o-seat roadster, a fastback, and a station wagon. GM was trying to keep the cost as low as possible, however, to compete with the Mustang, and decided tostick with just two models, a coupe and a convertible. The Camaro was to be offered with a wide variety of powerplants, ranging from a 230 cubic inch six cylinder to a 327 V8. In addition, a new engine displacement was created just for the Camaro, a 350 cubic inch V8 rated at 295 horsepower. As the launch date neared, the car still had no name. It had been called various names by GM, including Nova, Panther, Chaparral, and Wildcat. Chevy also considered using the letters "GM" in the name, and came up with G-Mini, which evolved into GeMini, and finally Gemini. General Motors Headquarters killed that name, because they didn't want the letters "GM" used in case the car was afailure.This pre-release car bears "Chaparral" name.Finally, the car was introduced to the press as the Camaro, considered to be a good name because nobody knew what it meant. Chevrolet produced an old French dictionary showing that the word meant "friend" or "companion", but Ford found an alternate meaning in an old Spanish dictionary-"a small, shrimp-like creature."The automotive press had a good laugh over that, and an even bigger one when one journalist found yet another meaning-"loose bowels." It didn't take long for the laughter to stop after the introduction of the stunning 1967 Camaro! ...
