Generations (Chevy Camaro)

[Vinsanity]

It's been a while since we've done one of these...

[Tave]

1969, fuggedaboutit

[MX793]

In order:
5th Gen
1st Gen
3rd Gen
4th Gen
2nd Gen

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

As much as I love the IROCs I have to vote for the latest model.

[GoCougs]

The only car to actually buy and drive is the 5th gen - infinitely better performance, quality, safety and reliability than any of the others.

However, stylistically, my favorite is the early 2nd gen ('70 - '73). I'm actually a bit more partial to the same-era Trans Am.

[hotrodalex]

Everyone has a '69 Camaro. 2nd gens are a bit more unique, better looking, and they are a better place to start if you want to build a pro-touring car.

[2o6]

Gen five for me.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

Everyone has a '69 Camaro. 2nd gens are a bit more unique, better looking, and they are a better place to start if you want to build a pro-touring car.

I like the second gens better than the first too. And I like the 2nd Gen Trans Ams even better!

[GoCougs]

I like the second gens better than the first too. And I like the 2nd Gen Trans Ams even better!

[Tave]

I think the '69 looks a lot more muscular, menacing, and industrial-chic than the '70. No line is wasted. The '70 by comparison looks like a halfhearted attempt to evolve the design without actually doing anything. It's just a Gen1 with a bad nose job.

[SVT666]

Despite the fact that GM did everything they could to make it impossible to see out of without looking like a bobblehead, the new Camaro is my favourite.

[hotrodalex]

I think the '69 looks a lot more muscular, menacing, and industrial-chic than the '70. No line is wasted. The '70 by comparison looks like a halfhearted attempt to evolve the design without actually doing anything. It's just a Gen1 with a bad nose job.

If you put the two next to each other, you'll see that they are quite a bit different. In fact most people say they don't see the evolution from Gen1 to Gen2. GM rushed the get the 1967 Camaro out so they could compete with the Mustang, so it wasn't perfect. After 3 years of being on the market, they learned quite a bit and put that knowledge into the second gen. The '70 model is longer, lower, and wider than the '69.

I love the '69, but like I said before, everyone has them. They look muscular, but the second gens look sweet too - a sleek racecar if done right.

[cawimmer430]

 

[Onslaught]

1969 is one of the only muscle cares I like. It's one of the only ones I'd own. So 1st gen for me.

[omicron]

1st. The '67 is the nicest-looking of the early cars, and I prefer the non-RS models with exposed headlights.
2nd/3rd. Both the ultimate apple-pie, howdy-doody, Billy-Bob Camaros, but somehow that's the intrinsic appeal. No ugly Berlinettas, however. I think the 2G just noses ahead.
5th. It's nice. I like that it exists, but I don't want one.
4th. No thanks.

I should point out, of course, that for the 1st and 2nd generations I'd probably take an equivalent Firebird instead.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Old Camaros are overpriced junk and require expensive resto-modding to make good. New Camaros are too fancy and expensive, but are still crappy. The 3rd gen was the first with a proper chassis and some kind of handling. The 3rd-gen's current pricing and 80's-tastic styling  are a good match to the mediocre build quality. The only part that really sucked were the early emissions-choked powertrains. I would have to rebuild a later TPI with forced induction.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

I would have to rebuild a later TPI with forced induction.

I'd love to get one of the '89 turbo Trans Am GTAs!

[FoMoJo]

1967 Z28 (through 1969) though I like the headlights of the '67 better.

Chevy worked a forged steel version of the 283-cid V-8's crankshaft into its 327 V-8 to get 302 cid. Big-port Corvette heads, solid lifters, a hot cam, a baffled oil pan, and a Holley four-barrel on a tuned aluminum manifold were specified. Horsepower was rated at 290; it likely was closer to 360.

It was a pretty close match to the 1969-70 Boss 302 with much the same engine specs - the Boss used the heads from the new Cleveland '351' engine.

[Eye of the Tiger]

I'd love to get one of the '89 turbo Trans Am GTAs!

Good luck with that. It'd probably be easier to build a replica.

[Raza]

1.  1
2.  4
3.  5
4.  3
5.  2

[Onslaught]

Old Camaros are overpriced junk and require expensive resto-modding to make good.

You could say that about all the cars from back then.

[GoCougs]

Actually, the slant-nosed, visible bumper Camaros ('74 - '77) were stylistically quite poor. '78 - '81 bumpers were hidden under plastic fascia (I had a '79, but a rather plain one, not the '78 Z-28 pictured here):

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

Good luck with that. It'd probably be easier to build a replica.

And cheaper.....

[Eye of the Tiger]

You could say that about all the cars from back then.

Okay. All old cars are junk and require expensive resto-modding to make good.

[Vinsanity]

Okay. All old cars are junk and require expensive resto-modding to make good.

speaking from experience, are you?

[Eye of the Tiger]

speaking from experience, are you?

swift

[dazzleman]

Dude, this is a great thread!

I voted for Generation 1.  The late '60s were the best era for Camaros.

I owned a '73 Firebird, similar to the Camaro, and that was also a good era in terms of looks (if not mechanics).  But after '78, they took on a much more guido look, even with a similar body type, so the last year that I actually liked was '78.

[93JC]

Boy, the fourth generation sure has aged poorly in my opinion...

1st, 3rd, 2nd, 4th in that order. I didn't even include the 5th, it's an order of magnitude better than its predecessors, it's not fair to compare it against them.