First Generation Camaro (1967 - 1969)
Over here, we will be looking into some finer characteristics of the first generation of Chevrolet Camaros. General Motors released the initial versions of the Camaro by 1967. The trend continued until 1969 only to be resumed in the oncoming years. General Motors is still in the business of manufacturing pony and muscle cars for auto enthusiasts!
The first generation of the Chevrolet Camaro was available in various "flavors". Some of them were the 2-door, 2+2 seat and finally as a coupe. An exhaustive choice of engine power plants was available to the curious customers.
The three default packages released in 1967 were the RS, SS and the Z/28. The company called the initial offering as an "appearance package" because it merely augmented the looks of the vehicle to make it more aggressive. If the car owners had a craving for power, they would have to select the SS package. Back then, General Motors offered the provision to combine both these packages on the same vehicle. The Z/28 is the "race package" according to company sources. It may be queer to realize that a good share of the customers was not even aware of this package - and hence, it went largely unnoticed. The cars that came with this package featured front disc brakes, an upgraded suspension and four-speed manual transmission systems.
Here is another interesting snippet regarding the first generation Camaros. Did you know that the company fine-tuned some of their offers to comply with the state as well as the insurance laws? Most of the first generation cars released during that time featured a three-speed manual gearbox system. By 1968, the manufacturer began to incorporate additional structural modifications to the Chevrolet Camaro. Notable among them were the fresh air inlet system, a redesigned front grille and rear taillights. The initial variants released one year prior came with a single leaf suspension system - this was later altered to a multi-leaf system in 1968.
The models released one year later too featured certain additions in the looks department. This was primarily because the owners complained about the bland and plain look of their rides (in spite of opting for the appearance packages). These Camaros were extensively used on the SCCA Trans Am racing series with advanced features such as disc brakes on all the four wheels. Slight modifications made on the gear ratios helped in achieving better performance levels for the Chevrolet Camaro. It was then that various engineering problems began to haunt the Camaro owners. This forced the company to cease production for some time.
Back then, drag racing was fast catching up within the United States, and the now classic cars were ready to go. The racers required raw power levels, and the Chevrolet Camaro aided them immensely by belting out the same throughout the race. The company began to concentrate on the production of a special edition version, specifically custom tuned to make it the fastest car available then. This is none other than the Camaro ZL-1.