Something more than a bold new grille, but less than a major redesign is in the works for the 2014 Camaro.
A refreshed Chevrolet Camaro SS debuts at the New York International Auto Show next week. The planned 2014 model is being called by GM the most significant change for the fifth-generation Camaro since it 2009 introduction. Camaro has been the most popular sports car in America for three consecutive years. The new Camaro will be joined by the all-new Corvette Stingray and Chevrolet SS performance sedan, completing the line of new performance vehicles that Chevrolet will offer next model year.
A major redesign of the pony car is a few years off. That Camaro will move production from what is now its home plant in Oshawa, Ontario since its fifth generation revival in 2009 to Lansing, Michigan. Ford is scheduled to build a heavily revised Mustang in Michigan during 2015, meaning the pony car and horsepower wars will continue for the foreseeable future. (Read Car Spy Jim Dunne Catches a Revised 2015 Ford Mustang)
GM said that lower capital investment and improved production efficiencies were factors in the decision. GM was quick to affirm that it will continue to meet the production targets agreed to with the Canadian and Ontario governments when they supplied bailout money during its 2009 bankruptcy restructuring. The Canadian provincial and federal governments still own almost 9% of the recovering auto company because of financial aid provided during GM’s bankruptcy.
There is some capitalist logic in the plan since the Camaro is the only rear-wheel-drive vehicle currently built at Oshawa, which also builds the slow-selling rwd Regal that will convert to an all-wheel-drive platform, as well as the full-size Cadillac XTS. The next-generation Chevrolet Impala is scheduled to launch there in 2013. GM previously said it would add a third shift for the new Impala. The consolidated line at Oshawa Assembly will continue to produce the current generation Chevy Impala and Equinox until June 2014.
Previously, the Lansing Grand River plant, the production site for the Cadillac ATS sedan and CTS Sedan, Wagon and Coupe as well as the V-Series performance models of each, was designated by GM as a Cadillac plant. It underwent a $190 million upgrade for ATS production, which started last summer, and was built in 1999. Initial ATS sales are encouraging, as the BMW competitor has sold more than 6,000 vehicles during 2013. Camaro sales year-to-date are almost twice that, but its monthly sales rate is slowing as the car ages, the typical fate of performance coupes.
SS V8 coupe and convertible versions will be powered by a 6.2-liter V8.
Right now Chevrolet is in the process of preparing a production Camaro Hot Wheels model that originally debuted as a concept at the SEMA show last fall. This is the first time a full-size version of a toy car has been offered for sale by an automaker after decades, if not more than a century, of the opposite practice.
The original Custom Camaro 1:64th-scale toy from 1968 was one of the first 16 Hot Wheels sold and is now considered a collector’s item. The new ‘real deal’ Camaro wheels will enter production during the first quarter of 2013 in what’s said to be a limited (by how many they can sell?) edition.
SS V8 coupe and convertible versions will be powered by a 6.2-liter V8 engine with a manual transmission rated at 426 horsepower (318 kW) and 420 lb.-ft. (569 Nm) of torque, or with an automatic transmission, which develops 400 horsepower (298 kW) and 410 lb.-ft. (556 Nm) of torque. Another version has a 3.6-liter V6 engine rated at 323 horsepower at 6,800 rpm.
Inside the pony car, a black leather-trimmed interior is has red and black seat stitching with the Hot Wheels logo embroidered on the front seats. The instrument panel and door inserts are black, with the Hot Wheels-style flame decal on each door. Hot Wheels Edition sill plates also are fitted, along with Camaro-logo floor mats with red edging. (Read AutoInformed on Hot Wheels Camaro to be Real in Full-Size Production Model)
