Monday, November 22, 2021

First-Series Chevrolet Camaros -- Searching for a Theme

In my 2015 post about Camaro styling it was stressed that when General Motors decided to bring back Chevrolet's sporty model for the 2010 model year, styling boss Ed Welburn opted for the original 1967 design as the template for the new car's appearance.  That was despite the fact that the '67 design was from a crash project based on a platform not well-suited for a Ford Mustang competitor.

There were four Camaro generations to choose from for inspiration.  They are listed here in the Camaro's Wikipedia entry.

GM's design staff had a selection problem prior to Welburn's decision.  That was because there was little in the way of a consistent Camaro design theme across those four generations.  This post presents examples of Camaros from generations 1967, 1970, 1982 and 1993 for your consideration and my conjectures.

Gallery

1967-generation Camaro (an early-1970 model) - Chevrolet photo?
This late first-generation version was the one Welburn liked best.

1970 Camaro - BaT auctions photo
It was succeeded but this design.  Here, GM's stylists and engineers had more opportunities to create what they thought a Mustang-beater should look like.  I liked the styling when it first appeared, and I still do.  Though I must add that it seems a trifle too "feminine" for a potentially hairy Muscle Car.

1982 Camaro - Mecum Auctions photo
Third-generation styling was competently done, though it doesn't strike me as being memorable.  When it was designed, Irv Rybicki was GM's Design VP.

1993 Camaro - BaT auctions photo
Chuck Jordan was Design VP when this Camaro was styled.  Many GM cars of that time tended to have a "soft" look.  Note the large-radius curves on the fenderline that are unlike fender treatments of earlier Camaros.

1967-generation Camaro (an early-1970 model) - Chevrolet photo?
Rear quarter view.

1970 Camaro - BaT auctions photo
Another aspect of a fine, Bill Mitchell era design.

1982 Camaro - Barrett-Jackson auctions photo
The '82's rear is cleaner than that of the '70.

1993 Camaro - BaT auctions photo
More curves:  The aft fender transition to the trunk lid.  The zone around the tail lights and trunk lid cut.  The rear bumper cladding.

1967 Camaro - BaT
So where is there a consistently "Camaro" design theme.  I think we can disregard the '67's styling because it was an ad hoc effort where consideration of restyling possibilities was probably a minor matter at the time.

1971 Camaro - Mecum
One carryover from 1967 is the wide aft pillar.  But here it's a blending of B and C pillars.  Another retained concept is a flowing fenderline.  And a long hood.

1982 Camaro - Mecum
The long hood remains, but the flowing fenderline is gone.  The wide aft  pillar is retained, though the backlight rear window is enlarged.  

1993 Camaro - BaT
One carryover is the long hood.  Another is the fenderline high-point abaft of the rear wheel well.  This, in combination with the low hood, provides a fashionable "wedge" shape.  The only carryovers from 1970/1982 are the hood length and the wide B/C pillar.

My conclusion is that indeed there really wasn't consistent Camaro "design language" to work with when the 2010 model was conceived.  So while Welburn's decision was arbitrary, it was necessarily arbitrary.

1 comment:

emjayay said...

The first one did seem like a reasonable response to the Mustang. Both cars defined a coherent and unique style. I think I forgot about all of them after the first two generations. After that they were really fitting in with industry wide trends, not so much being original. The 1993 has a lot in common with the Ford Probe and two next generations of Chrysler products.

On all of these being a very low car with a live RWD axle isn't a good combo spacewise. On the second gen the driveshaft tunnel is higher than the back seats, and not even disguised as a console.