Breakdown by Generation:

• First Generation: 1967 – 1969
• Second Generation: 1970 – 1981
• Third Generation: 1982 – 1992
• Fourth Generation: 1993 – 2002
• Fifth Generation: 2010 – 2015
• Sixth Generation: 2016 – 2024

The automotive press caught wind of a new entry into the Pony Car arena as early as Apr of 1965. General Motors, under the brand name Chevrolet was working on its answer to the Mustang. In the development stages, the car was code-named Panther. Then, at a press conference in late June of 1966, Chevrolet general manager Pete Estes, officially announced the end of the Panther, and a new car line with the moniker of Camaro.

The name was chose in keeping with other Chevrolet car names all starting with the letter “C” like Corvette, Chevelle, Chevy II and Corvair. The new name is suggested to mean “comrade” or “friendship”. It is said, when the press asked Chevrolet product managers “What is a Camaro?” the reply was; “A small vicious animal that eats Mustangs”.

The new Camaro was first put on display for the press in Detroit Michigan on Sept 12th, 1966 and later in Los Angeles California on Sept 19th, 1966. The 1967 Camaro was released to dealerships for sale to the public on Sept 29th, 1966. Over the 35 consecutive model years produced, there were 4 distinct body styles. The final, fourth-generation Camaro was built on August 27th, 2002. After a 7 year absence, the 2010 model began production on March 16th, 2009. For 2016 the new 6th gen comes back to the United States for production in Lancing Michigan. Each distinct body style is recognized as a “Generation” although the 2016 is a scaled down version of it’s predecessor, it earns the Gen 6 classification for it’s innovative under pinnings. Production of the Sixth-Generation Camaro ended in December 2023.