• The new Camaro picks up on the lines of the first with a few enhancements.abstract chevrolet camaro concept car image by Michael Shake from Fotolia.com
  
  When asked what "Camaro" meant in English, Chevrolet's upper management officially threw down the ponycar gauntlet when they replied that a Camaro was "a small, vicious animal that eats Mustangs." GM's answer to Ford's seminal Mustang quickly developed a rabid fanbase for its handsome and aggressive styling and performance to back it up. Although the model died an ignominious death in the early 2000s, GM resurrected the model seven years later to as nearly much acclaim as the original.
  
  

First Generation (1966-1969)

• To many, Camaro's first generation defined the model for all time. Built on the F-Body platform (shared by it's sister ship the Pontiac Firebird), Camaro was a unibody (frameless) sports car with classic proportions; a long hood, high rear quarter panel and a short deck-lid echoed classic racers of earlier days while a small rear seat kept the car usable for street duty.
  
  

Second Generation (1970-1981)

• This was Camaro's longest-lived iteration and quickly became a much-loved icon of the disco decade. In later years, performance enthusiasts developed a sort of love/hate relationship with this generation. Its body panels were very contemporary, picking up on the original Camaro's styling and enhancing it with some European flare from Lotus and Ferrari. On the other hand, increasingly stringent emissions requirements and rising fuel prices eventually made Camaros of this generation some of the least powerful pony cars ever produced.
  
  

Third Generation (1982-1992)

• This was Camaro's "wedge" era. Although it's pointy nose and sharply creased body lines would later draw some unflattering comparisons to cheese slices and doorstops, Camaro's third generation was seen (by 80's standards) as quite exciting and futuristic. Although the generation began by playing host to some truly unexciting power plants (165 horsepower was tops for 1982), by 1992 those numbers had risen to a reasonable 245.
  
  

Fourth Generation (1993-2002)

• Until recently, Camaro's fourth generation offered some of the fastest of the breed ever produced (even including many of those famed Big Block muscle cars of decades before). Performance from 1993 to 1997 was good, but the fourth-gen didn't really hit near-supercar status until GM introduced its all-new LS1 engine in 1998. When combined with the fourth-generations' ultra-slick bodywork and excellent aerodynamics, the 345 horsepower, 95 pound aluminum-block LS1 made Camaro a real contender in terms of both performance and fuel economy. Due to rising fuel costs and the perception that such muscle cars were gas-hogs, the Camaro/Firebird twins went out of production in 2002.
  
  

Fifth Generation (2009-Present)

• Unbeknownst to a public, GM had begun the first design studies for Camaro's fifth and current (as of 2010) generation before the axe had fallen on the fourth generation. GM was coy about their newest car; it was originally unveiled to the buying public in late 2005, but it would be another four years before the first car hit the streets. This newest generation picks up on many of the styling cues and proportions of the first generation, but its faceted body panels, large wheels and high-tech engines are pure 21st century. This newest generation (with its classics looks, powerful engines and excellent handling) has been widely hailed as a triumph for General Motors