New Chevy Camaro to debut in Emporia Wednesday
By The Emporia Gazette (Contact)
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
After months of touring at car shows across the country, the resurrected and revamped Chevrolet Camaro will make its debut in Emporia on Wednesday.
The unveiling will take place at 6 p.m. at Longbine Auto Plaza, 3012 W. Highway 50.
“General Motors is reintroducing the Camaro,” Jeff Longbine said. “So it’s like an American icon returns.”
Longbine said the national unveiling hearkens back to new-car showings of years past, when the latest models would be introduced on showroom floors across the country.
After the unveiling and a presentation on Longbine’s showroom floor, the car will be offered for sale.
“We’re going to unveil it, allow people to look at it, and then after that if they want to test drive it or purchase it or whatever they want to do, they’re more than welcome to do that,” Longbine said.
The initial version of the popular muscle car came out in September 1966 for the 1967 model year as General Motors’s answer to Ford’s Mustang.
The Camaro underwent several changes in styling and performance until 2002 when, after 35 years of continuous production, Chevrolet withdrew the car from the market.
Production of the 2010 Camaro began on March 16 of this year. It wll be offered as a coupe only in LS, LT and SS trim levels.
The LS and LT will have a 3.6-liter, V-6 engine with 304 horsepower. The SS will have a 6.2-liter V-8 that reportedly will produce 426 hp when linked with the 6-speed manual transmission.
The 6-speed automatic version is rated at 400 hp.
A Rally Sport (RS) package will be available on both the LT and the SS models, according to promotional materials.
Gas mileage estimates for the V6 with a six-speed are 29 miles per gallon on the highway and 18 mpg in the city. The V8 is estimated to get 25 mph on the highway and 16 mph in the city.
Base price for the new Camaro is expected to be around $22,000.