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J Clarington Community/AÎ Taking the plunge at Cedar Park Durham Daily News EVERY WEEKDAY AT NOON lvideodurhamregion.com Flex plant announced GM gears up for future V" ■ , . . i ■ Photo by Jennifer Roberts General Motors announced its plans Monday for the flex plant and néw Camaro production set to start in 2008 in Oshawa. Joe Cordiano, provincial minister of Industry, Premier Dalton McGuinty, Arturo Elias, president of General Motors of Canada and federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty admire the new Camaro. on the way GM roars Camaro production marks the start of new product program in Oshawa BY IZABELA JAROSZYNSKI Staff Writer OSHAWA -- Production at the car plant stopped and the room erupted into cheers as the newly- crowned president of General Motors Canada made the announcement everyone had been anticipating: "I am thrilled' to stand here before you and to announce that the Oshawa car plant has been selected as the plant to manufacture GM's most celebrated new vehicle, the Chevy Camaro," Arturo Elias said, The Camaro represents the start of a new product program in ' Oshawa, with announcements of more vehicles expected in the For more on this story I i< WATCH VIDEO durhamraglon .oom future. Construction will begin immediately to merge the two car plants into one large flexible manufacturing facility, which will be capable of producing a variety of both front- and rear- wheel drive cars at the same time. The investment of $740 million million to revamp the plants into a state-of-the-art production facility facility means Detroit is serious about rewarding Oshawa for its years of production quality and recent cost-cutting agreements, CAW president Buzz Hargrove said. "The fact that they arc restruc- turing this plant means that they have a future plan, they wouldn't invest here without a plan,", he said. Although much of , that investment was announced in March 2005 under the $2.8-billion Beacon Project, Project, GM put the building of the flex plant on hold until Oshawa received future products. The cars currently being built in the two plants will either be discontinued discontinued by 2008 or will require an See HARD, page A4 Canada > Fast facts: The new Chevrolet Chevrolet Camaro will be nearly, identical to the wildly popular concept unveiled in January 2006 at the North American International Auto. Show in Detroit where it was named 'Best in Show'. -V-. The long hood, short deck and wide stance of the Camaro Concept leave no doubt that it is a serious per- - formance car. -v- A recent report on America Online's Top Searches of 2005 placed Camaro in the top 10 car searches for the year. The Oshawa Car Assembly facility will build early production production versions of the Camaro in 2008, with start of sales in the first quarter of 2008. ❖ Nearly 1,000 Camaro clubs exist globally and thousands of Camaro websites pay homage to the sports coupe. Enthusiasts applaud return 'of Chevy muscle car BY IZABELA JAROSZYNSKI Staff Writer OSHAWA - For Tami and Paul Hamilton having the Chevrolet Chevrolet Camaro built in Oshawa is a dream come true. The Oshawa couple has owned their 1969 Camaro for 11 years and can hardly wait for the new model to come off the assembly lines 1 in their own hometown. . "Its a great muscle car," Ms. Hamilton said. "It has a great history behind it." First produced in 1967, the Camaro quickly became an American classic. In its 35-year history, General Motors produced produced nearly 4.8 million units of the Camaro. Originally built in the now-demolished GM plant at Ste. Thcrcsc, Quebec, the car was discontinued in 2002 because of slumping sales. But for enthusiasts like Mr. Hamilton, the Camaro obsession has never faded. "I've always loved the car," he said. "People were devastated when they stopped producing it and are anticipating its return. I think it will sell well. People have been waiting for this." And Mr. Hamilton is certainly certainly not alone with his love of the Camaro. More than 1,000 Camaro clubs exist around the world and thousands of Camaro- inspired websites pay homage to the sports coupe on the Internet. According to GM, some consumers consumers have already sent in certified cheques in hopes of placing early deposits. When he made the announcement announcement last week that GM will bring back the Camaro, CEO Rick Wagoner said the enthusiastic enthusiastic response from consumers reminds him of the iconic place GM products' have in customers' hearts. "Camaro 1 is much more than a car," he said. "It symbolizes America's spirit and its love affair with the automobile." Ron Elliott, a truck plant employee and owner of a 1969 black Camaro classic, says having having the car built in town will be a great boost to the economy and will gel people excited about the GM brand, "These cars are very special," he added. According to GM, the new See MODEL, page A4 Economic boom for Durham Experts say impact will be substantial BY JULIAN FOLLERT Staff Writer OSHAWA -- They won't speculate speculate on hard numbers just yet, but experts agree this week's announcement that GM's new Camaro will be built in Oshawa translates to a major economic boost for the city and the region. 7 "The economic implications are huge," said Pat Olive, commissioner commissioner of economic development development and tourism for the Region of Durham. "It takes the uncertainty uncertainty away. By bringing flexible manufacturing here, it will allow other units to be built with that same process. This is just the start." The new product and the conversion conversion of Oshawa's Plant Nos. 1 and 2 to a flexible manufacturing facility, are the result of a $740 million investment from GM. Last fall, the automaker sent shock waves through the city when it announced plans to close Oshawa's Plant 2 and eliminate the third-shift at Plant 1, cutting more than 3,000 jobs. While union officials won't say how many of those might be rescued as a result of the Camaro program, some have estimated as many as 2,700: According to Gerald Fedchun, : president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturer's Association, it also means local manufacturers will be in a good position to win contracts, to build the new Camaro parts, because of their close proximity to the plant. "Without this, that plant would be closed. Now they have a product product that will be around for a long time, it's an impact that will measure in the billions," he estimated. estimated. Also enthusiastic, about the ' economic spin-off potential was Chis Buckley, president of CAW Local 222, which represents Oshawa's GM employees. "This is a great day for our members in the Local 222, not only in the car plants but in the parts sector as wellX You need to remember that for every one assembly job we have', in the autoplex, it creates another 7.5 outside," he explained. Production of the new Camaro will begin in 2008, with the vehicles vehicles scheduled to hit showrooms in thé first quarter of 2009. files from Izabehi Jamszynski r®-- ONTARIO'S DRIVE CLEAN •SERVICE •PARTS MON., WED., FRI. 7:30 am - 6:00 pm TUES. & THURS. 7:30 am - 8:00 pm SAT. 9:00 am - 4:00 pm ACCREDITED TEST & REPAIR FACILITY WHITBY OSHAWA Honda 300 THICKSON RD. WHITBY 1-866 240-6192 hojmdaJ w www.honda1.com l Here at Cowan's we want everyone to know what they are purchasing. Our vehicle Birth Certificate tor every General Motors product Includes, lull warranty history, the vehicle's build, original warranty start date, original selling dealer! All completely documented! 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