1972 Camaro

The Strike and the Near-Cancellation

Following the September settlement, model changeover limited the initial worker recall. The Camaro White Book reprint in GM's archive attributes the scrapping of roughly 1,100 partially assembled cars to the cost of meeting 1973 bumper and emission requirements. Other accounts differ on their condition and fate; this is not a traced factory disposal record. GM reportedly considered dropping both the Camaro and the Firebird to simplify compliance, and backed off after pushback from dealers and owners.

The "GM almost killed it" story is consistent across independent retrospectives and fits the documented collapse, but no GM planning document confirming a serious cancellation decision has turned up. More on the second generation.

The Last Big Block, and the Horsepower Illusion

Chevrolet's September 1971 rating sheet for the 1972 Camaro calls the LS3 engine a "396" while listing its displacement as 402 cubic inches. That distinction was already present in the 1970 factory sheet. The familiar explanation that "nobody would buy an SS402" is not established as Chevrolet's motive by the factory pages. 1972 was the final year for it and for the SS 350, and for 1973 the SS package was gone entirely.

Chevrolet's revised January 1971 table lists the Z28 at both 330 hp gross and 275 hp net, each at 5,600 rpm. The September 1971 sheet for the 1972 car lists 255 hp net at the same speed. Comparing 330 gross with 255 net mixes rating methods; the net-to-net difference in those published figures is 20 hp, not 75. These are advertised ratings, not measurements of an individual surviving car. See the second generation.

The car that was built

For the few customers who got one, the 1972 Camaro looked much like a 1971. Standard models had a coarser grille mesh, vinyl tops took on a "wet" look, and the inner door panels were restyled with map pockets and a coin tray. A new four-speed shifter had a push-down reverse lockout, and three-point combined lap and shoulder belts were phased in during the year. Prices actually fell in December 1971, when the federal 7 percent excise tax on cars was repealed.

Every engine was now rated in SAE net horsepower. The SS could have a 200-hp four-barrel 350 or the 240-hp "396," which Chevrolet did not certify for sale in California. The Camaro White Book lists that engine option at $96, while the December 1, 1971 price schedule shows $101.15, a delivered price. The Z28 came with a four-speed or the Turbo Hydra-Matic, and air conditioning could not be ordered with it. Spoilers stopped being standard Z28 equipment. The larger three-piece rear spoiler, with a front valance spoiler, became a separate $81 option any Camaro could have.

The December price schedule shows how buyers built their cars. Variable-ratio power steering cost $119, the Four-Season air conditioner $418 and a console $60. The special instrumentation group, with a tachometer, ammeter, temperature gauge and clock, cost $86, and a Comfortilt steering wheel $46.