Mini Messenger - 1997 Chevrolet Camaro

The fourth-generation Camaro was the F-body Chevrolet built in Canada — the entire 1993-2002 run was assembled at the Sainte-Thérèse plant in Quebec, the only major American muscle car of its era to be built outside the United States. The 1997 model year sat near the high point of the platform: the 5.7-litre LT1 V8 produced 285 horsepower in standard Z28 trim and 305 horsepower in the SS package. The body was wide, low, and aggressively wedged in a way that made every contemporary Mustang look upright by comparison.

It was the muscle car of the 1990s mall parking lot. The fourth-generation Camaro became standard issue in 2 Fast 2 Furious and across the early-2000s street-racing visual lexicon. Better Off Dead's Camaro was a 1967; the 1990s Camaro inherited the same archetype for a different generation. The SS variant has aged into a serious enthusiast bargain, particularly the manual-gearbox cars.

Chevrolet built the fourth-generation Camaro through 2002 before discontinuing the model entirely. It would not return until the fifth generation in 2010. Total fourth-generation production reached around 668,000 units. The original Sainte-Thérèse-fitted interiors — leather optional, cloth standard, with the distinctive deeply curved dashboard — are now the period statement of late-1990s American performance car design.