Best Muscle Cars
Pick Of The Day: 1968 Chevrolet Baldwin Camaro
Engine: 427.
Transmission: Manual.
Buy IT Now Price: US $49,900.00 (24th Aug. 2015)
‘The original Baldwin-Motion Performance Group (1967-1974) represented a partnership between Baldwin Auto Company, a franchised Chevrolet dealership dating back to the early-1920s and Motion Performance, a high-profile speed shop with a reputation for building fast Chevys. Both were located in Baldwin, Long Island, NY, a New York City suburb.
Baldwin Chevrolet was run by Ed Simonin, son of its founder, August ‘Gus’ Simonin, and Ed’s brother-in-law, Dave Bean. Motion Performance started life at a Sunoco service station in Brooklyn, NY in the late-1950s. In 1963, after Joel Rosen, then a junior partner, installed a Clayton chassis dynamometer, signage was changed to reflect the true nature of his business. In 1966, Rosen incorporated as Motion Performance, Inc. and relocated to his own shop at 598 Sunrise Highway, Baldwin, NY.
Starting in 1967 and running through 1974, Baldwin-Motion offered SS (425-hp) and Phase III (500-hp and up) big-block Camaros, Novas, Chevelles, Corvettes and Biscayne Street Racer Specials. Cars were sold at Baldwin Chevrolet or Motion Performance, converted by Motion and financed and delivered by Baldwin. Phase III 427 and 454 cars came with a written, money back, quarter-mile performance guaranty from Joel Rosen.
All Baldwin-Motion sales promotion materials carried Rosen’s guaranty. ‘We think so much of our Phase III Supercars that we guaranty they will turn at least 120 mph in 11.50 seconds or better with an M/P-approved driver on an AHRA or NHRA-sanctioned drag strip. Phase III Supercars are completely streetable, reliable machines that will run these times off the street.’ There never was a single comeback!
The specialty car program was created by Joel Rosen and Marty Schorr (working with John Mahler, Baldwin’s Parts Manager) and presented to Ed Simonin and Dave Bean shortly after the new-for-1967 Camaro was introduced. Cars were built and dyno-tuned by Motion. Marty Schorr and his PR/Advertising agency, Performance Media (later changed to PMPR, Inc.), created all the aggressive, in-your-face advertising and promotional materials and was also involved in product development and marketing.
Between 1967 and 1974, hundreds of Baldwin-Motion and Motion-branded ultra-high-performance specialty cars were built for both domestic and export deliveries. Records reveal that cars were shipped to customers in Switzerland, Germany, Norway, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia in addition to deliveries in Hawaii, Canada and Mexico.’
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