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New details on the Camaro ZL1 production delay
  A couple of weeks ago, there was announcement made that the production and shipping of the new Camaro ZL1 was put on hold for unspecified reasons. Now, we have a few more details on this delay, and we can ensure you they are not good at all. Autoblog tried talking to Chevrolet spokesman Monte Doran in order to obtain more details on the production delays and Doran was less than useful on what the "real" issue is, but he did confirm that GM will solve it in a matter of weeks, not months as originally thought. He said that "a couple of hundred" 2012 ZL1 models were produced and only one had been delivered to the customer. However all models are now back at Chevrolet’s Oshawa, Ontario plant awaiting the fix. This means that the for the 2012 model year, GM will only deliver the models already built and that all the others will be offered as a 2013 model. The company’s main focus at this point is to "get the car right" so that customers are satisfied with the end product. Chevrolet Corvette Inducted into Sebring Hall of Fame
 The best-selling luxury performance car in the U.S., the Chevrolet Corvette, has finally been inducted into the Sebring Hall of Fame after six decades of proving what it can do on the track. The induction is a great birthday present for the Corvette, since 2013 marks its 60th anniversary. Corvette first competed at Sebring in 1956, and 231 Corvettes have since competed in the Twelve Hours of Sebring race. Corvette has racked up an impressive 24 class wins in this legendary race, with seven of these won by Corvette Racing, the most successful team in the history of the American Le Mans Series. In Sunday’s 60th anniversary race, Corvette Racing placed second and third in the GT Class. “We are thrilled that Sebring has recognized the success of the Corvette on the race track by inducting it into the hall of fame,” said Russ Clark, Chevrolet marketing director for Performance Cars. “Even more important than the awards and race wins are the benefits to our production vehicles as a result of our racing programs,” said Clark. “We have been successful at transferring racing technology to the street, especially in our high-performance vehicles such as the Corvette ZR1, Z06 and our carbon fiber models, including aerodynamic, powertrain, chassis, braking, safety and design features.” 1968 Chevrolet Camaro by Bo Zolland
The 2012 SEMA Auto Show is still months away, but we already have the first details on the models set to be displayed at the show. Bo Zolland is famous for his tuning kits for models like the Porsche Carrera S, but for SEMA, Bo Zolland has prepared a very cool tuning kit based on a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro. The first details offered by Bo Zolland suggest that he will try to keep the original Camaro’s look, but it will still feature extensive body modifications. Most of the work will be done under the hood and in the vehicle’s mechanical parts. The new Camaro will be powered by a supercharged LS3 V8 engine and will feature a series of other parts borrowed from the 2010 Chevrolet Corvette. These parts will include a braking system and suspension bits, among other things. The first teaser images of the Chevrolet Camaro by Bo Zolland show the car in various colors. Check them out and let us know which color you think should be used for the show car. Also, make sure you stay tuned as more details are sure to follow in the coming months. Next-generation Chevrolet Camaro will get smaller engines; design will remain unchanged
 We already know that Chevrolet has started the working on the next generation Camaro, but today, Al Oppenheiser, Camaro’s Chief Engineer, is offering up new details on the car that is due in the fall of 2015. According to him, the new Camaro will get a choice of smaller engines and will most likely be lighter compared to the current generation, but the company will try to keep its design untouched. "We always get hammered for mass, and that’s not going to be getting easier going forward. Displacement, number of cylinders, all of these things you need to think about." The timing for this new Camaro shouldn’t be at all surprising considering Ford is already preparing a facelift Mustang for 2015 with an exterior update and either a turbocharged V6 or even a turbo 4-cylinder. Chevrolet’s target will be to stay as successful as they currently are: "We always have to stay fresh and ahead. [But] we do not want to lose the fact that we have nearly 40 percent of the market." Muscle Car Showdown: Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 tussles with Ford Mustang Boss 302
Nothing tickles our fancy more than watching two of the most iconic American muscle cars - the Ford Mustang and the Chevy Camaro - go toe-to-toe. But, and this is a big ’but’, this one isn’t one of them. You see, while they do possess the Camaro and Mustang plates, the former is actually the almighty ZL1 whereas the latter is the Boss 302 Laguna Seca. Sure, the 302 packs quite a punch, thanks to its 444-horsepower output. But it’s still no match for the top-end 580-horsepower Camaro ZL1. This episode of Motor Trend’s "Head 2 Head" dives into the comparison between the American machines with pro race driver Randy Pobst taking both cars for hot laps around the Inde Motorsports Ranch in Willcox, AZ to find out which of these modern muscle cars will have supreme bragging rights over the other. Something tells us that we already know what Pobst will say in the video, but regardless, it still makes for a compelling watch, especially if you’re actually in the market for a muscle car. Now let’s see them put the Camaro ZL1 against the Mustang Shelby 500GT. Now that’s a showdown we’d love to see. 2012 Chevrolet COPO Camaro
The 2012 Chevrolet COPO Camaro is no longer a concept. Chevrolet has announced that they will be building 69 COPO Camaros this year; the exact number of “ZL-1” COPO Camaros made in 1969. COPO, or Central Office Production Order, was Chevy’s high performance special-order system used in the 1960s by dealers to build high performance models. The new COPO Camaro will be a not-street-legal drag car with the sole purpose of competing in NHRA’s Stock Eliminator and Super Stock classes. This will put the new COPO Camaro in direct competition with the Ford Mustang Cobra Jet and the Dodge Challenger Drag Pak; this should be interesting. For too long, Chevy has sat on the sidelines watching as Dodge and Ford, especially Ford, dominated in Stock Eliminator and Super Stock. The Cobra Jet and the Drag Pak have been proven winners in these NHRA classes for years. Bowtie fans have long wondered if Chevy would ever have an answer to the bad-ass factory-built race cars of its Detroit neighbors. That answer is finally coming. The Cobra Jet and the Drag Pak are no pushovers, though, so the new COPO Camaro will definitely have its work cut out. The COPO Camaro’s biggest threat, the Ford Mustang Cobra Jet started at $91,900 in 2012 and boasts a supercharged 5.4L V8 under the hood, while the $39,999 2010 Dodge Challenger Drag Pak sports a 6.1L Hemi. For 2011, though, the Mopar Challenger Drag Pak upgraded drastically to a naturally aspirated 512ci V10 and upped the pricetag to $85,512. The 2012 COPO Camaro, starting at $89,000, has three engine options to choose from: a naturally aspirated 427ci V8, a 327ci V8 with a 2.9L supercharger, and a 327ci V8 with a 4.0L supercharger. All of the Big Three’s race cars are stripped-out versions of their former selves and are built to run in the NHRA. They are all sold race-ready and come complete with everything from roll cages to fuel cells in the trunk. The 2012 COPO Camaro should be delivered to anxious customers sometime in the Summer of 2012, and, by the middle of the NHRA racing season, 69 lucky people should be taking on the Cobra Jet and the Drag Pak head to head. The new COPO Camaro will be the quickest Camaro Chevy has ever produced. This race car will re-ignite the legendary racing rivalry between Chevy, Ford, and Dodge that gearheads have followed for decades. Drivers, start your engines! Hit the jump for a full list of COPO Camaro features. Full story Chevrolet puts the brakes on the Camaro ZL1’s production and shipping
 Shortly after being named America’s favorite performance brand, Chevrolet is getting its celebratory balloons popped. A letter from General Motors has made its way to dealers stating that the production and shipment of the Camaro ZL1 has been stopped due to quality assessment. No other details have been provided, but it looks as though one of America’s favorite muscle cars will be joining the long list of models being delayed for unnecessary problems in production. The only explanation Chevrolet has offered in their letter is the following: "We may have found a potential issue that we want to resolve." That’s it, except for that they add that the problem may take a few weeks to solve. That doesn’t necessarily sound like a minor issue to us. Supporting the Chevrolet letter that has been sent out is a notice from a customer in Texas that says he was asked to bring his Camaro ZL1 back to the dealer so that it can be sent back to the plant. Stay tuned as we will uncover more details of this Chevrolet setback! Hit the jump to read the entire Chevrolet letter addressed to its dealers. Full story Automotive Journalist crashes Camaro ZL1 at Virginia International Speedway
In the midst of celebrating their title as America’s Favorite Performance Brand, Chevrolet invited a number of journalists over to the Virginia International Speedway to test drive their new Camaro ZL1. Lucky journalists signed right up to take advantage, but one got a little more than he bargained for. Aaron Gold from About.com took his turn on the track after a rain cloud made its way through the area and tried to play it safe during his turn. Unfortunately, he may have played it too safe. Gold says that he was "way off the proper line" and had the car in second gear when it should have probably been in third. He "gave it a bit too much juice, broke the rear tires loose, and that was it." The Camaro ended up going off the track, sliding forward and sideways onto the wet grass, and went nose-first into the tire wall. Gold didn’t suffer any injuries and GM has assured him that the damages on the Camaro ZL1 are cosmetic, which is all good news. Another plus is that Gold was able to test out the OnStar system, which automatically sent out an SOS call, before a live operator came on to see if Gold was okay. As a refresher the ZL1 is powered by LSA 6.2-liter supercharged V8 engine that delivers a total of 550 horsepower and 550 lb/ft of torque. The muscle car can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds and can reach a top speed of 184 mph. So we guess these numbers are just too much even for a professional driver. Chevrolet is America’s Favorite Performance Brand
The year 2011 was quite an impressive year for Chevrolet: one out of every three sports cars in the United States was either a Camaro or a Corvette. The company sold 88,249 Camaro units - or about 18,000 units more than its nearest competitor, the Ford Mustang - and a total of 13,164 Corvette units - more than double compared to the Porsche 911. To prove that these numbers are relative to the fantastic cars they create, Chevrolet took the Camaro and the Corvette to the "Grand Course" at Virginia International Raceway. The 2012 Corvette ZR1 lapped the Grand Course in 2:45.6 – faster than the published lap time for any production car. The Camaro ZL1 scored a time of 2:52.4 – more than six seconds faster than the published lap time of a 2011 Ford Shelby GT500. "With the addition of the Camaro ZL1, there are only a handful of brands in the world with two cars that can match the performance, technology, and excitement of Corvette and Camaro," said General Motors North America President Mark Reuss. "Unlike many competitors’ performance cars, the Corvette ZR1 and Camaro ZL1 are appropriate for both daily drivers and track use from the factory – with standard coolers for brakes and drivetrain." "And we challenge any company to bring two cars to compete with the Corvette ZR1 and Camaro ZL1, dollar for dollar," Reuss said. Hit the jump for more stats, as well as videos of the sports cars’ laps in Virginia. Full story 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Leaving the other debuts of the Chicago Auto Show in the dust is the brand-spanking new Camaro ZL1 - the most powerful Camaro ever. This beautiful beast is powered by a LSA 6.2L supercharged V-8 engine that provides enough juice to get our hearts racing and our fingers twitching to grab the wheel. "Camaro ZL1 is about high-tech performance and design, and is a type of car no one has ever brought to this segment previously," said Rick Scheidt, vice president of Chevrolet marketing. "It’s the most technically advanced Camaro ever, so we’ve chosen a name from the most elite and exclusive Camaro in history." The Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will be distinguished by a new front fascia, hood with air extractors, and a signature center section constructed of carbon fiber rendered in satin black finish. Completing the look is a set of 20-inch wheels and exhaust tips with ZL1 badge on the grille, hood, and brake calipers. UPDATE 02/22/12: Chevrolet has unveiled new details on the ZL1’s automatic transmission. It will be equipped with newly improved TapShift technology that allows drivers to control up- and down-shifts with paddle shifters. When equipped with the automatic gearbox, the ZL1 will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds – a tenth of a second faster than the manual transmission time. "By staging hydraulic pressure in the clutch for the next gear, the new control module algorithm reduces tap delay for the 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, and 4-5 up-shifts by 200-300 milliseconds. The system anticipates shift requests based on current gear, throttle, torque and speed. By pre-filling the clutch for the next gear, the tap up-shift response is near instantaneous." A new video explains everything we need know about the new TapShift technology. Check it out by clicking on the picture above! Hit the jump to read more about the 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Full story | featured reviews:Chevrolet cars reviews2015 2014 2013
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