The Chevrolet Camaro hit the scene in the USA during 1966. General Motors, Chevrolet’s parent company, wanted to build a car to provide essential competition to the sector crushing Ford Mustang. The 1967 Camaro shared a frame and lots of main components from the Pontiac Firebird (another General Motors company), and so the speed and cost needed to build the car were massively reduced.

Often called a a muscle car, or a ‘Pony’ car, a name that back then referred to small vehicles that were both within reach financially and had a sports feel about their styling (a style started by the Ford Mustang in 1964), the car lined up next to an ever growing number of vehicles that were fighting for an ever growing market. American owners loved the engine, the styling and the price of such vehicles and the multiplying sales made sure that plenty of vehicle producers made their own variations out as quickly they could.

The 1970’s and 80’s saw the car’s best days, when the Camaro was sought after by millions of car enthusiasts, not only in the USA but throughout the world. The mix of style, performance and numerous TV shows romanticizing muscle cars contributed to a strong market, and the desire for enthusiasts to own one never disappeared.

There were five distinct generations of the car have been sold. Generations one to four were sold between 1966 and 2002 (when development of the Camaro and Firebird both ceased), and development of the fifth generation Camaro started once more in 2009 and even with opposition to such polluting muscle vehicles from campaigners, the car has proved itself to once again be a big success with the North American public.

A variety of Camaro’s have appeared in movies, most notably a Camaro was the vehicle mode car for the Bumblebee character from the 2007 movie Transformers, using both a 1976 model, and later in the movie moving to a fifth generation variation. The Camaro has a large following with many owners having owned every generation of the car at one time or another and even more holding on to original 1960’s versions and keeping them in perfect condition.

The Camaro was always a very popular car for improving through the years, with many owners spending weeks and months and cash adding high performance additions to improve their Camaro’s looks and power. The car’s have also been hugely successful in motorsport taking many Trans-Am series wins and numerous other races and titles through its years. Many racers still use older Camaro’s even now and remain successful, winning against much more modern vehicles.

The Camaro lives on today, and with its legendary status, power and great looks from the latest generation version, it’s sure to be with us for many years to come.

Find out all the latest news and info on the 2012 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 and other Concept Cars.