GM FILES TRADEMARK APPLICATION FOR 'Z28'

By George Kennedy, Autoblog.com - This should raise the eyebrows of a few Camaro enthusiasts. GM Authority is reporting that General Motors has filed with the United States Patent Office for a trademark of the 'Z28' moniker. Oh, do we have your attention?

Many GM performance fans were surprised when Chevrolet did not use the Z28 nameplate for its range-topping, supercharged ZL1 Camaro. There were rumors afoot that Chevrolet may still employ the Z28 name at some point, but some of the air went out of that balloon when a trim debuted between the SS and the ZL1 wearing the 1LE designation. And potentially furthering this speculation is an April tidbit from Camaro5, where a forum member discovered that his Camaro ZL1 diffuser bracket had the designation 'Z28' on it.

Yet while many such patent filings are to be taken with a grain of salt (often it's just a brand looking to protect a dormant or lapsed patent), a development like this only stokes the rumormongers' flames.

The ZL1 is, without a doubt, the top of the Camaro performance ladder, so where would a Z28 fit? GM Authority offers some speculation, suggesting that a production Z28 could "even out-muscle the ZL1." Another interesting theory they offer is that the Z28 appellation could replace the Camaro SS designation, as Chevy has the Zeta-based SS sedan range coming in next year, and GM officials could be worried about confusion in the marketplace.

When the first-generation Camaro came out in 1976, Z28 was merely the option code designation for a race-ready package (SS models were option code Z27). It was not mentioned in any literature and many customers did not know about it at first. Since then, the Z/28 has become an iconic name in the world of muscle cars.