Thursday 11th August 1966

The first Chevrolet Camaro drove out of the manufacturing plant in Norwood, Ohio. The 1967 Camaro coupe was named just weeks before production; General Manager Elliot Estes, when publicly announcing the name, quipped, “I went into a closet, shut the door and came out with the name.” Camaro is actually French for “comrade, pal, or chum.” The Camaro was a hit with the public, sporting a base price of only $2,466 for a 6 cylinder engine and three-speed manual transmission.The first-generation Camaro was built through the 1969 model year.The Camaro’s standard drive train was either a 230 cu in (3.8 L) straight-6 engine rated at 140 hp (104 kW) or a 327 cu in (5.4 L) (307 cu in (5.0 L) later in 1969) V8 engine, with a standard three-speed manual transmission. There were 8 (in 1967), 10 (in 1968), and 12 (in 1969) different engines available in 1967-1969 Camaros. The two-speed “Powerglide” automatic transmission was optional. The three-speed “Turbo Hydra-Matic 350” automatic became available starting in 1969. The larger Turbo 400 three-speed automatic was an option on SS396 cars. A four-speed manual was optional.There was a plethora of other options available all three years, including three main packages: The RS was an appearance package that included hidden headlights, revised taillights with back-up lights under the rear bumper, RS badging, and exterior bright trim. It was available on any model. The SS performance package consisted of a 350 or 396 cu in V8 engine and chassis upgrades for better handling and to deal with the additional power. The SS featured non-functional air inlets on the hood, special striping, and SS badging. The Z/28 performance package was designed (with further modifications) to compete in the SCCA Trans-Am series. It included a solid-lifter 302 V8, 4-speed transmission, power disc brakes, and two wide stripes down the hood and trunk lid. Four distinct generations of the Camaro were developed before production ended in 2002. The nameplate was revived on a concept car that evolved into the fifth-generation Camaro; production started on March 16, 2009. The idea of offering such a wide variety of “packages” and numerous options was to “blanket” Camaro’s end of the personal car market with everything from a nice, plain and docile Six to a gaudy and fire breathing V8