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Camaro 2009 Chevy
Back in 1964, after the release of the Ford Mustang, General Motors
had no immediate reaction. In August of that year, just a few months
after the Mustang’s impressive introduction, GM realized the
America’s desire for four seater sports cars and began taking their
desire for a piece of this market seriously.
While many people (incorrectly) believe the Camaro was built in
response to Ford’s ponycar, ironically the Mustang was created in
response to the Chevrolet Corvair Monza (what a fine car, not). In
addition, the Camaro was had actually been in the works as early as
1958…
“I remember a four-passenger, sporty type car of the general size
and weight class of the Mustang being worked on in an advanced
studio. In the early ’60s, similar cars were developed from time to
time. Everyone wanted to do one, but at the time there was really no
corporate interest.” said Bob Porter, a designer for Pontiac.
When the Ford sold 100,000 Mustangs in just the first six months and
nearly 500,000 the first year of production, GM took a keen interest.
Responsibility for building the Mustang’s nemesis was assigned to
the GM Design Center’s Chevrolet Studio, at that time ran by Henry
C. Haga. The Camaro’s interior design was given to George Angersbach,
a substantial contributer to the design of the Corvair, Corvette and
the Chevy II, which later became known as the Nova in 1968.
Another common misconception is that the first Camaro, in 1967, was
designed from leftover Chevy II components - it was actually the
other way around. It is true, however, that the 1968 Chevy II and
the 1967 Camaro shared many parts.
While GM considered many different Camaro models, even mock-ups of a
2 seater roadster, a fastback and even a station wagon, there ideas
were all niched in an effort to keep costs down. Their goal was,
afterall, to compete with the Mustang (though remember, supposably
the Camaro was in the works nearly 10 years prior) - thus the
decision was made to build just two models, a coupe and convertible.
The Camaro was offered with a wide variety of engines, ranging from
a 230 cubic inch six cylinder to a 327 V8. In addition, a new engine
displacement was created just for the Camaro, a 350 cubic inch V8
rated at 295 horsepower - which later became Chevy’s bread and
butter for making big, reliable power. Getting power to the rear
tires was the responsibility by choice of either a 3 or 4 speed
manual transmission or either of two automatics - a two speed
Powerglide or the preferred Turbobydramatic.
As it’s launch date neared, the Chevy’s Mustang killer remained
without a name. It had been given many code-names by both GM and the
media including the Panther, Wildcat (Buick used this later),
Chaparral and even the Nova (oh no). It’s even rumored that Chevy
also considered using the letters “GM” in the name, and came up with
G-Mini, which evolved into GeMini, and finally Gemini. Another rumor
was that General Motors’ Headquarters didn’t want letters “GM” used
- just in case the car was a failure. How’s that for confidence?
Finally the car bacame a reality and was introduced to the world as
the “Camaro”, and they considered it to be a good name because
nobody really knew what that word meant. In true competitive fashion,
Chevrolet procured an old French dictionary showing that the word
meant “friend” or “companion”, but Ford found an alternate meaning
in an old Spanish dictionary -”a small, shrimp-like creature.” The
automotive press had a good laugh it, and an even bigger one when a
journalist found yet another meaning-”loose bowels.”
It didn’t take long for the laughter to stop once Chevrolet unveiled
the 1967 Camaro though. This lean and aggressive sports car retailed
for $2,466 - quite a bargain compared to the average cost of today’s
car
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