Camaro to Go Bye-Bye, But EV1 Just Might Stick Around; Could It Lead to Alt-Power Chevys? [Chevrolet Centennial, 2000s Edition]

Chevrolet is marking its 100th anniversary this week. To celebrate, we’re republishing two posts per day from our blog archives, each one plucked from a different decade of the marque’s long existence.

Time and time again, we’ve pitted the Camaro against the Mustang, and the Mustang has walked away lacking. Yet 2002 will be the end of GM’s F-body twins. No more Camaro. No more Firebird. No more Trans-Am. No more wacky specials like Grand National–powered T-top TAs or 427-inch aluminum-block Camaros. Done. Finito. Poof. Fin. Fare-thee-well, Eskimo Charlie. You get it. The platform itself dates back to 1982. The interior design is questionable. The ergonomics can kindly be described as iffy. But the LS1 is such a fantastically great lump that you don’t care that its roots are in the 1955 Chevrolet; indeed, much of the time, you don’t care about the essential badness of your surroundings. It’s a neat trick that never gets old. Except that now, apparently, it has.

So what have we got to look forward to? GM’s EV1 program hasn’t been a roaring success, but it seems as though they’ll stick with it. We don’t foresee an edict taking the small group of cars they’ve leased away from their owners—although we would rather like to watch those vegetable-chewing ninnies squirm and yelp if the big, bad General comes for their toys.

We’ve also heard that the next Corvette, which we should see in three years or so, will feature a smaller 5.4-liter version of Chevrolet’s Gen III small block. It may also be mid-engined. Whatever the case, with things heating up in the Middle East, we’ll see GM get serious about alternative energy sources and smaller powerplants within the next three years. Which also means, as GM’s volume brand, Chevy’s about to buckle down on real automotive efforts, rather than coasting on its truck and SUV profits. We can only hope that in 2005, we’ll see 300-hp V-6–powered Camaro and Firebird siblings and perhaps a Trans Am with the rumored 5.4 from the Vette. After all, if America’s without the Screaming Chicken for long, the terrorists have clearly won.

Tags: Chevrolet, Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Centennial |

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