Camaro not a lost cause

All the work to convert the VE Commodore-based American coupe from a set of plans into a road-going reality here has been done, but the project is on ice until the global financial crisis clears and 'New GM' gets a clearer picture of its future. It's the same story with the Camaro convertible - which is also iced until financial conditions improve.

But Camaro chief Gene Stefanyshyn, who drove the project on both sides of the Pacific, is keen to get the car into Australia and says it is not a lost cause. "All the basic engineering is done. It would cost about $35 million to do the production engineering," says Stefanyshyn, the global vehicle line executive at GM in charged of global rear-wheel drive vehicles.

He is talking about the cost of converting the plans into parts for the production line but, sadly, the spend would not stop there. It would also take millions on shipping, spare parts and a local dealer network to really get the Camaro going. "They are like children. You have to feed them and clothe them and send them to school," Stefanyshyn says.

And GM Holden is still refusing to even admit the Camaro could be a goer down under. "There is no business case for the car," says official spokesperson, Kate Lonsdale.

But the Camaro is picking up speed in the USA and headed for some export success. "We will build about 80,000 this year. That's pretty good," says Stefanyshyn.

"We are also about to start exports to Europe. We've got the parts done and we're ready to go. The car is also going to Japan, still in left-hand drive." Stefanyshyn was speaking at an exclusive drive of the Camaro at Holden's Lang Lang proving ground for World Car of the Year judges. The car is included on the list of contenders for the 2010 award.

The briefing included significant details on the Camaro and the VE Commodore program - officially called Zeta at General Motors - which led to its creation. "When Zeta started it was a flexible architecture based around VE. 

There have been all sorts of opportunities we've looked at," says GM Holden designer, Peter Hughes. "We always had visions about doing another couple of cars off the architecture. But we were hoping for a Monaro."

The success of the Camaro project means no chance for a Commodore, even though the American retro muscle car was a much bigger job than it looks. "Monaro was a VT Commodore cut-and-shut with a new back end. This is a whole car. The Monaro was basically a Commodore coupe but the Camaro is two-plus-two, not a four-seater, and completely different from VE," says Hughes.

Do you want the Chevrolet Camaro in Australia?
Carsguide will mount a campaign if enough readers get behind the car, and we're happy to pass the push to GM Holden's new chairman, Alan Batey.
Write to Batey, give him your thoughts, and we'll pass the messages to the top man at the red lion.
Email to: karla.pincott@carsguide.com.au