Chevy Camaro production begins February '09

05GTO · 12-05-2007, 07:59 AM

Enter the Rumormill: Chevy Camaro production begins February '09
Posted Dec 4th 2007 2:57PM by Damon Lavrinc

432 more days to wait. That's how long anyone pining for a Camaro has to wait for GM to start building them, reliable supplier sources have told Leftlane. Circle Monday, February 16, 2009 on your calendar as the date the new 2010 Camaros will start heading down the production line at the Oshawa plant in Ontario.

In actuality, this means it will more than likely be mid-March before you'll be able to put your hands on one at a dealership. That puts Camaro availability about a year behind that of its nearest rival, the Dodge Challenger.

A few GM higher ups have stated that the General will start making Camaros in late 2008. That's true, but, a little misleading. Salable, pilot build, Camaros will be the cars rolling down the line in late 2008. This run of cars will be given to engineers, execs and managers to drive for some fast feedback on any last minute changes that might need to be made to the car or the production process. This production run will not be available to the general public to buy.

For those seeking a convertible Camaro, you'll have to wait until Monday, December 7, 2009 — a little bit late for the 2009 convertible season in northern climates. Look for them to start showing up at dealers in late December or early January depending on where you are in the United States.

It's also worth mentioning that these dates are valid as of today. If the Camaro program should hit a snag in its final testing regimens, delays of several days to a few weeks or months are always possible, but unlikely.

Spy Photos

So far, no actual spy photos of real Camaro prototypes exist, except for a single teaser shot released official by General Motors. The image shows Vice President for Global Design Ed Welburn hugging a test car in Australia.

Luckily, the production Camaro will be extremely close to the popular Camaro concept car, so fans and potential buyers have a very good idea of what to expect. GM executives have publicly said Chevy expects to sell over 100,000 Camaros per year with pricing for the V6 model starting in the $20,000 range.

PEARL JAM · 12-05-2007, 09:32 AM

Well damn, it's about freakin' time.

When we get one on our lot, i'll post some pics.

Jacket4256 · 12-05-2007, 09:53 AM

I will prob buy one when they come out...either that or another gto

TN04GTO · 12-05-2007, 08:38 PM

Any news on the Pontiac version (GTO??)?

Showgoat67 · 12-08-2007, 04:15 AM

Well that is more like it in pricing i would think the 400hp version would be price of a GTO is around 33k

06brazengto · 12-08-2007, 09:19 AM

i dont know, i like them but if its gana
be 30,000$ or more ,
and have the same ls2 and weigh the same i will just keep my goat,

LOWET · 12-08-2007, 08:45 PM

I just don't like the style. I hate the retro look with modern components. I jst don't think they will sell. I think I will save some cash and get a AUDI R8

PDQ GTO · 12-10-2007, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOWET

I just don't like the style. I hate the retro look with modern components. I jst don't think they will sell. I think I will save some cash and get a AUDI R8

It's not all that bad looking, but it looks like it needs to go on a diet, kind of puffy. I have only had my GTO for about 20 months and it's still new to me, I'll stick with the GOAT...

05GTO · 12-12-2007, 08:53 AM

Source; 2009 Chevrolet Camaro: 2009 Chevrolet Camaro Fleet Caught in Australia

Quote:

So, we finally decided we wanted to look at those shots of the 2009 Chevrolet Camaro testing in Australia we showed you earlier from Edmunds InsideLine at a little higher resolution than what the Inside-Liners are able to offer. So we contacted the good folks who work with "Handy" Hans & Christa Lehmann to determine the pricing of their shots and decided it was well worth it to buy a couple for our loyal readers. What we've determined is that the photographer didn't just catch a single Camaro -- but rather an entire fleet of Camaro production cars. As we're sure Admiral Ackbar would say -- if he'd been Aussie, of course -- "Mate! It's a trap!" Get out of there Lehmanns, save yourselves! Full spy report before they're captured by the evil Empire after the jump.

By now we have all seen the Chevy Camaro concept car at major auto shows. Some lucky magazine editors have even driven early prototypes. But now these spy photos, taken by an amateur photographer, capture a group of the latest Chevy Camaro test cars undergoing testing recently outside Melbourne, Australia.
It might at first seem odd to find the Camaro being tested in Australia, but that is because GM's Australian arm, Holden, is leading the development work on the Camaro. The new Camaro is based on GM's global rear-drive architecture, which also underpin's Holden's VE Commodore range of cars.
The car is getting very close to production-ready and is due on-sale in the States sometime in 2008 as a 2009 model. A convertible version is expected to follow about a year later.
Note also the pair of Mustangs that are traveling with them for benchmarking purposes.
Credit line: Christa Lehmann

DJ Dannis · 12-13-2007, 12:13 PM

Right-O!