[StewtheBassman]

New cars are great, whether the new E92 or the new Camaro. Go GM, Go Canada!









NEWS FROM Globeandmail.com
Canada to build Camaro




GREG KEENAN
15:30 EST Friday, Aug 18, 2006


The Camaro muscle car will roar out of Canada again, General Motors Corp. is set to announce on Monday.
The world's largest auto maker has chosen an assembly plant in Oshawa, Ont., as the site for the rebirth of one of the classic cars of the 1960s and 1970s, sources familiar with the announcement said Friday. The car will go on sale in 2009.
The move is one of two major boosts for the auto maker's Oshawa operations. The other is that a plan to eliminate a shift of production and about 1,000 jobs at one of the company's car plants in that city is being reversed because of strong sales of the Chevrolet Impala mid-sized car, the sources said.
Both pieces of news will bring a major sigh of relief for more than 5,000 members of the Canadian Auto Workers union, who have been worried about their jobs since GM announced in November that it is cutting more than 30,000 jobs in North America and closing several assembly plants in a bid to bring production capacity closer to actual sales.
As a result, sources said, there will likely be no permanent layoffs at the Oshawa plants during the remaining two years of the CAW contract, with any jobs lost likely to be from attrition and productivity improvements.
GM will announce on Monday that it will redevelop its operations in Oshawa to create a flexible manufacturing facility capable of cranking out more than 500,000 vehicles off a rear-wheel-drive platform or basic chassis, industry sources said.
The Camaro will be based on GM's new rear-wheel-drive Zeta platform, which sources said will also include the next version of the Chevrolet Impala, the Cadillac DTS and the Buick Lucerne, sources in Detroit and elsewhere said yesterday.
GM stopped assembling the Camaro and its Pontiac twin, the Firebird, in Ste. Therese, Que., in 2002 amid slumping sales, caused in part by soaring insurance rates and what at the time were thought to be high gas prices.
Gas prices are higher now, but GM is responding to a huge positive reaction it received when it introduced a concept version of the Camaro at an auto show in Detroit in January.
The company expects to be able to sell 100,000 of the cars once full production volume is reached, industry sources said.
The issue of high gas prices will be addressed in part by a system that improves fuel economy by reducing the number of cylinders used when the car is cruising.
Redeveloping Oshawa to turn it into a flexible manufacturing operation capable of producing several models was originally part of the company's $2.5-billion Beacon Project, which included $435-million in financial assistance from the Ontario and federal governments.
It was put on hold after GM announced its restructuring plan in November, which at the time included 3,900 job cuts in Canada.
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said in November that the government would push hard to make sure Oshawa won the mandate to produce a new vehicle.
Sources familiar with Monday's announcement said Mr. McGuinty spoke the next day with then General Motors of Canada Ltd. president Michael Grimaldi. Then the premier and Economic Development Minister Joe Cordiano met with GM officials a week later to push the province's case.

© Copyright The Globe and Mail

[Bimmerista]

The problem is they WERE already built here until 2000 in Boisbriand - which wil become a shopping centre now.

That plant won several GM awards for the most productive/efficient plant.

[Luongo]

Chevy

[StewtheBassman]

I know, Bimmerista, but it's a new world now, new jobs and/or plant "non-closings" are good news either way.

[E90-4life]

Originally Posted by Luongo

Chevy

It's one thing if you're a brand loyalist, but if you like cars, you like cars.

[StewtheBassman]

Ain't that the truth!!

[ksfrogman]

I come from a history of Ford Cars, and have never owned a GM vehicle though I had ridden in my parents' '63 Pontiac Catalina--a super nice car.

It has always left me baffled how some vehicles such as the Corvette are so wonderful with their performance and features, and yet others such as the Sunbird, S10 trucks, and midsized vehicles seem to fall apart so easily. Plastic pieces in the interior start to warp and exterior panels sag. I saw a mid 1990's Camaro the other day, and the doors, trunk, and anything that could move looked crooked. I saw a new full-sized GMC (Professional Grade) pick-up at the car wash a few weeks ago. You could see from the wheel well through to the front grille. It wasn't enclosed like it is in our Bimmers.

Chevy knows how to make some pretty nice small block push-rod engines, and I like some of their exterior designs, but it will take a lot to convince people like me that they can build a quality product that won't soon fall apart. I wouldn't waste my money on that.

[enwhykiid]

true american fashion-to build their crappy cars in another country

[ward]

like it's been mentioned before


recent camaro's were all built in canada

[younghov85]

i think the new camaro will be promising

[StewtheBassman]

Originally Posted by ward

like it's been mentioned before


recent camaro's were all built in canada

Er, yah, Ward, double repeat, Bimmerista said so in post #2, they were built about 30kms from where we live, we know all about the lost jobs. I'm just glad that GM is happy to exploit our Social(ist) Safety net to save themselves some HealthCareDollars just like Toyota is doing.


Autoline Detroit had an interview this morning with Rick Wagoner, and he knows their cars suck , and that GM needs more cars like the Solstice, new Tahoe, Escalade, Corvette...those cars are selling well, even the HHR....

My personal opinion is that people are sick of looking at and being seen in boring cars. Look at the Ford 500 (BLAND) versus the Chrysler 300....leases have shortened the average ownership period, so I don't think it even matters anymore that designs are expendable (like the PT Cruiser, I'm surprised they still make it!)

[ward]

that was a big part of the holdup in bringing back a camaro,


I think there was a deal with GM and the union that if a camaro was ever brought back it would be built in Canada.

The union wouldn't allow a camaro to be built anywhere else (if I remember that right)

[bavarian19]

Im not that into muscle cars, but I hope the camaro is very successful. I come from a family that bought only GM cars until recently. We have now become a Lexus/BMW family, but I do hope it helps GM sales.