Chevrolet Camaro - News
GM revives Camaro muscle car
General Motors Corp. on Thursday
said it would build a revived version of the Camaro muscle car to go on sale in
early 2009.
GM said it would begin production of the Camaro at the end of 2008. The
production model of the car will be almost identical to the concept version of
the sport coupe unveiled at the Detroit auto show in January, GM said.
The Camaro concept, which designers touted as a modern take on the 1969 version
of the sports car, won positive reviews from auto critics and inspired loyalists
to start petition drives to encourage GM to rush the model into production.
Skeptics, however, have questioned whether Detroit-based automakers are sending
the wrong message by reviving high-powered performance cars at a time when
American consumers are increasingly opting for smaller and more fuel-efficient
vehicles in the face of high gasoline prices.
The Camaro has become the latest in a string of modern muscle cars, in homage to
high-powered Detroit designs from the 1960s and 1970s, but built on up-to-date
platforms.
DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group said in July it would resume production of
the Dodge Challenger in 2008 after more than three decades.
Ford Motor Co. said this week that it would build a 325-horsepower version of
the Ford Shelby GT, a high-performance version of its Mustang.
GM executives had indicated earlier that they were moving ahead with production
planning for the Camaro.
Chief Executive Rick Wagoner confirmed that plans had won final approval in a
speech Thursday at an industry conference in Traverse City, Michigan
The new rear-wheel-drive Camaro will be available with either V-6 or V-8 engine
and with the choice of manual or automatic transmission, GM said.
"We intend to make the all-new Camaro relevant to younger buyers while retaining
its appeal to current fans," Chevrolet General Manager Ed Peper said in a
statement.
GM did not announce pricing for the new Camaro, but Peper noted that the car's
appeal in its previous versions had been based on a sticker price that put it
"within the reach of many new-car buyers."
GM built nearly 4.8 million Camaros between 1967 and 2002, when the car was
scrapped.
- Reuters, Thursday, August 10, 2006
Camaro Redux?
Rumors are swirling that
Chevrolet will unveil a concept at the Detroit Auto Show next month signaling
the return of a famous nameplate: Camaro.
The concept reportedly is derived from a stretch of the small, rear-wheel-drive
platform used to produce General Motors' 2006 Pontiac Solstice and 2007 Saturn
Sky roadsters.
When Solstice was revealed, GM promised that a variety of low-volume vehicles -
as many as five - would be derived from that platform.
But GM is being coy on this one. When asked about the Camaro concept last
week in an interview, chairman Rick Wagoner said: "What Camaro?"
Then he broke into an ear-to-ear grin.
"What's the famous quote from Sgt. Schultz on 'Hogan's Heroes' - 'I know
nothing.' We'll see, but I don't want to steal anybody's thunder."
GM has been promising "gotta have" cars that consumers would sell their souls -
or at least their Japanese cars - to have.
Solstice's success, with more buyers than cars to sell, had to bring another
niche vehicle to the front burner.
Camaro first appeared in 1966. Its best year was 1978, when 260,000 were
sold. But in September 2001, GM said Camaro and its sister coupe, the
Pontiac Firebird, were being discontinued. Camaro sales had fallen to
42,000, largely because of high insurance rates and young buyers moving to sport
utility vehicles.
If a Camaro coupe materializes, it's going to raise a question of when to expect
a new Firebird. Pontiac says none is in the works. Stay tuned.
- Chicago Tribune, Newsday, Friday, December 23, 2005
This page was last updated on
12/15/07
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