Are You A Real Man?
Then drive a rear-drive Camaro all winter. Here’s a quick look at each generation of Chevy’s pony car.
Traditional wisdom says there’s nothing worse for dashing through the snow than a rear-wheel-drive hoopty with a big V8 in the nose. Well, sometimes traditional wisdom sucks. You haven’t lived until you’ve passed a four-wheel-drive machine on the outside of a turn in your snow-blowing Camaro. Want to do more than play ditch ping pong? Here’s one hack for each generation of GM’s finest winter hooligan machine. Feel free to mix and match. Bonus points if you go for all six.
First Generation: 1967-1969
The hammer. The early cars are gorgeous, but properly crude. If your machine didn’t come from the factory with a capital P Positraction rear end, you’re going to have a hard time making it out of the driveway. Throw a Positrac differential in and go sideways before our Lord.
Second Generation: 1970-1981
The Camaro endured a pile of changes in 1970, but it remained a bruiser at heart. A bigger leaf-sprung bruiser with stout subframes. A truck in a slinky dress. The good news? If the car’s still rocking its tiny stock wheels and tires, chains are comically cheap. As in $30 cheap. Throw those bad boys on the back and give every Subaru in your neighborhood a red, white, and blue finger as you pass.
Third Generation: 1982-1992
What makes the third-gen Camaro a performance car joke makes it a perfectly acceptable snowhound. With less power and more weight than its older siblings, this Camaro is decently suited for dashing through the snow. A set of Nokian Hakkapeliitta C Van studded winter tires should help. They’re good for up to 118 mph, and have a criminal amount of grip. Four-wheel drive? Please.
Fourth Generation: 1993-2001
You’re only as fast as you can see, and early fourth-gen Camaros suffered from some truly abysmal headlights in the fairest of conditions. Throw some snow in the air and you’re out of luck. The solution? A pair of these puppies. With 8200 lumens and a spot/flood light pattern, these pricy LED floodlights will let you see every last detail of the telephone pole you’re about to snuggle up with.
Fifth Generation: 2010-2015
If your fifth-gen Camaro is saddled with an automatic transmission but no remote start, we’ve got good news for you: It’s easy start your car from the comfort of your home. A little internet research will show you how to locate the remote start module and get it wired up and working, keeping you from having to trudge your way through the frozen hellscape of your driveway.
Sixth Generation: 2016-
General Motors gave you a leg up if you own a 2016 Camaro. Flick through the drive modes and you’ll find a Snow/Ice setting. It custom-tailors traction control, throttle mapping, shift points, and stability control to keep the car planted in the slippery stuff. All hail our technological overlords.
