Muscle cars confusingly similar

My good friend from the USA, John Welch, in his The TTABlog®, draws attention to a decision on three trade mark applications for the shape of what are commonly referred to as "muscle cars". The case goes under the name of In re Carroll Hall Shelby Trust, which tells you a lot about what's going on here. The applications were rejected on the grounds that they were too similar to a couple of existing trade mark registrations (which to my eye look utterly different: no possibility of confusion). The Board rejected the refusal based on the roofline of the car in the earlier trade mark, but upheld the refusal based on the "C-scoop" - which is surely such common currency in cars of this type that it cannot be considered distinctive? Anyway, read all about it on John's blog and, as he invites readers to do, make up your own mind (but under US trademark law, of course).