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Rumorpile: Next-Generation Camaro To Head Down Under


William Maley

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The departure of the current Holden Commodore means Australians will not get their fill of V8 muscle. But it seems help could be on the way from America.

A new report from Wheels says the Camaro will be heading down under to give the Ford Mustang some much needed competition. But don't expect to see the current Camaro make the trip. Wheels says it will be the next-generation model due in 2021 that will do battle. This is due to the engineering work needed to do a right-hand drive version. 

We know that that the Camaro team has been watching the Australian marketplace since the Mustang went on sale to see how it would do. Since the Mustang was introduced in Australia last year, 6,000 models have been sold. This is likely one of the key reasons GM decided to go forward with these plans.

It should be noted there is a fail-safe to these plans. If the Australian market loses interest in rear-drive, V8 muscle cars, GM can pull the plug on this project as late as 2019.

Source: Wheels


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Interesting, but as I love the Skyline of old with the Right side driving, why would Aussies not like a left hand Camaro that is different than all the right hand sided driving machines?

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1 hour ago, dfelt said:

Interesting, but as I love the Skyline of old with the Right side driving, why would Aussies not like a left hand Camaro that is different than all the right hand sided driving machines?

It is not legal to own and drive a LHD car for more than a short time and you must display a large sticker on the rear bumper a sign that shows you are on the wrong side. 

That is why they go to such expense to convert the cars to RHD. 

Now I have some customers in Surfers Paradise and some of the other more remote western cities that have American Muscle cars that are still LHD. I asked how they get away with it. He said where they are at they just choose not to in force the rule as they do in the east. In the east it is a major pain. 

I suspect it will be a Camaro. They discussed that in recent years that if they made the move they would retain the name. 

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2 hours ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

I wonder how much demand there is in Oz has for such a car, though...hasn't the Australian market moved on to be dominated by appliances like Civics and Camrys and CUVs like other markets?

Here is the 15 best selling models in Australia for February via CarAdvice

TOP-SELLING MODELS FOR FEBRUARY 2017

SALES

Toyota Corolla

3392

Toyota HiLux

3386

Mazda 3

3143

Ford Ranger

2931

Hyundai i30

2003

Mitsubishi Triton

1990

Mazda CX-5 (SUV)

1933

Toyota RAV4 (SUV)

1726

Hyundai Tucson (SUV)

1596

Holden Commodore

1566

Kia Cerato

1513

Nissan X-Trail (SUV)

1500

Toyota Camry

1473

Mazda CX-3 (SUV)

1468

Toyota Prado (SUV)

1320

It's mostly utes and SUVs (with the odd compact here and there) thrown in. I think GM is thinking of only selling a small number of Camaros to begin with and then increase if there is more demand for it.

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On ‎3‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 11:11 AM, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

I wonder how much demand there is in Oz has for such a car, though...hasn't the Australian market moved on to be dominated by appliances like Civics and Camrys and CUVs like other markets?

That is what I have been saying for a long time but the die hard Aussie Holden fans will never admit.

The RWD sedan sales have been on a long term decline and GM was the last real hold out in their market.

I think there would be a market for the Camaro as it is something they really like.

But keep in mind to keep the Camaro alive it will require global sales as you are not going to sell 100K units in N America anymore and it will need a global market to keep the name plate alive. Ford is doing the same.

Both cars just are not moving cheaper 4 cylinder models in numbers they really would like and they will need to spread out production of the V8.

The Mazda 3 is king down under over the last so many years and that is what Holden needs to target along with the Toyota.

The reality is the global market is no longer an enthusiast market as it has gone all utility because of cost and usability.

People what cars that will do all they want and cars that they can afford. It used to be you just had to pick the number of doors and how big the V8 but that has all changed.

Watch as all GM cars will also go RHD optional. as they will need it with Holden and other RHD markets.

 

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