Frankly, it's pretty uninteresting.

This one feels more like a history lesson and a bit of a commercial for the Camaro. The entire first segment goes to great lengths to draw a line between the first generation car and the new one. The second shows the V6 production at the St. Catherine's engine plant, which shows off the very basics of modern engine manufacturing. Kinda... boring.

National Geographic]

The cracks, which appear on both sides of the big upper brow of the nose of the new Camaro, were attributed to a high speed run — 155 MPH — earlier in the week. Here's the full report:

While I was doing the photo shoot on a 2010 Camaro SS this past Friday, we noticed some cracks forming at the upper corners of the grille. The tech that was assisting us during the shoot said that those happened during a top speed run earlier that week. The car achieved 155 mph, and apparently it lifted the upper part of the nose enough to form the cracks. I'm not sure if this problem has been addressed, or even mentioned before. Surely it can be something that GM can fix by adding more bracing perhaps, or a thicker nose molding. This 2010 SS was a production car, only a week old, so this concerns me.

It might not be a good idea to do any high-speed runs in your new Camaro, at least until we understand the problem and how to fix it first.

Nevermind the high speed runs, maybe it'd also be a good idea to make sure you don't encounter any stiff winds. Match this nose-cone issue up with the slapped-on brake weights issue and Camaro crap-out we reported last week and you've got yourself a couple of cracks in the otherwise perfect fan-boy fascia of the Camaro. No pun intended. (Hat tip to Frankie and Rutledge!)

UPDATE: We've now heard back from Planet LSX's source at GM: "Apparently this was an early production nose, slapped on to get it to Hennessey for parts development. The issue has been addressed and repaired on other cars. Something about a bolted bracket not being installed properly." Glad to hear that! [Planet LSX via Camaro5]

My boss, and reigning champion for receipt of the prestigious Dark Lord of Public Media mantle award, Nick Denton, just called me an "unabashed American apologist." I don't even pretend to know what that means, but if it has to do with believing that American automakers still have it in them to bring "teh awesome" to market, then hell yeah I am.

Wes had some minor concerns in his review of the new Chevy Camaro that he felt kept it from being a world-beater, feeling Chevy was trying to push the new Camaro up against the sports car world. Whether interior plastics or minor numbness of steering, I'm not going to discount those deficiencies — they're all valid. But you know what? I don't care.

Forget for a moment this car's performance (a mid-four-second 0-to-60 time) and fuel economy (16/24 for the V8-engined SS, 17/29 for the V6) — because this muscle car's got some serious style. I'd seen looks in cars before. Whether it's a Ferrari F430 or a Bentley GTC Speed, you can get 'em. What I was astonished by was how easily the Camaro gets them.

One block into my drive in lower Manhattan saw guys grabbing camera phones to take photos. Never saw that with one o' them fancy-pants'ed Euro cars. Nope, this big ol' 'merican muscle car was something different. It carries itself differently — with kind of a swagger.

So I'm willing to ignore those deficiencies Wes found. Mostly, because I'm not trying to rate this car as a sports car. Instead, I'm rating it for what it is — a big hairy 'merican muscle car. From the moment you sit inside and fire up the big 426 HP V8 engine, you're transported to a world where all you want to do is fire off down the road, stoplight-to-breathtakingly-exhilarating-stoplight. In that world, you couldn't care less about plastics on the dash. No, all you care about is goin' fast and knowing you're able to beat the guy next to you. The new Camaro SS? Yeah, it'll do that — in spades, and better than the competition at the price point. And frankly, that's all I want.

Photo Credit: Wilson Rothman

The details are thin, but the crash happened March 20th on Dundee Road in North Oakville. We don't know who was behind the wheel but we wouldn't be surprised to learn it was someone from GM at the helm. It makes for a pretty decent metaphor about General Motors right now: just as they start building really good cars, a confluence of unrelated and unpredictable events act together to destroy a good thing. [Krisztina Neglia]

Photography credit: Wetzel Tucker

We'd much rather see Megan Fox doing this in the complete opposite direction, but we still feel a little dirty watching the 2010 Camaro put its clothes on and we now feel better for it. [via GM]

Photo Credit: Hylton Jorssen

As you can see, the new Camaro SS is quicker than the Pontiac G8 GXP around the 'Ring but, predictably, slower than both the Cadillac CTS-V and Corvette ZR1. At a fraction of a cost it's hard to complain about the performance.

Pontiac G8 GXP Around The Ring In: 8:30

Camaro SS Around The Ring In: 8:19

Cadillac CTS-V Around The Ring In: 7:59

Corvette ZR1 Around The Ring In: 7:26

Yes, we know it's our second Camaro post of the day, but come on, if there's one thing a muscle car deserves a post on is a 0-to-60 time. Now of course those numbers are GM's official numbers, so take 'em for a grain of salt until the buff books bang the new mullet-mobile away themselves on the drag strip. Still, for the moment, that's a pretty amazing number considering how hefty of a beast the new Camaro is. But with 426 HP with the stick and 400 HP with the auto tranny, that's not too shabby at all.

We're wondering how the 300 HP V6 will manage on the strip ourselves.

You won't be able to get any driving impressions out of us until 6:00 PM EST Friday, but for the moment we can report the EPA has officially rated the V6 Camaro at a Muscle Car War-topping 29 MPG on the highway. For the big ol' V8, as you'd expect, the fuel economy's a bit lower, but still an impressive 16 MPG in the city and 24 on the highway. So here's how all three muscular muscle cars from Detroit officially stack up:

2010 Chevy Camaro V8 (SS): 16 MPG City, 24 MPG Hwy V6: 18 MPG City, 29 MPG Hwy

2009 Dodge Challenger V8 (SRT8): 13 MPG City, 18 MPG Hwy V6: 17 MPG City, 25 MPG Hwy

2010 Ford Mustang V8 (GT): 16 MPG City, 24 MPG Hwy V6: 18 MPG City, 26 MPG Hwy

What else do we know? Here are Wes's notes from the non-embargoed part of the event — including an estimated 0-to-60 time of 4.7 seconds on the SS. Yowza!:

v8 16/24mpg epa
426 stick
400hp auto

V8:
3.45:1 final drive
tr6060
426hp
420lb.ft
16/24mpg epa
4.7 to 60

top speeds:
v8 155
v6 manaul 155
v6 auto 118mph
v6 city mpg
18
double checking ring time
will text to you
9:30 time to drive!

It's the fifth time the Camaro's been selected as the pace car and the 44th time a GM product's been leading the pack o' Indy Cars around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. No driver has yet been announced, but man, we're really hoping they'll have a mullet. Press release below.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced Feb. 26 it has selected the all-new 2010 Chevrolet Camaro to pace the 93rd running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 24, 2009.

The Camaro Pace Car was unveiled during a ceremony at the IMS Hall of Fame Museum with IMS President and Chief Operating Officer Joie Chitwood, and Indianapolis 500 winners Johnny Rutherford, Al Unser Jr. and Eddie Cheever Jr.

"The Chevrolet Camaro first paced the Indianapolis 500 in 1967 with one of the most loved Pace Cars of all times, followed by the 1969 Indy 500 Camaro Pace Car with the hugger orange paint scheme," Chitwood said. "Just 40 years after that car made its mark as a Pace Car favorite, we're pleased to have Camaro return to the streets and to the track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to start our Centennial Era."

2009 marks the fifth time the Chevrolet Camaro has been selected to pace the Indianapolis 500 (1967, 1969, 1982, 1993, 2009). It will be the 44th time a General Motors vehicle has paced "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing," with 20 by a Chevrolet.

Powered by the 6.2-liter LS3 all-aluminum Chevy V-8, the all-new 2010 Camaro produces 426 horsepower at 5,900 rpm and 420 lb-ft of torque at 4,600 rpm. It features a Tremec six-speed manual transmission and 3.45 axle ratio.

No drivetrain or suspension modifications are required to prepare the Camaro for its Pace Car duties. The only modifications to the vehicle include a fully integrated strobe system, including a GM-designed custom light bar utilizing Whelen 500 series linear strobes.

The car carries a bold paint scheme for the Indianapolis 500, created by GM Design. More information on the production version of the all-new 2010 Camaro can be found at chevy.com/camaro.

The 2009 Indianapolis 500 Pace Car driver will be announced at a later date.

[Indy 500 via Camaro5]

Heck, now Automobile shouldn't even try their muscle car comparison they're setting up on the West Coast — they'll just get beaten to the punch by the forums. Why even try anymore? We're just happy to know someone got the exclusive on it — and it wasn't AutoWeek. Still, we're thinking we should be expecting a few less breathless and more in depth reviews to be coming in the next couple of months. [CamaroZ28]

It's not unexpected, but we've got to ask whether spending the money it takes to get the new Chevy Camaro into the status of official pace car was worth it given it's pretty much the most anticipated car in the history of muscle cars. It's not like people attending or watching the Daytona 500 won't already know it's coming. Shoot, they've probably memorized all the performance stats on it too. [Camaro5]

"Even one day's disruption in supply of certain component parts could cause a shutdown of GM assembly operations, disrupting not only GM's business, but the operations of countless suppliers, dealers, customers and other stakeholders," states GM’s lawsuit.

The automaker is suing Cadence for immediate access to parts it needs to produce the new Camaro. GM argues that a delay in delivery could could hamper the launch of the vehicle by causing a ripple-effect of delays, ultimately setting the vehicle’s production schedule back significantly.

GM’s lawsuit claims Cadence is “holding hostage” parts and equipment it for Camaro production.

The automaker is already stretched to the limit, kept alive only by its share of the $17.4 billion auto industry bailout. The Camaro is its headline new product for 2009 and any delay would cost GM millions and cause it publicly to lose face during a critical period.

Cadence, which manufactures airbags, consoles and other parts, was named GM’s supplier of the year in 2006. It filed for Chapter 11 two years later, proving the Carpocalypse is hard on everyone and GM really knows how to pick a winner.

GM hopes to have a new supplier manufacturing the parts it needs by January 12. [via WSJ]

Starting early next year, GM Performance Parts will begin offering the 2010 Chevy Camaro body-in-white in their catalog. Marketed towards the competition racer set, the 2010 Camaro body-in-white will save both time and money. The package includes an assembled body structure, including front fenders, hood, front fascia, grille, roof, doors, rear quarter panels, trunk lid, rear fascia, complete floorpan and chassis rails. The cost of the package will run you $7,000, a far cry from the up-level SS model that would see the removal of 90% of its original content.

The parts needed to complete the package will include a powertrain, fuel system, suspension, interior components, glass and safety equipment. GM Performance Parts offers many of these parts through its online catalog and with such a large assortment of crate engine options listed on the GM Performance Parts website, it’ll be interesting to see what some of the grassroots racers will shoehorn between the rails of their build-your-own muscle car. Our ideal setup would be either the 6.2-liter supercharged LS9 or the brutal ZZ572/720R drag unit with its 572 cu. in. and 720 HP and 685 lb-ft of brute force.

GM Performance Parts Press Release:

Grand Blanc, Mich. – Racers who want to slip into something more fashionable at the
track next year will find the 2010 Camaro is just their size. GM Performance Parts will offer body in white packages of the new Camaro starting in the first quarter of 2009. The basic package lists for $7,000 and includes an assembled body structure, including the front fenders, hood, front valance/grille header panel, roof, doors, rear quarters, trunk lid and rear valance. The structure also includes the complete floorpans and chassis rails.

Racer must fill out an online application to be eligible to purchase one. The form is available at www.gmperformanceparts.com. Bodies will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis. There is no limit to the number an approved racing team can purchase.

“This is the easiest and most cost-effective way to build a race-ready new Camaro,” said Dr. Jamie Meyer, of GM Performance Parts. “We envision racers using these bodies for all types of competition, from Pro Street and Competition drag racing to road racing.” The body in white includes only a painted body shell and no additional components or materials. The bodies do not have vehicle identification numbers, so they may only be used as racing vehicles that will never be licensed for street driving.

Racers will add powertrain, fuel system, suspension, interior components and glass (or sanctioning body-approved alternative), and safety equipment, then go racing.

“For the racers who would strip down the entire car and replace most of the components with racing-spec parts, the body in white saves time and money,” said Dr. Meyer. “Drag racers, for example, won’t have to worry about swapping out for a solid axle – they can just bolt one up and go.”

[via GM Performance Parts]

[YouTube]