The Chevrolet Camaro first hit the market in the USA during 1966. General Motors, Chevrolet's owners, had to produce a car to provide essential competition to the market dominating Ford Mustang. The 1967 Camaro used a frame and lots of large components from the Pontiac Firebird (another General Motors off-shoot), and so the time required and finances required to produce the Camaro were massively reduced.Called a a muscle car, or a 'Pony' car, a word that at the time referred to small vehicles that were both affordable and had a stylish feel about their looks (a style started by the Ford Mustang in 1964), the car lined up alongside an ever growing number of vehicles that were fighting for an ever growing market. American owners loved the performance, the look and the great value of such cars and the multiplying sales guaranteed that plenty of manufacturers made their own variations out as quickly they could.The 1970's and 80's were the car's heyday, when the Camaro was desired by millions of buyers, not just in North America but throughout the world. The mix of style, performance and various TV shows using muscle cars added to a massive demand, and the desire for many to own one never disappeared.
So far there have been five distinct generations of the Camaro have been sold. Generations one to four were sold between 1966 and 2002 (when development of the Camaro and Firebird both ceased), and building of the fifth generation Camaro started again in 2009 and despite opposition to these polluting big engined cars from campaigners, the Camaro has proven to once again be a big success with the North American public.
The Camaro was sometimes available in a hardtop coupe and a convertible, the convertible was very popular among owners from sea bordering states who loved the thought of driving along the beach side roads with the roof down, the stereo up and the sunglasses on. The car has a large group of fans with many buyers having owned every generation of the car at one time or another and even more hanging on to original 1960's models and maintaining them in pristine condition.
The car was always a favourite car for modification through the years, with owners spending weeks and months and lots of cash adding aftermarket parts to improve their Camaro's style and performance. Camaro's have also been very strong in car racing taking many Trans-Am series wins and any number of other races and titles through its lifetime. Plenty of motor racing enthusiasts still use old generation Camaro's today and are still successful, winning against much more modern race cars.
The Camaro is still going strong today, and with its legendary status, power and great style from the latest incarnation, it's bound to be around for a long time to come.
