Prescribed Power

Berger Chevrolet’s take on the sixth-gen Camaro SS draws on 50 years of performance experience.

- Barry Kluczyk

Berger Chevrolet is one of a handful of family run dealerships that can boast a legacy stretching back more than 90 years. Current dealer Matt Berger is the fourth generation to helm the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Chevy store, and his affinity for high performance has stoked the dealership’s half-century connection to the Bow Tie brand’s muscle cars.

Sure, the special models created by the likes of Yenko Chevrolet and Nickey Chevrolet made those dealerships household names with muscle car enthusiasts, but Berger Chevrolet was there back in the day, too, with “Prescribed Power” packages that boosted horsepower for Chevelles, Novas, and Camaros. In fact, the dealership became synonymous with high-performance Camaros—including selling one of the original 69 1969 ZL1 Camaros.

“The Camaro has always been our car,” says Matt Berger. “We’ve experimented with other models, but Berger Chevrolet has always been known for Camaros and that’s what people come to us for—and we’re thrilled with it.”

And while those other famous muscle car dealerships faded away, Berger rolled through the decades, offering performance-enhanced models when the market conditions were favorable. That included a successful and well publicized run of fourth-generation Camaros from the LS1 era, as well as a number of fifth-generation cars.

With the introduction of the sixth-generation Camaro, it was inevitable that Matt Berger would “prescribe” the dealership’s signature personalization treatment, upping the output of the SS model’s LT1 engine and giving the car a strong dose of visual distinction.