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Mustang vs. Camaro: A Timeline of the Muscle Car Rivalry

The Evolution of the Mustang and Camaro Through the Years
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2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS VS Ford Mustang GT side

Mustangs and Camaros have been battling it out for just about 50 years, and atMotor Trendwe've loved following the rivalry. In fact, we've compared those two cars more than 20 times, so if you're interested in getting a better idea of how the two muscle cars have evolved, keep reading.

The first Mustang made its debut to much fanfare at the 1964 World's Fair.

1967: Chevrolet Camaro

GM followed suit with a ponycar of its own in 1966. Like the Mustang, Camaro buyers had a choice of I-6 or V-8.

1974: Ford Mustang

Ford followed its success with the little-loved and decidedly dopey-looking Mustang II.

1974 Chevrolet Camaro front three quarter

This gen Camaro was significantly neutered compared to the big-block bad boy it was at its debut.

1979: Ford Mustang

1986 Ford Mustang front three quarter

In the heyday of excess, the turbocharged I-4-powered Mustang SVO went against the grain.

1982: Chevrolet Camaro

1985 Chevrolet Camaro front three quarter

Five letters sum up the Camaro of the 1980s: IROC-Z.

1994: Ford Mustang

The svelte-looking SN-95 Mustang was among the most popular ever, dominating the ponycar sales charts.

1993: Chevrolet Camaro

2002-Chevrolet-Camaro-SS-Coupe-and-Convertible

This generation was thought to be the Camaro's last, as it went out of production in 2002.

2005: Ford Mustang

The retro-inspired fifth-gen Mustang was well-received and would again inspire its rival to enter the segment.

2010: Chevrolet Camaro

After starring in "Transformers," a retro Camaro finally hit the streets ready for battle again in 2009.

2015: Ford Mustang

The sixth-generation Mustang debuts with a turbocharged 2.3-liter EcoBoost I-4 that makes more power than the also-available 3.7-liter V-6. A 5.0-liter V-8 remains available for the power-hungry.

2016: Chevrolet Camaro

The new Chevrolet Camaro becomes the2016 Motor Trend Car of the Year. Find out how it performs in a comparison with a Mustang GTright here.

Christian Seabaugh

I generally like writing—especially when it’s about cars—but I hate writing about myself. So instead of blathering on about where I was born (New York City, in case you were wondering) or what type of cars I like (all of ’em, as long as it has a certain sense of soul or purpose), I’ll answer the one question I probably get most, right after what’s your favorite car (see above): How’d you get that job? Luck. Well, mostly. Hard work, too. Lots of it. I sort of fell into my major of journalism/mass communication at St. Bonaventure University and generally liked it a lot. In order to complete my degree senior year, we had to spend our last two semesters on some sort of project. Seeing as I loved cars and already spent a good portion of my time reading about cars on sites such as Motor Trend, I opted to create a car blog. I started a Tumblr, came up with a car-related name (The Stig’s American Cousin), signed up for media access on a bunch of manufacturer’s websites, and started writing. I did everything from cover new trim levels to reviewing my friends’ cars. I even wrote a really bad April Fool’s Day post about the next Subaru Impreza WRX being Toyota-Corolla-based. It was fun, and because it was fun, it never felt like work. Sometime after my blog had gotten off the ground, I noticed that Motor Trend was hiring for what’s now our Daily News Team. I sent in my résumé and a link to my blog. I got the job, and two weeks after graduation I made the move from New York to California. I’ve been happily plugging away at a keyboard—and driving some seriously awesome hardware—ever since.

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