The Camaro concept unveiled by General Motors at the Detroit auto show clearly gets design chief Ed Welburn's blood pumping.
It didn't take much reading between the lines of his remarks to get the message that he wants the remake of the classic muscle car to join the Chevy lineup as soon as possible.
GM stopped building the Camaro and its Pontiac Firebird sibling in 2002. The cars debuted as 1967 models.
"It was a vehicle I was very passionate about," said Welburn, GM's vice president of global design.
Welburn wouldn't say whether a decision had been made to put the concept into production. Once GM brass give a vehicle the green light, Welburn noted, it typically takes two- three years for production to begin.
"But the Camaro isn't a typical car," he said. "I think we could move very quickly. It is a strong design."
Despite Welburn's coyness, it's an open secret that the Camaro is headed for production. The car is based on a rear-wheel-drive platform that will be engineered by GM's Australian Holden subsidiary.
GM sources say the production Camaro will be almost 100 percent true to the concept car. But the interior will be scaled back to allow lower prices for an entry-level V-6 version.
Welburn said he and GM Vice Chairman Robert Lutz wanted the Camaro to be reminiscent of its predecessor, but updated. This suggested a strong Corvette flavor for the project, he said.
The concept is powered by Corvette's aluminum LS2 6.0-liter, 400-hp V-8.
Welburn said he was happy to be able to talk about the Camaro, after frustrating months of enforced silence.
GM kept details of the concept shrouded in secrecy for eight months before its debut.
And inside the company, he said, "We never used the word 'Camaro' above a whisper."
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-----The orginal Mr.Goodwrench on the JBO since 11/99-----

SO the inside will look just like the plastic vette.......I mean Cavy........I mean Silverado.......
I am all that is man
Wow. I'm glad to hear its taken the next step and I'm eagerly awaiting actualy seeing the car in the showroom.
Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.
ohh good so instead of GM just taking a dump and droping it on us, they are now going to throw the crap at us full speed so its nice a real nice smack in the face.
2006 Black Cobalt SS Supercharged G85
13.91@102.77
i kinda like the camaro....it grew on me after seeing it a few times
i might be gettin one here in a few years
never gonna see a v8 camaro under 25 grand...
GO PATS!!!
Well its nice that the'll cut back on the V6 model. That way more people can afford it and will buy more.
cant wait till i see it on the road!
Quote:
cant wait till i see it on the road!
x2

maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow....... but some day
The Redneck wrote:never gonna see a v8 camaro under 25 grand...
I'll agree with that. Figure why woould they ? It would cut into the Cobalt SS sales.
Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.