Can GMSV succeed where Holden and HSV failed? Could the 500Nm Colorado Trail Boss take down the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux in Australia?

The battle between Holden and Ford seems as old as Australia automotive history itself, but there's one department in which the Red Lion consistently lost the war with the Blue Oval, and that's the battle between the Colorado and the Ranger.

A recap? Holden was short of a true dual-cab hero in its final years in Australia, with Ford's Ranger (and the Toyota HiLux, for that matter) hammering the Colorado in the sales department.

The Colorado's sales figures in 2017 tallied 21,579, then dropped to 18,301 in 2018 and 17,472 in 2019. Compare that to the market-storming Ranger, which managed 42,728 sales in 2017, 42,144 in 2018 and 40,960 in 2019.

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At least part of the problem, at least according to us here at CarsGuide, was that Ford had stolen the dual-cab thunder with it's Aussie-developed Raptor, leaving the Colorado looking a little underdone.

Well, Chevrolet in the USA has just helped solve that problem, with the launch of the new Colorado Trail Boss, a beefed-up dual-cab solution that – at a glance at least – would slip neatly into our market.

Happily, it also comes packing the pre-requisite diesel engine, a 3.5-tonne max towing capacity, and a decent 700-kilo-plus payload capacity.

But importantly, it also ups the tough stuff, coming dealer-fitted with a suspension-levelling kit, new underbody skid plates at the front and middle of the vehicle, red tow and recovery hooks, and 17-inch wheels finished in a matt black.

It also looks tough, with its big, squared-off front-end and its general American toughness.

Under the hood, for our market at least, would be a 2.8-litre turbo-diesel, producing around 135kW and a big 500Nm, pairing with a six-speed automatic.

And that's before you take a look at the Colorado ZR2, which ups the tough stuff even further with a two-inch suspension lift, wider tracks, font and rear electronic locking differentials and off-road tuned suspension - a true Raptor rival, then.

The bad news? GMSV is fairly busy at the moment, what with establishing a new brand, a new dealership network, launching the 1500 Trail Boss, LTZ and Silverado 2500, and priming for the arrival of the Corvette.

As a result, the brand says it's not "speculating on other products" at the moment.

"We're still waiting to bring the Silverado 2500 to market, and we've got the Corvette waiting in the wings to launch, and we've been busy establishing our GMSV dealer network, so we're focusing on all of that the models at the moment," says GMSV spokesperson, Ed Finn.

"So we're not speculating on other products at the moment."

Still, that's not quite a 'no', is it? So we can hope, at least.