The Story of the Chevrolet Camaro

Author: Jake Dean

The Chevrolet Camaro first hit the market in the USA in 1966. General Motors, Chevrolet's owners, had to build a vehicle to provide much needed competition to the sector dominating Ford Mustang. The 1967 Camaro shared a frame and many main components with the Pontiac Firebird (one more General Motors project), and so the speed and money required to make the car were greatly reduced.

Called a a muscle car, or a 'Pony' vehicle, a name which referred to small cars that were both affordable and had a sports feel about their styling (a trend started by the Ford Mustang in 1964), the Camaro lined up next to an ever growing pool of cars that were fighting for an ever growing market. US buyers loved the engine, the styling and the low cost of such vehicles and the growing sales guaranteed that many manufacturers built their own variations out as quickly they could.
The 1970's and 80's saw the Camaro's height, when the Camaro was dreamed of by millions of car enthusiasts, not only in the USA but across the world. The balance of looks, speed and popular TV shows using pony cars contributed to a strong market, and the desire for buyers to own one never disappeared.
There were five individual generations of the car have been built. Generations one to four were developed between 1966 and 2002 (when selling of the Camaro and Firebird both ceased), and development of the fifth generation Camaro started again in 2009 and despite opposition to these environmentally unfriendly muscle vehicles from green campaigners, the Camaro has proved itself to once again be a big success with the North American public.
The car has a large group of fans with some owners having owned every version of the car at one time or another and others hanging on to original 1960's versions and keeping them in perfect condition.
The Camaro has been a favourite vehicle for improving through the cars lifetime, with owners spending time and cash adding aftermarket additions to improve their Camaro's style and power. Camaro's have been hugely strong in racing winning many Trans-Am series wins and lots other races and championships through its lifetime. Many racers still use older Camaro's these days and are still successful, often winning when against much more modern race cars.
The Camaro is still going strong today, and with its legendary status, power and eye catching looks from the fifth model, the Camaro is bound to be with us for many years to come.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/classics-articles/the-story-of-the-chevrolet-camaro-2902597.html
About the Author

This article was written by the team at http://www.NextConceptCars.com. The greatest place for news, the greatest reviews and details on the latest concept cars, muscle cars and the latest on the 2012 Camaro Z28.

2011 Vauxhall Antara Facelift Prices Start Under £20k in the UK

Following the reveal of its Opel counterpart in mainland Europe, Vauxhall has released pricing and specifications on the UK market Antara facelift, which boasts a barely noticeable makeover and a refreshed engine lineup. Prices for the updated SUV now start from £19,995 for the 2.2 CDTi (163PS) Exclusiv front-wheel drive model, which according to Vauxhall, represents a saving of £2,835 over the outgoing base version.

On the outside, styling changes for the 2011 Antara include the updated front grille with the new Griffin logo, enhanced by fog lights finished with chrome bezels on SE models, new 19-inch alloy wheels and modified rear lights.

Inside, the new Antara's cabin features a revised centre console with extra storage and higher-quality materials, in addition to improved instrument graphics and better interior lighting.

The 2011 model's revised Euro-5 compliant engine line-up includes a newly-developed 2.2-liter CDTI turbodiesel in two states of tune with 163HP or 184HP. The 163HP version is available in front-wheel drive with a six-speed manual transmission only or all-wheel drive hooked up to either a manual or six-speed auto gearbox. The more potent 184HP variant also offers a choice of manual or automatic transmissions, and comes with all-wheel drive as standard. All transmissions have been revised to improve efficiency.

The Vauxhall Antara will not be offered in the UK with the revised 170HP 2.4-liter gasoline engine of its Opel sibling.

GM Europe's engineers have also re-worked the SUV's chassis with revised spring and damper settings.

Finally, Vauxhall has improved safety and comfort features with the addition of an electric parking brake, a Hill Assist System as well as a "shift-up" fuel economy indicator on all models.

"At less than £20k, the new Antara is set to be highly competitive in today's SUV market," said Peter Hope, Vauxhall's Marketing Director. "Its lower emissions, higher output diesel engines and refreshed design will offer renewed appeal to both retail and fleet customers."