Dave Lampert has almost 30 Camaros at his shop in Westminster. Most are late ’60s models, some early ’70s. All are on the verge of becoming history.
General Motors announced in September that the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird will end their runs with the 2002 models after a streak of bad sales years, although the company left open the possibility of reviving the names.
The final models, for now, will be a 35th anniversary edition Camaro and a Collector Edition Firebird Trans Am.
“GM looked for ways to keep the Camaro and Firebird going, but we couldn’t find a way when the market has changed away from performance cars and toward SUVs and front-wheel-drive cars like Hondas,” said GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson.
Lampert agrees, saying only die-hard fans come to his wrecking yards in Placentia and Westminster looking for Camaro and Firebird parts.
“I think they are giving up on the idea of selling Camaros to old Camaro guys,” Lampert said. “The same guy who had a ’68 Camaro is driving a Suburban with the kids to the soccer field.”
Lampert’s collection, started in 1977, is mostly cars from his high school years, ’67 to ’70.
“That was the height of the muscle-car era,” he said. “It was when all the boys who were 16 could only think about going fast.”
High insurance premiums on sports cars, high gas prices and lower speed limits contributed to the demise, Lampert said.
But collectors and enthusiasts say the cars may become more valuable after the models are discontinued. A restored early model goes for more than $25,000, Lampert said.
