Chevy's 1969 Camaro earns title of Best Chevy of All Time 09/21/2011
Chevrolet turned 100 this year, and as part of the celebrations, the American car company asked fans to vote on their favorite Chevy. The 1969 Camaro took the prize with about one fifth of the votes, beating out the 1970 Chevelle SS by roughly 6,500 votes.
"I can vividly remember seeing one for the first time as a kid," said Tom Peters, Chevrolet design director, who has owned the same 1969 Camaro for 20 years. "The Intent of the Camaro was instantly understood, even to a 14-year-old like me, because it possessed a very powerful personality and an elegant, simple design. The Camaro was so cool because it offered this great style, high performance, and yet was unattainable for someone just getting out of school."
This model was the final year that the original design saw production, and it was the only time that Chevy offered the aluminum ZL1 engine. The Z28 SS and RS performance package made the car worthy of entering the Trans-Am racing series, and the car has been featured in many movies, such as Almost Famous.
No other cars came close to the Camaro or the Chevelle in this contest. The 1957 Bel Aire and the 1953 Corevette did the best with about 13,000 and 13,300 votes, respectively. When it was a new car, the Sting Ray took the automotive world by storm, offering one of the first engines with a fuel injection system. It was also available with Chevy's famous small-block V8 engine.
Not all the vehicles under consideration were classics, however. The 2009 Corvette ZR1 made an impact on the voting with about 10,200 votes in its favor. The 2011 Volt and the 2010 Camaro also made it far enough to be part of the running, but their votes just barely broke 8,000 combined.