Camaro Tops Popularity And Sales Charts

[CPG Marketing]

For those of us in the automotive community, 2009 is a landmark year for both good and bad reasons. Remaining optimistic, perhaps the biggest boon to gearheads has been the return of the Camaro, a much-hyped muscle car from GM that provides fast, affordable fun. Even without a huge marketing campaign, the Camaro has surged in both popularity and sales.

Camaro5 reports that the Camaro tops Yahoo’s Most Popular Cars of 2009 list, and it continues to beat the Mustang in monthly sales.

Now the Camaro had some stiff competition on the popularity chart, including its cross town rival the Ford Mustang, which was number three on the list. But the Camaro beat every other vehicle as the ‘most searched for car on the Internet.’ Much of the marketing for the Camaro has been viral or through word of mouth, as GM has avoided too many commercials or over saturation of the muscle machine.

But the only numbers that matter are sales numbers, and the Camaro is mopping up there too. To date, over 54,000 Camaros have been delivered to customers. In the month of November alone 6,687 Camaros were delivered, twice the number of Mustangs. This was an off-year for the Mustang though, and next year the sales race promises to be tighter as the Blue Oval recently announced a more powerful and fuel efficient V6 engine for its pony car starting in 2011. The future looks good for American muscle right now.

Story courtesy of www.streetlegaltv.com

[hanaylor]

According to the press release, Camaro convertible production is slated to begin at the Oshawa production plant in Canada in the first quarter of 2011. That means convertibles should be hitting showroom floors around April or May. GM first previewed the Camaro convertible concept in 2007, and the Camaro concept itself debuted way back in the yester-years of 2006. So finally, we are getting around to what we want, but in a way the wait is good, because it means GM is taking its time getting everything right.

There are other options if you still can’t wait. Drop Top Customs will make you your own Camaro convertible for a pretty penny. Most of us will just wait though, as we will wait for the other Camaro…you know, the Z/28 one. No official word on that, though according to Bob Lutz, a twin-turbo V6 isn’t out of the question for the Camaro future either. Keep up the good work, GM.


Story courtesy of www.lsxtv.com


PRESS RELEASE:

2011 Buick Regal to be built at the Oshawa Car Assembly Plant

2009-11-25

o Second new car built on Oshawa's state-of-the-art flexible manufacturing line
o Production to begin in first quarter 2011

Oshawa, ON - North American production of the all-new 2011 Buick Regal was today confirmed for the Oshawa Car Assembly plant beginning in Q1 2011. The new 2011 Regal is a midsize sport sedan based on the award-winning Opel Insignia – the 2009 "European Car of the Year" – and it brings all of Insignia's award-winning design, technology and European-inspired performance capabilities to the North American market.

"The new Regal gives Buick a modern performance sedan and its production here in Oshawa is terrific news for our employees, the CAW, dealers and suppliers," says Arturo Elias, president, General Motors of Canada. "Combining Buick's top position in the industry in terms of brand quality with the Oshawa Car Plant's long-standing reputation for top quality assembly means customers' highest expectations will be met with this midsize sport sedan."

Production of the new Buick Regal is the latest in a string of positive news for GM manufacturing in Canada including:

* Oshawa Car Plant running maximum overtime since June 2009 that will continue into the new year to keep up with demand for the Chevrolet Camaro
* Production of the Camaro Convertible in Oshawa beginning in Q1 2011
* The recent addition of a 3 rd shift plus scheduled overtime at CAMI Automotive to keep up with strong demand for the all-new Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain
* The investment of $C90 million in CAMI Automotive which will add an additional 40,000 units of capacity to current production and result in full employment at CAMI
* The introduction of flexible transmission production at GM Canada's St. Catharines facility beginning with assembly of the fuel-efficient 6-speed front-wheel-drive transmission

The new Buick Regal joins the Chevrolet Camaro and Equinox and the GMC Terrain as the third new vehicle in the production commitment that was part of the agreement with the Canadian and Ontario Governments.

General Motors of Canada (GMCL) is headquartered in Oshawa, Ontario and employs 9,000 people nationwide. GM of Canada manufactures vehicles, vehicle powertrains, and markets the full range of General Motors vehicles and related services through dealerships and retailers across Canada.