For 1968, Chevrolet could leave well enough alone with its instant hit, the Camaro. It had proven a worthy answer to the Mustang, with sales numbers looking strong and wins racking up on the race track. The changes from 1967 to 1968 were subtle, but thoughtful. For example, the vent windows that framed the A-pillars were eliminated. Since there were no longer the “smoker” windows, Chevy had to do something about getting airflow to the driver. GM installed air vents below the dash; a feature it called “Astro-Ventilation.”

1968 Camaro buyers who went for the larger SS engine got chrome inserts on the hood meant to replicate velocity stacks. Under that new hood, the available SS 396 cid V-8 now made 350 horsepower in L34-spec.

The Camaro Z/28, previously only available as a track-ready car, was made available for road use in 1968. The Camaro had won 10 of 13 races in the Trans-Am series and GM had started promoting the Z/28 in brochures, so demand and production spiked considerably. Z/28 sales jumped to 7,199 in ’68. GM sold 40,977 examples of the RS, and 27,884 of the SS.

In all models, shocks were staggered to get rid of a wheel hop issue. And if you went for the top performance models, multi-leaf rear suspension replaced the single-leaf rear setup.

In 1968, NHTSA mandated that all cars include side marker lights at the front and rear quarters. Aside from the regulatory visual changes, engine displacement emblems were moved to the front of the fenders. Side door mirrors changed from a circular design to a rectangular one. The taillights were also restyled, and non-RS models got a restyled grille.

In the cabin, additional padding was added, specifically to the dash, A-pillars and armrest. Some interior brightwork was changed to brushed aluminum in order to reduce glare for the driver. That last tweak is a perfect microcosm of the types of changes made to the ’68 Chevrolet Camaro – evolving the car while putting the driver first.