Ian’s artwork was named the “Popbank Color” and was displayed at the British International Motor Show. This is truly an honor for Ian who said that he even used a few GM RC cars to create the painting.

Next up will be a live demonstration of him painting a Chevrolet Lacetti World Touring Car, which requires, says Ian, “skill with the remote control cars.”

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The Camaro will come in LS, LT and SS trim, equipped with either a six-speed manual gearbox or a six-speed automatic. Of course, that doesn’t account for the very-obviously-marked RS car that is shown in the official photos, so who knows what the whole story is.

Engine choices include either a 296 hp, 3.6-liter V6 or a 416 hp 6.2-liter V8 which will feature cylinder deactivation to boost fuel economy. Underneath the retro sheetmetal is a full independent suspension and StabiliTrak traction control system. Four-pot Brembo brakes are mounted up front on the SS variant, and the 3,700-pound coupe will reportedly have a weight balance of 52/48, front/rear. The neuvo-retro theme is carried inside with a gauge cluster inspired by the 1969 model, along with leather seats and blue LED lighting.

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The bulk of sales will be of the 3.6 V6 (as used in the Cadillac CTS, developed for around 300bhp), at least until the four-cylinder models - probably using the turbocharged GM Ecotec 2.0-litre - arrive. However, a 425bhp top-line SS model is still said to be under consideration.

General Motors has confirmed that the Camaro will come in right-hand-drive form for the UK; it will arrive here in early 2010 with sales of around 600 cars a year planned. Half of these are expected to be convertible versions. While initially GM had considered only offering UK buyers high-spec V8s, this may now be revised.

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Rising gas prices will make sure of that point, and GM’s execs know this. Mark LaNeve, GM’s vice president of sales and marketing, is quoted on Inside Line as saying, “Everyone thinks we’ll be positioning the Camaro as a burn-ass hot rod. But that’s only about 30 percent of the business. The other two-thirds will come from 27-mpg V6 sales, with a significant female share.”

This truth, in fact, mimics past Camaro and Mustang sales. Sure, a large portion of the past pony car segment was made up of the go-fast models, but the largest percentage of sales has always been of lesser performing and therefore less expensive models. A four-cylinder model is also being considered, though that option is not yet ready for prime time, according to LaNeve. Not surprisingly, he also suggests that it’s not just the Camaro that is likely to get smaller, more fuel efficient engine options. For our part, we’d gladly welcome GM’s fine turbocharged, direct-inject Ecotec engine as an option in more models.

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Authorities said that the driver of the Camaro was headed northbound on I-4 when it lost control and drove through an embankement. Officials say it fell atleast 50 feet. Tampa Police tell us there were two girls inside. One of them was taken to Tampa General Hospital with a head injury.

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One of the members of the focus group has been kind enough to share some of the top secret information that is being given to them about the new car. The first thing that he tells us is that he was given the chance to drive the V6 and V8 models. In his opinion the 3.6 liter model was a ‘real sleeper’. What this means exactly we aren’t sure – but it could hint to the fact that the base engine is a direct-injection version that has been given more horsepower.

He went on to say that the production convertible will keep the same form as the coupe and has been one of the most researched drop-top in the long history of GM.

Lastly, the six- and eight-cylinder models will be heavily differentiated, and there will be 10 colors available for the car. It may seem like forever and a day since the first Camaro concept bowed in Detroit, but now that we’re in the home stretch, all that waiting looks to be paying off.

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Romanians are some of the top on GM’s list to buy the car. That is because many consumers in Romania are interested in the muscle cars like the Mustang. They just have to convince them that the Camaro is better.

Production for the new Camaro should start in 2009 and be ready for purchase by 2010

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The Vice Chairman for GM – Bob Lutz – gave a brief statement of their plans at the New York Auto Show stating that, “the drivetrain under consideration for the Camaro is the same high-performance one used in the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky roadsters. It’s a 2.0-liter turbocharged, direct-injected four-cylinder rated at 260 hp. With its muscle car heritage and optional V-8 engine, the Camaro is hardly the statement of green, high-tech modernism that every carmaker is trying to broadcast these days.”

The good news is that GM might have a perfect solution to this problem. Instead of pitching the car as the next best ‘muscle’ car they will be calling it a car that will help with the fuel economy. GM is looking ahead to the future and taking in the advice of experts that believe the fuel economy will push muscle cars off the market.

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That is until our eyes were diverted for an even better distraction – GM’s Camaro concept. It wasn’t the only car that GM was showing off that day – but it certainly was the best and we weren’t the only ones to think so. People were lining up to get a glimpse of the famous car that had starred as Bumblebee in ‘Transformers’ and would be hitting the streets sometime within the next year or two.

Whereas Chrysler kind of enslaved itself to the orginal 1970 Challenger, GM updated the idea of the Camaro into a modern interpretation of a muscle car that paid homage to the original Camaro from the late 1960s without trying to redo the car.

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It might at first seem odd to find the Camaro being tested in Australia, but that is because GM’s Australian arm, Holden, is leading the development work on the Camaro. The new Camaro is based on GM’s global rear-drive architecture, which also underpin’s Holden’s VE Commodore range of cars.

The car is getting very close to production-ready and is due on-sale in the States sometime in 2008 as a 2009 model. A convertible version is expected to follow about a year later. We are so close to getting our chance behind the wheel of one of the most anticipated vehicles of the year.

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