Being a muscle car enthusiast in Australia sucks right now. Not only has Holden halted production of its prodigious Commodores and HSVs and reinvented itself as nothing more than an importer of the General's finest, but buyers Down Under have to shell out close to $150,000 if they want to get their hands on a left-hand drive version of the Chevrolet Camaro. That's not the case if they want a Ford Mustang thanks to the Blue Oval's decision to take this generation of the pony car global.
However General Motors can't afford to leave its Australian fans in the dust. And it certainly can't stomach the possibility of having them switch to the dark side and pad Ford's pockets with more reasons to congratulate itself for making the Mustang palatable to regulators in the other regions of the world. So, following a move that only seemed natural, Car Advice has uncovered proof indicating that Holden will finally bring a Camaro to Oz. Evidence comes from the fact that Holden has registered the Camaro name under trademarks of various classes including trademark use on a vehicle, which takes things a step further than if it were to just trademark the name for marketing purposes.
Car Advice thinks it's likely that the Camaro will come to Australia in right-hand drive format, but don't for a second think that Chevy has made the decision to take the 'Marrow global. Unfortunately, the General isn't quite ready for that yet. Instead, Holden will take care of the right-hand drive transformation, included as part of its new responsibilities as an importer of GM's products. That means that buyers will still have to shell out more for the transformation-an estimated $30,000 Australian dollars more than the Mustang GT. While it makes the Camaro a more expensive prospect for the budget-minded muscle car buyer, it undercuts the expensive fees charged by aftermarket tuners.
GM's move is meant to appease the aficionados rather than compete with the Mustang's grip on the global market, but the fact it's even toying with the idea could mean the next-gen Camaro will be prepped for worldwide delivery.
