Tag: VF Commodore

Categories
Chevrolet Holden

Chevrolet gives V8 Commodore SS hope post-2017

Holden VF Commodore SS

According to the motoring.com.au website the V8-powered VF Commodore SS may have a life beyond the closure of Holden’s local production operations in 2017:

Holden fans will still have the chance to drive a rear-wheel drive V8 sedan with the Lion badge on the nose after the death of the VF Commodore in 2017 if a General Motors plan to build a second generation Chevrolet SS gets the green light.

GM is currently studying the feasibility of developing and building the next SS in the USA, taking over from the current Commodore VF-based version that is built in the doomed Elizabeth plant.

If the business case does stack up it will definitely be exported to Australia and sold as Holden.

Keeping the SS alive would also provide a lifeline for Holden Special Vehicles (HSV), which is facing an uncertain future without a rear-wheel drive Commodore to hot up into Clubsport, GTS and the like post-2017.

If you read the full article you’ll see there’s still quite a bit of water to pass under the bridge to make this happen. But if you like your Aussie V8s maybe you can still just want one.

[Source: motoring.com.au]

Categories
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]

Categories
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]