What is a run through some American diecast models without a Camaro? I don't think it is even legal to not include a Camaro.
So I will do my due diligence and include one. It is not reluctantly, although I am making it sound that way. I, like a very large number of car and diecast nuts, love the '69 Camaro. It is a darn near perfect looking car. Where I might start veering away from others is that it is my opinion that after the '69, Camaros got progressively uglier and uglier, culminating in some late '80's and 1990's disasters. But maybe that can be said for most cars outside of what was coming from Japan. Anyway, the IROC has charm, but it took 25 years for me to discover it. Thankfully Chevrolet returned a couple of years ago with a great mix of nostalgia and forward thinking design with the new Camaro. I am a fan. But I digress.
With my opinion on the reverse evolution of the Camaro aesthetic-wise, you can assume that I think the '71 Camaro is uglier than the '69. It most definitely is. But not as far away as later Camaros. I still like it.
And with all that said, below is an example of the Matchbox version of the '71 Camaro. It is not a casting I am particularly fond of. It is a little too wide, the wheel wells are too big, and the nose sits a little high. But the details on the casting are great, and if the color and other details are done right, it can be a looker. So...this one is a looker. The detailed trispoke wheels along with the spectraflame red and front/rear detailing makes this one look really good.
Compared with other models used as Gathering exclusives, this one is much older. Models that made their debut the year of or year before are usually used as exclusives. But this one debuted years before, when Matchbox was producing "wider" models, and the proportions were a little different. They still made it look great as an exclusive.
Matchbox '71 Camaro Z-28 (2010 Gathering Dealer exclusive):
An interesting side note - If you want to see what the '71 Camaro would look like if Matchbox produced one today, go to Hot Wheels. The '70 Road Race Camaro, which is a Super Treasure Hunt this year, was designed by Matchbox Die-Cast Design Manager Dave Weise. Put Matchbox wheels on it and you wouldn't know the difference:
