Chevrolet Camaro (fifth Generation) - Production

Production

"As evidence that we're not completely brain-dead, GM will build the Chevy Camaro."

On August 10, 2006, GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner announced that GM would build an all-new version of the Chevrolet Camaro based on the award-winning concept that debuted at the Detroit auto show in January 2006. The all-new Camaro was originally scheduled to begin production at the end of 2008 and to go on sale in the first quarter of 2009 for the 2009 model year, but General Motors stated in March 2008 that production would be delayed until February 2009 with the Camaro going on sale in the spring of 2009 for the 2010 model year.

Chevrolet General Manager Ed Peper said the new Camaro "will appeal to both men and women, and unite customers with fond memories of previous Camaros with those who first experienced a Camaro" when the concept was unveiled in January. Bob Lutz's post on the GM FastLane Blog for August 10, 2006 thanked everyone in the blogosphere who commented and offered feedback on the Camaro.

Following the development of the Zeta architecture and because of its position as the GM global center of RWD development, GM Holden in Australia led the final design, engineering, and development of the Camaro. Original plans for the car included sharing the chassis with the Chevrolet Impala, which was to have switched to the Zeta platform. However, a 2007 energy law drastically changing the Corporate Average Fuel Economy forced GM to scuttle plans for replacing the W-Body Impala with the Zeta-based Impala. However, the new Camaro will be produced at the Oshawa Car Assembly manufacturing plant in Canada. 2,750 jobs would have been lost at the Oshawa manufacturing plant which had been originally scheduled to be closed in 2008; some of these jobs were saved due to the new Camaro's production. This new product program and conversion of the Oshawa plant to a state of the art flexible manufacturing facility represented a US$740,000,000 investment.