In Case You Missed it: Camaro to be built in Canada

[BigAls87Z28]

http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35999

Oshawa, Ontario — General Motors of Canada Limited President Arturo Elias has announced that the Oshawa, Ontario car plant has been selected to manufacture one of GM's most anticipated new vehicles, the Chevrolet Camaro.
Early production versions of the new Camaro are expected at the end of 2008, with sales starting in the first quarter of 2009.
The new product program and conversion of the Oshawa plant to a state of the art flexible manufacturing facility will begin immediately, representing a $740 million (Canadian) investment. (More on GM's investment in Oshawa (http://www.autonet.ca/News/Story.cfm?Story=/News/2006/08/21/1767946-cp.html))
"This important new investment for Oshawa would not have been possible without the strong partnership with the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) and federal, provincial and local governments" said Mr. Elias. "Oshawa's selection to build the new Camaro is a tribute to our employees' reputation for the industry's best quality and productivity, and further evidence of the exciting comeback happening at GM."


Oshawa plant 1 and 2 used to make the W-bodies(Impala, Monte, Grand Prix, and LaCrosse). They are going to merge the 2 plants as one with a capacity of about half of a million cars. Impala is likely to stay, Monte will be dead, Grand Prix will change over to G8 and LaCrosse will go to Epsilon II chassis.

[WildBillyT]

I guess this way GM can duck some of the US Union troubles. Not to mention that I seem to remember hearing that there was a deal between GM and the CAW regarding the Camaro name or something like that.

[BigAls87Z28]

The deal was that as long as Ste.Therese was up and standing, that the plant would have the rights to making the car.
Well, 2 years ago, they destroyed it. Any jobs lost by closing the plant was transferd to Oshawa and other Canadian plants.
As it says, since 2005, GM has invested 3 billion dollars in its Canadian plants. GM doesnt have to worry too much about healthcare costs with the CAW.

[WildBillyT]

Oh right, the 4h gen was built in St. Therese...

Oshawa is where GM VVS is located, that's why I was confused. :knock:

[NJSPEEDER]

wow, 750mill canadian? that is what, like $25.35 US? lol
i still wish they had picked the delaware facility to build them.

[BigAls87Z28]

To tell you the truth Tim....and from what Ive heard from people that work there...Willmington aint gunna be around much longer.
News is that the Kappa production will move to Mexico where they are building a very large plant, possibly to make next generation compact cars.

[BonzoHansen]

Ha, the UAW woud love a standardized HC plan. But almost every other big US union is against it because they have money making HC insurance arms.


$750M USD ~ $672.45M CD

[BonzoHansen]

More...read down - see the big words.

UPDATE: CAW Sees GM Cars Beyond Camaro At Oshawa Plant
08/21 4:05 am (ON)
Story 0418 (DCX, F, GM, NSANY)

By John D. Stoll Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

DETROIT -(Dow Jones)- The president of the Canadian Auto Workers on Monday said he expects General Motors Corp. (GM) to build additional models beyond the Camaro muscle car at its Oshawa, Ontario, plant after the manufacturing complex is reconfigured in 2008.

GM on Monday announced it will build its new Chevrolet Camaro at the 53 -year-old Oshawa Car Assembly Plant starting in late 2008. The vehicle goes on sale in early 2009 and the auto maker is expected to make 100,000 Camaros annually - a low number for a plant with significantly higher capacity, said CAW President Buzz Hargrove.

"This has to be followed by some other product," Hargrove said during a phone interview Monday. He insisted that the Oshawa plant will have to produce more than 100,000 vehicles annually in order to be a viable operation, and said that the CAW is "going to start working immediately" with GM in an effort to firm up additional products.

Separately, GM spokeswoman Adria MacKenzie said Monday that GM will continue running three shifts at one of its car assembly lines in Oshawa despite the company's earlier decision to remove a shift due to slower sales of certain models. GM in November said it would remove the third shift in the second half of 2006 under a broader North American capacity reduction scheme. However, strong demand for the company's Chevrolet Impala has the company reversing the decision and it will run the third shift for the indefinite future, MacKenzie said.

As for future plans for the plant, MacKenzie said the company could launch additional models at the Oshawa plant to accompany the forthcoming Camaro.

GM currently is in the midst of reviving its product lineup for North America in response to its falling market share and increased competition from Asian competitors. The company has increased its capital spending levels in recent years in order to fund that push. In a note to investors Monday, Wachovia auto analyst Rich Kwas said GM's vehicle launch plans for the next year are rivaled by only Nissan Motor Co. (NSANY).

"We estimate that approximately 29% of GM's U.S. volume will be comprised of new or redesigned product over the next year," Kwas said. Analysts have often criticized GM for not having a consistent flow of innovative product, but GM executives insist the company has turned a corner and point to the Camaro as evidence of its change.

The Camaro, which has been on hiatus since the early part of the decade, will return to the GM lineup as a rear-wheel drive car capable of competing with Ford Motor Co.'s (F) popular Mustang coupe.

GM is formulating an entirely new rear-drive architecture for the Camaro, and analysts expect GM to announce at least two additional products that will be built off that architecture. The Camaro siblings could include a sporty Pontiac car and a Chevrolet car capable of taking on DaimlerChrysler AG's (DCX) Chrysler 300 sedan.

Hargrove expects those vehicles will also be built in Oshawa. If the move happens, it would be a "big win" for the top Canadian auto union, CAW Local 222 President Chris Buckley said in an interview. Buckley, who oversees union activities at the 5,600 hourly worker plant, said GM's future plans will be based "purely on market demand."

Currently, the Oshawa plant is capable of building more than 500,000 vehicles annually at two separate facilities, one of which continues to run on a three-shift schedule and one that runs on a two-shift schedule. The plant produces only front-wheel drive models that are sold in GM's domestic brand lineups. The current body style for those cars, including the Pontiac Grand Prix and Chevrolet Monte Carlo, are due to be phased out in 2009, Buckley said.

Hargrove said GM plans to consolidate the two Oshawa facilities into one building in order to facilitate production of the Camaro and other, not-yet-announced products. GM plans to spend C$740 million (US$658 million) to consolidate operations at Oshawa, the company said Monday in a press release.

GM's updated plant in Oshawa will be considered "flexible," according to Buckley, and capable of building both front-wheel and rear-wheel drive vehicles. The reconfiguration of the plan will do away with the need for two separate car-making facilities and will likely cut the production capacity of the plant.

MacKenzie said GM hopes to utilize three shifts in order to build the Camaro and its potential siblings once the car begins its production run in two years.

GM first announced its plan to shutter one of the Oshawa buildings in November, when it outlined the North American capacity-reduction scheme for the region. By 2008, GM is looking to shutter 12 plants. In 2006, the company worked with the United Auto Workers to pull ahead by two years its goal of shaving 30,000 hourly jobs.

Hargrove called the newly announced investment "a good start," but insisted "there still is another decision to be made." He said the CAW has proposed that GM set up two assembly lines in the revamped facility, but the auto maker has not yet given firm details.

No matter what happens, the consolidation of operations into one facility will result in job losses, Buckley said. The CAW expects most of the job reduction to take place via natural attrition.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires 08 -21 -06 1605ET
Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

[Untamed]

Whatever they call the Pontiac RWD car, I hope its different enough from the Camaro to inspire some desire in people. Pontiac needs all the help it can get.

[Savage_Messiah]

it prolly just means platform siblings.....

[BigAls87Z28]

Yes, not Firebird siblings, it means Zeta siblings.

[qwikz28]

possible GTO IIRC

[NJSPEEDER]

have they announced how many units they plan to build the first year yet? or what they expect production numbers of camaros to be once they are up and running at full speed?

[BonzoHansen]

Hey, dream a little dream...

[LS1Hawk]

I think they said their goal is 100,000.