1967 Camaro RS/SS Convertible

by Carl Bomstead

$3,000 then, $25,000 soon.

In April 1964, Ford introduced the Mustang and started the pony car era. It set sales records that have yet to be broken and caught the powers-that-be at General Motors completely off guard, as they had nothing in their line-up that could compete. A contingent within Chevrolet wanted to counter with a modified Chevy II but saner heads prevailed and the Panther Project, later named the Camaro, was initiated. Introduced a little over two years after the Mustang launch, the Camaro, and its stablemate, the Pontiac Firebird, had Coke-bottle styling with a cleaner look than its rivals. The standard engine was an OHV six-cylinder, but most buyers picked one of the 14 V8 options. The buyer of an early Camaro was faced with a long list of choices. Following the lead of the Mustang, the Camaro buyer could select “one from column A and two from column B” and by the time he was done, the price could soar far beyond the base MSRP. The SS and RS designations were options...