Remember when it broke that there were some units of the Chevrolet Camaro SS hanging out at HSV’s place in Melbourne? That was a sure enough sign for us to suspect that we’ll be getting another American muscle car on our shores, and that they were going through some latter stage testing upon undergoing right-hand drive conversions.
Now, as CarAdvice have pointed out, the trademark for the Camaro word has been registered in Australia by none other than General Motors LLC, lodged on November 20th 2017. Though this is just the process for registering a worded trademark, the interesting bit arrives when we realise how wide a range the lodgement covers.
Holden, it seems, has thought of nearly everything that would pertain to the arrival of a new model, from the actual vehicle to advertising to merchandising to motorsports to general vehicle maintenance. They are covered under Class 16, Class 25, Class 35, and Class 37.
Let’s run through them:
Class 16: Stationery, pens, pencils, playing cards, posters, stickers, decalcomanias, flags and banners made of paper, promotional material in this class, coasters made of paper, magazines and publications; calendars and diaries; postage stamps; printed material in this class.
Class 25: Clothing, footwear and headgear excluding clothing, footwear and headgear made from foam plastics and clothing, footwear and headgear made for water sports.
Class 35: Advertising, promotion and public relations relating to motor vehicles, sports involving motor vehicles and the motor vehicle industry; wholesaling and retailing services in this class relating to the sale of motor vehicles and parts and accessories for motor vehicles; advertising, promotion and public relations relating to entertainment, cultural and sporting events.
Class 37: Maintenance, servicing and repair of motor vehicles; maintenance, servicing and repair of parts and accessories for motor vehicles; roadside emergency services for motor vehicles; installation, maintenance, repair and servicing of vehicle theft detection, notification and tracking systems and apparatus.
It’s been long speculated upon that the local arrival and continued success of the Ford Mustang has created underlined a void in Holden’s own line-up. Consequently, these Camaros, if and when they do arrive, should be fully imported from the United States. Because they will be receiving the right hand drive conversion treatment here, we do wonder how many units can be brought in at maximum and if they will end up being sold at competitive prices relative to the Mustang.
Unlikely, however, is the probability that the car will be sold under the Holden badge. The earmarked variants include the V8-powered Camaro SS, though sold under the Chevrolet name in Holden dealerships.
Other unknowns is whether GM will see fit to also import the less expensive variant with the turbocharged four-cylinder Ecotec engine to combat the Mustang EcoBoost and whether or not a viable case can be made to include the range-topping 480kW Camaro ZL1. And what about the convertibles? We’ll have more as this unfolds.
For more on Holden cars, check out our Showroom.
