The Chevy Camaro received a new design for 1970, the second major restyling since its introduction in 1967. The 1971 Camaros received only minor changes and for 1972, the 2-door hardtop Camaro coupe was given a slightly different grille mesh and carried a base price of $2,730, a slight decrease from the $2,920 price tag of 1971. A total of 68,656 examples were sold, which was a significant decrease from the prior year's 107,496 examples. Camaro production was in trouble due to a walk-out strike at the Camaro assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio. By the time the strike was over and workers returned to work, the bodies on the assembly line were unfit for sale under new federal safety standards. All of those bodies were scrapped and management considered doing the same for the entire Camaro and Firebird production line.

Although Chrysler and Ford had eliminated their big-block engines for that model year, Chevrolet continued to offer the SS model Camaro. Due to the strike, less than 8,000 SS Camaros were created that year, and many were equipped with the 350 cubic-inch V8, while just 970 received the factory-declared 396 CID V8, a mill whose displacement had actually be re-worked to 402 cubic-inch by this time.

The standard engine powering the Camaro was the 250 cubic-inch straight-6 with a one-barrel carburetor, seven main bearings, hydraulic valve lifters, overhead valves, and delivering 110 horsepower at 3,800 RPM. Eight-cylinder options included the 307 CID rated at 130 hp and the 350 CID. Beginning with the 1971 model year, the industry switched from gross (on a dynamometer) to net horsepower ratings based on an engine installed in a vehicle with all its accessories. Thus, the 350 cubic-inch LT1 dropped from 330 gross horsepower in 1971 to 255 net horsepower for the following year. The big-block 396 (402) had produced 300 gross horsepower in 1971 but was now rated at 240 net horsepower.

The styling introduced for 1970 would continue through 1981, gaining an impact-absorbing front bumper system in 1973, growing seven inches longer in 1974 due to the new aluminum bumpers meant to comply with new federal standards, a catalytic converter in 1975, and new body-colored urethane bumpers for 1978. The 250 cubic-inch inline-6 was replaced for 1980 by a 229 CID V6 rated at 120 horsepower. During its final year of second-generation production, the Camaro remained nearly unchanged.