Martinrea Welcomes Camaro5!!!!

[CanadianCamaro]

I'll post my pics a bit later but for now I would like to give special thanks to Martinrea.

A long-time friend and prior co-worker of mine now works for Martinrea, a Tier 1 automotive supplier. This friend has been following the story of my Camaro purchase closely from idea to order to purchase and even mods. (I think he's waiting for to let him drive it - haven't yet - maybe sometime ) He tried for months to squeeze time into my busy schedule to come to their Ajax plant for a tour. At the end of August we finally found time, so off we went. I was blown away. I had seen lots of manufacturing and assembly plants before but none were as clean and well organized nor did any compare to how efficient Martinrea's appeared to run. I was even more amazed with Plant Manager Joe Pitaro told me that to date they have not had even one major quality issue with GM on this line! and their overall quality % was over 99% and very very close to 100%!

Around the same time Hylton had planted the seed of the 1st Annual Buyers & Builders Meet & Greet and I offered to lend a hand in it's coordination. I had already planned to speak to my friend about Martinrea possibly participating by way of sponsorship of the event and some t-shirts or something. Hylton wanted me to ask for tours of their facility however I was hesitant b/c I did not want to overstep boundaries or friendship as I knew their plant was not really set-up for tours.

On the day of my tour we talked for what seemed like hours about the Camaro and cars in general (Joe drives the IOM Martinrea edition Camaro seen above). They were very keen to get involved in our event and we tossed around ideas of how to get pictures of all the Camaros at their plant. I can't remember how exactly the conversation went, but I recall that the idea of a tour was brought up mutually, rather than me just asking. The response was immediately positive.

In the weeks leading up to the event the excitement continued to grow. Joe surprised me when they announced that they were going to have a full Camaro Appreciation day with bar-b-que lunch for their employees and us, special Camaro dragster on display and an open invitation for his employees to bring their families down to "see what Mom/Dad helps to build".

When the event finally arrived the preparations were set. My friend was even coming out to the Ajax plant to see all the cars. Despite the rain Joe was keen to bring his Camaro on the Friday "Cruise" and presentation however duty called and he immediately rushed back to the plant to make sure that any issues were taken care of before they could cause a problem in the building of someone's Camaro. (Now you know why they need to have a Camaro as a company car - ensures quick response to such matters )

Saturday morning arrived and everyone was keen to go see what Martinrea was all about. Camaro5 members pushed through their hang-overs and cleaned up the mess the previous day's rains made of our cars. After some photos of our babies, we were off to Martinrea - behind schedule. Better late than never!

We rolled into Martinrea just as they were cooking up a storm on the grills. Although the plant lunch hour had not started those that could get out to see us roll in were all smiles. It was quite a sight!

For the next several hours we experienced fantastic hospitality. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch while Joe himself took groups of Camaro5 members on tours. I figured we would have a couple groups wanting a tour and that's about it. But our members were so interested in seeing the operations they kept Joe hopping! Funny thing was, I don't think I saw him once when he didn't have a smile on his face. And the Martinrea employees were very enthusiastic too. Of course the kids present loved Hiney's bumblebee. I certainly hope that we did not cause too much disruption to operations.

Eventually we had to leave and after saying our goodbyes we rolled out in a big (and loud) parade (someone has videos - I know it - post 'em! )

So on behalf of Camaro5.com and it's members, Thank You Martinrea for your participation in our inaugural event. Thanks to Plant Manager Joe Pitaro for the informative tours. Thanks for the hospitality and wonderful lunch. I would like to personally Thank my friend for finally getting me out for that tour. And a big Thanks to the Martinrea team for their commitment to quality and excitement about their contribution to the cars we love so much!!!

Martinrea Plant Manager Joe Pitaro takes a break with a couple Camaro5 members (note the blackberry he receives regular production updates on!)

[CanadianCamaro]

OK - On to the pictures. I didn't take many as I was too busy running around. Therefore I will proceed to pilfer others photos that I like (as I did above - thanks Rick). But here's a few from Saturday some might like.

Line 'em up!


Lookin' good as always Hiney!


Steve! Quit cleaning your car!!


Eye Candy!


Gratuitous butt shot


Good thing the new Ontario Hands-Free law got deferred


Martinrea builds the excitement


Hylton - Photos first, personal safety second


Me want!

[RS_philippines]

nice picrure...

[geminidreams]

Looks like everyone had a great time thanks for sharing the photos. I really like hearing about all the stuff at the plant. Considering mine was on the line being built on or around that day maybe you saw it?????

[luckynuts]

Saturday starts off beautiful after Friday's rain...........stayed that way just long enough for everyone to get the cars dried off and detailed once again............before the rain comes........ again

[SQUALO]

Good thing the new Ontario Hands-Free law got deferred
Attachment 60584


FYI:
Law doesn't take effect until Oct 26, 2009, and then there's a 3month education period. Tickets won't be handed out until Feb 1, 2010

How do I know? If I tell you I have to

[SQUALO]

Originally Posted by luckynuts

Saturday starts off beautiful after Friday's rain...........stayed that way just long enough for everyone to get the cars dried off and detailed once again............before the rain comes........ again

I wonder how the AMB w/ White stripes drives without a front plate, being from Ontario....Eh Dave? (I did the same thing for a while). Looking sharp, the "white" stripes really give the ABM some added punch.

[TheCaptain]

Originally Posted by SQUALO

Wow that ABM is the best, but silver stripes would have been better! lol
Great cars and pics guys! I would like to join you guys someday!

[luckynuts]

Originally Posted by SQUALO

Attachment 60769


I wonder how the AMB w/ White stripes drives without a front plate, being from Ontario....Eh Dave? (I did the same thing for a while). Looking sharp, the "white" stripes really give the ABM some added punch.

Frank............I photoshopped out the front plate..............that's my story and I'm sticking to it...........

[luckynuts]

Photo #1....A picture of a Camaro owner taking a picture of a Camaro owner taking a picture of a Camaro owner

[luckynuts]

One of these things is not like the other ones................

[luckynuts]

The cat that swallowed the canary...........

[luckynuts]

This is not a Camaro from the Oshawa meet............although I think it might be a Mustang

[luckynuts]

Special Camaro parking on the roof of the Fallsview Casino.........taken from the 27th floor of the Hilton (not Hylton)