FIRST CAMARO ZL1 OFF THE LINE GRABBED BY HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS

By Dave Pankew, Autoblog - The Canadian auto industry is strong, very strong. Not only does Ontario produce more cars than any other region in North America but also builds some of the best cars in the market today that have won award-after-award for quality and reliability.

Although we don't have many domestic car companies in Canada except for modest ventures like: Zenn, HTT, Pléthore and to some extent Bombardier's NEV, we have much to be proud of. Canada (more specifically Ontario) has some of the most advanced plants in the world and produces some outstanding cars like the Chevrolet Camaro. And that isn't just your average Camaro but the top of the line trim ZL1 now, which promises to embarrass even the mighty 660hp Ford GT500 in anything but a straight line.

The ZL1 is now rolling off the line at the GM Oshawa assembly plant and a special customer has snagged the first two, chassis #001 and #002. Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports who campaigns in NASCAR cars: 5, 24, 48 and 88 has purchased these ZL1s and came across the border to personally pick them up as they finished assembly. While that fact alone may drive Chevy guys into a jealous rage, Hendrick is an avid car collector who also owns the first two of the Camaro Comvertible and SS Couple as well!

The event at the plant attracted several VIPs to hear Kevin Williams, President of GM Canada address what the ZL1 means to the Chevrolet brand. The outspoken Al Oppenheiser who is the chief engineer for the Camaro was also on hand to address how the performance of the ZL1 stacks up against rival GT500 and the Dodge Challenger SRT8 (also built in Canada) and any competition from the Europeans and the Japanese.