GM Confirms VE Based Camaro. Could A New Monaro Be Next?

[JoeT]

GM Confirms VE Based Camaro

Wheels Staff
11 August 2006
www.wheels.carpoint.com.au

The Camaro that rocked this year’s Detroit motor show is going into production. And it will be built on Australian-developed VE Commodore architecture.

GM has confirmed that it will build the scene-stealing Camaro it showed in concept form at this year’s Detroit motor show – and that its new muscle car flagship will be built on Holden’s VE Commodore platform.

As you’ll see, we’ve published below both GM’s official announcement and the revealing blog by GM’s vice chairman and resident icon, Bob Lutz on the GM Fastlane and FYI blogs.

“It will be a sensational chassis, a variant of our all-new global rear-drive architecture engineered in Australia, our center of large RWD expertise. (Design work will be done in the U.S., making Camaro a product of our now truly global product development organization.),” Lutz says in part.

There’s already been speculation that data acquisition for the new Camaro has been going on at Holden’s Lang Lang proving ground using two-door VE mules, and today’s announcement obviously proves that the rumours are correct. There’s also been talk that Holden has been running Mustangs – both coupe and convertible – around Lang Lang to gain comparative data.

The big question, of course, is whether the car will be built here and shipped to the US, as the Monaro/Pontiac GTO was, or built in the States. Our sources say that it’s more likely that the car will be built in a dedicated rear-wheel-drive plant either in the US or Canada.

Obviously, we’ll keep you posted.

In the meantime, here’s (part of) Bob Lutz’s blog:

"Camaro’s beauty will apply to its performance as well. It will be a sensational chassis, a variant of our all-new global rear-drive architecture engineered in Australia, our center of large RWD expertise. (Design work will be done in the U.S., making Camaro a product of our now truly global product development organization.)

"The new RWD architecture is designed for optimum steering, ride and handling, vehicle dynamics and safety. In terms of chassis excellence, we will be completely “no-compromises."

Clue To Next Monaro

Paul Gover
7 April 2006
www.carsguide.com.au

A hand-picked team of GM Holden's most talented youngsters is working to turn the Chevrolet Camaro concept car into a reality. They could also be creating the next Monaro.

The special taskforce was set up at the start of the year, soon after the Camaro was revealed at the Detroit motor show and is reporting through former GM Holden design chief, Michael Simcoe.

He was in Australia during the Melbourne motor show in February and admitted at the time he was visiting partly to commission some local work on an international project. It now appears that the job is more than just VE Commodore and Statesman tweaking for their planned role as an export money-earner for GM Holden. And the Camaro will sit comfortably on the same basic mechanical package used in the new Australian hero cars.

"The only thing I can say on the record is that our new rear-wheel drive architecture is the main candidate for the future American rear-wheel drive products, including the Camaro Concept," GM Holden chairman Denny Mooney says.

"We have a significant number of engineering and design resources at Fishermans Bend [Victoria] working on the project."

Mooney is careful to avoid any confirmation of a Camaro road car project, even though the car was an overwhelming success at the Detroit show and is considered a certainty for full-scale production. And he will still not discuss the potential impact of the Camaro project on the future of the Holden Monaro, which is now a good idea looking for a body and an engineering team.

It is obvious that the design team at Fishermans Bend has a strong standing within General Motors, thanks to all sorts of successful projects, from the Monaro-based Pontiac GTO to the retro Efijy show car which is now odds-on for a flag waving tour in the US later this year. Simcoe's promotion to a senior role is more evidence. And GM Holden's design director Tony Stolfo is close to Ed Welburn, the company's vice-president of global design.

Mooney says the global platform work is a big benefit to the Port Melbourne design centre, which is now the third-largest in the GM world following an expansion last year which took staff numbers from 107 to 176. While the Camaro project is in its early days, Holden is into the last months of the VZ Commodore and finalising launch plans for the VE and Statesman. Mooney says the final production time is now locked in place and the runout has begun.

"We are low on stock. Our dealers would say now that we are short of stock," Mooney says. "We don't have any issues on runout. Our production lines are fine." But GM Holden is going to face another challenge, as Ford is definitely working on a BFIII Falcon for the final months of 2006.

Project X: Australian engineers are now making the Chevrolet Camaro (left)
Could a new Monaro be next? (right)

[Mikkoo]

I think the Camaro is in very capable hands with the Holden team
in Australia. The production version shouldn't be much different than what we saw in Detroit.

As for future Monaro product plans, I feel that will likely get the
green light, as we'll the Camaro. It will be exciting to see what the
young and talented staff in Victoria can do.!

[Aych Es Vee]

the outcome will be sweet, I just know it.

Camaro.... Monaro.... its like they were meant to be related, just by the rhyming of their names

I wonder if the Camaro, Monaro and GTO will all have different sheet metal.... or maybe the Camaro will have totally different sheet metal to the other 2, while the GTO and Monaro basically have the same relationship they've had for the past few years now.

[kenman923]

I think that the Camaro should be built in the US. Remember the hoe hum styling of the GTO?

[bone]

The engineering on the new Camaro will be done by Holden,and it should be, however, it will most likely be built in Oshawa, Ontario, GM's best plant(s).

[69Firebird400]

Originally Posted by Aych Es Vee

the outcome will be sweet, I just know it.

Camaro.... Monaro.... its like they were meant to be related, just by the rhyming of their names

I wonder if the Camaro, Monaro and GTO will all have different sheet metal.... or maybe the Camaro will have totally different sheet metal to the other 2, while the GTO and Monaro basically have the same relationship they've had for the past few years now.

I'm far from being an informed source, but I would bet that all three will only share as much sheetmetal as the Solstice and Sky roadsters do right now. GM finally is showing the ability to differentiate its models visually even though they share a platform (Pursuit G5/Cobalt and Equinox/Torrent excepted).

[rmodys]

Well looks like the Camaro is coming into production someday, hopefully someday soon. I hope that this also means a new Monaro is coming.

[jbernie]

If the Efijy is doing the Auto show circuit here in the US i am booking my ticket and going to see it.

[coaster.n3rd]

I hope the sheet metal does not change at all on the production model...

[Bravada]

First Mr. Korean and now Mr. Aussie. Those automotive guys have such strange names...

[Lewie]

I am glad to see them finally getting the wheels to spin on the Camaro. I'm really surprised that they have announced an 09 GTO, but not the new Camaro.

[nascarnate326]

Originally Posted by kenman923

I think that the Camaro should be built in the US. Remember the hoe hum styling of the GTO?

I dont agree on the styling. The orginal GTO was simply a hoe hum car that had a HUGE motor. Sure it had curvs and lines, but what car didnt? Modern day GTO is basically retro. Plus, wasnt the Retro thing started by the mustang, before GTO was even launched? GTO was just a band aid on pontaic before the real retro GTO and Solstice were out. Just my.02

[Ultra Magnus]

As long as they get the Camaro/GTO/Monaro done well and quickly, i dont care who does it.

[Saturn69]

Originally Posted by kenman923

I think that the Camaro should be built in the US. Remember the hoe hum styling of the GTO?

Where it is built has nothing to do with the styling, that was determined long before it started production. I don't think the GTO is ho-hum; it's understated, true, but it's not nearly as vanilla as a Toyota. Remember, the Tempest wasn't exactly stylin' either. I think the only GTO anyone can remember is the gussied up 70's version with the picnic table spoiler and 2 foot long nose.

[Carguy]

Just keep the weight down (((P-AAAAA-LLL-EEEEEE-ASE!!))) I still wish CAMARO were going to be on a streched KAPPA!