Holden future rests in imported cars as the brand loses its long-standing manufacturing arm this month. However, Holden promised exciting things are ahead, including a mysterious sports car the brand has alluded to for years.
Whether that’s the Chevrolet Camaro or mid-engine C8 Corvette remains to be seen, but most recently, reports indicate the sixth-generation Camaro will head down under and be converted to right-hand drive, thanks to Holden Special Vehicles (HSV). Speaking rather openly about the Camaro’s potential in Australia, Sean Poppitt, Holden Director of Communications, told The Motor Report the Camaro “has to wear” the Chevrolet badge, rather than a Holden lion or HSV emblem.
“I think it has to wear a Chevrolet badge, it absolutely does. It’s intrinsic to its DNA and to what it stood for for decades in the U.S. and globally,” he said. However, he answered the question hypothetically and did not confirm Holden of HSV’s plans to bring the Camaro to Australia.
“It’s certainly a massively exciting product and we’d definitely love to see it on the roads but I can’t talk about what or when that might be,” Poppitt said of the Camaro.
The idea of an imported Camaro wearing a Chevrolet badge in Australia is rather odd, especially if it’s sold under HSV, per reports. Furthermore, Holden reportedly received the green light for the seventh-generation Camaro, which will come from the factory in right-hand drive. It would mark an obscure point in history for Holden, should its sports car wear a Chevy bowtie.
Comments
Wow ?????
Of course “has to wear” a bow tie over here, just as a Corvette would because these are iconic cars for Chevrolet. And Chevrolet is GM Detroit’s golden child. No problem with that.
But our Commodores and Caprices “didn’t wear” Holden badges when they were sent to the USA as Holden has never been considered as an iconic brand for GM Detroit.
GM Detroit will reap what they sow over here … it’s inevitable. We will never consider GM Detroit vehicles ever again.
The loyalty and passion that generations of Australians had for the Holden brand has been murdered and just as GM Detroit has abandoned us, Australia will also abandon GM Detroit. We have our heritage, we have our history, we are damn proud of it too. GM Detroit will NEVER take that away from us.
There is absolutely no point using Holden badges on these cars being imported into Australia now, just use their original badges and close down the Holden brand.
Who knows, GM Detroit might be lucky and actually sell a couple of cars in Australia if they DON’T use the Holden brand.
How long before there are no Holden bagdges at all. The Camaro is too little too late and will be 30k more expensive than Mustang.
I have had Holdens all my life. My next car will be a Stinger also more expensive and slower than an SS Commodore
You might like to rethink that decision.
Don’t speak for all Australians because you’re butt hurt the public didn’t want to buy Holden designed and built cars. The engineering was good, but the styling was not. The Commodore was a dud until Pontiac got its hands on it. The VF was another prime example of a great car with very bland out dated styling.
If Holden built cars people wanted and wasn’t constantly losing money they would still be making cars.
You’re way out of your depth dude !!
It’s a Chevrolet Camaro… Just as it’s been since 1967 and just as the Chevrolet Corvette has been since 1953. Of course it’s going to be a Chevrolet. What the heck else would it be? These aren’t ‘throw away’ generic GM cars with ‘pick your badge’ engineering like cars from the 80’s such as a ‘chevy’ Celebrity. There are certain vehicles that you simply cannot toss another badge on. Ford has owned other companies in the past and no way in hell would they call the Ford Mustang anything else than what it is. A Ford. WIth Chevrolet, things like Suburban, Corvette, Camaro, Chevelle, CK/SIlverado, Impala and so forth are the real deal. They were Chevrolet’s back when Chevrolet itself was a real Company-Motor Division that GM just happened to own.
GM would damage Chevrolet severely if a Camaro image even went viral with anything but a Bowtie. With the advent of the internet, badge engineering is coming to an end just as it should. Authenticity matters… Particularly for long term viability.
Exactly my point, these cars have to stay as Chevrolet, even when they are sent to Australia.
But that same logic should have been applied with the Holdens that Australia sent to the USA:
The 2004 Pontiac GTO will forever be Holden’s VZ Monaro.
The 2008 Pontiac G8 will forever be Holden’s VE Commodore.
The 2009 Chevrolet Caprice PPV will forever be Holden’s WM/WN Statesmans and Caprices.
The 2014 Chevrolet SS will forever be Holden’s VF Commodore.
Australians are proud of these Holdens just as Americans are proud of your Chevrolets.
But while Australians are proud of these genuine Chevrolets you mentioned, Americans don’t give a toss about genuine Holdens that I mentioned.
Holden is and always has been a division of GM, at least as far as car making goes because they were not a auto manufacture before GM showed up.
Plenty of Chevys get re badged, they decided not to do it with the Camaro. Since it’s their car they call the shots. Perhaps it’s because the name “Camaro” holds a lot of clout and they will get more sales doing it this way.
People in Australia know what a Camaro is. No one here knew what a Monaro was, but a GTO was Legendary.
I don’t think even the most die hard, one eyed Holden fan would want to see a Holden badge on a Camaro.
The Corvette is the halo sports car for GM – it will always be a Chev Corvette. While not a halo car the Camaro carries a lot of iconic history and symbolism for GM and will remain a Chev Camaro.
No Holden badge could ever usurp and surpass (by that I mean boost sales in a positive light) the history of these two icons. Besides a Holden Camaro or Holden Corvette, just don’t sound right!
Precisely.
A Chevrolet should stay badged as a Chevrolet.
A Holden should stay badged as a Holden.
But GM Detroit never gave Holden a proper opportunity that it truly deserved in the USA, because Holden has no heritage or history in USA.
(Unfortunately) as the owner of Holden, GM Detroit will always give preference to any local USA operations before any of it’s overseas operations.
This is why I have always admired American patriotism, compared to the weak and almost non-existent Australian patriotism I am surrounded with over here.
The cold harsh reality is Holden means little to nothing to the average America. Holden has never had a hold here outside the enthusiast community.
On the other hand Chevrolet holds some ground down under with the cars that were imported over the years and the many still imported for the enthusiastdown under.
Now I would not import a Chevy Sonic, Cruze or Malibu as a Chevy but the Camaro and Corvette hold enough name equity to win over most down under other than the small piss and moan club.
They are the ones that need to come to terms the global auto market has changed for all of us. The smaller markets like Down Under just don’t buy enough cars to support the development cost anymore.
We saw it here with Pontiac but cost got so bad that Pontiac could no longer be anything more than a FWD styling exercise.
I get it because I was a long time Po teacher fan and owner. But most of us long time Pontiac owners learned long ago the beginning of the end was when a Pontiac lost their own engines as yhat was their heart and soul.
Holden was down to a Chevy powered sedan that really was based on a modified platform that was old. GM did their damned it’s to keep it alive as long as they could. Did any of you ever look around and realize they were the last one in the market. So don’t give me that GM did not give them a chance.
The fact is you once had an advantage being a small market with special cars but the reality today is even large markets like ours here is becoming reliant on selling cars like the Mustang and Camaro globally just to keep the, alive.
If the coupes do not sell globally we will lose them here in American to.
Yep, what you are saying Scott is true, hard to swallow, but true nevertheless. But.. Scott, You know the best part of this thread is that when / if we get the Chevy Camaro down here…. Brian won’t be able to do a damn thing about it!! haha!!
Don’t flatter yourself Mike, Holden’s were involved in auto manufacturing well before they were bought by GM and are a subsidiary not a division. In fact they built car bodies for Ford, Dodge, De Soto, GM etc beginning 100 years ago. They were basically the Fisher Body of Australia and became integrated into GM as General Motors-Holden’s after a merger of General Motors Australia and Holden’s Motor Body Builders in 1931. Beginning in 1948 GM-H begun production of the 48-215 Holden, however they still built full size Chevolets and Pontiacs right up until the late 1960s alongside their own models so Chevrolet has more than enough badge recognition to remain on the Camaro and Corvette should they come here. In fact Chevrolet still has a cult following in Australia, 100s of Silverados, Corvettes and Camaros are bought over here every year by several private conversion companies such as Performax etc and converted to RHD and generally cost three times what they do in the US. Not only that, classic Chevrolets, both locally built by Holden and imported can be seen on Australian roads quite frequently. Camaro and Impala both have a racing pedigree with many racing in the Australian Touring Car Championship (now called Supercars and previously V8 Supercars prior to that) in the 60s, 70s and 80s. If HSV can emulate the same business model with full GM factory backing and at a competitive price point compared to their competitors that can only be a great thing, and not only that it keeps a flicker of local manufacturing alive.