Many cars that came to power during the muscle car era we're either quickly killed off because of the gas crisis or made substantially worse during the '70s. As for the Chevrolet Camaro, it did neither. Unlike most of its competitors i.e. the Challenger, Mustang, and Road Runner, the Camaro stayed very committed to its roots throughout the '70s.
While the Mustang was doing some weird King Cobra stuff and the Charger had turned into a miniature Cadillac, the Camaro still had those killer 2nd-generation lines and V8s all around. However, it was the end of the '70s when Ford got their groove back with the ever-popular Fox-Body Mustang and the Camaro was just diving into its first really bad phase.
That phase started with the terrible Berlinetta V6 and then, the crown jewel of botched muscle cars... the Iron Duke Camaro.
The Engine
The 3rd-gen "Iron Duke" motor was first offered in 1982 from Chevrolet as a part of a "sport" package for customers who couldn't spend a lot of money but who wanted something that looked high-end. The Iron Duke engine itself was a 2.5 liter inline 4 that made a savage, wait for it... 90 horsepower at the crankshaft.
It was like having a Subaru BRZ but with 50% less power, none of the cornering ability, and 1981 Camaro body. "Yikes" is right. The poor little Camaro was subject to its terrible engine, not because Chevy hated their customers, but because the post-gas crisis government demanded more eco-friendly consumption and the Japanese were starting to dominate the economy car and small sports car market entirely.
The Camaro and the Corvette were the only Chevrolets that GM marketed as "sporty" and since they simply couldn't tarnish the Corvette's 25 year legacy of V8 only options, the Camaro had to bite the bullet - and Chevy had to come up with a downsized engine fast. They eventually had the not-so-genius idea of taking a Pontiac V8 and cutting it in half, thus creating the infamous Iron Duke motor.
The Other Camaros Made it Look Even Worse
The Iron Duke was obviously the worst Camaro during its time in the Chevy fleet but the other, more expensive Camaros rubbed it in the dirt even more. It was like being the slowest kid at speedwalking camp, the next step up was a Berlinetta that came standard with a 107 horsepower V6, and the big-dog Z/28 came with a pathetic 145 horsepower 305 c.i V8.
In the Z/28's defense, it was also offered with a 165 horsepower version that had a better fuel delivery system and it also won Motor Trend's Car Of The Year award. However, we must emphasize that this was a time when the mighty Z/28 badged Camaro had just 145 horsepower. To give a little perspective, the 1969 Z/28 Camaro had a 302 c.i V8 that was rated at 290 horsepower when it actually made nearly 400, and the most recent Z/28 Camaro made 505 horsepower.
Those numbers are extremely reflective of the decades they were presented in. The '69 Z/28 lied so its competitors wouldn't think it was so damn fast, the '82 had to dial it back for an economic disaster, and the recent 2015 apologized to nobody with its big, honkin' 7 liter LS7. The Iron Duke was truly, the worst Camaro ever.
Sales
Sadly, even in a time like today when the muscle car engines have become god-like, half of muscle car owners are buying the base model V6s and 4 cylinders. Today would be the perfect time for the Iron Duke to shine, but unfortunately, in its hay day, less than 15% of Camaro buyers got the Iron Duke engine, and more than 50% got the V8, as it should be.
And even though the V8 is always the correct option, a 4-cylinder Camaro still could've succeeded in 1982. The legendary Peugeot 205 T16 made 197 horsepower in 1983 and a decade before that the Ford Escort RS1600 was making 113 hp from its 4-cylinder engine, proving that the Iron Duke had no real excuse for being so bad.
But you should still like 4-cylinder Camaros - the previous generation 4-banger 1LE was a great little track car and completely redeemed Chevy of their first 4-cylinder Camaro blunder. Should they call the 2021 4-cylinder the Iron Duke? We'll have to wait and see.