Rumors have been circling regarding the future status of the one and only Chevrolet Camaro. Unlike its longtime cross-town rivals, the Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger, Camaro sales have slowed down recently and Chevy has yet to decide whether its muscle car will be redesigned or discontinued. In the meantime, the sixth-generation model, introduced for 2016, remains on sale across the nation. Well, almost everywhere. GM Authority has confirmed the 2021 Camaro SS, 2SS, ZL1, and ZL1 1LE trims will not be sold in California and Washington.

"Due to restrictions in California and Washington state related to copper brake pads, customers in those states cannot order a 2021 Camaro SS, ZL1 and 1LE for delivery after January 1, 2021," said Chevy cars communications manager Kevin M. Kelly. "Customers can, however, purchase these models from available dealer stock in those states."

Fortunately, this problem already has a solution in the works. Chevy is currently working on a new brake system "that is compliant with copper requirements" but it won't be ready to go for another year. Sales to California and Washington will resume in 2022 for all Camaro trims.

Chevy didn't go into exact details about why the existing copper brake pads are problematic, but it probably involves the upgraded Brembo brakes on those trims. The Camaro SS has standard SS Brembo front and rear performance anti-lock brakes, and the ZL1 has six-caliper front Brembos and four-calipers at the rear.

This is a relatively simple issue to fix but apparently wasn't done in time for the upcoming model year for customers in those states. It's a minor inconvenience Camaro fans in Europe wish they had.

If you recall, both the UK and mainland Europe banned both Camaro and C7 Corvette sales in 2019 because their 6.2-liter small-block LT1 V8 no longer meets emissions regulations. This came as a crushing blow to the UK in particular because the Camaro was once rated as the "most desired" used car, surpassing the BMW 8 Series, Ferrari 360 Modena, and even the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, to name a few.