Photo: GMPartsOnline.net
The Camaro will always be the biggest thorn in the Mustang’s side. But this continual annoyance for the Blue Oval started two years after FoMoCo revealed the Mustang. What’s more, General Motors has always played second fiddle to Ford in the pony car wars. Be that as it may, the men and women tasked to make the ‘Maro better and better continue to do exactly that, year after year after year.
To better understand how the Chevrolet Camaro changed over the course of five decades and six generations, the peeps at GMPartsOnline created a minimalist style poster documenting the continuous improvement. "There's a lot of excitement for the Camaro's 50th, so we thought fans would like to celebrate this anniversary with a free download," said Angel Vigil, director of the Texas-based parts store. “A half a century ago the new Camaro was the 1967 Indy 500 pace car, and it’s been going strong ever since,” he added.
Underpinned by the GM F-body platform upon which the Pontiac Firebird is also based, the first-generation Camaro was available with an inline-6 with 140 horsepower on tap. Indeed, boys and girls, even the Mazda MX-5 has more get-up-and-go from a four-banger that displaces 2.0 liters, not 3.8. Still, the 1967 model year Camaro in no-frills specification weighed just 2,910 pounds (1,320 kilograms) and held a starting price of $2,466. Adjusted for inflation, that would be a cheap and cheerful $17,767.523 in today’s money.
The Camaro’s evolution came crashing down when the third gen made its debut for the 1982 model year, animated by a 90 horsepower 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. To Chevrolet's defense, the timing couldn’t have been more wrong because the Malaise Era was in full swing. Thankfully, the 1985 Camaro IROC-Z made everything better. After a controversial fourth-gen Camaro due to the forgettable styling, the golden bowtie hit a home run with the fifth.
When all is said and done, though, it's the Gen 6 Camaro that’s the star of the show. 400 pounds lighter than the previous model, better handling, a lot nicer to look at, and significantly quicker, the 2016 - 2017 Camaro is the bee’s knees. It’s also funny when you think that the entry-level 2.0L Turbo engine, with its 275 ponies, is just as powerful as the old L30 327 cu.in. V8.
Underpinned by the GM F-body platform upon which the Pontiac Firebird is also based, the first-generation Camaro was available with an inline-6 with 140 horsepower on tap. Indeed, boys and girls, even the Mazda MX-5 has more get-up-and-go from a four-banger that displaces 2.0 liters, not 3.8. Still, the 1967 model year Camaro in no-frills specification weighed just 2,910 pounds (1,320 kilograms) and held a starting price of $2,466. Adjusted for inflation, that would be a cheap and cheerful $17,767.523 in today’s money.
The Camaro’s evolution came crashing down when the third gen made its debut for the 1982 model year, animated by a 90 horsepower 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. To Chevrolet's defense, the timing couldn’t have been more wrong because the Malaise Era was in full swing. Thankfully, the 1985 Camaro IROC-Z made everything better. After a controversial fourth-gen Camaro due to the forgettable styling, the golden bowtie hit a home run with the fifth.
When all is said and done, though, it's the Gen 6 Camaro that’s the star of the show. 400 pounds lighter than the previous model, better handling, a lot nicer to look at, and significantly quicker, the 2016 - 2017 Camaro is the bee’s knees. It’s also funny when you think that the entry-level 2.0L Turbo engine, with its 275 ponies, is just as powerful as the old L30 327 cu.in. V8.
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