Introduced in 1982 as a replacement for the
Torana, the Camira would quickly earn high praise
from the commentators of the day, the car even
taking out Wheels magazines prestigious “Car
of the Year” award the same year. But the
Camira would soon be beset with reliability and
durability problems; quality control issues included
smoking engines, poor quality paintwork and the
ever present overheating problems, all combining
to sully the Camira’s reputation forever.
Apart from the fact that the 1.6 litre engine
was woefully underpowered, it was also badly
designed for Australian conditions. Being a “G-Car”,
or global car, the engineers had designed it
to reach normal operating temperature as quickly
as possible, so that European iterations were
not running flat out down the autobahn with a
cold engine. Under the more temperate Aussie
conditions this design feature quickly revealed
it to be a flaw, and the woefully inadequate
cooling fan did little to help, resulting in
an engine prone to overheating whenever the mercury
climbed much above 30C.
Just why the designers
did not incorporate adequate drainage holes in
the doors is anyone’s guess – Camira
drivers would soon get used to the sound of water
swishing around in the doors, the ensuing rust
holes quickly providing a mode of egress. Later
models improved markedly, the JE model actually
being quite a good car, but the damage to the
Camira’s
reputation was irreversible, non-existent resale
values a hang-over for years to come.
