1982 Chevrolet Camaro Berlinetta | Retro Review

Back in the early 80s it always felt like the 3rd gen Camaro design was a radical departure from the previous gen, but the evolution is clearly there.
Show 126 | Original Airdate 06-01-1982
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[@jake20479]

i seriously hope that the kid, john, now a full grown man, sees this video and is reminded of his letter. thats awesome

[@advilshenk]

Was thinking the same thing. Plus wonder if that kid actually grew up to be a car saleaman like he said he wanted to be

[@CB12345]

I hope he followed his dreams and made them a reality by now.

[@blackericdenice]

He was hit by a car riding hit bike when he turn 12.

[@larrygronewold6529]

@@blackericdeniceoh you are so funny. Be proud

[@BurtSampson]

I wonder if the letter was fake

[@mymomsaysimcool9650]

I was 10 in 82 and watched this show religiously. I had to watch this, The Computer Chronicles, & This Old House. My parents thought it weird but I’m the child they call when the car, the computer, or something in the house breaks.

[@sjn7220]

Ha me too! I was also born in ‘72. Also watched Home Time and all the PBS cooking shows.

[@jeremyb4493]

This old house, home time, 3-2-1 contact (I came along later than you guys lol), sesame street, etc for me...never got into captain kangaroo, only vaguely remember it at all

[@waltereturner]

Same. I watched Motorweek, this old house, and the one after it with the guy & girl (hometime I think) and some of the cooking shows. PBS was awesome as a child 😊

[@dbddecosta]

Same but I was 11 in 82.. Gen X brother!

[@aaronwilliams6989]

I was young, too ,in 82. I turned 16.

[@V8AmericanMuscleCar]

When John said he would like to see a Camaro, I think he meant a Z28. 😁

[@jasonmurdoch9936]

The Z28 in them days was a turd

[@midnight347]

​@@jasonmurdoch9936still better than this

[@jeffc7486]

I thought so too. Kind of funny though lol

[@jeffc7486]

Kid: Man that car is awesome! Grown up kid: I was such an idiot, that thing had no balls.

[@mwp1088]

Hahahaha

[@jeremyb4493]

Well even John Davis says the same back then lol

[@RobCamp-rmc_0]

His dream of being a car salesman was shattered. It’s for the best.

[@stevezilla68]

Older grown up Gen X kid today: I kinda like it.

[@bikingD]

You do know that people that bought a Berlinetta never bought that car for performance? It was a sporty personal luxury coupe.

[@glovedcop69]

The way that hood bends when he opens it lol cars of the 80s lol 😅😅😅😅😅

[@basshead.]

It's still a thing if your car has a carbon fiber hood lol.

[@Cheezwizzz]

Reminds me of the bending hood on the Caddy Cimmaron when motor week covered it

[@EnthusiasticHidingCat-rh9uh]

😅

[@Sebastian_Dinwiddie]

I spied that too 😊

[@WSKRBSCT]

I just lost it watching that braking test in the intro. 🤣

[@gyneve]

Like watching a freight train struggle to stop.

[@zythr9999]

You probably didn't see the 82 Granada Wagon braking, then.

[@WSKRBSCT]

@@zythr9999 I'm sure that was probably hilarious. Someone was arguing with me about speeding the other day and I was explaining the 85th-percentile rule for setting speed limits and how they are too low if the government actually followed that law. I pointed out that the speed limit was 70 dating well before cars like this (55 only became law in 1974 due to the Arab oil crisis). There is simply no comparison between the cars of today and even 1982, as evidenced by this video, but we are still using the same speed limits.

[@phillipb189]

I think every gm car I ever owned had rear drum brakes that were grabby when cold.

[@cp9133]

@@WSKRBSCT Given how poorly many people maintain their cars (as seen in such channels like JustRolledIntoTheShop), I’m not sure higher limits would necessarily be a good move.

[@punemax]

So much torque the chasis twisted coming off the line.

[@brspeedysgarage]

Props…..sadly torque absent in this, however. 😀

[@codyC423]

"Only engine power held our speeds back in the slalom" thats hilarious. I've never heard that one before

[@jamo5]

They called it heavy at 3100 lbs 😂. Wow Things have changed

[@adamtrombino106]

Yep. My 2009 Challenger R/T weighs more than my 79 Chrysler 300 by about 350 lbs. People made fun of the 71-73 Mustang calling it the Clydesdale, but look at how much 1 weighs now!

[@joshthemediocre7824]

My grandfather had an 83 Berlinetta with the 305 v8 and 5 speed. I learned to drive in that car at 13 years old on the backroads in my small town. My grandpa had got the car new because his GF at the time loved them, they broke up a year later and my dad and I were the only ones who ever drove the car. When he sold the car in the mid 2000's it still had under 20k original miles on it. They are a blast to drive, especially as a young teenager, great memories in a Berlinetta.

[@davidaubin3902]

1:41 John: THE LONG WIDE FLAT DASH IS DEVOID OF EVEN THE SMALLEST GLOVEBOX! LOL

[@GustavoEBarriga]

Now I understand why old dudes called it "the secretary car"

[@tonyflorio3269]

Keep in mind this replaced the previous gen Berlinetta or Type-LT, which often was ordered with a 305 with ~130 hp in a car several hundred pounds heavier than this, meaning they had similar (slow) performance. These were sportier alternatives to a Cutlass or Monte Carlo; performance enthusiasts ordered the Z-28 or optioned up a sport coupe with the V8, manual and F-41 suspension.

[@otterpossum9128]

Was Italian for slug. Love it

[@unitedcity_mc4421]

No, it was Italian for "little saloon".

[@andreeaster1183]

I had a 4 cylinder 2.5 iron duke which produced 90 horsepower with a 4 speed stick. It was pathetic and when you turned on the AC it got worse. As a teenager in my senior year 1985 the kids called me night rider lol, it was actually dark blue but at least it looked good with the after market rims. 😂

[@palebeachbum]

I would love to see MotorWeek's retro review of the 4cyl Camaro. That would be pretty entertaining in a sad kind of way.

[@johndrake2729]

Lol. How was the fuel economy on it?

[@IceTTom]

@@johndrake2729 🙄 really??

[@teresapflaumer5717]

I love the 80s Camaro. I had the 86 Z28, brown and beige with gold rims. Loved that V8 beast!

[@jeffc7486]

Chevy definitely pulled off the brown color really well.

[@yudhabagaskara98]

Finally a proper retro review

[@christophejergales7852]

Not everyone is seventy.

[@whyallthefuss201]

This brings me back so many memories. I had a new red 1983 Camaro base model and my friends and I had some really good times in that car. Traded it in after two years of nothing but problems… still I have some fond memories with my Camaro

[@rodmunch69]

Wow, this makes me appreciate my 1982 Corvette quite a bit more.

[@TheOfficialCaseMade]

How to make 180hp horsepower seem blindingly fast... Take away 80hp 😅

[@mwp1088]

Best looking production car ever????? Did they forget about the 50s, 60s?

[@aaronwilliams6989]

You KNOW they did!

[@Lexrolla-1]

Those were old jalopies everyone grew up with at that point that no one was thinking about....but was piling up in junk yards much like the 00s and 90s cars today almost no one thinks about

[@pmafterdark]

Remember these as a teen when they came out. Love the 80's retro reviews. 😄

[@ericwhitehead6451]

Me too, they were a big deal back then.

[@3.2Carrera]

I love 3rd Gen F bodies, but this a great reminder of it's underdeveloped and extremely humble beginnings. The only thing sporty about this one was the shape.

[@glennvernes8305]

My high school math teacher had one with the 302 V8. He loved it.

[@zanemalenzi442]

I never understood how gm thought the 2.8 was sufficient. The 4.3 would have been great but wasn’t available yet but the 3.8 was.

[@sjhudon386]

3.8 is 90 degrees vs 60 so maybe taller although they did use it in the turbo ta

[@sjhudon386]

3.8 at this time had maybe 110 hp lol

[@Gr8thxAlot]

I remember seeing the weird gauges as a kid. Even then, I didn't understand why GM would make such a thing.

[@archiebunker8123]

There was a strong push for making the US go towards the metric system in the late 70’s-early 80’s. Any vestiges of that were killed off in late ‘82. This made that transition way easier. In addition, it meant GM didn’t have to make a separate speedometer for other countries. Always trying to save a buck…

[@thunderray1987]

Drop in an aftermarket 5.7L 350 V8 and watch the horsepower numbers rapidly increase. Man, that's a beautiful 3rd gen Camaro though! My favorite's still the 2nd gen '78-'81.

[@markdubois4882]

I too like the 2nd generation, but the years in question.....70 1/2 to 73.

[@thebestisyettocome4114]

The Chevrolet Camaro 1982 was expensive. Most people could not afford it. You were looking back then over $12,000.

[@austinhazlett2k17]

Maybe that's why it was almost killed off in the 80's until fans gathered and urged GM to keep it.

[@CB12345]

This is where the laziness started to happen if a $12,000 is considered expensive.

[@johnnymason2460]

​@@austinhazlett2k17 Yes, you are correct. The Camaro and Firebird were almost replaced by the so-called GM80 cars(which was planned to be sold by Chevrolet, Pontiac, and Oldsmobile). I'm sure F-body pony car fans were happy that never happened.

[@danielfair4675]

​@CB12345 $12,000 in 1982 is the equivalent of $39,000 in 2024. What sort of $39,000 car are you tooling around in? .... nevermind, I already know. 😁

[@Gr8thxAlot]

A loaded 280ZX was $18k back then, with all the tech goodies. The Camaro was cheap compared to most other sports cars.

[@akvalues]

The only kid who had ever wanted to be car salesman 🤣🤣🤣

[@aaronbarkus6458]

Eh, we only can't because our driving records 💀

[@CB12345]

I hope it became a reality for him.

[@akvalues]

@@CB12345 gold star for you and him

[@zayisom6819]

Pretty sure he transitioned into "car enthusiast" once realizing car sales are not it 😂❤

[@larrygronewold6529]

If you are good you can make good money in car sales.

[@frankez1975]

Always a nice looking model that I would totally rock

[@dodgeguyz]

And people said the Mustang braking was awful. It may nose dive, but at least it stopped straight!

[@MarkMeadows90]

My dad owned a 1983 Camaro Berlinetta back in the early 90s. It was a salvaged title car and was rebuilt from a minor accident. Repainted in a later model bright red color. He said it was a slow car, but enjoyable nonetheless.

[@DizzyMan24]

That steering wheel... what in the world were they thinking 😂

[@landyachtfan79]

0:09...............John Tracey is in his early 50's by now, & I am sure he has had MANY of these over the years!!! I actually wrote to MotorWeek, myself in 1990, asking who sang "Rusty Old American Dream", which was played during one of Craig Singhaus' "Taking The High Road" segments about restomods. I thought it was James Taylor, but it turned out to be David Wilcox.

[@GalenlevyPhoto]

My son has the ‘84 Camaro with 5 speed manual and a blown 2.8 V6. It currently sits in the garage.

[@Cobra3901]

I was 22 years old in 82 and my boss at the time got his wife an 82 Berlinetta with a V-6 and it was a turd!! I had a 72 Mercury Monterey at the time and it would run circles around the thing. 😆 A few months later I bought a 82 Mustang GT and it was way faster than any 82 Camaro including a Z/28!! The 6 cylinder Camaro didn’t stand a chance!! He had way more problems with the Camaro during the few years he had it. The only problem I had with the Mustang was keeping rear tires on it. It had the stupid TRX tires from Michelin and they weren’t cheap either. First brand new car I bought.

[@lehbeltman]

I had a friend with this car, I was shocked how slow it was compared to an early 70s one

[@richardunicorn7879]

I love the gold trim and wheels on the Berlinetta. Regardless of the color, the gold accents looked good on these.

[@marksman4004]

Times have changed for real.

[@TheMELTDOWN911]

2:04 WOW! 55 to 85 MPH in RED! definitely those were much slower times... I remember my Grandfather 1985 Jeep Wagoneer limited with the GM 2.8L OMG! that XJ was sloooooooooooooooooooooow!

[@drsssssssss]

These are awesome time machine pieces

[@ProbeGT2]

Imagine saying you have a camaro and it does the 1/4 mile in 20 seconds 😅

[@constructionbootgazer]

And there’s no 0-60 time, just a 500’ sprint. I guess when the car does only 70 in the quarter, there’s no point 😂

[@truthsmiles]

My daily driver is a bone stock 2003 Honda Civic with the 1.7 and 5-speed, making 115 hp. It weighs about 2,600 lbs. A couple years ago when my son got his mustang, we took it to open night at the drag strip and I had to see what my twenty year old POS could do: 17.7 seconds @ 77 mph :) I can’t believe I would have beat the pig featured in this video haha

[@constructionbootgazer]

@@truthsmiles the manual box is the game changer. Plus a 4 cylinder that’s cast in aluminum instead of iron and no driveshaft/rear diff weight savings.

[@truthsmiles]

@@constructionbootgazer Oh for sure… lots of advantages. I just never would have believed it if you told me that my car could beat any CAMARO off the production line :)

[@scottymoondogjakubin4766]

I had a 83 firebird with the 2.8 - 4 speed auto ! Really reliable and felt pretty spirited !

[@TheMICMusicInspirationChannel]

Did it have a big ol' bird on the hood?

[@juanc5149]

John is now 53 years old. 😯

[@kellanhills1972]

Twice divorced. Drinks too much. Stuck in middle management at the local CarMax. Drives 13 year old Toyota sienna van. No longer dreams of being a car salesman. Instead he peers into an empty bottle of Budweiser wondering how his life could have turned out so wrong.

[@quintschumable]

Geeze. Give the guy a break will ya lol. ​@@kellanhills1972

[@suomenpresidentti]

Same as me. Good times to be a kid. CBS colecovision was awesome.

[@kellanhills1972]

@@suomenpresidentti 😃

[@kennethanway7979]

My brother had one of these brand new...I beat him in a drag race with my 79 olds wagon....he wasn't happy....I beat him easily! 😀👍

[@pdennis93]

403?

[@kennethanway7979]

@@pdennis93 nope..350. was a generic tired wagon!

[@bradleypollack5658]

😂😂😂😂

[@m00nkinftw]

That is one radical thumbnail

[@Wooley689]

I had one a 1983 Berlinetta model Silver with T-Tops and V8, really enjoyed that car.

[@darkninjacorporation]

I hope John had a long and successful career in care sales or wherever else he wound up! Wouldn’t it be neat if he saw this video?

[@Hazwaste63]

That back hatch sounded like the Munster's dungeon door.

[@basedhealth4426]

Slug or non, my kingdom for an unlimited supply of old cars like this.

[@jimmyjimjims7483]

My coworker back like 10 years ago had a silver 82 Berlinetta he called MJ, stinkbugged out with two huge racing slicks in the back and funny car dragsters in the front, that thing was GUTLESS lol. My Geo Metro would smoke that thing, today it sits under a tarp on the side of his house rotting away...

[@braddietzmusic2429]

Even back in the day, the 2.8 V6 in the one my parents bought as a “third car” with its 135 horsepower (and automatic transmission) was both slow and there was absolutely no joy in reving the low power pushrod engine. It was competent enough to accelerate and keep up with traffic, but the engine never inspired any antics. I guess that might have been the point. In this featured car, 102 horsepower would have been even more depressing. Pretty and beautiful cars, though. As with this test car, or the one I drive- it’s the worst of both possible options- neither this engine, nor its slush box transmission were inspiring to drive. At least the manual transmission would have at least made the car more engaging to drive, if not any bit discernibly faster. Oh well, it was a nice car and I took very good care of it, until my brother got a hold of it and also needed something to drive in high school…

[@dannyg6592]

Very cute letter from the kid. I watched MotorWeek religiously back then. For those born later, this was the height of the malaise era and new American cars were just not very good back then.

[@WoodsPrecisionArms]

The 1982 Camaro Berlinetta was chevy’s version of the Delorian - looos fast but completely GUTLESS. Now if it had the 4.3 V6 (which didn’t exist then, I know- I’m talking later) which has huge displacement because it’s a 350 with 2 cylinders chopped off, and even dared to super or turbo charge it - then holy shit they would have had something. Something really really good

[@ytmjdehlin]

If you're going to talk poorly about the DeLorean, at least spell the name correctly.

[@WoodsPrecisionArms]

@@ytmjdehlin phone autocorrect that I missed - and I’m sorry I wasn’t talking poorly I was being honest - because you’re offended doesn’t make it being poorly talked about. It was gutless.

[@jcat96]

What a thumbnail 😂 and what a car!

[@pdennis93]

No 4 speed automatic was available in 1982. They had a 3 speed automatic and 4 speed manual that year. In 1983, they were updated to a 4 speed auto and 5 speed manual.

[@bolognatony8739]

Considering the Hydra-Maric 200-R4 was launched in '81 are you saying that Motorweek didn't know what they were doing in '82? The 200-R4 was standard with any rear drive automatic with the 2.8 V6. It needed that 4 speed manual was standard and the TH-200-R4 was optional.

[@pdennis93]

@@bolognatony8739 there was no 4 speed automatic fbody in 1982.

[@adamtrombino106]

@@pdennis93 The std automatic was a 3 speed TH200C Chevette based unit which was optional on 4 and V6 cars. The OD TH2004r was optional on V8 cars later in the 82 model yr. I went to HS with a guy that had an 82 Z28 with the G code 305 and that car had the automatic OD. Of course it was an absolute POS and he later converted the car to a 700R4 non electronic from an 83 C10 truck. Once the fluid warmed up, you got converter lock up in 3rd and 4th which was kinda like having a 6 speed auto, unless you were over 3/4 throttle, in which you got 4 gears. We took many long road trips in that car with the 700r4, and with the cruise on at 70mph, it got 25mpg even with the 3.08 gear and 3 aboard.

[@TheGbeecher]

19.4 quarter mile at 70mph?! Ahh, the Detroit 'Malaise Era'... BTW - my '86 S10 Blazer had the 2.8 V6 with TBI...😮😅

[@lbmautos]

That brake test looked pretty fun, honestly. 😂

[@neonufo8039]

2:36 oh my god look at thing crawl

[@theKevronHarris]

The double needle speedometer shown at the 1:57 mark is a quirky, yet interesting feature on the Camaro Berlinetta.

[@TrailBlazerSS502]

You’re never too young to dream.

[@user-tg9qz2ul2k]

Those 80 interior were Soo utilitarian but we didn't seem to mind😅

[@4HBirtcher]

That berlinetta Camaro in the 80s should have a digital dashboard instead of the needles! Especially the very confusing speedometer!

[@johndrake2729]

Oh, it did, starting in '84.

[@therealjayseh]

Nice ride

[@AndrewOnTheYouTube]

“But just as we were wondering if Berlinetta was Italian for slug…” 😂😂😂

[@jonanthonylosito2004]

Nice Thumbnail Motorweek 😂😂😂

[@sjhudon386]

And yet I would still like to have one today lol

[@Brendonbosy]

2:35 Now thats neck snapping acceleration from a true muscle car. Only thing that’ll push you more is that braking performance

[@Todd.T]

My mom is 82. She laughed at how slow the car took off when floored.

[@rubbersoul3723]

To me-a stark reminder of what went wrong with the American car industry after the late 60s-seeming to embrace the motto-"let's just make it good enough to get people to buy it-but not-great"-because they took the American consumer for granted-& I feel like they-still-haven't entirely shaken that thinking.

[@battycowboy]

That lag between first and second gear was funny as hell

[@jessekuchinski1172]

Children of the 80s were probably the best in history.

[@StuPedassol]

It's coming right for us!

[@sannissansanjuan5074]

At 2:08 I remember as a Kid 70s, Always Wrap Dust off the Top Pot

[@netowork3d]

2:00 lol

[@samueldeandrade9058]

Sou aqui do Brasil e fã do Mustang e Camaro

[@tbok75]

It's really sad that i remember this episode and that letter... i was 7 and wanted to write in too but mom wouldn't let me. Lol

[@ssippishark]

When they came out I thought it was named after Eddie VH's wife.

[@tkewrestler2662]

That V6 was not General Motors at its finest. American Motors sourced that engine it was the “big” engine in my Mom’s 1984 Jeep Cherokee.

[@blackericdenice]

3100 lbs.? My 2004 Golf weight 3200 lbs. 102 hp from a 2.8 v6. My Golf has 115 hp from a 2.0 4 cylinder.

[@beb1527]

I didn’t get to ride in the earlier years. But by 1986 (the 1985 model year 2.8 got a modest boost in hp to 135) it certainly didn’t feel slow anymore.

[@adamtrombino106]

I worked with a guy that had an 87 with a 5 speed, and it was peppy around town. The steering was quick but the brakes were terrible. They were right, tail swing out was really bad especially in wet weather.

[@salimhalabi4707]

please I need information about 1997 Pontiac grand prix GTP 3.8 SUPERCHARGER

[@mrksts1]

I met a lady who had an RS. She thought it must have stood for “really slow”.

[@jdogmcnasty1980]

my dad had a 4cyl firebird.....that thing couldn't get out of its own way. Had like what 90 hp 😂

[@workingcountry1776]

LOL it doesn't have rack-and-pinion steering. Same exact part number recirculating ball steering box as mid sized A/G body and 2wd S10 pickup. Z28 got tighter ratio

[@anibalbabilonia1867]

Boy have times changed! Did you people noticed when he lifted the hood looked like a cardboard with that huge gap when opened!😂

[@duaneparker9374]

my friend had one of these

[@kriscotner7105]

Best styling out of Detroit ever? EVER????? I didn't know Ronnie Milsap was allowed to test drive cars.....

[@bghoody5665]

This is the V6 and its performance wasn't all that great - I can't imagine how bad the 4 cylinder would be.

[@adamtrombino106]

You have no idea. I went to HS with a guy that had an 83 Firebird with the 2.5L and automatic. In heavy stop go traffic, it was fine. But try and get that thing up to highway speeds was a hair raising experience, and if you turned on the a/c, it couldn't do 70 mph unless on perfect level road. The only good thing was the 2.5 was lost in the engine bay, like a BB in a box car, so servicing it was a breeze.

[@alphamaledriveshard]

A 1982 Toyota Celica Supra tested by motorweek made 145hp out of a 2.8 inline 6 NA. 😅😅😅 Still a lovely car. I'd have one with a 305 or a 350.

[@tonedefguy]

Toyota had dual cams and valves, and was the supra fast model

[@mccrackenphillip]

Ah Miami vice episode one car. I wounder if it's around still

[@MaxPower-11]

If the 6-cyl spewed out 102 horses then I shudder to think what the 4-Cyl did 😮. On the positive side… would probably make for a good engine on a lawn mower nowadays 😅.

[@2H2521]

Hideous interior!

[@TheCosmicGuy0111]

Woah!

[@glanzera]

My first car was a 1995 Civic. Half the displacement, 2 less cylinders and the exact same horsepower as this lunk 😂

[@burtbacarach5034]

I thought the 2.8 MPFI was weak at 130 horses.But 102?That's just sad.But,better days are coming (1985 5.0 TPI)...

[@salimhalabi4707]

also about 2012 Camara ZL1 1LE

[@BReal-10EC]

I hope they did their brake tests absolutely last before returning the cars back then. Their brake testing simply must flat spot the tires. *Would have loved to see them test handling and braking on cars back then in the wet. That's when cars would just become spinning tops on the wet highway in a panic braking stop.

[@hertzair1186]

Amazing how crude those cars were

[@blacksitearea]

What sporty things were there in that Camaro? Its body?

[@MWBenDavis]

Handling

[@blacksitearea]

@@MWBenDavis I watched the video but saw Fiero instead of Camaro.

[@PhillyDee215]

19.4 sec in 1/4 mile and felt slower😵

[@ash27slick74]

I know right. John is 100% right. I bought one way back in 1983 as a used car and I was getting smoked by Volkswagen Scirocco's.

[@PhillyDee215]

@@ash27slick74 stop it...🤣