Ford scored the ultimate market takeover in automotive history in the Spring of ‘64 with the introduction of the 1964-1/2 Mustang! Everyone in Detroit got caught with their knickers down. It took Chevy 2-1/2 years to catch up!

The amazing thing about the ‘67 Camaro is that it was very close to a perfect bull’s eye. Chevy fans fell in love with the car immediately! Almost over-night, nearly every Chevy fan had to have a Camaro. Chevy lovers knew that they were picking up a winner to fight to pony car wars of the late ‘60s. There were Camaros for everyone. There was a 6-cylinder grocery-getter, a mild 307 V8 model, a street-machine SS model, and the road racer Z-28 option.

When ‘68 came along, there were a few minor changes to the one-year-old Camaro. It now wore side marker lights (kind’a cool), and the side-window vents were gone and replaced with “Astro Ventilation.” The SS option mow included a 375hp 396 engine, and the Z-28 was still a lightweight.

No one has ever duplicated the quick sales success of the first Mustangs. But not only did the Camaro quickly catch up with the Mustang, we now had a real horse race. The current Camaro is in suspended animation for a brief time while GM sorts out the new Camaro / Firebird assembly plant. No doubt, there are already well on their way to the completed design (as of 2/05). With the new retro Mustang already on the road, that means that soon, the pony wars will begin all over again.