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2024 Chevy Camaro, by Eric Peters

2024 Chevy Camaro, by Eric Peters

It’s strange and sad that one of the most popular and famous cars ever made is about to disappear.

Not because of anything It didn’t do that either.

That car in this case is the Chevy Camaro, one of the best-selling cars on the market from the mid- to late-1970s and throughout the 1980s.

Soon it will no longer be sold at all.

What it is

The Camaro is Chevrolet’s alternative to the Mustang, the car that single-handedly created such a huge demand for cars of this type after its debut in 1964 that a new name for vehicles of this type was coined: the pony car — is made for them.

They were smaller than muscle cars — and lighter. They didn’t have to be muscular, either — which a muscle car had to be, or it wasn’t a muscle car. While you could get a muscular pony car, that aspect was optional. What was always standard was fun — and enough room for four (even if there wasn’t much room for two of the four) in a neat package that almost everyone liked.

And that almost everyone could afford.

That last one has changed a lot over the years — and that’s partly why the Camaro doesn’t sell as well as it used to. And that’s partly why it’s going away.

You get a lot more for your money these days — including a standard 3.6-liter V6 that makes far more power than most classic Camaro V8s from the era. Plus, standard features like 18-inch wheels, a six-speed gearbox manual transmission and a six-speaker stereo, which weren’t even available as options during the Camaro’s heyday in the ’70s and ’80s.

Prices start at $30,900 for the base 1LT trim level with the above equipment.

The 2LT (priced at $32,900) adds heated and ventilated front seats and dual-zone climate control.

The $36,900 3LT coupe comes with a nine-speaker Bose audio system, a heated steering wheel, customizable interior mood lighting and wireless phone charging.

If you want a lot more engine (and power), the high-performance LT1 ($38,800) has you covered. It comes standard with a 6.2-liter V8, an engine oil cooler, high-performance Brembo front disc brakes, a 20-inch wheel/tire package and heavy-duty suspension.

The SS (Super Sport) is essentially the same Camaro, but with Brembo brakes all around, more aggressive “summer” tires on 20-inch wheels, a rear spoiler, and “SS” badging. Sticker price is $42,300.

Topping the Camaro lineup is the $72,100 ZL1 — which shares its name with the biggest-engined, most muscular Camaro you could buy back in the day. These days, a ZL1 packs a lot more muscle — thanks to what you might consider engine steroids. That is, a supercharger for the 6.2-liter V8, which adds nearly 200 horsepower. Also included are even more aggressive tires — and even more capable brakes — along with a host of related high-performance upgrades.

Most versions are also available as a convertible.

The Camaro’s only direct competitor is, of course, the Mustang, which is similar in layout and comparable in price.

What’s New for 2024

For the Camaro’s final year, Chevy has added a Collector Edition — a $4,995 package that can be added to most Camaros. It includes special Panther Black metallic paint with a center stripe, a set of 20-inch matte black wheels with black lug nuts, a carbon fiber front air splitter, a suede microfiber-wrapped flat-bottom steering wheel, and Camaro Collector Edition badging inside and out.

Also, the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine from last year’s Camaro has been dropped.

What is good

— Standard V6 replaces the previously standard turbo-inline four — and outperforms the Mustang’s standard turbo-inline four.

— A manual transmission is standard with the V6; it is no longer available with the Mustang’s standard four-cylinder turbocharged engine.

— The rear seat lets you store items that don’t fit in the small trunk (9.1 cubic feet).

What’s not so good

— The Camaro is well equipped, but too expensive for the mostly young buyers who like this kind of car.

— The two-seat Corvette has more room for luggage than the four-seat Camaro.

— GM is giving up the Camaro.

Under the hood

The 2024 Camaro’s standard engine is a 3.6-liter, 335-horsepower V6, mated to a six-speed manual transmission. It’s a larger, more powerful engine than the Mustang’s standard 2.3-liter, 315-horsepower four-cylinder engine, which is also mated only with automatic transmission.

The Camaro’s optional 455-horsepower 6.2-liter V8 is the most powerful and largest V8 Chevy has ever put in a production Camaro.

This engine is also available with a standard six-speed manual transmission or (optional) a ten-speed automatic transmission.

On the road

The base (V6-powered) Camaro reaches 60 mph in about five seconds. That’s faster than any V8-powered Z28 Camaro made from the start — back in 1967 — until the early ’90s, when a Z28 just as fast like a V6 Camaro is today.

The V8 Camaro is a ferocious car—even without the supercharger found in the ZL1. It’s the pinnacle of Camaro performance.

The Camaro’s handling — and ride — are better than ever with either engine — in part because this latest Camaro shares its basic chassis with the Cadillac CT4, which is, of course, a luxury sport sedan. A four-door Camaro, of sorts. Or, if you prefer, the Camaro is a two-door CT4.

In both cases it amounts to the same thing.

On the curb

The latest Camaro is designed to remind us of the first Camaro — the one that debuted in ’67 and ran through ’69. It shares similar handsome styling and is instantly recognizable for what it is.

The new — and final — Camaro is slightly smaller than the first-generation ’67-’69 Camaro, which was 184.7 inches long — but it rides on a longer (110.7-inch) wheelbase compared to the ’67-’69’s 108-inch wheelbase, making it to appear longer.

Interestingly enough, the current Camaro is about 2 inches taller than a ’67-’69. It’s interesting because it feels a lot more cramped in the new Camaro, especially in the backseat.

The rest

Camaros have never been cars with a lot of room for backseat passengers, but this Camaro has the least of it. Especially when it comes to rear-seat headroom, which drops 6 inches from the front, where there’s 38.5 inches. In back, that’s just 32.5 inches. That — more than the 29.9 inches of legroom in the back — effectively makes the Camaro a two-seater, with the rear seat making up for an extremely small (9.1 cubic feet) trunk.

It comes down to

If you want a new pony car that isn’t a Mustang, this is your last chance.

    This week, check out the Chevy Camaro.

This week, check out the Chevy Camaro.

Eric’s latest book, “Doomed: Good Cars Gone Wrong!” will be available soon. To learn more about Eric and read his previous columns, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: on Unsplash