Cars & Motorbikes ZB Holden Commodore having a tough time.

Well it's Christmas Day and I thought what a great time to think back on the fortunes of Holden.
There is no doubt that the Opel based front wheel drive Insignia ZB Commodore has been a disaster and pretty much everything else they sell at the moment is not right. To top it off they release a Camaro for 80k, when U.S. Citizens can buy from 25k. It's obvious that someone here at Holden and GM headquarters needs to assess what they have done with planning and execution. I can only think of one excuse and that is that not long ago GM Detroit were in a bit of strife and this maybe the fall out as GM were no longer willing to fund Australian manufacturing and the Australian Govt via the productivity commission, felt that money would be better spent elsewhere for better return for tax payers.
Many would also argue that the Australian automobile industry was finding it increasingly difficult to compete with the quality and/or price of Japanese and Korean imports but at the same time Australian Govts since the 1980's have been progressively reducing protection on imports and we're trying to rationalise the local scene. I wonder how many of you remember names like the Toyota Lexen, Holden Nova and Apollo, Ford Corsair from the Button era ?
What we do know at present is that Opel has been unloaded to Peugoet so maybe the next Commodore we get will be the new 508.
So what should Holden do with its Commodore? I personally feel that the Commodore got too large and maybe should go back to making smaller RWD with good styling that are lighter and fun to drive like they did with the VL, Torana and EH days. Anybody care to share their views!

 

Every car today is on steroids compared to those of previous generations The LX Torana (XU1) was a small car, the Galant, Cortina, 120Y/180B, Corolla etc had very humble beginnings. They were built of an ETA where they were fighting a hole in the market being filled by Japanese cars.

 

I'd like to see the F100 pick up make a comeback. It's big, it's up high. But there's hardly any left and they're so expensive.

A mass production of these vehicles will sell like hot cakes. Big bench seat at the front and a canopy at the back.

Throw in all the mod cons and a sale price of 35K tops. Fairdinkum, you can't be forking out 80K on an ordinary wage.

Forget all the old vehicles. They're sentimental value. They can't compete with today's power and safety features.

 

Good riddance to Holden I say, nothing but a brand name. And what a disgrace that new 'Commodore' is; at least Ford had the decency to let the Falcon name die with some dignity.

Holden (and Ford) were complacent and slow to keep up with the the offerings of the international car market and local consumer preferences, but they were on the right track with the small displacement cheaper fuel efficient engines toward the end there. Of coutse their global parent companies had no interest in persisting with Australian manufacturing and our tiny market anyway.

I agree that a smaller mid-size RWD sedan and wagon platform would be great and would have a real market here and overseas. How good would a 2019 take on the VL be! Australia was well placed to build a car like this and sell it to the rest of the world, but that ship has sailed. I personally hate the way FWD cars drive, but I suppose most consumers don't notice. Modern vehicle buyers are cretins anyway and they deserve the ugly, plastic, FWD city SUVs they want.

The current model F150 is a cracker, plenty of modern tech and enginerring at a reasonable price. Ford should bring that out here and sell it on par with USA pricing. It would sell well.

 

Yep, F100 would be good.

 

Is there really market for the F100 when the ranger covers it (maybe drop in a 5 litre for extra grunt).

As for fwd, I find that I get better traction, don't know how it'd go with a couple of tonne in the tray making the steering a little light and losing some traction under the load.

 

I'm thinking a VL sized RWD sedan and 2 door hatchback like the LX and UC hatches.
Come to think of it, back in the 70's Holden and Ford gave you so many derivatives of models. At one stage they had 3 medium to large sedans. The UC Torana, HZ Kingswood and VB Commodore were all on the market at the same time. The VB came out on top in terms of handling and sophistication, With the Kingswood you could go sedan, wagon, panel van, ute, statesman, Torana had sedan and hatch, and even the Gemini had sedan, wagon and coupe. With Ford in 1978 you could go XC sedans, wagons and hardtop, panel vans and Cortinas came in sedan and wagon with 3 engine options. You could get 4 and 2 door escorts. You could also buy yourself a Chrysler including Valiant sedans, wagons, Chargers, Centura's and Galants. So you had many interesting choices.
One of the major positives of the cars of this era is how you could work on them yourself. They were cheap to maintain.

 

Didn't the Commodore replace the Kingswood? Commodore didn't develop a ute for several years and it had a very small payload - couldn't hold a barrow.

Was it 78 or 79 that the XD falcon was released (I think the ute followed a year or so later).

Ford also had the Fairlane & LTD.

 

Yes the VB replaced the HZ Kingswood but all 3 models (UC, HZ, VB) were available due to dealer stock levels. The VB hit the market before the XD so I'm thinking late 79 almost 80 when wheels withheld the COTY award, instead putting a lemon on the front cover of the magazine.

 

Holden is dead.

For us younger mob, Holden is not synonymous with Brock and Monaro....it's synonymous with the "Bruise", "Craptiva" and really crappy interiors made with the cheapest of cheap plastics.

The Cruise and Captiva are bona-fide lemons and instead of taking them out of the market were updated and sold for years...in a market where you could buy Corollas/3s and rav4s/CXs for the same money. Or a cheaper Korean with double the warranty.

If you hurl crap into a market filled with great cars....the market will purchase accordingly.

The old Commodore was ok, but had been the wrong car for the market for over a decade. Instead of moving with their customers, Holden asked the government for bigger and bigger handouts, whilst making the same car using cheaper and cheaper components.

As a consumer it all felt a bit like this company was giving us the middle finger.

Consumers have been returning the favour.

With nothing major coming down the pipeline it doesn't look great for the future....which is yet another reason to NOT buy a Holden.

 

I had a look at a x- class v6 3.0 litre 6x diesel Mercedes ute the other day ,priced 39k x demo with about 400klms on the display..7 speed auto 0- 80 klms in just under 6 seconds,or about 8 seconds for 100klms on the entry ramp on the MI ---compared to the few in that price range value wise nothing would compare..

The only good ute Holden ever made was the EJ with the 138 sideplate motor ,or the EH with the 149 motors or reinstall a 186 with a yellow terror head different carby and they went like the USS Enterprise..

 

Don't disparage the Commodore!

It kept suburbs upon suburbs of bogans mobile.

Sure, countless weekends were spent trying to repair broken driver's side door handles. But it would not be long before the window regulator stuffed up and with the window permanently down it became the perfect entry and exit point of the vehicle.

 

and who can forget the RTS (radial tuned suspension) of the 70's
although i think it was called Radical Tuned Suspension in Letho'

 

Ahh that "RTS" badge

We thought it meant return to sender.

 

That's after the diy cut 1/2" off your spring's, Bilstein shocks & an extra K-Mac sway bar.

To compensate for the extra stability you normally added gain SUs or a 4 barrel Holley carry as well.

 

Nowadays bogans get around in lifted Landcruisers and Patrols with big tyres and stainless steel snorkels. Patriotism is dead.

 

ohh yes, those were the days,
no, ABS, ESP, TCS,
or GPS, IBS or BS for that matter

 

[QUOTE="Serveman, post: 652928, member: 9853"
There is no doubt that the Opel based front wheel drive Insignia ZB Commodore has been a disaster [/QUOTE]

Commodore naming should have been dropped when these were made out of Australia,blind Freddy could see this coming.I have spent my fair share of time watching Commodores,Falcons,Toyotas and Mitsubishi vehicles rolling down their prospective assembly lines,over a long period of time.The masses have nowspoken.

 

Because Opel isn't part of the GM Group anymore, the next Commodore replacement is likely to come from the GM stable- wont be from Peugeot (Good- the only place I want to buy the stunningly gorgeous 508 from is Peugeot). It's probably going to be a rebadged Malibu, though a small part of me hopes they'll find it in the engineering budget to put together something with the Cadillac ATS/CTS platform.

To be honest, I'd be surprised if the Holden brand makes it out of the next decade. They're dead in the water after ten years of totally sub-par offerings held up only by the excellent VE/VF Commodore and marginally acceptable Colorado. Acadia and Trax sales should be on fire and they're trailing almost everything else in the class, we've just completely lost faith in Holden, and well deserved too!

As far as the ZB Commodore, it should really have just been honestly named Insignia. It would have probably sold a little better, and not damaged what was left of brand cache...