Re: Ordering a new L78/L89 Camaro/Chevelle
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Why Chevrolet marketed certain options and ignored others is a mystery. For example JL8 is mentioned in the Camaro showroom brochure twice but the L34/78/89, M21/22 are not.
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GM was afraid of alarming the insurance industry and kept quiet about the real high-perf goodies like L78s, etc. Remember that Chevrolet initially rated the '66 L72 Corvette at 450 hp and then derated it to 425. They did that to calm the insurance industry. Remember also that it was the insurance industry that had killed (or neutered) the musclecar by 1971. They were losing big money paying claims for totaled and stolen cars and kept the pressure up until the government stepped in and spoiled the party. The insurance industry lobbied Washington ($$$) and the feds applied their regulatory weight and the rest is history. As for JL8 brakes, those could be looked at as a "safety feature" and thus made it into the brochures.
Today the insurance industry simply charges up the wazoo for policies on cars like Z06s, etc.
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