1981 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 - The Exception To The Rule

I'm of the opinion that the second-generation Chevrolet Camaro, especially the Z28, actually got better looking as Chevrolet dragged its inexplicably long production cycle out over twelve model years. Our subject is a well preserved '81 Z28.
 

 

That would make these cars, built between 1970 and 1981, an exception to my rule that cars rarely get better looking with nipping and tucking of their original design. Designers attempts at freshening things up almost always resulting in botch up's akin to what plastic surgeons did to Meg Ryan's once angelic face.

 

The baubles, the bits, the stripe jobs ad nauseam - somehow, someway they worked on the Camaro. Now, this stuff wasn't for everyone and the definition of "cool" is quite broad, but if you "get this", it didn't get much better. Please, no jokes about mullets. And to hell with the fact that these weren't very good cars.
 

 

The Camaro benefited indirectly from the government's 5 mile per hour safety bumper regulations that started in 1973. General Motors, for the most part, did a great job of complying with the federal requirements as they deftly blended the bumpers into the design of their cars. However, they went one step farther with the Camaro's bumpers - they covered them up with these plasticized, rubber-like flexible bumper covers. Voila. Instant classic. It not only updated the look of the car tenfold, it made it look, dare I say, better. It was also a harbinger of automotive designs of the future - when was the last time you saw a chrome bumper on a car?
 

Another rule these cars are the exception of is they're the rare automobile built after 1972 that's appreciating. It's telling their values are, in general for cars in similar condition, better than that of Corvettes of the same vintage. What's more, owners of Camaros stand a much better chance of selling their car quickly compared to someone trying to sell a Corvette. Trust me on that one. I found this car over the weekend on Autotrader.com, downloaded pictures of it and when I wanted to hyper link the ad for it to this blog, it was gone by late Monday morning.