1982 Chevrolet Camaro Sport Coupe review from North America

When I first bought the car, many, many things were wrong.

I needed to replace the fuel pump to get it running when I first bought it, which was a rather quick and inexpensive fix.

There idle was very rough, which was something I was never able to fix.

The seats were in absolutely awful shape, which I remedied with the addition of seat covers. Even after adding the covers, the seats were quite uncomfortable.

About a week after I bought the car, the battery died because some idiot (me) left the dome light on.

The transmission was slipping when I purchased it, and I didn't have the money nor the desire to replace it.

Needed to replace the starter, which was a pain.

Engine finally seized at 327,502 kilometres, and I sold it to a scrap yard for $250.

This car had been abused, and it showed. Many interior parts were broken, and the outside was rusted pretty bad around the wheel wells and on the doors.

This was my first car. I had been in love with Camaros all my life, as my father had owned a '70 1/2 Z28 (possibly the finest Camaro ever made), and my goal was to get one of my own. Unfortunately, only having $650 (I argued the owner down to this price) to spend, a newer Camaro was out of the question, so I went with the next best thing, which, admittedly, caused a lot of heartache, but was worth every dime.

The 4-cylinder (approximately 90 horsepower) engine on the base Sport Coupe was incredibly weak- very little passing power on the freeway, and just plain slow altogether. Personally, I think the idea of making a 4-cylinder model was some kind of a (very unfunny) joke on GM's part. This car had no go at all.

Seemingly the name 'Camaro' means 'high insurance' in French, because I still paid through the nose to insure this car while I owned it (I was a new driver at the time).

Having said that, however, it was a Camaro, and even though this one was rusty and slow, you could still see, if you looked closely, what the car must've looked like the day it was driven off the lot for the first time.

I'll never forget my candy apple red Camaro; it was my first experience with this legendary nameplate, but definitely not my last.