Camaro Retro
Craig Singhaus

From its introduction for 1967 to its rebirth for 2010, we've had a front row seat as over 40 years of Chevrolet Camaro has unfolded. And while much about the Camaro has evolved, it remains one of America's legendary automotive icons. So sit back as Craig Singhaus take us all for a journey down Camaro memory lane, out on the High Road. – John Davis

The 1967 Camaro, Chevy's first pony Car.

Now, everybody thinks they know the original Camaro story. Ford has a huge success with the youth market with Mustang in 1964, so Chevrolet simply reacts with their own pony car Camaro, right? Well, Chevrolet was already aware of the youth market due to the success of the Corvair back in 1960. And remember, it take years to design a car.

DON McFERSON: "It was really no different with the Camaro. Some of its engineering features and styling notions can be traced back through the years but the basic idea to build this unique car came in early 1964. The first discussions had gone on much before that date. It's not quite as simple as somebody in research and development gazing out the window and saying. 'We need a new sporty, four passenger car.'"

Now no one knows this better than Camaro historian and appraisal expert Jerry McNeish. Jerry is THE go-to guy for first generation Camaro information. He's owned them, restored them, and raced them—including this ultra-rare, super-low-mileage 1967 Z-28.

JERRY MCNEISH: "The Camaro debuted in September of 1966. It began a very successful run that year and they sold well over 220,000 units, which was a phenomenal success for a brand new automobile."

September of 1966, eh? Did you know as late as June of 1966 they called it by an entirely different name? "Panther"... now that just wouldn't be the same.

JERRY MCNEISH: "There's always been speculation about what the word Camaro means and I think that in the minds of GM people who designed the car, it meant friend or companion which kind of fit the profile of the car very well.

By 1967 standards, this was a relatively small car; with a 108-inch wheelbase, it weighed a little less than three thousand pounds. Light-weight car, small V8 327 two-barrel was the base engine.

These things would get up and go pretty good because they didn't weigh 4,000 pounds. If you ordered the 396 or 350 engine, or the 302, you really stepped up the performance quite a bit, and these cars performed extremely well with the big engines. "

Jerry, how many choices did you have for engines in '67?

JERRY MCNEISH: "You had two six cylinders, you had two 327s—a two-barrel and a four-barrel, you had a 350

four-barrel, you had two 396s, and a 302-Z28 engine."

That's a lot of engines!

JERRY MCNEISH: "That's why they sold a lot of cars."

With only 602 Z28's produced for 1967, Jerry's totally original '67 Camaro is very rare and valuable.

JERRY MCNEISH: "This particular car is a Marina Blue Z28. It's the lowest documented mileage Z28 survivor known to exist in the country."

GM's target group was really the youth market with the Camaro because it appealed to kids in school, young families, or couples just starting out. It was sporty, it looked sleek, it looked like a high-performance car, so it appealed to the younger generations, and that was GM's focal point."

And while Mustang sold slightly more units in 1967, Camaro was considered a huge success. Remember, it spawned its GM pony car cousin, the Pontiac Firebird, not to mention Dodge Challenger and AMC Javelin.

It's a great rivalry that's being reborn again today, a rivalry that makes my driving enthusiast heart beat just a little bit faster.