TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — It took eight months to reach a decision, but General Motors announced yesterday that it will build the Chevrolet Camaro, a retro-design muscle car that grabbed headlines at the Detroit auto show in January.

The move is an attempt to continue strengthening GM's product lineup, one of the key points in the ailing automaker's restructuring plan. GM is struggling to regain its footing in North America, its most important market, to help turn around the business.

GM lost $85 million in North America during the second quarter, which may seem like a huge number but is $1.1 billion better than a year earlier.

The Camaro won't go on sale until the first quarter of 2009.

It will use a rear-wheel-drive chassis being developed in Australia for use by GM's Holden brand this has its headquarters there. A V-6 and a V-8 engine will be offered. The car will use a modern independent rear suspension instead of the bumpy-riding, tricky-handling solid-axle design of the original.

The new car is meant to be a "modern interpretation of the 1969 model, considered by many to be the best design of the car's first generation," said Ed Welburn, GM's global vice president of design.

The original Camaro was introduced as a 1967 model, Chevy's rival to the Ford Mustang. It was discontinued after the 2002 model, after about 4.8 million were sold.

Consumers and the auto press were gaga over the Camaro concept, which rolled through the North American International Auto Show in January serenaded by a percussion marching band. At the time, CEO Rick Wagoner wouldn't commit to building the car, but he told "60 Minutes" that if the company didn't decide in favor of the car, it might be "brain dead."

"As evidence that we're not completely brain dead, it's my pleasure to announce that GM will build the Chevy Camaro," Wagoner said yesterday at the industry's annual Management Briefing Seminars here.

While industry experts applaud the decision as evidence the automaker is listening to its consumers, GM still faces the challenge of getting products on the market faster than its competition. The Camaro will hit the market three years after its unveiling in Detroit.