The 2010 Camaro may be the Indianapolis 500 pace car this month but the trips beyond may not be as swift. Automobile magazine reveals that the financial squeeze has stalled production plans at General Motors.  Just as GM decided to roll the highly anticipated Camaro off its assembly lines, the news was disappointing concerning the Z28 and convertible variants. The Z28 apparently has become a victim of company cost cutting, and GM reports it can’t afford an estimated $50 million to bring the high-performance variant to market. However, Chevy executives don’t want to give up the Z28 completely. It is the variant they hope will dethrone Ford in the muscle car wars.  Camaro’s vehicle line executive Gene Stefanyshyn says it will take some creative engineering. Meanwhile, the convertible Camaro was set to start production in a year until the German supplier for the roof went under. Stefanyshyn warned that even if a supplier can be found, it will take some time to get the supplier up to speed. So Chevy will miss the vital spring-summer window. As long as we’re on the subject of Indy, the snake-bit Andretti family comes to mind when it places its 500 hopes again on grandson Marco. Aside from grandfather Mario’s 1969 victory, the sad story has continued for 38 years. Mario has led 556 laps and has a pair of seconds to show for them.  He actually held the victory trophy for four months in 1981, then lost it. He had finished second to Bobby Unser. But the next day Unser was penalized one lap for passing cars under a caution flag and Andretti was declared the winner.  Unser and car owner Roger Penske appealed the race stewards’ decision and the United States Auto Club overturned the penalty four months later. Mario’s son Michael goes down in the books as leading 461 laps for 16 years and never reaching the top prize. And he’s been so close. The unlucky streak has even rubbed off on Marco. In 2006, he grabbed the lead from his father on lap 197 and only two laps separated him from victory. Had Sam Hornish Jr. not passed Marco before the finish line, he would’ve been, at 19, the youngest Indianapolis 500 winner. Earle Brucker Jr., who was responsible for auto racing promotions at Cajon Speedway for 44 years, passed away on March 28. He was 83. The track, featuring stock cars, operated consecutively from 1961 until 2004. The track was removed to make room for eventual Gillespie Field airplane hangars. BG Automotive Group Ltd. puts the world’s largest auto producers to the test with its C200 model, a high-speed, lithium-powered four-door sedan. The C200 will be offered at $26,995 to $28,995, depending on options. The car will travel at speeds up to 75 mph, with a battery pack that will charge 80 percent in three hours for a distance per charge of 120 to 150 miles. BG has located six sites for manufacturing facilities to be opened in six separate regions around the country in 2009.  Each BG assembly facility will require 375 to 450 employees producing 15,000 electric cars per location.   *** Notes — The Cajon Classic Cruise, considered Southern California’s largest weekly classic car show, begins its season May 13 on Main Street in downtown El Cajon. Admission is free. The themed shows will be held Wednesday nights through September … Yokohama Tire Corp. has developed a process that combines orange oil with natural rubber to form a new compound called “Super Nano-Power Rubber.” The proprietary technology reduces petroleum by approximately 10 percent and increases recyclability while maintaining the high-performance levels of previous race slick compounds.