When Chevrolet first unveiled its Camaro Concept at the North American International Auto Show a little over two years ago, the industry was a different animal. Consumer demand wasn’t as heavily skewed towards “green” vehicles and rear-wheel drive was emerging as the layout of the future.
But a lot has changed since the beginning of 2006 and the 2009 Camaro appears to be dealing the most with the changes. Throughout history, the terms “fuel-efficient” and “muscle car” have been mutually exclusive, but the all-new Camaro might be changing that. According to a report by TheCarConnection.com, General Motors has assembled a special team of engineers to apply the automaker’s dual-mode hybrid system to the Camaro. The article failed to mention which powerplant was being coupled to the hybrid system, but because of the added cost of the extra drivetrain, a V8 seems likely.
The article also speculates that the price of V8-powered Camaros will be substantially higher than first predicted. The price hike is due to the fact that GM has scrapped its rear-drive car plans and therefore cannot spread the cost of producing the Zeta platform over several models. The Pontiac G8 and Camaro still have the green light because they are so far along, but GM has decided no produce a rear-wheel drive Chevy Impala or Buick model.
However, Cadillac vehicles will continue to use rear-wheel drive to compete against other premium marques.
