In addition to opening the plant for the weekend, GM also brought in some special Camaros, such as Bumblebee of Transformers II, and the recently introduced 2012 Camaro 45th-Anniversary Model. The over-achieving 2012 Camaro ZL1 also made its Canadian debut during the weekend’s festivities.
“This is a way to celebrate the rebirth of a Canadian and American legend,” noted GM’s Scott Settlemire. “It also demonstrates to the men and women in the factory that we’re building more than just an automobile, we’re building dreams. Everybody wins. No downside… Well, maybe if you’re a Mustang owner”.
Camaro plant tour a big hit
You can’t have a homecoming without a home. Camaro’s diggs is bigger than most —over 9 million square feet. With annual production of about 280,000 units, and 4,500 employees, the Oshawa Assembly Plant is one of the largest vehicle plants in the world.
Camaro production started in March 2009, on a new “flex line”. Also produced on this line is the Buick Regal.
Over on the older “consolidated” line, the plant still builds the Chevrolet Impala, though GM announced that the next-generation Impala would be built in Detroit. Taking Impala’s slot at Oshawa should be the 2012 Cadillac XTS, though that has yet to be confirmed.
Last summer, the plant also began building the Chevrolet Equinox. Equinox and the GMC Terrain are both built at GM’s plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, but the paint and assembly operations there are tapped, and can’t keep up with current demand. So some Equinox bodies are shipped to Oshawa, and then painted and completed there.
But Camaro is definitely the favoured son. On Friday morning of the homecoming weekend, literally hundreds of people were lined up to see Camaros being built. I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t see such interest to view Equinox production.
The tour was restricted to Camaro’s Trim and Chassis lines, where most of the plant’s employees work. The stamping, body and paint shops are probably more dramatic, filled as there are with huge stamping machines, noise, sparks, and robots.
Once inside, your first impression of the facility is its hugeness. It goes on as far as the eye can see.
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| 2012 Chevrolet Camaro 45th Anniversary Special Edition (Photo: General Motors) |
“This is a way to celebrate the rebirth of a Canadian and American legend,” noted GM’s Scott Settlemire. “It also demonstrates to the men and women in the factory that we’re building more than just an automobile, we’re building dreams. Everybody wins. No downside… Well, maybe if you’re a Mustang owner”.
Camaro plant tour a big hit
You can’t have a homecoming without a home. Camaro’s diggs is bigger than most —over 9 million square feet. With annual production of about 280,000 units, and 4,500 employees, the Oshawa Assembly Plant is one of the largest vehicle plants in the world.
Camaro production started in March 2009, on a new “flex line”. Also produced on this line is the Buick Regal.
Over on the older “consolidated” line, the plant still builds the Chevrolet Impala, though GM announced that the next-generation Impala would be built in Detroit. Taking Impala’s slot at Oshawa should be the 2012 Cadillac XTS, though that has yet to be confirmed.
Last summer, the plant also began building the Chevrolet Equinox. Equinox and the GMC Terrain are both built at GM’s plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, but the paint and assembly operations there are tapped, and can’t keep up with current demand. So some Equinox bodies are shipped to Oshawa, and then painted and completed there.
But Camaro is definitely the favoured son. On Friday morning of the homecoming weekend, literally hundreds of people were lined up to see Camaros being built. I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t see such interest to view Equinox production.
The tour was restricted to Camaro’s Trim and Chassis lines, where most of the plant’s employees work. The stamping, body and paint shops are probably more dramatic, filled as there are with huge stamping machines, noise, sparks, and robots.
Once inside, your first impression of the facility is its hugeness. It goes on as far as the eye can see.
 |
| Photo: Mike Goetz/Auto123.com |