GM Oshawa has a big, new paint shop and the union gave up major concessions this past spring. I'd be surprised if Oshawa doesn't get the car. Flex manufacturing is coming. Not many of us are entirely clear in what it entails, but it is bound to be GOOD for GM. They are already hiring contract production workers at $27 an hour and few benefits from what I understand. File one grievance and no renewal of the contract seems likely. Very convenient for the company and the union. Pay your dues and be very very quiet. There are a lot of other changes going on here as well such as outsourcing the 400 or so cleaner attendants and sweepers jobs.
I think that the ricer boys like retro as well as we do. Drive by them in a parking lot and watch the rubber necking. Our old car do attract the attention. The new Camaro, as announced last spring, misses the mark. Not enough retro and too limited a market. A Chevelle would have had more practical passemger seating space, for those who wanted practical. Found that out when I had my '68 Firebird. The Chevelle far outsold the Camaro in the old days, so there are a lot of people who might just buy one again for old times sake. All GM lines had an "A" body car so they could once again have a Buick GS, Pontiac GTO, and Chevelle SS. As it stands, Buick is left out in the cold. In the musclecar era, the "A" body cars changed every 2-3 years giving the retro people more of a variety to choose from. They would have '66-'67, '68-'69, and then '70-'72.The Camaro basically had the '67-'69 first generation and then the second generation to choose from, limiting the retro variety that GM will have to work with. Lastly, why would GM want to compete directly with Ford for the same market. A Chevelle would still be retro but appeal to a slightly different group with enough overlap that they wouldn't miss the mark even if the Chevelle didn't turn out the be as popular as a Camaro would have been. Then again I do have some Chevelle tendencies and am slightly biased.
