Camaro City

Back during the 1950s through the mid 1970s, Detroit automakers produced several cars that were out and out “muscle” cars. These types of vehicles shared the same characteristics: they were two door coupes with souped up engines, responsive transmissions, an aggressive exterior design, and a sporty interior. High fuel prices and changing tastes eventually limited sales to the point where only a few models were produced beyond that period of time. Today, muscle car mania is back, despite even higher gas prices. Thanks to the Ford Mustang and to a lesser extent to sedan and wagon models from Dodge, there is new interest in a category long given up. The future is bright for the muscle car segment as one more manufacturer, Chevrolet, considers bringing back one of its darlings of yesteryear, the Camaro.Besides the Ford Mustang there were a whole host of vehicles produced that at one time or another might have been considered a muscle car. In addition to the Mustang, the Ford Fairlane 500 and Ford Torino did duty; the Mercury Montego was another model; Chevrolet produced the Camaro and Corvette; Pontiac the GTO, Firebird, and Tempest; Olds the 442; American Motors’ had its Javelin; Plymouth had the ‘Cuda, and Dodge produced the Challenger and the Charger. Today, only the Mustang and Corvette survives although the Dodge Charger has returned as a four door muscle car along with its sibling, the hot Dodge Magnum wagon.Interestedly, it took Ford’s redoing of the Mustang for the 2005 model year to stir the current muscle car era craze. Styled after Mustangs built in the 1960s, the current Mustang embraces a retro look while incorporating contemporary technology. The result has been that the Mustang currently sells its entire 150,000 model capacity without incentives.The Mustang has been inspiring DaimlerChrysler to go ahead with a retro cruiser of its own. The Dodge Challenger concept car, appearing at auto shows across the USA, has been a huge hit and Chrysler plans on bringing the V8 hemi powered model back in 2009. In addition, General Motors is considering giving its blessing on the Camaro, another car also making the rounds of the USA auto show circuit.So, isn’t it silly to bring back such gas hogs? Back during the early 1970s, the then current crop of muscle cars averaged only 10-12 miles to the gallon around town and 15 or 16 miles per gallon on the highway. Thanks to computer technology and efficiency, even the Corvette returns a highly respectable 28 miles to the gallon the highway. So, although fuel mileage will certainly be lower than many other models, the new group of muscle cars will still better the previous generation cars with fuel mileage 80% or more above the cars from the 1970s.Fortunately, we still live in a fairly free country and what the consumer wants, the consumer gets. So, V8 powered muscle cars mated to 6 speed manu-matic transmissions, with sport handling, bucket seats, and better fuel economy will likely appeal to many. No, they won’t be exact duplicates of yesterday’s muscle cars, but they will provide the nostalgia and power that motorists seek. I can’t wait!

 

The first-generation Camaro debuted in September 1966 for the 1967 model year and was availble until 1969. GM put it on a new rear-wheel drive GM F-body platform and made it available as a 2-door, 2+2 seating, coupe or convertible. You had your choice of 250 cu in inline-6 and 302 cu in, 307 cu in, 327 cu in, 350 cu in, or 396 cu in V8 powerplants. The Camaro was created to compete with Ford’s Mustang. The first-generation would last until the 1969 model year and would eventually inspire the design of the new retro fifth-generation Camaro.

Introduced in February 1970, the second generation Camaro was produced through the 1981 model year. The car remained on the F-body platrform but was heavily restyled and became larger and wider. Road & Track magazine picked the 1971 SS350 as one of the 10 best cars in the world in August 1971. The Z28 package was reintroduced in 1977. A rear facing intake with a intake door that opened under full throttle was available on the 1980 and 1981 Z28’s.

The third generation Camaro was produced from 1982 to 1992. These cars were nearly 500 pounds lighter than the previous design and were the first to offer fuel injection, five speed transmissions, Turbo-Hydramatic 700R4 four-speed transmissions, 16 inch wheels, a standard 4 cylinder engine, and hatchback bodies.

The fourth-generation Camaro debuted in 1993 and remained in production through the 2002 model year, marking 35 years of continuous production. Anti-lock brakes were standard equipment on all forth-generation Camaros. The 1997 model year included a revised interior, the 1998 models included exterior styling changes, and a switch to GM’s aluminum block LS1 used in the Corvette C5.

Production began on March 16, 2009 for the 2010 Camaro is offered as a coupe only in LS, LT, and SS trim levels. LS and LT models are powered by a 3.6 L V6 producing 304 hp mated to either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic with manual shift. The SS is powered by the 6.2 L LS3 V8 producing 426 hp and is paired with a 6-speed manual transmission. The automatic SS gets the L99 V8 with 400 hp. The RS appearance package is available on both the LT and SS and features 20-inch rims with a darker gray tone, halo rings around xenon headlamps, and red RS or SS badges.

The Chevy Camaro has always been popular with the enthusiast. We all know that the objective of automobile manufacturers is to design and build safe vehicles inexpensively that suit the average driver. We enthusiasts, however, are anything but average. We know what we want from a vehicle and thanks to AutoTruckToys.com we know where and how to get it. Shop for your Chevy Camaro accessories.