24 classic rides of Christmas wouldn’t be complete without including this legendary Camaro era.
The pony car wars were still a two horse race until the General jumped into the game in the 1967 model year.
Its name was Chevrolet Camaro, and it was neither fish (Barracuda) nor foal (Mustang).
It was an invented name from the Bowtie Boys, and it became a full-blown legend in its first year of production.
Chevrolet hit a home run with the Camaro.
It was a clean looking and sporty design with almost as many sensual curves as a then-young Raquel Welch– the ” 1 Million Years BC “ animal-skinned Raquel Welch.
The Camaro hit the ground running with muscle and beauty. It made disciples of the General Motors house of worship very happy in an era when muscle cars dominated the streets and subsequent fantasies of every red-blooded young male on the planet.
Maybe not as much as Raquel Welch dominated young male fantasies in the 60s, but definitely within the neighborhood.
The Camaro was a nimble-looking car with enough horsepower options to make very young new owners stay forever young because of too much muscle under the hood and too little driving experience under the belt.
There will always be a huge demand for the 1967-69 Camaro. Just ask the boys at Barrett-Jackson when a rare production model survivor Camaro crosses the floor. A rare model 1967-69 Camaro will instantly vaporize any notion of an economic recession. They will command a serious amount of dough, no matter how far the bottom has fallen out of the global economy.
My best memory of a first generation Camaro occurred earlier in this decade when a good buddy and serious car guy finally got his dream car-a 1969 Chevy Camaro. Unfortunately, Kelly was unable to enjoy his car for as long as he richly deserved due to a terrible illness. But those of us that knew Kelly were very happy that he got to live his Camaro dream for at least a little while.
So we can look back at the third edition to the pony car wars and conclude that Chevy may have shown up late for the fight, but they were very well-armed with the Camaro.
Merry Christmas
Jim Sutherland @mystarcollectorcar.com
COMMENTS
DENNIS:”If you watch “the auctions” as much as I do, you have to wonder if any of these Camaro’s ever made it to a junk yard? I’ve got a pal that has 3 of em”.
