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Breaking News! The New Camaro Goes to Production.
Oshawa will build
it.
Well...it's official!
 On
August 10th, GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner announced that GM will
build an all-new version of the Camaro based on the award-winning
concept that stole the spotlight at the North American International
Auto Show in January of 2006 and has ignited the passion of car
enthusiasts around the world ever since – even spurring consumers to
start petition drives and send in certified checks in hopes of placing
early deposits.
“The
overwhelmingly enthusiastic response to the Camaro Concept continues to
remind me of the uniquely iconic place our products can have in
customers’ hearts,” Wagoner said. “Camaro is much more than a car; it
symbolizes America's spirit and its love affair with the automobile.”
The coming
of the all-new, 2009 Camaro will begin with early production versions at
the end of 2008 and will go on-sale in the first quarter of 2009. In a
another statement, on August 21st, General Motors of Canada Limited (GMCL)
President, Arturo Elias, announced that the Oshawa #2 car plant, part of
GM's award-winning, Oshawa assembly plant complex, has been selected to
manufacture the new Camaro. This new product program and conversion of
the Oshawa plant to a state-of-the-art, flexible manufacturing facility
represents a $740 million (Canadian) dollar investment. Elias also said
that preparatory work at Oshawa will begin immediately.
“The new
Camaro will be almost identical to the concept, a thoroughly modern
interpretation of the 1969 model, considered by many to be the best
design of the car’s first generation,” said Ed Welburn, GM's global vice
president of design, who owns a 1969 Camaro SS. The front-engine,
rear-drive, sport coupe will feature an independent rear suspension, and
will be offered in a variety of models with the choice of manual or
automatic transmissions and V-6 or V-8 engines.
Chevrolet
General Manager, Ed Peper, said that the new Camaro will appeal to both
men and women. It will unite customers with fond memories of previous
Camaros with those who first experienced a Camaro when the concept was
unveiled at the NAIAS.
“We intend
to make the all-new Camaro relevant to younger buyers while retaining
its appeal to current fans,” Peper stated. “The beauty of the best
Camaros is that they have always been beautiful to look at with
performance that rivals expensive European GTs. Yet they were practical
enough to drive every day and priced within the reach of many new-car
buyers.”
The Camaro
Concept design team embodied the universal appeal that Chevy envisions
for the car: The core team which reported to Lead Designer, Tom Peters,
ranged in age from 27-35 and came from all over the world, yet they all
had similar experiences growing up with a love for the Camaro and
American performance cars. Their concept redefines the Camaro for both
existing and new generations of fans in a contemporary way with
responsive performance and modern technology.
Peper said
Camaro will complement Chevy’s already-popular portfolio of performance
vehicles led by Corvette and including its broad SS lineup.
The Camaro
is an American icon. It has touched many lives – and graced many
garages – with nearly 4.8 million produced between 1967 and 2002. More
than 1,000 Camaro clubs exist globally and thousands of Camaro web sites
pay homage to the sports coupe. A recent report on America Online’s Top
Searches of 2005 placed Camaro in the Top 10 car searches for the year.
You'll be
able to buy the new Camaro at Tom Henry Chevrolet just after New Year's
in '09. What a great, late Christmas Present for Camaro fans!
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