1969 to 1970 Camaro Question

[markinnaples]

I was thinking about this the other day and wanted to ask those who were there when the 1970 Camaro was introduced after the 1969 Camaro production ended and what the reaction was. This was such a massive change in style and focus from the drag race friendly 1969 with factory big blocks to very few big block 1970's along with the seemingly larger focus on the Camaro being a more road racer than drag racer. Maybe I'm wrong, but the massive style change and road racing focus had to been pretty drastic.

[pdphilson]

IROC --- took over the drag racing for the Camaro

[Too Many Projects]

I was 17.5 and most all the people I knew disliked it. It was presented as having "european" styling and it was too different from the "American" vehicles we drove. We didn't want european, we wanted American...

[GrumpyJeff]

Probably nothing Sexier than a 1970 RS/Z28 But they were probably ahead of their time with the european inspired styling ? But then Again the 69 is the Iconic Hot Rod Camaro

[Ralph Spears]

I was working at Luby Chevrolet in Boston at the time you could get the Turbo 400 automatic trans in 1970 i remember tearing up the streets with them.

[jerry455]

great question! I was only 3 years old at the time so would be interested in car enthusiast recollections of the era. My first car was a '69 Z/28, bought in 1980 with summer lawn mowing money. I didn't care much for the 2nd gen Camaros back then, but have grown to love them both over time. There was a great road-test article on the new '70 Z/28 when it was first available- I think it was Car Craft? It was a burnished brown Z with black interior & white stripes, they really emphasized the European styling change and general public reaction driving around LA. It was a Turbo 400 car and I think they broke a few U-Joints during the drag-strip testing phase. I still have that Mag in garage, the car is on the cover. anyways- love to hear any comments! Cheers-

[Pro Stock John]

Yeah this is a great question.

I found this for production numbers:

1967 220,906
1968 235,147
1969 243,085
1970: 124,901
1971: 114,630
1972: 68,651
1973: 96,751
1974: 151,008
1975: 145,770
1976: 182,959
1977: 218,853
1978: 272,631
1979: 282,582
1980: 152,005
1981: 126,138

Makes me think the 2nd gen restyle was not well received. Also I wonder why GM didn't make the '69 style 1-2 more years?

[Bill Pritchard]

Originally Posted by Pro Stock John

Makes me think the 2nd gen restyle was not well received.

1st gen lasted 3 years....2nd gen lasted 12 years. Production numbers alone don't tell the whole story...after 1970, the whole of the automotive industry changed focus, for reasons many and varied.

I was 18 when the 2nd gen was introduced, and I loved it from the start. That said, I love the 1st gens also!

[Pro Stock John]

I love 2nd gens but that's a pretty big dip starting in 1970. I know there was a strike but that doesn't really account for the soft numbers in after 1970. How was the economy?

Let's look at Mustang sales, looks like they had a dip in 1970 too but why...

1964.5 121,538
1965 559,451
1966 607,568
1967 472,121
1968 317,404
1969 299,824
1970 191,239
1971 151,484
1972 125,813
1973 134,817
1974 385,993
1975 188,575
1976 187,567
1977 153,173
1978 192,410
1979 369,936
1980 271,322

[Rsconv68]

The 2nd Gen was being designed at the same time the 1st Gen was due to the nature of the industry. Body style typically changed visually every year to keep people interested and know the “new” whatever is out. As the industry changed to minimize changes but really to save money, you went from wholesale changes to minor cosmetics. Planned obsolescence was the standard….until it was costly.