"We've agreed to work the first week of our summer shutdown as a result of the huge demand for that product," Chris Buckley, president of CAW Local 222, said Wednesday. "The company has also scheduled seven Saturday overtime shifts beginning June 13, which in all likelihood will grow as we continue to build this car."

Buckley said demand for the neo-muscle car is outstripping supply. "Right now they have a large demand on order to fill the consumers' wishes out there."

Spoiling the good news is a recall order on SS models of the car. General Motors Corp. says it is recalling about 300 Camaros because a battery cable could rub against the starter motor, wearing the insulation and potentially causing the car to stop running or fail to start.

The voluntary recall applies only to Camaros with V-8 engines. The company says in extreme cases the cable problem could cause a fire, but no fires have been reported.

GM spokesman Dan Flores says the company has made about 1,400 of the V-8 equipped 2010 Camaros and 300 have been sold. The unsold models will be fixed before they are delivered to customers. Flores says GM will tow the cars to dealers and offer free loaner vehicles and oil changes.

GM has said the back order for the new Camaro is up to 19,000, and there are reports that the waiting time for delivery, depending on the region and model, runs to at least three months. Once it hits peak production of 440 Camaros a day at the end of May, the Oshawa plant will be producing 2,200 a week.

About 1,000 workers produce the vehicle on one shift at the flexible manufacturing plant, said Buckley. "At a time which can be described as the worst time in the history of the auto industry, it's encouraging. If you look at all the auto assembly plants globally, not many are getting the opportunity to work any overtime whatsoever. It is a piece of good news during very terrible times."

An earlier news report that GM would be adding a second shift to the plant is incorrect, said Buckley. "I wish I could tell you we were adding an additional shift because we have 1,500 members on layoff," he said. "I don't think the corporation at this time would contemplate recalling 1,000 members. Right now they're going to monitor the situation. Obviously we would love to see an additional shift, but I don't think it's in the cards right now."

The additional production is also good news for the auto parts industry as well as GM dealers. "There's a lot of excitement around the Camaro; it's like an icon," said Mark Bortolotti, sales manager at Dan Kane Chevrolet Cadillac in Windsor. The dealership has received 12 orders.