I never had that impression. For one thing, the 5.0 Mustang was consistently faster than the Camaro, and even the introduction of the 350 for the IROC was barely enough to stave the Mustang.

No, the Camaro was not the norm.

It was with the Corvette that the Buick really showed who was boss. It was close, but the Buick won out....and it was a lot cheaper too.