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El Camino trademark 'just a procedure'

“We trademark these names as needed to protect them as a matter of practice.”

We recently brought you news that General Motors had filed trademarks on the names “El Camino” and “Nomad” -- both iconic vehicles from the Chevrolet brand’s past. 

That quickly led to speculation that General Motors was considering a revival for both products, with the Holden Commodore Ute imported as the El Camino and the Holden Commodore Sportwagon appearing as the Nomad.

A spokesman for Holden stated that no decision on further exports (beyond the Holden Commodore sedan, which will hit U.S. showrooms in 2013 as the 2014 Chevy SS) had been made, but cited a new free trade agreement between Australia and the US as evidence that the option was potentially open.

Now, a General Motors spokesman has explained to industry journal Automotive News that the trademark filings were nothing more than procedural, saying, “We trademark these names as needed to protect them as a matter of practice.”

For now, anyway, US fans of the El Camino, a car-based compact pickup, and the Nomad, a two-door station wagon launched in 1955, will have to hope that GM rethinks its position on importing additional Holden models.

Before that will happen, though, the Chevrolet SS needs to prove itself in the market. We’ll know the chances of that soon enough, as General Motors will debut the 2014 Chevrolet SS (alongside the new Holden Commodore) at Speed Week in Daytona Beach, Florida, in February 2013.

MotorAuthority