The first-generation Chevrolet Camaro debuted on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year. By mid-summer 1967, the car had been out long enough to garner both criticism and praise from early adopters. Popular Mechanics magazine shared results from a survey conducted of first-year Camaro owners as of July 1967.
The magazine did not specify how many respondents contributed to the data, but it did say that the owners reflected had collectively driven 640,163 miles. Auto Editor Bill Kilpatrick summarized some of the findings in his story, including verbatim quotes from specific owners.
For example, a grocery store manager from Iowa said, “Traction from a dead stop is non-existent.” Other criticisms included comments about limited trunk space, the susceptibility of the rear fenders to stone chips, cramped rear-seat legroom, and hops from the rear suspension.
Plenty of praise accompanied those points of negative feedback. People overwhelmingly liked the 327ci, two-barrel V-8 for its power delivery.
And the car’s design was a strong point of pride: “Owners surveyed by PM were lavish with praise for the Camaro’s looks and overall styling, heaping on the car’s sporty appearance an FMR (Frequency-of-Mention Rating) of 65.3 percent.”
Here were a few things that stood out to me from the data table:
- 50.5 percent of people went with no power options (46.4 percent got power steering)
- 42.6 percent of people said the Camaro was their only vehicle
- 45.9 percent of people who had a second car said they owned another Chevrolet
What I found most interesting was the owner age distribution:
- 25.2 percent of people were between the ages of 20 and 24
- 18.3 percent were between 25 and 29
- 12.2 percent were under the age of 20!
Tallying those numbers up, 55.7 percent of first-year Camaro owners (as of July of the inaugural model year) were under the age of 30.
It’s now no mystery why the Camaro continues to resonate with the Boomer generation of folks who bought one new 60 or so years ago. Perhaps you or someone you know took part in that historic movement.
Bill Kilpatrick said near the conclusion of his article, “Perhaps because Camaro is an all-new car, PM’s survey of its owners elicited rather positive, even colorful comments. Apparently, the concept of a personal car involves personal feelings.”
