Chevy moves to trademark Chevelle nameplate, but why?
Fri, 05 Apr 2013
According to a report from GM Authority, General Motors has applied for a trademark on the "Chevelle" nameplate, filing the request under the "exterior badges for vehicles" category of the "goods and services" section of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. And while you certainly could argue that this is simply to protect the Chevelle nomenclature that represents a large part of Chevrolet history, GM Authority has a couple of good reasons why you might want to think otherwise.
First of all, GMA points out that companies don't necessary file trademarks for the sake of keeping up on records. Basically, if a company wants to complete the registration of a trademark, it needs to file a legal document called a SOU (Statement of Use), which requests that the applicant show the current business reason for filing the trademark. That said, a company can prolong the time it has to file an SOU by up to three years which does, sort of, account for using the trademark on a future product.
But what sort of future product? GM Authority suggests – and stay with us here – that the Chevelle name could be applied to a new coupe to slot in above the Camaro but below the Corvette. In other words, Chevrolet could bring a version of the Code 130R concept (pictured) into production, call it the Camaro, and then have the Chevelle act as a replacement for the Camaro as we know it today, meaning the 130R-based car would instead take the shape of a sort of Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ fighter as we earlier reported.
Another option would be to slap the Chevelle name on the replacement for the Chevrolet SS sedan, which just made its introduction earlier this year. GM Authority states that the Holden VF Commodore on which the current SS is based will only be around for another three years, so this would still be within the timing of the trademark filing's Statement of Use.
Of course, this could all be nothing – or it could be something else entirely. Only time will tell. Let us know what your best guess is in Comments.
By Steven J. Ewing