Why does the 1970, 1971, and 1972 camaro's weigh less then the 1973 and up

Like the title says, why does the early second gen's weigh less. They weigh like 3300 while the rest weigh about 3600 to 3800 pounds.
THANKS.

Well for starters the bumpers were changed due to gov't mandate. That certainly added some weight! Also I bet the LT and Berlinetta models weigh a little more. I wonder which model weighs in the most? With all the extra body flares and spoilers I wonder if the 80-81 Z-28 was the heaviest second gen Camaro model??

By what i have seen the 80 and 81 weighed about 3800.

It's probably due to new laws by the government.

All the extra "Safety" things and "Emission" laws that came up, it added to the weight of the car, and especially the emissions, which added bulky equipment in the engine bay (less room to work), adding weight to the car, and ultimately, slowing down the car (from weight and extra loops that the engine has to jump through to make emissions "Better")

My 71 weighed 3410 w/o a/c, heater, and emissions equipment, 1/2 tank of gas. I was shocked, but it was a certified scale.:(

ummmm all i can say is my 79 Z/28 when it was stock weighed in a 3550 lbs with a 1/4 tank of gas. no a/c and it's a coupe with an auto (which is heavier then the man.) and a little bit of bondo in it ;) :cool: i cant see them being that much, maybe full tank with a driver in it:confused: and that was a commercial scale.

Side door beams were also added during this period.

Things got heavy starting in 1974. A bunch of emmission and safety laws changed that year, requiring more emmissions crap on the engine, cat cons, and safety door beams, 5mph bumpers etc. The OEM's also started adding more sound deadener and making the cars a bit more luxurious with more options as standard equipment. Because performance was on the wane, adding the options made the cars a bit more appealing. It also made them heavier. With a 265 lb.driver my 1977 Z/28 weighs 3810. :eek: Without driver, the weight is 3545.

Ok thank you

My '71 with a 454 and an RG M6, no AC weighs 3460 lbs