Last Camaro

[JonesNTN]

Anybody else hear of this?

[TxDoc]

I saw that on the news that tonite it would be over  Wonder if any of the tooling used to make them will be taken and kept or auctioned?

[CMNTMXR81]

Yup.  

 

8/27/02 was the scheduled day.

[GreenRado]

Guys, and gals, this is a sad state of affairs!!  I mean leaving the mustang as the only true US pony car - don't get me wrong the stang is a pretty good rocket (and did start it all), but the F-cars were better!!!!

 

GM better get on the ball and re-introduce soon, if they are planning to ever do it!

[MarkD]

I've heard that there will not be a 2003, 2004, and maybe not a 2005.  The cutoff date for production designs is very close so it may be a 2006.

[CMNTMXR81]

GM better get on the ball and re-introduce soon, if they are planning to ever do it!

Relax grasshopper!!!

 

GM has some good stuff up their sleeves.  You've got the new GTO coming next year, then shortly after that, the Chevy variants will be coming out...that being the new Impala, Monte Carlo, Malibu (and a rumored Chevelle version), as well as the El Camino.  Key is, all have V8 power twisting the rear wheels.

 

Then with the C6 coming out with some trick engine hardware, chances are it's little brother...the Camaro will make it's debut (2005/2006) with some of that trickery too.

 

People are so quick to jump all over GM simply because a dated, antiquated design automobile is going on hiatus.  I really think GM is on the verge of starting the next muscle car revolution!  They just have to get all their ducks in a row and do it all at once and right the first time instead of willy nilly products here and there.  Part of that master plan is to phase out the dinosaurs.

[MarkD]

Below is quoted from an email by Scott Settlemire:

------------------------------------------------

A PERSONAL reflection on Camaro and Firebird:

 

A sad day, indeed.

 

It takes 5.3 days to build a 4th gen Camaro/Firebird.

 

Last "body buildup" was last Tuesday, August 20. The last F-car through

Paint shop last Friday, August 23rd ?On Tuesday, August 27th at about

9:20 am, the last 4th gen Pontiac Firebird and Chevrolet Camaro came off

the line at Ste. Therese, Boisbriand, Quebec.

 

A very sad day for the workers at Ste. Therese, those of us on the

Performance Car Team, our partners at SLP Engineering, and of course,

you, our Camaro and Firebird Enthusiasts. There's so much I could say,

and yet, I'm almost speechless.

 

The men and women at Ste. Therese have done a great job over the past

ten years building some of the best Camaros and Firebirds of all time. I

can say this: The cars and the workers went out proud. In the 2002 Model

Year, we built the fastest, most powerful, best handling, most fuel

efficient, and cleanest (emissions) Camaros and Firebirds ever. And

through the 2002 model year, they are the fastest, most powerful, best

handling cars in their class. And the Camaros and Firebirds coming off

the line had some of the highest quality ratings ever.

 

I'm in Pittsburgh as I write this, thus I do not have production figures

in front of me, but we built over 5 million Camaros over the past 35

years. I'm not sure how many Firebirds, but you can bet that I'll have

those numbers when I return to Detroit.

 

Many of you know that I was privileged to grow up in a Chevrolet

Dealership. I'll never forget the first Camaro I saw in person...a

Bolero Red Camaro RS Convertible...our dealership received it the first

week of September, and back then, it was forbidden to show the new

models prior to announcement day.' (A bit of history...until 1968, all

new cars were shipped completely covered with cloth covers. They were

hidden from public view and announcement day was a big deal as the

manufacturers showed their new models off in dealership showrooms

nationwide.) When I saw that first Camaro, it was instant love...I

didn't yet have my license, but I thought it was the most beautiful car

I had ever seen...esp. the 'bumblebee' stripe and the hidden headlamps

in the blacked-out grille. Little did I know at the time that I would

also be privileged to work on such a great car much later in my life.

Each of the 4 generations have their own personalities and yet they are

all unmistakably Camaro and Firebird...and, over the past 35 years, the

Camaro and Firebird met one thing: Really cool cars. They've received

countless awards, been in movies, TV, books, magazines. They've even had

songs written about them -- and have become a part of the Great American

Landscape. Camaro is one of the top 5 most recognized nameplates in the

industry...everyone, and I do mean everyone, has a Camaro or Firebird in

their past or present. If they did not own one, then a brother, a

sister, a best friend, a sweetheart, a neighbor, had or has one.

 

I knew this day was coming. I told myself that I would have time to

prepare. I should have known better. While some of our owners see their

Fcars as 'just cars', I know that there are many of you out there that

see it as so much more than 'just a car.' When I attend a car show and

see the love and the passion and the work that goes into

restoration...or the care that you put into detailing your Camaros and

Firebirds, it fills me with pride. For those of you who see these great

cars as more than 'just a car' I'm truly sorry to have to tell you that

this is the end of the 4th gen. But keep in mind, that this does NOT

mean that the names are dead. While I'd love to talk about the future,

I'm forbidden to do so. But as I wrote to many of you a few months back,

in 1974, we thought performance cars were a thing of the past and

over the next twenty-some years, we found out that this was simply not

true.

 

And so it goes.

 

The last car off the line was a Bright Rally Red Z28 Convertible and it

will go into the Chevy Historic Collection so that people for years to

come can enjoy this Legend. The next to last car was a matching Trans Am

Convertible, also going into the Pontiac Historic Collection. We'll have

them on display at the Annual Fbody Gathering at the National Corvette

Museum this September 20-22nd and we hope you'll join us for a great

three-day weekend celebration (details at http://www.corvettemuseum.com

and then click on Fbody Gathering) The third-to-last- car off the line

is a 'loaded' Bright Rally Red Z28 coupe which will be auctioned off

this coming weekend at the Kruse Auction in Auburn, Indiana. All

proceeds will go to S.A.V.E. (Students Against Violence Everywhere) and

the public will have the opportunity to bid on this historic Camaro. Log

onto http://www.Kruse.com for all the details to register and bid

on-line. We'll also have a collection of some of our historic Camaros

from the Chevy Historic Collection on display.

 

On a personal note from Scott, the Enthusiast:

 

My heartfelt thanks to the men and women of Ste. Therese for building

such great cars. I could not be prouder of a group of hard workers. Also

to SLP Engineering for taking a great car to the next level and SLP

Performance Parts for their work in developing components for even more

performance. "Thank You" to a select group of Chevy and Pontiac Dealers

for stocking and selling these great cars. "Thank You" to those

webmasters and moderators who have put so much time, effort, and money

into the various sites over the past couple of years so that we could

talk with one another and I also thank them for their part in making so

many friendships worldwide. My thanks to the many many vendors that

built the components that make up these great cars. My thanks to my

Camaro/Firebird co-workers (and there are tens of thousands of them over

the past 35 years)

at GM who worked so hard to develop these great cars and all the effort

they put forth to keep improving the car regardless of economic

conditions and a changing market. My thanks to Chevrolet General Manager

Kurt Ritter and my boss Rick Baldick for allowing me the opportunity to

not only work on the team --- but to travel throughout the year so that

I could meet the many many thousands of enthusiasts out there. I have

met the finest people in the world and that is NOT an exaggeration. My

thanks

to Dick Almond who selected me over several hundred people for the job

on the Camaro/Corvette Team. My thanks to my Uncle and to my Father for

giving me the love of automobiles and Chevrolets in particular and for

always encouraging me to strive harder.

 

With all those 'thank yous? they pale in comparison to the 'thank you'

that I owe each of you. Thank you for buying your Camaros and Firebirds

but more importantly, thank you for the love and passion you show to

these great cars. Without you, we would not have had the opportunity to

celebrate 35 years of "Performance ? American Style." I'd also like to

thank those of you who have posted such great memories and words of

thanks

to the men and women of Ste. Therese on http://thanks.f-body.com

 

What does the future really hold? As I said above, I can't talk about

future product plans. But I'm here to tell you that with the caliber of

enthusiasts we have in the Camaro/Firebird community, I envision a lot

of celebrations every weekend for many many years to come. With

WorldWide Camaro, the National Trans Am Club, American Camaro

Association, and the hundreds upon hundreds of Fbody clubs, Camaro

Clubs, Firebird Clubs and all

the Fbody websites the dream will stay alive.

 

And, to the Camaro and Firebird: (if it IS possible to talk to a car)

You are loved and the legends that you have become will never die. You

will be celebrated for many years to come and I could not be prouder of

you.

----------------------------------------------------

It's sad to see them go, but I await to see what's next...

[JonesNTN]

And apparently bought for over 72 grand today by someone with too much money and not enough sense.