That’s why the resurrection of the Camaro at the Oshawa plant came like a tidal wave of good news. After all, the move would guarantee some 2,700 jobs in the area.
It also served a double dose of irony. First of all, production of the 21st-century Camaro was initially scheduled to begin in 2008, the same year Oshawa’s Number 2 plant was going to close. And four years earlier, GM terminated the previous-generation Camaro, which was built in Boisbriand, Quebec. A shopping mall now occupies the site where about 1,000 people used to work.
A rebirth?
Time manages to cure even the saddest memories, though, as evidenced by all the hype currently surrounding the new Camaro. Some industry experts still remain cautious since no one can safely predict how long this sports coupe will last.
Next January, the Oshawa plant will add a convertible variant to its assembly line (we caught a glimpse of a stripped-down body structure during our tour of the facility). By then, production shifts allocated to the Camaro will double.
It should be noted that the Chevrolet Impala is still being manufactured in Oshawa on a two-shift basis, with about 720 units rolling out of the factory every day. What’s more, production of the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox crossover has been split between Oshawa and Ingersoll’s CAMI (about 200 kilometres west). Due to strong consumer demand for this particular model, the latter handles the basic assembly while the former takes care of body painting and final assembly.
That being said, analysts seem to give more weight to another vehicle that will come out of Oshawa: the all-new 2011 Buick Regal. Various configurations and trims are expected for this large-scale product, including a wagon variant (spy shots of a prototype can be found on the Internet), which would only mean the promising Regal will outlive its GM siblings.
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| Oshawa workers seem unusually enthusiastic. Is it a sign of the good times ahead? (Photo: Luc Gagné/Auto123.com) |
It also served a double dose of irony. First of all, production of the 21st-century Camaro was initially scheduled to begin in 2008, the same year Oshawa’s Number 2 plant was going to close. And four years earlier, GM terminated the previous-generation Camaro, which was built in Boisbriand, Quebec. A shopping mall now occupies the site where about 1,000 people used to work.
A rebirth?
Time manages to cure even the saddest memories, though, as evidenced by all the hype currently surrounding the new Camaro. Some industry experts still remain cautious since no one can safely predict how long this sports coupe will last.
Next January, the Oshawa plant will add a convertible variant to its assembly line (we caught a glimpse of a stripped-down body structure during our tour of the facility). By then, production shifts allocated to the Camaro will double.
It should be noted that the Chevrolet Impala is still being manufactured in Oshawa on a two-shift basis, with about 720 units rolling out of the factory every day. What’s more, production of the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox crossover has been split between Oshawa and Ingersoll’s CAMI (about 200 kilometres west). Due to strong consumer demand for this particular model, the latter handles the basic assembly while the former takes care of body painting and final assembly.
That being said, analysts seem to give more weight to another vehicle that will come out of Oshawa: the all-new 2011 Buick Regal. Various configurations and trims are expected for this large-scale product, including a wagon variant (spy shots of a prototype can be found on the Internet), which would only mean the promising Regal will outlive its GM siblings.
 |
| Photo: Luc Gagné/Auto123.com |