Category: Holden

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Holden News

The future of the Aussie ute appears rooted

Holden VF SSV ute

Australia moves one step closer to the loss of its automotive manufacturing sector with News Ltd reporting the Holden ute will face the axe by 2016. We already know that’s the year Ford Australia will stop making the Falcon and the long-term future of the Commodore is on shaky ground, too.

A decline in sales is the main reason for the cut, with traditional ute buyers now favouring models such as the Toyota HiLux made in Thailand where wages are a fraction of those paid in Australia.

But the real meat of the News Ltd article is this paragraph:

News Corp Australia has been told that if Holden continues manufacturing beyond 2016 it will adopt two new “global” cars, one of which is a large front-wheel-drive sedan that will not be made into a ute.

The demise of Australian icons the Commodore and Falcon is inevitable. We know that for a fact with the Falcon and it only appears a matter of timing for the Commodore, despite a boost in sales since the launch of the VF.

And we’re all responsible for their fate, by choosing to spend our motoring dollars elsewhere. In truth, neither car will probably be missed for any great length of time. It’s still a bit sad, all the same.

[Source: News Ltd | Pic: GM Corp | Thanks to Adam for the tip]

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Holden Video

The world’s fastest ute?

Holden VF SSV ute at the Nurburgring

When we first saw pics of the Holden VF ute circulating at the Nürbugring we sensed it was little more than a marketing gimmick. And it looks as though we were right. With the VF SSV Redline ute Holden is claiming the title of the world’s fastest utlility vehicle at the Ring, a title which, until now, never existed.

Holden test driver Rob Trubiani was at the wheel during an industry pool test day and posted a lap time of 8:19.47, around 11 seconds better than their 8:30 target time. Holden says the car is a “product-correct engineering test vehicle” with its speed limiter removed and increased negative camber at the front wheels.

You can expect to see and hear a lot more about this lap when the VF ute goes on sale. For now there’s a decent gallery of pics and four videos for you to watch.

The main video shows the full lap with commentary from Trubiani, it’s actually quite a decent effort we have to say. Despite Trubiani’s claims that the ute’s electric power steering is the duck’s guts, to our untrained eye it looks a touch light and requires too much turn to reach full lock.

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Audi Holden Vauxhall

Germany v Australia

Audi RS4 v Vauxhall VXR8

Steve Sutcliffe from Autocar brings us a clash of cultures with a great V8 estate debate. It’s the Audi RS4 versus the Vauxhall (nee Holden) VXR8. Germany v Australia. David v Goliath.

We love fast wagons here at AUSmotive and, really, who doesn’t love a V8! Which would you choose?

[Thanks to John for the tip]

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Holden

HSV releases Gen-F range

HSV Gen-F GTS

You’re looking at the best Australian muscle car money can buy. It’s the new 430kW/740Nm Gen-F GTS. Does it make you want to look the other way too? Well, it may be best if you don’t, because the rear view isn’t any better.

As a teenager in the late 1980s living in country NSW I really did just want one. An HSV, that is. Badly. Back then they looked good even though they were, in real terms, pretty underpowered. Of late, HSVs have been, arguably, overpowered and over designed.

It’s true, styling is subjective, and what I find distasteful some will find irresistible. No more so will that be the case with the Gen-F range. To be fair the looks are a step forward on the terribly styled E Series models. But this new range does nothing for me. The buzz for HSV has long gone.

I want to like and admire HSVs, I really do, but they make it hard when they pump out over styled dross that really should never get past the concept stage.

Please, fire away in the comments section below.

[Source: Facebook]

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Holden

More power than you can poke a buyer at

Holden's 430kW/740Nm 6.2 litre supercharged LSA engine

Media leaks have revealed that Holden’s upcoming range topping Gen-F HSV models will be powered by a stonking 430kW/740Nm supercharged 6.2 litre V8. That’s more than the new BMW M5 (412kW/680Nm) and heaps more than the Audi RS4 (331kW/430Nm). Crikey!

Such a shame that nobody is buying Holdens any more.

[Source: carsales | Thanks to John for the tip]

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Holden

Holden VF Commodore ute at the Nürburgring

Holden VF Commodore ute

A quick shout out to Holden for going to the trouble of sending their VF Commodore ute to the Nürburgring for final chassis tuning ahead of its imminent release. Of course, with the car being so close to market launch you’d expect there won’t be too many opportunities to tweak the set up in any meaningful way.

Hey, you don’t think this was a marketing exercise by Holden just chasing a few clicks and publicity do you? No, they wouldn’t do that, there must be more to it than that.

[Source: Carscoop | Pic: CarPix | Thanks to Matt and John for the tips]

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Formula 1 Holden Motorsports Red Bull Racing

Webber smashes ‘Eastern Creek’ lap record

Red Bull Racing at 2013 Top Gear Festival in Sydney

With the arrival of Red Bull as a major sponsor of the Triple Eight team in local V8 racing the energy drinks giant has an impressive list of Australian talent on its books. In addition to Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup they’ve signed former MotoGP champion Casey Stoner and, of course, there’s Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo from Formula 1 as well.

So when Top Gear lobbed into town with their festival it was no surprise that Jeremy Clarkson and James May weren’t going to the be the only stars on show. Red Bull didn’t miss the opportunity to show off their talent under the guise of a lap record attempt by Mark Webber.

Keen motorsport fans will recall the ill-fated A1 Grand Prix once called Sydney Motorsport Park (nee Eastern Creek) home and it was Nico Hülkenberg that held record. Driving a 2011 RB7 Webber managed to knock off Hülkenberg’s old record not once, but twice.

During Saturday’s festivities Webber lapped the GP circuit in 1:15.218 and then backed that up on Sunday with a new lap record of 1:13.606.

“I knew there was a bit more time from yesterday,” said Mark, “and we probably got what ever expected out of it today. There was a great crowd in and you owe it to them to put the car on the limit.”

Mind, Red Bull went to some lengths to point out they had detuned the RB7’s engine in order to prolong its working life and that the tyres used were nothing like the brand new Pirelli slicks Mark will be using in Melbourne this weekend.

[Pics: Red Bull/Getty Images]

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Ford Holden Hyundai Kia Motor Shows Nissan Peugeot Proton Range Rover Skoda Subaru Toyota

AIMS 2012 gallery: Best of the rest

2012 Australian International Motor Show

To close out our 2012 Australian International Motor Show coverage we bring you the highlights and lowlights from the rest of the manufacturers on show.

Our top three highlights:

  • Ford Evos concept—stunning lines
  • Kia Track’ster—actually very, very cool
  • Subaru BRZ by Possum Bourne Motorsport—track cred for the BRZ

Our top three lowlights

  • Holden Malibu—return to sender
  • Ford Focus ST—they must be taking the piss with that central dash
  • Isuzu D Max advertising—someone signed that off

And a special mention to the Nissan Pulsar SSS. My first new car was an Australian built N14 SSS, it was awesome and is still better to look at than this comeback horror story. AUSmotive’s assistant on the day described it as the ugliest car he’d ever seen. I put forward the new Honda CR-V as an alternate suggestion, but he wouldn’t be swayed.

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Fiat Holden Hyundai Mazda Toyota VFACTS reports

New vehicle sales report – August 2012

FCAI banner

A total of 93,552 new vehicles were sold last month according to official VFACTS data. All states and territories, except Tasmania, registered more sales last month compared to August 2011.

Government sales are down compared to last year, but private and business sales are responsible for the strong August result. As always, SUV sales continue to put smiles on the faces of car dealers around the country. Those kidding themselves they need the freedom offered by SUVs have pushed up sales by 18.6% compared to August last year.

Year-to-date sales number 728,047, which is an increase of 9.4% on last year. Again, SUV sales are leading the way with 30% more sales than this time last year.

The Toyota HiLux continued to lead the sales charts last month, with 4,010 sales. Some distance back was the Mazda3 (2,990) and the Toyota Corolla (2,945).

Toyota continues its dominance overall as well, with 17,996 new buyers in August. Traditional rivals Holden (11,271) and Ford (7,795) claimed the minor placings. Hyundai and Mazda were snapping at the heels of the top three.

We look forward to seeing what impact new comers Infiniti and Opel can make on the sales charts in September.

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BMW Holden Hyundai Kia Mazda Mitsubishi Nissan Toyota VFACTS reports

New vehicle sales report – June 2012

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Not content with May’s sales figures—an all-time record for that month—Australian car buyers have now set a new record for any month, registering 112,566 vehicle sales in June. That’s a staggering increase of 16,409 sales compared to June 2011.

Year-to-date sales total 547,854 vehicles and you’d suggest that means Australia will once again top one million annual sales.

The Toyota HiLux was the country’s highest selling model in June with 4,308 sales, ahead of the Mazda3 (3,924) and Toyota Corolla (3,804).

It’s no surprise, then, to see Toyota continue their stranglehold as the best selling manufacturer. They sold 21,649 vehicles last month, compared to 10,632 by Holden and 9,672 for Hyundai.

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Alfa Romeo Fiat Holden Hyundai Kia Mercedes-Benz Nissan Renault Subaru Suzuki Toyota VFACTS reports

New vehicle sales report – May 2012

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Last month Australians set a new vehicle sales record for the month of May. A total of 96,069 vehicles were sold, representing a very healthy increase of over 24% (18,668 vehicles) compared to May 2011.

Year-to-date numbers are up almost 9% on 2011 numbers, with a total of 435,288 sales in the first five months of 2012.

Toyota, as usual, claims the major monthly honours of top selling manufacturer (20,443) and highest selling individual model with the HiLux (4,626). Holden (9,017) and Mazda (8,346) fall in behind Toyota on the sales charts.

With such a bumper month it’s no surprise to see so many manufacturers releasing brag sheets. You can read them all after the break.

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Holden Kia Mazda Nissan Toyota VFACTS reports

New vehicle sales report – April 2012

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A total of 79,097 new vehicles were sold in April, official VFACTS numbers show. That’s an increase of 6.6% (4,833 sales) compared to same month last year.

While the demand for SUVs continues (27.6% of all monthly sales) there is an increasing trend for diesel powered SUVs, up 56% on the same month in 2011.

“Yet again, SUVs dominate the Australian vehicle market, with sales increasing for all sizes of SUVs in the private, business and rental sectors,” FCAI Chief Executive Ian Chalmers said. “This month however we can also see an interesting emergence of customer preference for diesel powered SUVs.”

The Hilux remains a leading product for Toyota and topped the sales charts in April, followed by the Mazda 3 and Toyota Corolla. No surprise to see Toyota heading sales figures, in front of Mazda and Holden.

Remind us why the Feds are supporting the Commodore and Falcon again?

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