The buildup was huge. After watching Ford’s sporty Mustang set a torrid sales pace during its first two years on the market, Chevrolet in 1966 was set to launch a ’67 competitor.
There were the usual “spy” photos, a Chevy-sponsored teaser shot showing a thin slice of the new car and a crescendo of hoopla as the car neared introduction.
However, there wasn’t the slightest hint of what the long-awaited model was to be named. Panther won the rumor race, but Chevrolet used a “C” in many of its models (Chevelle, Caprice, Corvair, Corvette et.al.) so a word starting with a “C” might be a better guess.
As the press was summoned by Chevrolet to the now-demolished Statler Hilton Hotel in downtown Detroit on June 28, 1966, we were greeted by PR types armed with dictionaries. Printed on the flyleaf was the “new word” Camaro with the boast that the dictionaries were the only ones in the world containing the word (a check of my current Webster’s indicates it’s still not a dictionary word, rightly so since it’s trademarked by Chevy).
Camaro was chosen by Bob Lund, then Chevrolet’s ebullient merchandising manager who later headed the division, and his pal, Buick Vice President Ed Rollert. They were paging through a French/English dictionary and coined Camaro as loosely derived from the French word camarade, or comrade in English, meaning friend or pal.
Asked to define Camaro, one Chevy jokester reportedly said it was “a small vicious animal that eats Mustangs.”
Camaro didn’t eat the pony car, but it has prevailed as an enthusiast’s car in its own right over the past 50 years, with a hiatus from 2002 to 2010.
While the Mustang soared to a first-year sales record of 417,000 that still stands, Camaro in its initial year sold a respectable 220,906. Through seven months this year Mustang led by a hefty 72,530 to 42,354 as passenger cars in general have slipped, giving way to SUVs and CUVs.
The Camaro was greeted favorably by most of the automotive press. At the formal show-and-tell press preview, on Sept.12, 1966, we trundled off to the General Motors Proving Grounds in Milford, MI, to test-drive several Camaros. The late Bob Irvin, the Detroit News’ intrepid auto writer, asked if I’d like to take a run around the high-speed track in a Camaro convertible with the top down. Bob was not a daredevil driver, so I agreed, as did two other reporters. Zooming along at a leisurely 60 mph (96 km/h), Bob – without warning – jammed on the brakes, sending us hurtling forward despite being belted in.
“Why in hell did you hit the brakes, Bob?” I asked, a bit ticked off.
“Well, if we’re gonna test this baby we better see how the brakes work,” he innocently replied.
Although I was a Detroit Free Press reporter, and Bob and I were lively competitors, we also were close buddies. We went on to take many test drives together over the ensuing years. But only if I was behind the wheel.
