Camaro kills off Monaro but set to deliver bang for bucks

Holden's US export announcement this week has brought the Monaro/Pontiac GTO program back into sharp focus with various spokespeople defending the record of the enterprise. Not the least of them Holden boss, Denny Mooney.

Mooney argues the GTO project was a success, even if US sales targets for the two-door were not met. He says as a brand builder, both for Pontiac and Holden's engineering expertise (the latter within the GM 'world'), the Aussie-built car achieved much. The only mistake made, he contends, was labelling the car with the iconic GTO badge.

Successful in the USA or otherwise, a combination of factors have now ensured that a Monaro based on the VE will not happen -- here at least.

Instead, within two years, Australian drivers will be offered a new coupe in the shape of Chevrolet's new Camaro. And it's tipped to arrive carrying an eye-wateringly competitive pricetag. It could kick off in V6 form at close to $40,000 in today's money...

Holden's chief Mooney has always said that any future 'Holden' sports-coupe must bring new, younger buyers to the brand. The Camaro -- which is being developed with a keen eye on costs so as to be able to compete with the Mustang in the USA -- should be well placed to fill Mooney's requirements.

Several Holden sources have told CarPoint/Carsales that the Camaro will be targeted at the same buyers who currently consider the Commodore SS utility and sedan. With a competitive entry price it may also attract buyers from grey import coupes.

That it is based on Holden's VE architecture makes it much easier and therefore much cheaper to prepare for the Australian market.

Badged as a Chevrolet, Camaro will likely be offered via the newly-establish GM Premium Channel dealerships.

GM Premium Channel's establishment also opens the door for other Chevrolet models such as Corvette to share showroom space. Although Holden's current position is that the latest Corvette C6 program will not be offered as a right-hand drive by the factory, there is a wild card -- HSV was 85 per cent down the track of re-engineering the previous Corvette C5 for local sales, and most of this expertise and development is directly transferable to the C6.

Make no mistake: the C6 could be placed in local GM showrooms much faster than is currently being acknowledged.

On the subject of the return of the Monaro to Australia, a senior Holden manager was blunt: "We placed the last Monaro VZ CV8-Z up for auction as the last Australian Monaro. We have no intentions of reneging on that."

That doesn't rule out a Monaro built overseas… Perhaps a car that again shares the GTO nameplate, but this time badge-engineered for Holden?

The most sobering statistic on the market potential for a coupe came from Denny Mooney himself when quizzed on the likely success of the new Commodore-based G8 versus the Monaro-based GTO. According to the Holden boss, a sedan in the US market has the potential to sell 20 times more than a coupe in the same segment. Do we need to highlight the odds that a new Monaro/GTO will face any clearer?

That said, if the Camaro brings a younger demographic into the GM fold, there may be an opportunity to revive the Monaro as a classier and more substantial 'step-up-to' coupe. Ironically, the Pontiac export program for the VE SS sedan may one day return the favour and generate the springboard needed to make this to happen. 

For the record, the VE-based Monaro replacement got as far as the final clay ready for tooling before it was shelved. Allegedly the 'car' is hidden in the bowels of Holden, and while it will never appear as a Monaro, CarPoint/Carsales has been told it may yet surface in another guise.

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