Four stars means Chevy Camaro falls short of Ford Mustang, Dodge Challenger crash tests

By: Jeremy Korzeniewski

Modern muscle car buyers looking for reasons to purchase one machine over another may not be as easily swayed by safety ratings as horsepower figures and zero-to-sixty times. Regardless, Ford Mustang aficionados and Mopar enthusiasts high on the Dodge Challenger now have a bit of forum fodder against their arch rival from General Motors. How so? The 2010 Chevy Camaro has just been crash tested by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and it's only managed to earn a four-star driver and passenger frontal rating.

For the sake of comparison, the 2010 Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger each came away full five-star report cards in this test. What does it all mean? According to NHTSA's website, the full five stars means the is a 10-percent or less chance of serious injury in an accident. Four stars means there's an 11- to 20-percent chance of serious injury in the same scenario. Click here to check out the official NHTSA stats.

GM reports 10,000 Camaro pre-orders

By: Jeremy Korzeniewski

Back in October, General Motors reported that it had already received some 6,000 advance orders for its new fifth-gen Camaro. Despite the fact that the first car has yet to be delivered to a paying customer (that's scheduled to take place in February, with the first one selling at the upcoming Barret-Jackson auction next month), pre-orders are not slowing down, with GM now reporting a total of 10,000.

According to the automaker, 84 percent of the first 6,000 requests were for V8 models, but GM is now suggesting that a larger percentage of its latest orders are for V6 models. Sounds like those jonesing for a new V8-powered muscle car were the first ones turning in their order forms. Now that those initial buyers have all reserved their Camaros, the model mix may be getting closer to what The General had expected in the first place.

Hopefully, GM and supplier Cadence, LLC get their disagreements worked out in time and these initial pre-orders can be filled in a timely manner. The last thing GM needs right now is a botched launch of its revived pony car, especially since GM has been promoting the new Camaro hardcore for the last few years.

GM Performance Parts to offer new Camaro body in white

By: Merritt Johnson

Since automotive sales are in the toilet and the sour taste of high gas prices still lingers, the unfortunate timing of General Motors' long-awaited Chevy Camaro has the armchair quarterbacks fervently debating its long-term viability. This, despite the fact that upon its release the Camaro will offer a little something for almost everyone throughout its various trim levels, a courageous attempt by GM to boost the iconic car's sales. However, many devoted Camaro enthusiasts will still be left out in the cold. This in part due to the vehicle's starting price as well as the many additional luxuries that drag down the Camaro's power-to-weight ratio. No one wants to pay MSRP for a vehicle they intend to strip. That's why GM Performance Parts will be offering a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro body in white. As a result, budget Camaro racers won't have to wait 10 years for a discounted used chassis and large race teams won't necessarily break the bank building a replacement when the driver inevitably stuffs the wall.

The Camaro BIW package will be a full body assembly structure available through GM Peformance Parts for $7,000 beginning in the first quarter of 2009. The chassis will not contain a VIN number, so there will be no means for street registration, as the body in white is reserved for race teams only. An application must be submitted to GM Performance Parts for approval before any transaction occurs. Follow the jump to see the press release in full.