Car Throttle

You know you're a big name in the car industry when you have a car concept by a big manufacturer named after you. That is exactly the case with one of General Motors' Camaro concepts at SEMA, dubbed simply the Jay Leno Camaro. As expected, the Jay Leno Camaro is far more than just an appearance package being powered by the standard 3.6L direct injection V-6. Wait, what? Might have caused a double take there. The car has a pair of Turbonetics T3 turbochargers that provide about seven pounds of boost to the car's engine, making 425 horsepower along the way. To go along with the turbo system, there is a Be-Kool radiator, custom exhaust system, as well as a clutch and pressure plate supplied by Centerforce for

With the Camaro setting an excellent sales pace it's no wonder that the musclecar is being featured heavily for General Motors' SEMA offerings. There are five official Camaro concepts brought to the show by GM. One of those is the Camaro Dusk. Bob Lutz has mentioned an executive edition Camaro in the past, and the Dusk fits the bill. The Camaro Dusk ups the luxury quotient significantly, with a Boston Avoustics sound system, technology upgrades inside, and high-end leather. The color scheme combination is particularly striking! Todd Parker, design manager for's  GM Accessory Studio says about the Dusk: "This is a car with an international flair, bringing the Camaro to a place it hasn't traditionally been...it is a very tailored look that is stylish and sophisticated, but with

The introduction of the Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger at similar times have ensured a battle between them for supremacy. Much like Chrysler's overall fortunes in the sales race, the Challenger has been left in the dust. The real question has been the competition between the Ford Mustang and the Chevrolet Camaro. Historically, the Mustang has outsold the Camaro overall. The Camaro was GM's answer to the Mustang but it debuted after a lot of the initial pony car craze wore off. Some (including me) have wondered if history would repeat itself this time after Ford's success in 2005 with the Mustang redesign. When the Camaro debuted, it handily outsold the Mustang. Many declared that a victory that the car could beat the Mustang - one

When the Chevrolet Camaro debuted, fans of the Pontiac Firebird immediately started wondering about a Pontiac-badged model. That never came, and recently the Pontiac brand was closed, a victim of the economic crisis and GM's financial difficulties.

As can be expected, there are many very loyal devotees of the Firebird (and indeed the Pontiac brand) that still aren't satisfied. They want a new Firebird. Aftermarket to the rescue!

For those fans, various companies are working to fill that demand. Lingenfelter is one of the latest companies to do that, with it's new Camaro LTA set to debut at SEMA

All that is out now is this preview, with the look of the car sketched out similar to Firebird Trans Ams of the past. It seems to be pretty

Camaro, Camaro, Camaro - for a few years that seemed to be all we were heard out of General Motors. Fans begged for the car's release and finally, it appeared to much fanfare. No doubt it's an iconic vehicle that holds a special place in the hearts of millions worldwide. Worldwide is the emphasis here for this one - because the Camaro is sold out in Japan. Yup, all 120 of them! General Motors Asia Pacific is allotted only a small amount of GM vehicles to sell in Japan. Needless to say, they don't ship them over by the thousands. Only cool GM vehicles make it to Japan -cars like the Corvette and Hummer H2. Tough regulations, tariffs and a general lack of market interest for

The Chevrolet Camaro has been (if you didn't know that, welcome this planet we call Earth!) released, and as expected is coupe-only. With sports vehicles like the Camaro, companies usually opt to introduce the convertible later once the hype and interest subside. However with GM's financial condition and conditions around the Camaro uncertain, sources said a convertible model being produced was far from a lock. Companies like Newport Convertible Engineering began designing an aftermarket convertible option to help take advantage of some of the demand until (or the thought being, if) GM produces one. Well now GM has officially confirmed the Chevrolet Camaro Convertible. But if you want one right now you're going to be pretty disappointed - the convertible is set to be introduced in the

Normally, when a new car comes out it's a given that it will achieve 5-Star safety ratings (at least for the front end collision). In fact, it has become so commonplace that NHSTA is increasing the standard for model year 2011, giving automakers an even higher mark to hit - something I think in the name of safety is a good policy to implement. That's why it comes as a disappointment that the new Chevrolet Camaro only got a 4-star rating in the front end collision. In comparison to it's rival the super-safe 5-star rated Ford Mustang it isn't a good thing to have on your specifications list in a culture that pays attention to these ratings. Of course the rating is not going to matter to

Today brings a lot news about automotive sales figures. Normally, CarThrottle stays away from the boring sales information dumps that a lot of automakers do at the beginning of a month. However, last month we reported on something interesting - the Chevrolet Camaro passing the Ford Mustang up in sales. It's a big deal on one hand, and on the other it isn't. It's big firstly because the Mustang has historically been a higher seller, secondly because Ford has a much better image right now and thirdly the fact that there are a lot more Mustang models (like a convertible) available. On the other hand? The Camaro is a hot and highly-anticipated new product with 10,000 backorders to fill. Two months certainly doesn't a trend make, and

After some reports of the contrary, it looks like the official Chevrolet Camaro Convertible is back on track for a launch in 2011. For some people, that's too long of a wait, especially since it isn't confirmed right now (it's nearly ensured that we'll get one though, in my opinion). Newport Convertible Engineering (NCE) is working to produce a conversion for those who can't wait. The official model was rumored to have been put on hold due to financial problems with the German supplier of the car's roof mechanism as well as GM's own situation. Apparently that has been resolved now though, with the supplier and GM inking a new agreement for the parts. So while GM is sorting things out with the Camaro Convertible, Newport has

The GM's financial condition and resulting bankruptcy this year upended and reshuffled a lot of product plans. It was rumored that the Camaro Z28 was probably cancelled, even though development was complete, and the Convertible variant was either cancelled or pushed back. That was before the initial success of the Camaro was realized, and when even the possibility of delaying the car's introduction was considered. It's safe to say things have changed. You can't revive the Camaro without reviving the Z28 too! The Z28 is inextricably linked into the Camaro's history, slotting above the current SS. Camaro5, experts at all things Camaro, got a chance to ask some direct questions about the Camaro to GM officials at the Carlisle Nationals. The situation is this; the Camaro Convertible is