Model year · Second Generation
1972 Camaro
The darkest hour
A 174-day strike, the lowest production in 24 years, and the last factory big block.
A 174-day UAW strike at Norwood stopped Camaro/Firebird production from April to September 1972; ~1,100 stranded bodies were scrapped because they no longer met incoming 1973 bumper standards. GM reportedly weighed cancelling both the Camaro and Firebird.
1972 was also the last year for the SS 396 (actually a 402) and the last year any Camaro could be factory-ordered with a big block — only 970 SS 396s were built.
Engines
- Inline-6 and small-block V8s
- LT-1 350 (Z28) — now 255 hp net
- 396/402 big block — final year
Identification
- 1972–73 grilles: larger, fewer rectangles than 1970–71
Open questions
Still unresolved:
- Whether GM's cancellation consideration was a formal decision or press shorthand