telling you to turn left here, or new cell phones that offer free, integrated turn-by-turn navigation – you can now download these moving icons onto your Garmin Nuvi.

There are so many GPS characters to choose from. You can go with a classic or souped up car (since that’s the only way you’d ever be able to afford to drive that model). For the kids, you can download Sponge Bob Squarepants (although, he doesn’t seem like the brightest character on that cartoon show – you might not want to follow him anywhere). You can even follow movie characters such as Bumblebee from the Transformers and C3PO from Star Wars. These fun little guys don’t improve the functionality of your Nuvi in any way, but it does make the screen a little more enjoyable to watch. The Nuvi vehicle downloads are free from a non-Garmin-affiliated third party. You can try them our by clicking here.

[Source: Garmin]

The next generation of the Corvette will come with a rear split-window design. GM’s global design boss Ed Welburn said that the next Corvette, known as the C7, will take on some retro styling cues, like the two-part rear window that first appeared on the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray Coupe.

That design actually only ever last just one year, but has become such an iconic symbol of the Corvette’s legendary heritage.

Welburn said that with modern back-up cameras and blind-sot detection systems, the limited visibility of such a design isn’t as much of an issue as it once was. He did not, however, specify if this would be standard on all models or (as is more likely) if it will be a specific trim level, option pack, or a special model.

Such a design was first hinted at with the Stingray Concept that was featured in the recent Transformers movie. That car is not the next Corvette,” said Welburn to Inside Line. “But the split window is something that I expect for the next Corvette.”

[Source: Edmunds]

Autobots: roll out, and now you can too with the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro Transformers Special Edition. The Bumblebee inspired creation was officially introduced yesterday at a fitting venue, Comic-Con in San Diego.

“When the first Transformers movie was setting box office records, we had countless customers asking to purchase the ‘Bumblebee’ Camaro,” said Karen Rafferty, product marketing director, Chevrolet. “Now, they can buy one with the new Camaro Transformers Special Edition. Streets all over North America will be buzzing in no time.”

The Transformers kit can be ordered on either the 304hp V6 model or the 426hp V8-powered SS at an additional cost of $995.

It includes Autobot shields on both front fenders and on the wheel center caps. The Autobot logo will also be embroidered on the center console. Additionally, the kit includes Transformers logos on the driver and passenger door sills as well as a Transformers logo on the rally stripes (included) that run up the hood.

GALLERY: Chevrolet Camaro Transformers Special Edition

Official release after the jump:

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On January 13th at the Barrett-Jackson auction you will be able to buy a piece of General Motors history – and the company certainly hopes you do. GM has made the decision to sell off 250 rare vehicles to not only create some much-needed revenue, but also to reduce upkeep costs. Apparently each vehicle in GM’s “Heritage Collection” costs the company $2,000 a year in upkeep and storage costs.

According to a report in Business Week the vehicles marked for sale are those that the current executives aren’t big fans of, and we can’t blame them.

For starters, the list includes a 2003 Chevy Aveo Xtreme in bright green with all sorts of Fast & Furious add-ons including a big brake upgrade and 17-inch rims. Possibly worse is a 1989 Geo Metro Zonker, which features all sorts of extras above and beyond a standard Metro. GM estimates they may only get as much as $5,000 for this car. Another dud is the 2004 Saturn Ion Red Line. Arguably it’s not a terrible car with a 205hp supercharged Ecotec engine but those who really want one don’t really need to go to Barrett-Jackson.

The most notorious vehicle going up for auction is a 2001 Pontiac Aztek – the epitome of poor automotive design. Shockingly GM still plans to get at least $20,000 for this monstrosity.

Other bizarre creations include a 1986 Presedential Limo that was used in the film The American President staring Michael Douglas. Topping that is a 1998 Popemobile that was never used by the Pope. GM expects to sell each of these creations for at least $75,000.

The list also includes a 1955 Buck Centry Bolero, a 1918 Cadillac, a 1960 Chevrolet Impalla (Snoop, we’re looking at you), a 1970 Cutlas SX and a 1996 Buick Blackhawk.

One surprising item might just be the Solstic Jazz from the 2007 Transformers movie. GM expects it to fetch $50,000 but it could go for far more if the right buyers are interested.

GM’s Heritage Collection Rejects:

[Source: Business Week]