Car Throttle

When a car is highly anticipated, the first models available for public sale are often offered up for charity by a manufacturer or dealer. The company gets good PR from it due to a high sale price, the buyer gets bragging rights as owner of the first one, and the money all goes to benefit a charity. Chevrolet's Camaro ZL1 is definitely anticipated model by enthusiasts, packing 580 horsepower despite an initial horsepower rating of 550. General Motors has a tendency lately to under promise and over deliver in both horsepower and fuel economy figures. The ZL1 does battle with fellow performance models like the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 and Dodge Challenger SRT-8 392. Its the pony car wars all over again! The

A sales race that CarThrottle has consistently covered is the one between the Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang. The Mustang, with its universal appeal and wide model range, has historically outsold its cross-town rival the Camaro. When the Camaro first launched, it was speculated that it would surpass Mustang sales, at least in the first year. That didn't work out though due to its late start. Last year, was the first full year of sales between the two. Despite Ford fielding the improved 2011 Mustang, the Camaro managed to outsell the Mustang by 7,655 units. This year, the Chevrolet Camaro gets a convertible variant as well as a high-performance ZL1 model to stir interest. Camaro Convertible sales haven't managed to kick in yet in a

There is a lot of money spent in advertising - in fact, reports peg marketing spending at $612 billion a year, and researchers estimate the average American is exposed to some 3000 advertisements every day. The Super Bowl XLV, coming up Sunday, is the most expensive day of the year for advertising. With the chance to make a big splash before what is likely to be over 106 million Americans, auto manufacturers are working to bring out their best. Chevrolet is making up for its recent lack of Super Bowl participation big time this year. Eight - yes eight - different spots will be run. Two ads run pre-game, five during the game and one during the post-game show. They focus on some of Chevy's

With all the the hype surrounding the Chevrolet Camaro, the news has been nonstop, continuing steady before and after launch. That momentum has given it an edge over the Ford Mustang in the 2010 sales race, and its image has been a strong help to the Chevrolet brand. Sales uccess looks to continue into 2011, with the addition of a new performance variant likely to happen at next week's Chicago Auto Show. Notable is the fact that the Camaro has posted impressive numbers without the addition of a convertible variant. Well that is about to change - the Chevrolet Camaro Convertible has just gone into production today at General Motors' Oshawa, Canada factory. The car will be available with your choice of a black

Last year, we extensively covered a sales race that was developing between the Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang.

Historically, the Mustang has nearly always outsold the Camaro. That has carried through from the very beginning in the 1960's - the Mustang was the first on the market and its leadership position stuck.

The new Camaro went on sale in April 2009 amid a sagging economy and poor public perception of General Motors. However, with a high amount of pent up demand and public hype, the Camaro handily outsold the Mustang.

Many figured this would be a short-term trend and that the car's sales would be very front-loaded. When the final numbers were tallied for 2009, the race was close but the Mustang eked out a

The Los Angeles International Auto Show is coming up just next week and Chevrolet has picked the show as the perfect place to launch the new Camaro Convertible. Where better than sunny Los Angeles? Chevy spaced out introduction of the convertible model to keep up interest in the Camaro, which has sold impressively since its debut. It even came close to beating the Mustang in the sales race last year, but has since fallen behind. The Mustang has always had the benefit of a convertible model to increase appeal as well, while the Camaro and Challenger have been coupe-only. That is about to change - and we can already see the Mustang convertible vs. Camaro convertible comparison tests being lined up for next summer. The new photos aren't exactly

Neiman Marcus is a high-end luxury catalog with a diverse range of clients that are ready to purchase its products at the drop of the hat. That is true even in the automotive segment. Every year, the catalog works with a manufacturer to provide a product going into the year-end Christmas season. Last year, it was an exclusive version of the new Jaguar XJ. With only 50 available, it sold out in four hours and four minutes. We thought that was impressive - but for 2010 the Camaro Convertible handily beats that. There was 100 models of the Camaro Convertible available, and they all sold in three minutes. Whoa - that's quick. BMW's special edition M6 sold out 50 units in 2006 in one minute and 32 seconds. Phone lines for ordering the $75,000 Camaro opened a

Right now, the golden children in the media are Hyundai and Ford. That isn't without reason either - both Ford and Hyundai have released a slew of competitive new products, and both manufacturers have the sales numbers to match. Some peg the Hyundai Sonata and Ford Fusion as being the new leaders of the mid-size segment. We have yet to test either to know for sure, but we would be inclined to agree. General Motors, on the other hand, has been largely flying under the radar as it has made impressive gains. The new Equinox is an extremely impressive product, and a lot of underlying data on sales for GM corporate-wide has gone unnoticed. They results are showing up with consumers. Auto Trader has just released it's automotive research data that shows

Under promise, over deliver. It is always a pleasant surprise to have something better than you first expected. General Motors seems to get this lately. If more power is better, and in our case it certainly is - than the 2011 Camaro is better than we first thought. Under re-certification, the Camaro's V-6 gained 8 extra horsepower and 5lb-ft of torque, bringing the total to 312 and 278 lb-ft of torque. Not much, but we'll take all we can get. Tom Sutter', the V'6's chief engineer, had this to say: "The 304 horsepower in the 2010 Camaro was actually a conservative rating on our end.....but we knew already that this award-winning engine produced at least the amount of power we stated, (and) but now we've gone the extra

Over the past few months at CarThrottle, we have been posting about the sales race that has taken place between the Chevrolet Camaro and the Ford Mustang. As is expected with the resurgence of the pony cars, there has been a rivalry between the two (sorry Challenger, you're left in the sales dust). Since the Camaro went on sale, it has been outselling the Mustang. Originally, it was to expected due to the Camaro's newness and pent up demand. As the year wore on though, the Camaro continued to outsell - a surprising fact, given the Mustang's historical dominance over the Camaro and widespread appeal. The crown for overall sales in 2009 still goes to the Mustang though. Why? Because the Camaro went on sale in