Posted on 05/14/2024 7:07:35 AM PDT by Red Badger
Sixty years ago, Ford unveiled the Mustang – and it changed everything. Prior to 1964 – the year of the first Mustang’s debut – there was no such thing as a “pony car.” Soon, there were so many of them it was hard to keep track of them.
One of them was the Chevy Camaro, which appeared just in time for the 1967 model year. Its time has just run out because GM has pulled the plug – because GM knows a Camaro with a plug is as oxymoronic as Elvis without the voice (and the presence).
In a backhanded compliment way, this is to GM’s credit.
Camaro will retire from the field with its dignity intact rather than be made into a mockery of itself, as Stellantis (which owns the Dodge brand) has done with the Challenger, another of the pony cars that was inspired by the Mustang. Dodge retired it once before – after the 1974 model year – because Dodge didn’t want to make a Challenger that was a mockery of itself. It was no longer feasible to offer Challengers with 440s and 426s (engines were once identified by their displacement in cubic inches rather than their liters, which served to differentiate them from other engines of the same displacement) or even 360s and 340s, on account of the government, which had imposed emissions standards that – at the time – could not be complied with without single exhaust and catalytic converters and other such devices that did to powerful engines what a naked picture of Hillary Clinton does to the libido of a heterosexual man.
But Chevy – almost miraculously – kept the Camaro (and its sister car, the Pontiac Firebird) in production after 1974, without making it a mockery of itself. The Z28 – which was the high-performance version of Camaro – was retired for a couple of years (1975 and 1976) which is how Chevy kept the Camaro from becoming a mockery of itself.
That and the fact that the non-Z28 Camaro was still a Camaro and there was still plenty of interest in a good-looking pony car, even if it wasn’t especially powerful or fast.
By 1977, Chevy was feeling better about Camaro and brought back the Z28. It wasn’t especially powerful or fast, but it had the potential to be both. Its 175 horsepower 350 cubic inch V8 was still a Chevy small block V8 with a four barrel carb and that engine could be fixed in a weekend’s time with a cam swap and headers and some tuning to equal the power of a 1974 Z28. And the car it was in was still a Camaro – and so still looked good. It had all the essentials that made the 1974 and prior Camaros so appealing.
You just had to make a few adjustments – to get around the government.
The Z28 improved as time passed – and Camaro got much more powerful and faster than it had ever been before. Fast forward to our time and the standard 2024 Camaro with a V6 has more power – and is faster – than the most powerful/fastest Camaro you could buy back in 1970 – the apotheosis of power/performance – before the government tried (and succeeded) in taking it away, the first time.
Now we are at the second time – and the government has succeeded, again. This time, finally. The 2024 Camaro will be the last Camaro – and this time, forever. There will be no temporary hiatus followed by a resurrection – as happened when GM cancelled Camaro back in 2002 and then brought it back, again, for 2010. The reason being the reasons for this cancellation are very different than the reasons for the cancellation last time.
That time – back in 2002 – the Camaro got culled because the Camaro of that generation was not especially popular, especially with female buyers. The fourth generation bodystyle was not like the previous ones that appealed to more than just young guys who liked powerful and fast cars. (The Ford Mustang has always appealed to both sexes as well as most demographics and that’s why the Mustang has been popular with enough people to keep it going for 60 years.)
Chevy realized there was still a market for Camaro – just not the one they were selling at the time. So Chevy stopped selling it. But only for a brief time. During that absence, Chevy – and Dodge – realized they had abandoned their market and thereby given it (the whole thing) to Ford, which by 2003 was the only American car company still selling a pony car.
And Ford was selling lots of them.
So GM – which was not yet run by someone such as Mary Barra, a political appointee who took over shortly after Obama took over – brought back a Camaro (in 2010) that people did want. Just as Dodge brought back a Challenger (in 2008) that people really wanted.
Both prospered – until their time ran out.
That time was last year for the Challenger, which is now no more. The device that Stellantis is going to try to sell as its replacement for displacement is likely to sell as well as a Beyond Meat “hamburger.”
And now the time has come for Camaro, which at least retires from the field with dignity, a casualty of changed times – and changed management.
That leaves the field to Mustang, the last of the Mohicans. And for similar reasons.
“The frontier moves with the sun and pushes the red man of the wilderness forests in front of it. Until one day there will be nowhere left. Then our race will be no more.”
. . .
That ‘65 must have been a rare one, lol!
IN the late 70’s—GM was putting all kinds of engines into everything they could sell.
THAT WAS NOT A TRAMS AM.
THAT was a model called ESPRIT.
Slightly shorter wheelbase & Jim liked the handling better, especially for U-Turns at speed.
OBAMA’s CAR CRUNCHING: PART 2.0
Got stopped at ranch supply store last week-—
GUY was liking my 1979 BUICK WAGON.
Said he hadn’t seen one in YEARS.
I bought mine used in August 1981-—43 years ago.
DOG loves it, also. His nick name is “ROAD TRIP”.
AM NOT EVER SELLING IT. ORIGINAL ENGINE.
I located an OLD IRON MECHANIC.
When I DIE-—HE GETS IT-—
AMONG WITH MY 1976 1 ton 4 speed dually Chevy truck that has OVER 348,000 miles on the chassis.
HE is delighted -—HE also LOVES OLD IRON.
In 1978, Pontiac stockpiled the last 10,000 Pontiac 400 CID blocks to be used on the 1979 model year... Of those, 4,317 were 4-speed cars, the remainder went into the 10th anniversary Trans Ams with automatics. It wasn’t that there was a problem with the Pontiac 400 - it was that GM was mandating the “Corporate” engine be used. The Pontiac put out 40 more horsepower. I had two of the 4 speed cars.
Track times isn’t the end all. If you have ever driven a Miata, it is much nimbler than any Camaro. The later Camaros would have much faster track times, but not be as anywhere near as fun or entertaining.
The late 60’s was the peak of engine options. V-6, multiple V-8’s (302, 307, 327, 350, 396, and 427 with multiple carburetor choices.
“THAT WAS NOT A TRAMS AM.”
That’s a higher level of detail that I know.
We still occasionally watch Rockford File on a streaming channel.
I bought 2 brand new ones with V8’s including a ZL1
Recently
Jim drove a firebird
Jim Rockford Pontiac Firebird
The most fun I’ve ever had
A mouth or so after I got out she calls and says she wants to trade in the Impala on another car. Fine says I. She gets a used Camaro. A white six cylinder with a three speed on the column. That was early 1968.
Looking back, I just assumed it had to be a couple of years older then it was. After your comment I had look it up. And so it could not have older then 1967. So, I was wrong.....again. I'm getting use to that. But, cut me a little slack. I mean, I'm 80 years old and it was 56 years ago! And we just celebrated our 56th. anniversary on May 4th.... :)
“Jim Rockford Pontiac Firebird”
Entertainment has change hugely since his (and my) time!
Congratulations! Believe me, I wasn’t being critical of you, that’s why I added the lol.
I’m 75, and know exactly of what you speak.
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