General Motors has finally announced pricing for the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro, both in V6-equipped LS trim and the V8-powered SS model. The sticker for the LS will start at $22,995, while the SS commands $30,995. Both prices include the $750 destination charge and you can officially order yours today, October 13th.

Production begins mid-February at GM’s Oshawa, Ontario facility and dealerships should begin taking deliveries soon afterwards.

Both LS and LT models will come equipped with the 3.6-liter V6, putting out 300 hp and 273 lb.-ft. of torque and sending power to a Hydra-Matic 6L50 six-speed automatic gearbox equipped with TAPshift control. Buyers who opt for the big-boy SS equipped with the six-speed TR6060 manual transmission get to play with 422 hp and 408 lb.-ft. of torque courtesy of the 6.2-liter LS3 V8, while six-speed automatic buyers will have to make do the 400 hp and 395 lb.-ft. of twist culled from the L99 V8.

All models benefit from a 4.5-link independent rear suspension, four wheel disc brakes (Brembos on the SS), StabiliTrak traction control, 18-, 19- or 20-inch wheels, RS appearance package (available on the LT and SS), which includes HID headlamps with “halo” rings, spoiler, restyled taillamps and 20-inch wheels. Bluetooth, remote start, USB connectivity, OnStar and XM Satellite Radio are all available, and ten colors are available on all models.

Those who do their daily shopping within the pages of the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book will be the first able to purchase the new 2009 BMW 7 Series beginning October 17th. The price of early adoption in this case will be a steep $160,000 for one of 31 Neiman Marcus Limited-Edition 2009 BMW Individual 7 Series sedans based on the new 750Li. While that price is tens of thousands above what we expect the 7 Series base price to be, buyers will get much more than just the car. Included in the asking price is a trip to Europe to take delivery of the special 7 Series at BMW’s headquarters in Munich, after which buyers will tour the south of France in their new sedan. After the fun and frolicking, BMW will have the car shipped back to the U.S. for you. And, of course, you aren’t just purchasing a standard 7 Series. Each model has been customized by BMW Individual and painted in a special Diopside Black metallic color with an interior stitched in Champagne Merino leather and accented with wood and Piano Black inserts. Is all that worth 160 large? That depends on how nice you want Christmas to be this year.

Bill Heard Chevrolet, which had been the largest Chevy dealer in the world by volume, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week after closing down all of its 13 stores last week, and the tale of financial ruin is surprisingly bad. The dealer conglomerate owes $229 million to GMAC financing, BMW financing, and JP Morgan Chase, but with the Chapter 11 filing, much of the money owed will likely never see the light of day.

Bill Heard Chevrolet was the self-proclaimed “Mr. Big Volume” car shopping superstore that pushed Motown metal out its showroom doors even for customers with bad credit. The Georgia-based dealer seems to have had as many enemies as it had vehicle sales, and the state of Georgia just last month accused it of misleading business practices and forging signatures. The over 2,000 employees at the 14 dealerships are also considering a class action wrongful termination lawsuit that stems from the abrupt conclusion of their employment. Bill Heard Chevrolet was losing between $2 and $5 million dollars per month since mid-2007, and with woeful sales across the U.S., we’re guessing it won’t be the last dealership conglomerate to end abruptly

If you’ve got it, flaunt it. The super high-end automotive market has been counting on that attitude for years, and it may now be coming back to bite them. It seems that sales of luxury marques such as Bentley, Maybach and Aston Martin have been on a downward trajectory over the last year. Despite the fact that there are a number of people who still have plenty of dough to purchase these expensive toys, public perception is causing some of them to hold back and keep those fat wallets in their pockets.

To combat the problem, some high-end brands are choosing to aim even higher. If ex-customers with a net-worth of less than $5 million find it socially unacceptable to make a purchase, Bentley has said it will begin marketing to those with at least a net worth of $25 million. Let us add that we’ve driven a few Bentleys and Rollers and can say with certainty that they are definitely conspicuous in a sea of CamCords and Mustangs.

Legislation that includes tax credits for plug-in electric vehicles has passed the Senate. Now the House gets a chance to look things over and put it to a vote. The tax credits allow buyers of PHEVs to receive a credit as high as $7,500 and as low as $2,500 depending on the capacity of the vehicle’s battery. Toyota had raised concerns that the bill focused solely on battery capacity, as its currently announced hybrid plans do not include anything that would approach the maximum credit. In fact, the Chevy Volt sits alone as the only product that has enough battery capacity for the top tier. Chrysler’s recently shown electric vehicles would theoretically qualify if they ever see the light of day.

Once 250,000 qualifying PHEVs are sold, the credits begin to get smaller until they go away completely. At this point, the legislation — and the vehicles — have a long way to go before anybody could actually purchasing a qualifying car, but the framework is now in place.

A Florida man named Scott Weires has canceled the order for his long-awaited Nissan GT-R. Why? It’s not that he was disappointed in the car’s performance credentials, far from it. The problem is that the GT-R is equipped with a ‘black box’, similar in theory to the kind found on airplanes to help determine what went wrong in case of an accident or breakdown. By the end of 2012, car buyers won’t have a choice as to whether their new car is equipped with a ‘black box,’ or Electronic Data Recorder — they will be federally mandated to carry one. These devices track information that could be useful to the manufacturer in determining exactly what is, or has been, going on with a car. There are a few worries, though, that warranty claims could be denied if the automaker, Nissan in this case, deems that the car was being raced or abused in some way or by police or lawyers to determine culpability. Nissan’s GT-R carries an on-board recorder that keeps track of the past few day’s worth of driving and cannot be disabled. In the case of Scott Weires, an attorney no less, that was enough to look elsewhere. Would it be for you?

There could soon come a day when you waltz into a local Prius dealership to purchase your next hybrid car. As Toyota did with the Scion brand, the Japanese giant is still said to be considering making an entirely new brand just for hybrids out of its popular Prius hatchback. We are certain to get a redesigned Prius after it debuts in Detroit in 2009, and after that, the rumormill indicates that a smaller hybrid model is on the way that would more closely compete with the new Honda Insight, which will undercut the standard Prius by a scooter-sized chunk of change. Toyota previewed a hybrid model powered by a smaller gas engine when it introduced the world to its 1/X concept at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show. With a bit of mild speculation, we could envision a slightly larger model than the current Prius as a replacement for the Camry hybrid, giving Toyota a three-pronged answer to the likes of the Volt from GM and the Insight from Honda.

The going rate for vintage Ferraris seems to be at an all time high, as evidenced by the record sale of a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder back in May and the incredible selection of million dollar Ferraris at the RM Auction in Monterey this year. All of those are easily topped, however, by the rumored sale of a Ferrari 250 GTO for an incredible $28.5 million. Not much is known about the actual sale, since many of the high-dollar Ferrari transactions are done through private parties and not necessarily through an auction house. However, the knowledgeable members at FerrariChat.com have it on authority that the sale did happen. If anything, it gave us a chance to put together a huge gallery of 250 GTO photos from various concours and vintage racing events.