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General Motors Corp. is shutting off both the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird's engines and parking them in the garage. The 2002 model year will be last that GM will manufacture those nameplates.
The official announcement was made Sept. 25, although rumors had hummed for a couple of years in car-enthusiast circles.
GM's decision was unavoidable, according to John G. Middlebrook, GM vice president and general manager of vehicle brand marketing and corporate advertising. The industry made the decision because of a substantial number of automobiles that must be made, and the regular sports car segment has hit a significantly reduced demand.
The sports car segment dropped by 53 percent from 1990 to 2000, according to Middlebrook. The drop was due, in a large part, to the popularity of truck and sport utility vehicle sales.
At Ben's Auto Service in Warsaw, Ben Bradway is digging in an engine. A few feet away, his 5-foot toolbox stands with all his tools. The box lid is raised. Pictures inside showcase Bradway's six muscle cars. And a Harley-Davidson.
He owns a 1968 Camaro loaded with a big block 427-cubic-inch engine. He has a 1969 Firebird with a 502-cubic-inch engine. It's a race car, literally.
Another car is a 1969 Camaro Z28 that he sold once. But he tracked it down, bought it back and restored it. Now it's resting at home.
Since he has his cars in hand, the discontinuation of the Camaro and Firebird doesn't affect him. His toys are his. The ending of an era affects him more.
When Bradway, 55, was younger, muscle cars were the rage. Some say cars were status symbols.
Bradway's first Chevy was a 1963 Super Sport.
"I fell in love with that car. Ever since, I've been with Chevy," said Bradway.
Cruising to hot spots and meeting friends was fun but secondary to the looks your car got sitting still and quiet. Better than the admiration of an idle muscle car was the buzz around the car while revving the engine. The engine grumble sounding like coughing up phlegm.
Cars would congregate with the crowd. With hamburger and drinks, the bunch would swarm around the cars until they moved to the next site.
Just above Bradway's photos is a sketch of two cars drag racing. The girl has lowered the flag and the smoke is curling around the rear tires.
That era is fading.
"The newer (cars) don't interest me. I like the cars that were running the street when I was a kid," said Bradway.
When adults can finally afford the cars they admired in their youth, they find those cars. With each generation, there are new hot spots and meeting places. The other eras fade.
Bradway characterized the phenomenon. Loud engines have been replaced by loud stereos, he said.
Chevy won't let the Camaro just fade away, though. Camaros "will end with a bang," said John Brooks, Lakeside Chevrolet general manager. The 2002 model will be the Camaro's 35th anniversary model. Then the party will be over.
But Brooks, who's been in the business for 20 years, says the Camaro could re-emerge someday.
Other dealers believe they won't be affected by the Camaro's and Firebird's fade. Dodge doesn't make a car on par with the Camaro. Their closest car is the Stealth, or even more high-tech, the Viper.
Rice Ford's sales manager Tim Williams wasn't concerned either. "The Mustang has outsold them both, so it will make sales better," he said.
"There are still a lot of classics. It's not the end. There will always be classics and an admiration for them. When the cars are destroyed off the face of the Earth, then it will be the end of an era. They may come out with something completely new."
Williams likened it to the resurrection of Chevy's Impala. "We all thought the Impala was done." The Thunderbird is a Ford example of a car that was discontinued and resurrected.
The sports/muscle car era may not be over but it is running low on fuel. And because of it, GM is hanging up the keys. Maybe on a warmer day, they'll pull out the cars for another spin.
