I have wondered this for a long time, where did gm come up with the name camaro? theres nothing in the dictionary or anything, just curious where the name came from...

 

it means comrade or friendship in spanish or something...the original name for the car was "panther"

 

Yeah, it means buddy or pal. I believe they got the name from a late 1800s French dictionary at the last minute. I read that somewhere. Not sure how accurate it is.

 

where does the Z-28 come from? Or better yet what does it mean?

 

Z-28 origionally was an RPO code for that option. GM thought it sounded neat so it stuck. It does sound neat.

 

yes, it is French for comarad/friend.

 

Chevrolet has always used the "Z" designation for the upgraded or performance models. These days, you'll see the Z24, Z26, Z71, Z34, Z06, etc. The Z28 was the next available Z option for the Camaro as Z27 designated the SS. When the Z28 was born, people heard that the new RPO code presented certain options that weren't available on other Camaros, like the 302. People started going to dealers asking for the Camaro Z28 thing and the name took. Chevrolet decided to give the car the name of the RPO because it was already known.

As for the name Camaro, it is French for friend or comrade. Chevrolet had all the cars names starting with a "c" so they didn't want to use the name Panther. They searched out a name that started with the letter "C" and found the name in a French dictionary. If you misspell it, as in Camero, you are now using the Spanish word for shrimp. Make sure you spell it right!

 

Ok, I'm with ya as far as names like Chevelle, Corvette, Caprice, Corvair, etc. but explain Impala to me! (and yes, I know it is an African antelope... )


...just trying to lighten the mood a bit.

 

Just a guess...

The Impala was introduced in 1958 at the time when BelAir, Biscayne, 210 and other cars were named without a "C". Maybe the "C" designation started later?

 

From what I was told, years ago, Chevrolet didn't have different models and submodels as we do today. The Impala was an upgraded version of the Biscayne, or something like that. Kinda like the way GM lays it out as Pontiac is upgraded over Chevy, Olds over Pontiac, etc. The Make and Model were both Chevrolet, while the submodel of Chevrolet was the Impala, Biscayne, Nova, etc. Doesn't make much sense to me, but I guess they didn't have 30,000 car lines and models to deal with in the earlier days. So being that the model, Chevrolet, started with a "C", the submodel was able to be named differently. Here's an email I received from Scott Settlemire last year regarding the name Camaro.

Scott Settlemire wrote:
The history of the name Camaro:

According to some within General Motors, a 4-seat sports car was designed in the
late 50s for a growing America......it would be the Turbo-charged Corvair Spyder
of 1962......additionally, Chevrolet unveilled the "Super Nova" at the New York
Autoshow in March of 1964.....a matter of weeks prior to Ford unveiling the
Mustang......and while the Corvair was restyled in the fall of 1964....and the
Turbocharged Spyder was renamed "Corsa," within 6 months, the sales figures for
Mustang convinced GM that the "pony car" market was more than just a flash in
the pan.

Work became more intense on a program called the "XP-836".....a four seat
sporty-type coupe that would share an all-new platform with the 1968 Nova
X-body. This new car was referred to as the "Panther" or "F-body." It would be
the first GM car where computers were used extensively in the development
process. The idea behind the car that would become "Camaro" was to offer a
great-looking sporty car that attracted attention, no matter where it went. It
would have the incredible performance attributes of the legendary Chevy
small-block V8. ("the closest thing to a Vette, yet!") Additionally, the car
must ride smoothly, but handle like a european sports car. It must allow the
individual to tailor the car to his or her needs and wants -- both from a
performance and appearance standpoint.....and it must do all of this at a
Chevrolet price. (I think you will agree that these brand attributes have been
kept for 35 years.)

According to documents dated June 10, 1966, and exhaustive search was conducted
for appropriate names starting with the letter "C." -- it should also be noted
that at that time in Chevy's history, all of the car lines started with the
letter "C".......Chevrolet, Chevelle, Chevy II, Corvair and Corvette.....( Bel
Air, Impala, Malibu, etc were models within the car lines....) Furthermore,
this stayed true until the fall of 1969 when the 1970 Monte Carlo was
introduced.....but I digress!

A short list was developed from a list of over 2,200 words starting with "C"
.....and then an even more massive search was done to ensure that the name
picked would not have any negative connotation.......

One word really stood out from the others....."Camaro."

In Heath's New French and English Dictionary dated 1932...the word "Camaro" is
defined as "Comrade, Friend, Mate, Chum, or Pal." Thus, the name "Camaro" was
chosen and blessed by then-General Manager Eliot M. "Pete" Estes (who would
later become President of General Motors.) When announcing the Camaro to the
press worldwide, Mr. Estes had this to say about the name: "Chevrolet has
chosen a name which is lithe and graceful....in keeping with our other car names
beginning with 'C.' It suggests comradeship of good friends, as a personal car
should be to its owner."

And so it was............and on September 29, 1966, the Camaro roared to life in
thousands of Chevy dealerships nationwide.

 

Wow! thanks guys that was buggin me for a while

 

It means friend or comrade in french and it also means loose bowels in french or spanish also oh well its badass

 

Where'd you hear that?

Show me that one and I'll believe it, until then, no way!

 

The different names for the upgraded base models in a line went a little differently then Scott described, Heres some examples from base model to top of the line:

Malibu - Chevelle - Chevelle SS - Monte Carlo

150 - 210 - Bel Air

Biscayne - Impala

Tempest - LeMans - GTO - GTO Judge

Cutlass - 442 - Hurst/Olds 442

Skylark - GS - GSX

the Chevy II also turned into the Nova but the Nova and Chevy II nameplates werent offered at the same time.

So anyway, the point is that the different names werent like the division classifications that we have today. And not all chevy models started with a C.

 

And another thing, what is Chetrolet's infatuation with the letter C. camaro, corvette, chevelle, chevette, caprice, etc. Thats all I can think of right now, its still early.

 

cavalier, c- series trucks

 

Oh the loose bowels thing i found that on a first gen site so i dont no just wat i heard so im not bsing thats just what i found.

 

Ive also heard that Camaro in Norwegian means "Bringer of destruction" or something to that effect. Can anyone confirm or refute this??? If its true its a much more fittin definition

 

my stepmom's norwegian, i think she woulda said something if it did mean that, thatsd be cool if it did tho

 

Hey , Hey. Let's not forget Chevette!

 

Geez! How could I forget such a stellar example of performance engineering like the Chevette??

 

Picking up my Chevette tomorrow. It's my winter beater. It's a diesel too. LOL.:sillylol:

 

IROCZ88x-----your bra looks ttteeerrriiiibbbllleee......first off.....they look hidious on camaros and second yours dont fit........ugh.....lol......anywho......camaro means comrade/friend and i thought z28 meant 2 exhaust pipes 8 cylanders.....such as the beretta z26.....2 pipes 6 cylanders.....but how do u explain the avalanche z71.....7 exhaust pipes and 1 cylander??.....dunno.....thought i had something going then i remembered the SUT that our friends at gm came up w/

 

This topic is still going?!?! :sillylol: Fast86Z28, becareful what you ask for! Apparently, everyone knows their F-Body history!This board rocks!!!

 

This is off topic but I found it interesting, when GM was thinking of the RPO code for the high-output 305, they wanted a "sexy" name, hence the L69. Always thought that was funny, if its true that is

 

Hey, you guys forget the all mighty, all powerful Chevy Citation!:sillylol: Now, that was a modern engineering maravel.

 

since your making fun of the citation and the chevette you know when you put the two together you end up with a fiero right.

 

HEY HEY HEY NOW....Lets not poke fun of those lil fieros man...their the lil brothers of the Trans Ams and if youve ever been in one with an eight cylinder in it then man you obviously dont know what the fiero is all about...lets just do some math here 1800 lbs + 350 ci + 300 or more hp + rwd + massive amounts of traction from the engine sitting right in front of the rear + an empty parking lot = the best frikkin donuts ever...not to mention the chocolate filling in your pants lol...but seriously those fieros can be badass...and not to mention that the six cylinder GT was able to trap a mid to high 15 stock...sounds just like a stock 305 camaro so dont put down the fiero...oh yeah and the thing handles decently

 

It`s the truth I have owned two of them both v-6 cars and did research about them and found that gm used the front suspension from the chevette for the front and the front suspension from the citation for the rear the even put short tie rods on the back of the car that bolted to the frame. I would love to have another one some day but not as a daily driver as my lead foot is hard on the little 2.8 I broke the crank in one and a rod in the other.

 

By the way I have also ridden in a v-8 fiero and it was very impressive

 

Think thats nuts? lol, enyone ever been on a Boss Hoss? its a trike (1200lbs maybe) that has a 502ci BBC!!!

That was insane... fist time i was in the 9's and it was stock!!

 

yes i have ridden on a BOSS HOSS..them things are insane dude...some guy had one around here that had a 454 on it...frickin sweet man...im sure they make them with 350s 454s and 502's his BH was good for a low 10 1/4 maybe even a high 9 but man those tires were huge...theres nothing like it...but i guess i wouldnt own them though...damn gas is like 135 for regular and for super would be 155...sunocos ultra is popping for 165 a gallon ...so im stuck with the beretta for now damn thing good on gas and does the right stuff to those imports............................:hail: BERETTA.....oh yes and its not domestic rice...theres nothing ***** about it unless you consider all the dents appearance mods then i guess im proud to have a domestic ***** lmao...lets all dance with those lovable lalas:lala: :lala: :lala:

 

I thought a boss hoss was an actual motorcycle, not a trike. Actually, I just looked it up, they make both, powered by various small and big blocks.