For well over 15 years, we’ve been hearing how the third-gen Camaro (1982–92) is going to be the next big thing when it comes to building a somewhat affordable muscle car. Due to the car’s popularity at the time, every mullet-wearing local rock singer/guitarist had one, albeit they were typically the second owner, but including “I drive a Camaro” in your pick-up line upped your chances of scoring the hottest chick at the local dive bar or bowling alley.
Ironically, Motor Trend named the ’82 Camaro “Car of the Year.” Was the award fueled by lack of viable competition, ad dollars, or piles of party favors making their way to the decision makers at MT? We’ll never know for sure, but it was the ’80s man, and the Camaro was hot!
Unfortunately, the third-gen Camaro’s lack of power was a by-product of the government’s rage against horsepower and creating stringent smog laws that disallowed domestic magazine named the ’84 Camaro the “Best Handling Car Built in the United States.” If you wanted sports car–like handling performance in a relatively affordable package, you’d have to shell out around $11,000 to $14,000 for the IROC Z28. A bargain at the time? That all depended on your budget. But if you just had to have a Camaro, that was as good as it got.
