How do Camaros actually travel from factory to dealer when shipped?
 

I'm curious how a Camaro actually travels from the factory to a dealer? Can anybody shed any insight into the process? I don't mean to ask the typical "when is my Camaro getting here" question, but rather, how does a Camaro get from there to here?? I'm in Texas, the Camaro starts out in Lansing, and I was wondering if they travel by rail on a train, on top of an 18-wheeler car carrier trailer with multiple other GM or Chevrolet (only??) cars, or something else?

Bottom line, I'm wondering if anybody here has insight into the GM (or Chevrolet?) logistics process, into how they take Camaros by the hundreds out of a factory lot in Lansing, and get them to their final dealership destinations. And, on average, how long the process takes. (Again, not "when is my Camaro getting here", but "how long does the average logistics chain process take to get a car from a factory to a dealership").

thanks!!

Train for most of way; truck to dealers from distribution center.

At least that is how mine got from Detroit to Sact., Ca.

Took about six weeks, I think

I work at a dealer so I guess I can give you some insight.

Apparently the cars are made at the GM plant in Michigan. They have rail-road docks next to the plant and they drive the cars on to the rail cars at the scheduled times.

The rail cars are hauled to hubs located all over the country, and to shipping docks if they are going overseas, or they just keep going if the cars are headed to Mexico or Canada, or from Mexico in some cases.

When the cars reach the hubs they are off-loaded into a holding area, basically enormous parking lots.

My dealership for example is located in Baton Rouge, LA. The hub is located across the Mississppi River in a city called Port Allen, which is also the Shipping Port of Greater Baton Rouge.

Once the cars are delivered to the hub, they may sit there for 2-4 weeks at times; sometimes dealers can collect a car from the hub if there is a rush.

There are companies that specialize in car-hauling that usually have a base of operations next to the hub or travel to it and collect the cars. The hauler will collect the cars by efficiency; so it is not uncommon to see a trailer loaded with multiple brands. (If there are 3 dealerships of different makes right next to each other this will happen often)

Sometimes a large tractor trailer will haul 5 - 10 units to a dealership, or if the scheduled order is 2-3 units they will use a dually pick-up with a gooseneck. They will even contract the job to a hot-shot driver sometimes.

Once it touches the dealership lot, it goes through a pre-delivery inspection for any damage, is usually driven for about a mile and then it is put into inventory.

So in your case, living in Texas. It could travel by Rail to a hub near your dealership or even end up in in another state and be delivered by a car hauler to the dealership.

Your dealership can actually track the cars from when they are processed at each point.

Lansing Grand River Assembly has rail but no loaders needed to drive builds onto the rail autorack, therefore all are loaded onto a truck hauler. Those builds whose ordering dealership is less than six hundred miles away make their journey by truck with no rail involved.

Those going by rail are trucked to one of the rail heads equipped to load the autorack. These include Charlotte, New Boston and Toledo.

Once the build is released for shipping GM gives up control to the dispatching company, in our case Jack Cooper.

Timing of shipping and dealer delivery is unpredictable, but often if traveling by road figure three weeks from 4000 to 5000. West coast deliveries say about six weeks.

Haulers carry a mix of vehicles, making a Camaro only load a rarity.

Laborsmith

To those in the know, why don't the destination charges reflect the distance a car has to travel to get to the dealer?

All these people are WRONG! There is one guy who drives each car to the dealerships. He does it all in one night. Truly magical.

Sounds like a magical car delivering santa.

Well people do say he has a long white beard. I don't know if I believe that, though.

I knew it!

Because about 10 to 15 years ago, NADA (dealer assoc) and the manufacturers got together and decided that it would be a flat fee. That way a dealership that’s closest to the plant would not get a break on price versus the guy that was thousands of miles away. It is standard in the industry now.

The logistics of new car deliveries is about the same for any car company. Only difference is whether the car is produced in America or comes through a port on shore.

HAHA!

Hey Glen! I remember you from the C7 forum. Do you still have your vette(s)?
I got rid of all mine.

Sorry I busted this thread, but the world is ending tomorrow so it doesn't matter.