GM Canada's Oshawa, Ont. Plant to Build Camaro

TORONTO, Aug 21, 2006; Reuters reported that GM Canada said on Monday it will build the new Camaro at its plant in Oshawa, Ontario, where workers earlier this year agreed to job cuts to try to secure production of the reborn muscle car.

The automaker said production of the Camaro, a classic muscle car of the 1960s and 1970s, is scheduled to begin in late 2008 with sales expected in the first quarter of 2009.

General Motors of Canada said changes to its Oshawa plant, which will include a new flexible production line, will cost C$740 million ($661 million).

"The Oshawa car plant has been selected as the plant to manufacture one of GM's most celebrated new vehicles, the Chevrolet Camaro," GM Canada president Arturo Elias said in his announcement that Oshawa had won the contract.

Earlier this year, workers at Oshawa, members of the Canadian Auto Workers union, agreed to 2,500 early retirements to trim operating costs at Oshawa, which is about an hour's drive east of Toronto.