 The giant bowtie mosaic. Click image to enlarge |
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Article and photos by Jil McIntosh
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The Camaro Homecoming
Back in 1967, General Motors had an all-new model on the showroom floor. It was the Camaro, and it was a hit from the start. Its fans have remained loyal through its five generations, and to that end, they brought over 800 of them to GM’s plant in Oshawa, Ontario where the current model is built.
Held June 10 through 12, the event was known as the Camaro Homecoming, set up by General Motors in conjunction with the 23rd annual Camaro Nationals, a show hosted by the Ontario Camaro Club. The show went on in the huge parking lot opposite the Oshawa plant, the only place where the Camaro is currently made. Walking the rows and looking at the license plates was like reading an atlas: cars came from as far away as Alberta and Nova Scotia, and from Texas and Florida to attend. All models were welcome, from 1967 right to 2011, along with examples of Camaro’s sibling, the Pontiac Firebird.
  Top: Firebirds were welcome too, and this 1969 belongs to Harry Attard of Oshawa, Ont; bottom: Jim Hairston of Missouri with his 1969 pace car, one of 5 pace cars he owns. Click image to enlarge |
“We wanted to do this for years, and finally got the opportunity,” said George Saratlic, GM’s product communications manager. “Our customers have been asking for it, and we were able to partner with the Ontario Camaro Club to put it together.”
What those Camaro customers wanted was a behind-the-scenes look at how their favourite cars are built, and GM delivered. On Friday, the plant was open for tours while production went on, first for Camaro show participants in the morning, and then for the general public in the afternoon. The company hasn’t held these types of public tours for many years, but for 2010, similar “open houses” are being held at GM plants across North America. Amazingly, almost 6,000 people went through over the course of the day.
For some, the plant tour was the primary reason for coming, especially with some of the long-distance attendees. Jim Hairston came from Ofallon, Missouri in order to “complete his set” of tours. Over the years, the Camaro has been built in Norwood, Ohio; Van Nuys, California; and Ste. Therese, Quebec, and having toured those three when the cars were being built, Hairston is now able to say he’s seen all four. He’s also a pace car collector – the models that are trimmed and decorated to replicate the car that paces the Indy 500 that year – and he brought his 1969 model. He also owns the 1967, 1982 and 1993 pace cars, and on his way home would pick up his newest, a 2011 edition.
His 1969 pace car, which he bought in 1975 (“I traded a Mustang for it,” he confides), cost $4,723 when brand new, according to its vintage sales slip. The cars are a natural, given his job: for the last twelve years he has worked at the track during the Indy 500 in the pace car program, prepping the cars, putting on their decals and driving dignitaries around during the festivities.
  Top: The airbrushed airwork on Dorothy Lavoie’s 2010 Camaro from Ottawa; bottom: Dave and Shelly Smith came from Florida with their 2002 SS, which is now thoroughly modified. Click image to enlarge |
The Camaro weekend included live entertainment and trophies, and also marked the Canadian debut of the 2012 supercharged Camaro ZL1 and 45th Anniversary Edition. These will go on sale later this year. But the biggest unveiling, at least in terms of size, was a mosaic formed of 587 vehicles in the parking lot, surrounding a signature bowtie of freshly-made yellow Camaros. GM is trying to get it recognized as a Guinness world record.
There were a lot of yellow Camaros at the event, many of them themed as Bumblebee, the Camaro robot from the movie Transformers – including the car that appears in the latest installment. Dorothy Lavoie of Ottawa not only had a Bumblebee-themed license plate on her yellow 2010 model, but she also had a rendition of the movie character airbrushed on the hood. She bought her yellow car when the lease on her 2006 Monte Carlo came due and she saw it on the dealer’s lot when she drove in.
She was unaware of the movie tie-in until a co-worker told her about it, and she decided to differentiate her car with the painting. She found a painter on the Internet, “but he only did motorcycles, not cars. I told him it was for a Camaro and he loves them, so he did mine.”
Her car received a bit more special treatment at the show. Several members of the Detroit-based team responsible for putting the newest Camaro together, including Scott Settlemire – known as the “Fbodfather” among enthusiasts for the Camaro’s F-Body platform – were walking around the show, and as they did for anyone else who desired it, autographed Lavoie’s car under the hood. It’s a tribute to the passion these owners feel for their cars that the team was kept busy signing throughout the day.
“Scott Settlemire told me I needed to come here,” said Dave Smith, who brought his 2002 Camaro SS from Molino, Florida. “I was at the F-Body Gathering in Atlanta and he was there. I wanted to see the plant tour primarily.” He has owned his car since it was new and has since done considerable modifications to it, both under the hood and in the suspension. It’s the fifth Camaro he has owned over the years and he does all of the work himself.
 An original 2002 Utah State Trooper car that is now used to promote a police charity in Michigan. Click image to enlarge |
One who didn’t was Pat Lewis, who received his 2002 Camaro pretty much as its previous owner did it up. That was the Utah Highway Patrol, and Lewis’ retired State Trooper car still carries all of its original equipment, including its lights, sirens, radio and 423-horsepower engine. It’s one of two retired police cars that he uses for Michigan C.O.P.S. (Concerns of Police Survivors), a non-profit organization that helps the families of officers lost in the line of duty. “I do volunteer work for C.O.P.S., fundraisers, career days at school,” Lewis says. “The police all know who I am and the organization.” He covers up the decals and disconnects the lights when he’s driving it, but at events like this, he turns it all on to draw attention to the organization and its work.
GM hopes to host another such event in future, but a for-sure will be the 2012 Camaro Nationals, held once again by the Ontario Camaro Club. For more information, or to see more pics from this year’s show, visit OntarioCamaroClub.com.
