Sources & method
Where the numbers come from, and what we do when two good sources disagree.
How to read the numbers
Key figures on the year pages carry a small label, High, Medium or Low, for how solid the number is. When sources disagree, you get both numbers and a note saying so. The 1969 Z/28 is the best-known case: it's quoted as both 19,014 and 20,302, so the site shows both.
A dash in a table means no reliable figure has turned up. It never means zero.
We only call a car "rare" when a source actually counts it. You won't find a "1 of 12" made by multiplying option percentages together.
What a decode can and can't tell you
A VIN or cowl-tag decode tells you what the codes say the car was built as. A factory document, such as a build sheet or a GM record, is stronger. A hands-on inspection is stronger still. We keep those three apart, and a decode on this site is never called "authenticated" or "numbers matching."
Where we look
GM's own records
- GM Heritage Center vehicle information kits
- Chevrolet's dealer data for every Camaro from 1967 to 2002: production, colors, trims, options, VIN and cowl-tag coding. The site's backbone for the older cars.
- GM Heritage Center and Chevrolet press releases
- Heritage cars, and details of the 2010–2024 cars straight from Chevrolet.
Researchers and the press
- Camaro Research Group (CRG)
- Decades of work on the 1967–69 cars: production counts, COPO orders, cowl tags and engine stampings.
- Hagerty Media
- Model histories, design and racing background, and values.
- GM Authority
- Year-to-year changes on the modern cars and the end of production in 2023.
- NHRA, IMSA and IROC
- Race results and series history.
- automobile-catalog.com
- Year-by-year production compilations. Handy, though the site itself says its figures aren't certain.
Enthusiast references
- NastyZ28.com and CamaroWorld
- Decoding charts for VINs, cowl tags and paint codes, checked against GM's own charts where possible.
- Team Camaro Tech (camaros.net)
- Owners and restorers comparing notes. Good for leads on rare options; nothing is taken from it without a second source.
Photos
Photos come mostly from Wikimedia Commons, used under the license each photographer chose, with the credit under every picture. A few come straight from their owners with permission. Where no licensed photo exists yet, the page says so instead.