Despite having fewer model variations on the market, pent up demand for the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro appears to have been enough to send the bad Bowtie past Ford's redone Mustang in June. Sales figures for the month are beginning to trickle in today, and General Motors says it shifted 9,320 Camaro units last month, as compared to the Blue Oval's 7,632 Mustangs.

Whether Chevrolet's victory will be sustainable over the long haul remains to be seen, but as The General has a backlog of 10,000 sold orders to fill (equating to less than a seven day supply), the streak is likely to continue for at least the next few months. Presently, GM offers just two main Camaro models, the V6 RS and the V8-powered SS, while the Ford Mustang has more bodystyles and trims than you can shake a stick at (arguably making the Camaro's achievement seemingly that much more impressive).

Sales of the third leg of 2009's pony car table, the Dodge Challenger, trail far behind, with just 1,369 units cleared last month.

As the industry heads into the dog days of summer, it looks like America's renewed pony car war is just heating up. Who will take the crown for the whole year? Sit tight, muscle fans.



Photos Copyright ©2009 Alex Nunez / Weblogs, Inc.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

Now that the Chevrolet Volt has progressed to the point where vehicles with near-production bodywork are running around, the time has come for the crew to begin ironing out details like the ride height and spring rates that will directly influence the plug-in hybrid's handling.

Regarding these points, chief engineer Andrew Farah has some interesting things to say about the Volt and the way GM will position it against its competitors. For instance, Farah notes (in reference to the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight), "Our chassis is much more sporty than either of the other vehicles."

Farah also comments on a couple of changes to the car's exterior design that eagle-eyed parties had noticed, such as the relocation of the plug from the front fender to under a flap in the traditional location for a gas cap. Other changes, such as the headlamps and taillights, may merely be present because the Volt is still early in its development cycle and there are some pre-production bits that aren't yet necessary for testing purposes.

Spy photographers take note: Farah also says the car is set to undergo some hot-weather endurance testing out west this summer.



[Source: Inside Line]

According to the well-connected boys over at Camaro5, General Motors will indeed produce a Chevrolet Camaro Z28 after all... and they've even scored some details on the hi-po offering.

According to Camaro5 user Hiney1 who attended a special question and answer session at the Carlisle Nationals this weekend (seen above), a Z28 will arrive after the Camaro Convertible, itself expected in the spring of 2011.

The Z28 will reportedly make use of some sort of high-output LS-based engine (C'mon, guys! You're killing us!), and it will incorporate a hood similar to that of the Bumblebee edition, along with a unique grille, the usual spate of graphics and emblems, and perhaps even a tweaked rear-end. Thanks for the tip, Jay!

[Source: Camaro5]

You want a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro? You'd better come strong with more money than the MSRP requires, and you'd better be willing to wait. Bloomberg is reporting that General Motors can't build the reborn bow tie pony car fast enough to quench public demand. That's excellent news for a company that needs a reason to smile, and it could be even better for dealers donning the bow tie. After all, car sales are still firmly in the tank, and GM has seen more than its fair share of shrunken demand.

Dealers have already booked about 25,000 orders for the Camaro, yet only half have been delivered to date. Analysts reportedly told Bloomberg that dealers are getting $500 over sticker on average, too, and at least one dealer is guessing that he won't have a Camaro to sell in stock for at least a year. Bartow Chevrolet in Florida sold its first two Camaros at MSRP, and he's already booked 18 orders.

There is no question that the Camaro has grabbed the attention of the car-buying public, and the debut of Transformers 2 will likely give the pony car another marketing shot in the arm. GM sold 5,463 copies of the Camaro in May, and we're guessing that number will grow as production ramps up.



[Source: Bloomberg]

Normally the twisting of an ignition key doesn't constitute news here at Autoblog, but this is one of the few exceptions. Back in January, Hennessey Performance announced the HPE700, a concoction born from the combination of an LS9 supercharged V8 from a ZR1 and a 2010 Camaro. The Texas-based company only recently shoe-horned the engine into the engine bay. A video camera was on when it was finally time to start the newly created monster, and the sound is nothing short of amazing. The result of open headers plus what appears to be a fairly aggressive cam makes for a sound that has the hairs on the backs of our necks standing on end. Have a listen for yourself by watching the video after the jump. Thanks for the tip, Brian!



[Source: YouTube]

The technicians and engineers at General Motors' Pre-Production operations center at the Warren, MI Tech Center have been hard at work for the last several weeks finishing up the first of about 75 integration prototypes of the Chevy Volt. They worked so hard, in fact, that the first car was completed a week ahead of schedule. These are the first actual running prototypes and include pretty much all of the production-intent hardware in a production body shell. As is typical of these integration prototypes, items like the light clusters aren't quite done yet. The intended bulbs are included in a flat black plastic cluster with the proper arrangement but the covers and internal sculpting are missing.

Chief engineer Andrew Farah took IVER #1 (that's Integration Vehicle Engineering Release #1) out for a brief drive after it was completed and checked out and, according to the video after the jump, everything worked smoothly. While the car looks pretty much like the Volt that was unveiled last September, if you look carefully you will notice one difference. From the original concept to the styling buck we have seen for the last nine months, the charge port was always hidden under the trim piece just ahead of the driver's side mirror. There is now a flap looking much like a gas cover just below that on the fender. The charge port sits behind that flap. According to Volt spokesman David Darovitz, this is the production intent configuration. Dave, we're ready for our test drive anytime, you have our number. Check out the video with Andrew Farah after the jump.



[Source: General Motors]

The 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 has dominated everything in its $100,000 price range, and quite a few supercars that double or triple its MSRP. With just about everything with four wheels subservient to the ZR1, MotorTrend decided to forgo cars and trucks for something with a bit more boost.

MotorTrend's Aurthor St. Antoine thought a more credible contender against the ZR1 would be an F/A-18 Hornet from the Blue Angel squad. So it was Blue Devil vs. Blue Angel, with one vehicle doling out 638 hp and able to hit 60 in 3.3 seconds, and the other capable of mach 1.8 and packing 32,000 pounds of thrust. It doesn't exactly sound like a fair fight, but the race is pretty simple: the first to the one-mile mark wins.

Hit the jump to find out who comes out victorious in the battle of the bow tie vs. Navy fighter jet. If you're not into all the hoopla surrounding the ZR1 and the Blue Angel F/A-18 and you just want to see the race, skip to about eight minutes in. We're pretty sure this race was just an excuse for St. Antoine to get in the cockpit of an F-18, but we can't say we blame him.

When the new Knight Rider hit the airwaves, some were a bit disappointed thoroughly livid that Michael's new ride was a Mustang. Since the original KITT was a Trans Am, purists cried foul and said a more natural replacement would be the all-new 2010 Chevrolet Camaro. Fortunately or unfortunately, one enterprising Camaro owner decided to take up the task and right the show's perceived wrongs. Camaro5 poster Spaceballone picked up a $135 Scanner Light equipped with 64 ice blue LEDs and three built-in patterns. The hood slot in the Camaro fit the kit perfectly, with juice provided by the car's battery.

Hit the jump to view the video for yourself. It's not NBC quality (that could be a good thing), but we think you'll agree that KITT lighting looks good in blue.

Less than one week before Transformers 2: Rise of the Fallen goes into wide release in China, fans of the morphing vehicle-turned-robot movie franchise took to the streets of Beijing in full Bumblebee regalia.

What looks to be a well-organized event was put on by website Autohome.com.cn, and it appears that they even managed to get General Motors' Chevrolet division in on the act, with a new Bumblebee-spec Camaro to lead the procession of like-painted fan cars.

We're not sure we'd go with the yellow-and-black stripes treatment on our own rides, but we remain impressed with both the dedication and the sheer variety of cars that have been given the 'Full Bumblebee,' including a couple of new Cruze sedans and a passel of Aveos, a Ford Focus, a Suzuki Swift and an SX4, a Citroen C4 – even a Mark II Volkswagen Golf. Check out the high-res photo gallery after the jump, and be sure to click on the link below for even more shots of the event. Thanks for the tip, Joe!



[Source: Autohome.com.cn via Google Translate]

General Motors can clearly use all the money it can get, and for the 2010 model year, you'll have to fork over more of it to get behind the wheel of a ZR1. The 2010 638 hp supercar will cost you $109,530; an increase of $2,910 over last year's model. A larger MSRP isn't a good thing, but according to Corvette Blogger, many dealers were already charging $10,000 over sticker for an '09 model, so this could be the General's way of getting a little bigger piece of the action.

For all that dough, you still get the most powerful production Vette of all-time – and a few new items as well. The 2010 model now comes with standard side curtain airbags, launch control and Performance Traction Management System. PTMS, by the way, gives the driver more control over traction settings when in competition mode.

Also new for 2010 is the ability to choose from a far greater array of colors including Torch Red paint, Competition Gray alloys, and a Cashmere toned interior. Hit the jump to pour over the press release.



Photos copyright ©2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc

[Source: Corvette Blogger]