Camaro on verge of revival

UPDATE It's really happening: The Chevy Camaro is coming back as a production car, the Free Press has learned.

General Motors Corp. Chairman Rick Wagoner is expected to announce the resurrection of the legendary muscle car in a speech Thursday to an automotive conference in Traverse City.

The auto industry has been buzzing with speculation about GM's plans for the Camaro ever since the carmaker wowed the crowds at the 2006 North American International Auto Show in January with a stunning 400-horsepower concept. At a time when truck and SUV sales are softening and car sales are regaining momentum, a sexy new entry could give GM's entire passenger-car line a boost.

The production version could be built as early as 2008 and will offer three engines, a V-6 and two V-8s, according to people familiar with the plans. Detroit Free Press

03/07/06 Just weeks after it thrilled crowds at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the Chevrolet Camaro will take a giant step closer to production if workers at General Motors' plants in Oshawa, Ontario, approve a new flexible manufacturing system this week.

GM hopes to have the Camaro and other members of its new rear-wheel-drive family of cars in production by 2010. The automaker wants to reignite enthusiasm in Chevrolet by cashing in on Camaro's heritage of affordable style and performance.

"The Camaro program is on a very good track," said a knowledgeable GM person, who requested anonymity because the company has not publicly announced it will build the car. "Things are looking good."

The stunning V8 Camaro concept was the undisputed hit of the auto show, drawing praise for its combination of futuristic design touches and retro cues that recall the legendary muscle car. It was a mainstay of Chevrolet's lineup from 1967 until it went out of production in 2002, a victim of slow sales.

GM is betting that plenty of life remains in the public's appetite for muscle cars, given the popularity of the new Ford Mustang and Dodge Charger.

Karl Scheffy, 52, a store owner from Macungie, Pa., who is cofounder and president of the American Camaro Association, recalled Monday that "as soon as I saw that thing roll down the line" at the auto show, "I said, 'Oh, my word.' More at Detroit Free Press