It is reported that Chevy began production design of the Camaro as early as 1958. It was basically a “back-burner” project for several years until Ford released the first Mustang in 1964. The Mustang sold nearly half a million units in it’s first year. A feat that made Chevy stand up and take notice.

Enter the Camaro – a name defined by GM production managers as “a small, vicious animal that eats Mustangs”. In it’s beginning stages, the Camaro was known as the XP-836 project, code named “Panther” and badged on the final production model as a “Chaparral”, but ultimately crowned “Camaro”.

The first generation Camaro appeared on the market in 1967. It solidly responded to the “unsafe at any speed” tag that was placed on it’s predecessor, the Corvair, buy utilizing a front-engine, rear-drive configuration…. just like the Mustang. It was available in four different models, including a convertible and was designed to accommodate any one of six available engines under the hood.

The second generation was not released until February of 1970. Because of the late release, the sales of some 69′s extended into early 1970 and were titled as 70′s. This created some confusion and prompted Gen 2 to begin with the 1970 1/2. Inspired by Ferrari, the second generation Camaros were bigger and heavier. All of the options that were available in the first generation series were available in the second except for the convertible model. 1977 was a banner year for the Camaro, resulting in sales that trumped the Mustang by almost 40,000 units. Although emissions regulations and power rating changes in the industry zapped much of the power out of the engines, sales stayed strong through 1979. The gas crisis in the early 80′s killed the Camaro’s sales, and 1981 saw the end of the second generation along with the hope of revival with a total re-design for 1982.

The Third Generation Camaro was truly all new. The engine selection still left much to be desired, starting with a meager 90hp 2.5 liter and optioning up to a carburated V8 that spit out 165hp. First-time offerings such as factory fuel injection, four speed automatics, five speed manuals and 16 inch wheels sparked the appeal of the car-buying public and kept the Camaro alive. The star of the Third Generation was the 1985 introduction of the IROC-Z and it’s Tuned Port Injection engine that could pump out a refreshing 215hp. The big engines and the convertible models officially returned in 1987 and by 1991 they were turning out an exhilarating 245hp. 1991 also saw the production of the B4C pursuit vehicle that was used by law enforcement. Very little was changed thru 1992 as effort was focused on unveiling the new Fourth Generation for 1993.

The gen 4 model options were cut down to just two, the 160hp, V6 sport coupe and the Z-28 which had the honor of harboring Corvette’s 275 hp, 5.7L, LT1 V8 under it’s hood. The convertible was once again deleted from the production line. The Camaro continued to receive power upgrades and eventually cleared the 300hp mark in 1996 with it’s SS model that was engineered by SLP. The first all-aluminum engine since 1969 made it’s appearance in 1998 packing a punch with 305 factory hp that could be boosted to 320 via an available ram-air induction system. Chevy’s fourth generation Camaro ran for 11 years before it exhausted itself in 2002. It was then shelved for the next eight years.

In 2010, much to the excitement of enthusiasts, Chevy unveiled it’s fifth generation Camaro. It was definitely worth the wait. With a body style and interior based on the 1969 and enough new-age bells and whistles to keep the younger generations happy, the new Camaro just screams “American Muscle”. The LS and LT versions come equipped with a nominal V6 engine that produces 300hp, and the grunt of the line-up, the SS, comes with a 6.2L V8 that smacks down a very admirable 426 horses.

There’s no doubt Camaro fans are glad to see the return of the classic Chevy, and further excited by it’s above-average power and performance. Here’s to another long run for the Camaro – keep up the good work Chevy!

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