…that was the next big thing. A smaller company that wasn’t in great financial shape, like Chrysler, was struggling to grind out something that looked new out of their existing, aging product line (shared B-body architecture with new Cordoba and Charger), while investing in compacts (F body Volare/Aspen) in the midst of a fuel crisis, to replace their aging A body fleet.

All speculation on my part, but I could see the logic in moving this way, as focus on waning performance car sales was declining. Meanwhile, the monster that was GM had plenty of resources to support Camaro (though they did drop Z/28 for a couple of years) and Trans Am/Formula to absorb what was left of the performance car market. They did all but drop performance models in their other lines, except Nova SS and Grand Am (which was intended to exude a more European flavour), along with 442 and a couple of others, so performance cars were really a bit of an afterthought for them as well.

That said, I agree that dropping R/T was a disappointment at minimum, and likely a mistake. I think it’s also important to remember, though, that by ‘75 most Mopars were dogs, so maybe dropping R/T was merciful to a point, letting the legendary brand go out on a high note.