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A quick history of muscle...
When Ford introduced the Mustang in 1964
there was no immediate reaction from GM, but by August of '64, just four
months after the Mustang's introduction, GM realized the appeal of a four
seat sports car. Ironically, the Mustang was created in response to the
Chevrolet Corvair Monza!
When the Mustang sold 100,000 units in the
first six months, and almost half a million the first year, GM took an
interest. The responsibility for GM's Mustang fighter was given to the
GM Design Center's Chevrolet Studio under the direction of Henry C. Haga.
Interior design was directed by George Angersbach, who had been heavily
involved in the design of the Corvette, Corvair, and the Chevy II, which
became the Nova in 1968. It has long been a misconception that the '67
Camaro was designed from Chevy II components when actually it was the
other way around. The Chevy II was to be all new for '68 and it shared
many parts with the '67 Camaro, but this did lead to compromises in the
design, most notably the cowl height and hood length.
One unique feature was the decision to use
a front subframe isolated with rubber 'biscuits" in combination with the
unit body construction of the rest of the car, a technique that had been
used on several Europeancars, including many Mercedes-Benz models. This
combined the best of both worlds-a larger interior and more luggage space
than was possible with a traditional frame and at the same time a quieter,
smoother ride than a full uni-body car delivered.
As the launch date neared, the car still
had no name. It had been called various names by GM and the press, including
Nova, Panther, Chaparral, and Wildcat (later used by Buick.) It is rumored
that Chevy also considered using the letters "GM" in the name, and came
up with G-Mini, which evolved into GeMini, and finally Gemini. General
Motors Headquarters supposedly killed that name, because they didn't want
the letters "GM" used in case the car was afailure.
Finally, the car was introduced to the press
as the Camaro, considered to be a good name because nobody knew what it
meant. Chevrolet produced an old French dictionary showing that the word
meant "friend" or "companion", but Ford found an alternate meaning in
an old Spanish dictionary-"a small, shrimp-like creature."The automotive
press had a good laugh over that, and an even bigger one when one journalist
found yet another meaning-"loose bowels." It didn't take long for the
laughter to stop after the introduction of the stunning 1967 Camaro!
The shirt...
This 100% pre-shrunk cotton t-shirt celebrates
this American classic, complete with classic wheels - American Racing
Torq Thrusts. A GM Official Licensed Product.
Get yours today!
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