[BigAls87Z28]

Camaro confirmed for Europe, may not be branded a Chevy
Posted Jun 3rd 2008 9:02AM by Damon Lavrinc


Wayne Brannon, Chief Executive of Chevrolet Europe, has confirmed that the UK will be getting its own right-hand-drive version of the Camaro when it goes on sale in early 2010. 1,000 coupe and convertible variants, powered by a 400 bhp, 6.0-liter engine, will be produced with RHD, and it's suspected that about 300 units of each will make their way to dealers in The Kingdom after the Camaro makes its European debut at the London Motor Show.

However, there is some debate about where the Camaro will be sold. Chevrolet is considered a budget brand abroad, so there's apparently some consternation about selling the Camaro with the bowtie badge.



More at link

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/06/03/camaro-confirmed-for-europe-may-not-be-branded-a-chevy/

 

[TaHoE]

I'm sorry this is stupid. Camaro = Chevrolet. If it's not going to be a Chevy, don't bother.

 

[member12]

I'd say go for it. The Mustang is sold there.

It's very "American" in style and probably performance. I wouldn't let the Europeans buy it unless it was a Chevrolet.

It's the right thing to do.

 

[Ambalanche]

I'm sorry this is stupid. Camaro = Chevrolet. If it's not going to be a Chevy, don't bother.

+1!!

 

[Avalanche13]

... powered by a 400 bhp, 6.0-liter engine

I thought the LS2 was out of use. Did they mean 400hp 6.2L V8?

 

[paul8488]

It's such a cool, unique car with no European competition that it won't matter if it's branded Lada. We all go on about how important a halo car can be... but this is once case where it's true.

 

[tgagneguam]

Think globally, GM, and you will find that you will quite easily be able to justify the business case for a whole variety of vehicles. Pretty much all of them, I imagine. And that includes the Chevrolet(!) Camaro.

 

[Saturn69]

I'm sorry this is stupid. Camaro = Chevrolet. If it's not going to be a Chevy, don't bother.

Yes, but 'Chevorlet' in the U.K means 'Star in a reasonably priced car' type of car, like the Chevrolet Optra. Vauxhall, on the other hand, has a little, tiny modicum of clout there.

Really, would you want the Camaro to be sold with that as a stablemate? Sure it'll make the Optra look good (what are England's laws on truth in advertising?), but it'll make the Camaro look like shyte, as they say 'cross the pond. However...they did sell the mid-70's Camaro in the U.K. so maybe....oh wait, I hope they've all forgotten that car if this new one is sold there.

 

[Black Rabbit]

They could bring over the Malibu too as a full size range topper. With the current exchange rate it would certainly be cheap enough.

 

[Mikkoo]

I'd say go for it. The Mustang is sold there.

It's very "American" in style and probably performance. I wouldn't let the Europeans buy it unless it was a Chevrolet.

It's the right thing to do.

Wrong, Mustang is not sold in Europe. They are all brought in by importers.
The Camaro would be different, because it would be distributed by the Manufacturer.
We have known for quite some time that the Camaro would be imported here
in Europe. The bigger question has been, does GM want to have it as a stand alone
like Corvette? There has been a reluctance to put the Camaro in the same
showroom as the lesser GMDAT products like the Aveo & Lancetti.

 

[zete]

They sell the Corvette there. Sell the Camaro beside the Corvette. Lutz claims the Camaro will have a more premium feel, thus it'll fit in closer with the Corvette than with the Aveo et al.

 

[CrimsonTider]

Think globally, GM, and you will find that you will quite easily be able to justify the business case for a whole variety of vehicles. Pretty much all of them, I imagine. And that includes the Chevrolet(!) Camaro.

If selling the Camaro & other Zetas abroad will help the business case to keep these in production for awhile, I say go for it. I'm sure many young Brits would love to be seen in a Camaro. However it should be branded a Chevy no matter where it is sold.

 

[fan]

Chevy needs a halo vehicle abroad. The cars that Chevy sells abroad( Spark, Aveo and Lacetti) are not up to what many people expect from Chevy - american legend - cool american stuff; that is, not cheap corean imports.
Or maybe they are thinking that Chevy should be the cindirella brand - wrong!!!!
I think that Camaro would be just what Chevy needs around the world. Come oooon!

 

[megeebee]

Chevy needs a halo vehicle abroad. The cars that Chevy sells abroad( Spark, Aveo and Lacetti) are not up to what many people expect from Chevy - american legend - cool american stuff; that is, not cheap corean imports.
Or maybe they are thinking that Chevy should be the cindirella brand - wrong!!!!
I think that Camaro would be just what Chevy needs around the world. Come oooon!

Don't you think the Corvette fills that bill? It's sold all over the world and is already an icon.

 

[fan]

Don't you think the Corvette fills that bill? It's sold all over the world and is already an icon.

I understood that Corvette will be marketed as a Porsche competitor outside US. It will also be more expensive - import taxes. There was alot of buzz here about a Kappa Chevy that was supposed to compete with Porsche Boxter. And then there's ZR1 which can match a Porsche GT. So, it makes sense to market Corvette as an independent brand. It also has the required brand image to fight Porsche outside US.
So, Chevy needs an icon car outside US. It could be Commodore, Corvette or Camaro.
Since it makes sense to market Corvette as an independent brand, there's Commodore and Camaro left. Any of the two would do well - maybe both of them. An elegant sedan and a veritable american ponnie.

 

[big swede]

I can't imagine going through the expense to create a RHD car and then only selling 1000 units. I bet this is an opening that will ensure that the Camaro gets the turbo 4 since they are taxed based on engine size in many areas of Europe.

 

[MCGARRETT]

Well 1000 in the UK, there still is Australia, South Africa, Japan etc..


I imagine what they mean is that it might stand on the Camaro name abroad rather than the Chevrolet name, similar to what they do with the Corvette. But who knows, hey it's great to hear that there are engineering a RHD version period, no matter what they call it!

 

[TriShield]

So they'll sell about 10 of them there?

Neat.

 

[slowinthefastlane]

Camaro in the UK will mean it will have a chance to be beaten to death by Clarkson and Co. on Top Gear. That should be fun to watch.

 

[paul8488]

A friend of mine just told me that he read an article that stated that the HHR won't be coming to Europe now. He didn't have many details but said the story cited the difference of American and European 'standards'. Not sure if they were talking about environmental or safety or something else.

He likes the look of the HHR (we talked about it a few months back when I found out that it was coming to Europe), but he scoffed when I told him that it had a 2.4L engine option. He couldn't understand why a car that small would have a 2.4L engine! He assumed that it HAD to be inefficient if it had such a large engine, as people here are used to much lower displacements. He thinks that my 2.0L Nubira is too much!