Holden axed by GM
Discussion
Going to New Zealand for next month and was really excited when I realised I could book a Holden Commodore RS Wagon to tour round in - had visions of cruising round in a V8 (or at least V6) RWD estate.
Then looked it up and realised I've basically booked a Vauxhall Insignia. Gutted.
Holden is already dead, they're just making it official.
Then looked it up and realised I've basically booked a Vauxhall Insignia. Gutted.
Holden is already dead, they're just making it official.
Bibbs said:
Also, the US had import limits (IIRC 3000 cars pa) that stopped them selling more.
Sorry... Unfortunately, that's not accurate. Pontiac GTO (VZ Monaro)
10,000 units sold p.a. achieved multiple times
Pontiac G8 (VE Commodore)
23,000 units sold p.a.
Chevrolet SS (VF Commodore)
4,000 units sold p.a.
Bob Lutz, one of the good guys at General Motors who hacked the corporate bureaucracy to make these imports possible, said that Holden imports to the US could be even greater than that.
. . . "We are seriously planning to import a lot of Commodore SS sedans as Pontiac G8s," product development chief Bob Lutz told Australia's Drive today at the Detroit auto show, adding that the company could sell 50,000 G8s per year.
Pontiac and Chevrolet imported loads of rebadged Holdens. These sat on dealer forecourts and, at times, nobody wanted to buy them:
. . . the Pontiac GTO failed to reach sales expectations and was dropped
. . . 11,000 more unsold G8s remain in Pontiac's inventory, totaling a 283 day's supply -- the third worst of any GM nameplate
. . . Only 250 examples [of the Chevrolet SS] were sold in April 2017, even though Chevy offered 20 percent off every unit, roughly a $10,000 discount.
sources
http://carsalesbase.com/us-car-sales-data/pontiac/...
https://www.autonews.com/article/20070219/SUB/7021...
https://leftlanenews.com/2007/01/08/gm-confirms-rw...
http://carsalesbase.com/us-car-sales-data/pontiac/...
http://carsalesbase.com/us-car-sales-data/chevrole...
RobDickinson said:
dowahdiddyman said:
If they are pulling out of the markets what will that mean for the factories here in the UK, especially as we are no longer in the EU.
Those are owned by Peugeot Jimmy Recard said:
Dave Hedgehog said:
been a lot of rumours they also plan to axe vauxhall and just keep the opel name going as they streamline brands and models
Mostly from people posting on here though. There has been no evidence other than that On the surface it would make sense, since Vauxhalls have been little more than badge-engineered Opels since the late 1970s and most of them are built in Opel factories outside the UK anyway. But I can only assume that GM and PSA have run the numbers and decided that the familiarity and continuity of the Vauxhall name is worth keeping for now. Whatever extra cost there is in maintaining two streams of cars, one with Opel badges and one with Vauxhall, must not be worth the risk of losing sales and share by ditching a marque that's been a continuous feature on British roads for over a century, and has been a major player in the mass market for over 50 years.
Presumably as far as GM's concerned Holden, despite being essentially in the same position, didn't clear that bar.
Thorburn said:
Going to New Zealand for next month and was really excited when I realised I could book a Holden Commodore RS Wagon to tour round in - had visions of cruising round in a V8 (or at least V6) RWD estate.
Then looked it up and realised I've basically booked a Vauxhall Insignia. Gutted.
Holden is already dead, they're just making it official.
Shame really, I was lucky enough to have one of the last VF Commodores as a rental for a few days in Aus last year, and it was a lovely old thing really. It felt generally solid and well developed and well built. Then looked it up and realised I've basically booked a Vauxhall Insignia. Gutted.
Holden is already dead, they're just making it official.
I would have been disappointed to be handed the keys to a rebadged Insignia though!
Shame about Holden, but no surprise. The writing has been on the wall for a long time now.
I had a Commodore hire car in Australia a few years ago and liked it very much. Nothing special, but it was a decent product. Not quite Peter Brock tearing around Mount Panorama but I had fun with it anyway.
When the latest model became a rebadged Insignia I knew it wouldn't be too long before Holden drew its last breath.
I hope everyone whose jobs are affected by this find suitable alternative employment soon.
I had a Commodore hire car in Australia a few years ago and liked it very much. Nothing special, but it was a decent product. Not quite Peter Brock tearing around Mount Panorama but I had fun with it anyway.
When the latest model became a rebadged Insignia I knew it wouldn't be too long before Holden drew its last breath.
I hope everyone whose jobs are affected by this find suitable alternative employment soon.
jamesson said:
I had a Commodore hire car in Australia a few years ago and liked it very much. Nothing special, but it was a decent product. Not quite Peter Brock tearing around Mount Panorama but I had fun with it anyway.
.
Yeah pretty much what I thought. One thing that I did notice was that the manual shift on the gear lever was the correct way round (backwards for up, forwards for down), which always makes me think "someone thought about that". .
Triumph Man said:
jamesson said:
I had a Commodore hire car in Australia a few years ago and liked it very much. Nothing special, but it was a decent product. Not quite Peter Brock tearing around Mount Panorama but I had fun with it anyway.
.
Yeah pretty much what I thought. One thing that I did notice was that the manual shift on the gear lever was the correct way round (backwards for up, forwards for down), which always makes me think "someone thought about that". .
Aussie road trips won’t be the same without them.
Bibbs said:
Lots went to the Police, and other Services.
Sadly, relatively few were sold to the police and other services.The Chevrolet Caprice PPV (Police Patrol Vehicle) performed at the top of competitive tests for such cars.
However, the intercontinental chain of production, distribution, and fitment of local kit meant that US police forces waited typically four months to receive cars.
Meanwhile, the police fell in love with police versions of SUVs, which were perceived as more versatile. Like consumers before them, police forces lost interest in saloons, including the Holden.
After six years of manufacture, deliveries of the Chevrolet Caprice PPV totaled fewer than 16,000 units. For comparison, the Interceptor SUV from Ford can sell twice that -- in a single year!
sources
https://www.government-fleet.com/138582/gm-to-disc...
https://gmauthority.com/blog/gm/chevrolet/caprice/...
https://fordauthority.com/fmc/ford-motor-company-s...
Edited by unsprung on Tuesday 18th February 17:36
Triumph Man said:
Yeah pretty much what I thought. One thing that I did notice was that the manual shift on the gear lever was the correct way round (backwards for up, forwards for down), which always makes me think "someone thought about that".
I prefer it the other way round by a mile. 
Forget the possible idea of a solid export markets for them. Pontiac G8 sold poorly in the US, as did the recent Chevy SS. Heck, they even propped up the production line by having the US fleet only version, Chevy Caprice. Even that coupled with the dwindling local demand wasn’t enough to justify the products. They were good enough in their own right, but not appreciably better than other products at the same price point, and simply couldn’t compete with the premium Euro sector. No one, including the Aussies wanted them, irrespective of nostalgia.
They were right to drop the commodore line. However relying on rebadged, and weak GM Europe products was what finished them. Perhaps a mix of Euro for the small/econo stuff, and the US offerings (SUV’s mainly) may have worked well.
Additionally I think the Chevy Silverado pickup line, and its numerous SUV spinoffs (Tahoe, Yukon, Escalade) as halo products would have probably done well and been a cash cow as they are in the US. Right now such vehicles sell for a massive premium in the ANZ market, and they’re all sketchy RHD conversions, not proper factory versions.
They were right to drop the commodore line. However relying on rebadged, and weak GM Europe products was what finished them. Perhaps a mix of Euro for the small/econo stuff, and the US offerings (SUV’s mainly) may have worked well.
Additionally I think the Chevy Silverado pickup line, and its numerous SUV spinoffs (Tahoe, Yukon, Escalade) as halo products would have probably done well and been a cash cow as they are in the US. Right now such vehicles sell for a massive premium in the ANZ market, and they’re all sketchy RHD conversions, not proper factory versions.
unsprung said:
RobDickinson said:
unsprung said:
So while MSN might be correct in a certain sense, a more judicious use of words is in order. Come on: the factory-built RHD C8 Corvette was given the green light long ago.
They've just canned RHD cars and not yet even made customer LHD C8's, you expect RHD ones to be built now?Here's my argument in favour of continuing to produce the RHD C8. We can expect this because:
a) The RHD variant is already priced and on sale in Japan (see my post of Sunday 9th February on this page)
b) The mid-engined format of the C8 makes handedness much less of an issue in terms of engineering and cost. And by the way, all of the engineering work has already been done for the RHD C8.
c) Either now or in the recent past are Australian articles which explain that General Motors intends to collaborate with a certain brand (see my post above) to pursue niche segments in Australia.
ETA: In response to your statement, please note: Chevrolet began regular production of the C8 in LHD two weeks ago. See my post of Wednesday 5th February at the link that I include in point (a) above.
bada bing!
GM Committed To Right-Hand-Drive Corvette C8 Following Death Of Holden
https://www.carscoops.com/2020/02/gm-committed-to-...
unsprung said:
unsprung said:
RobDickinson said:
unsprung said:
So while MSN might be correct in a certain sense, a more judicious use of words is in order. Come on: the factory-built RHD C8 Corvette was given the green light long ago.
They've just canned RHD cars and not yet even made customer LHD C8's, you expect RHD ones to be built now?Here's my argument in favour of continuing to produce the RHD C8. We can expect this because:
a) The RHD variant is already priced and on sale in Japan (see my post of Sunday 9th February on this page)
b) The mid-engined format of the C8 makes handedness much less of an issue in terms of engineering and cost. And by the way, all of the engineering work has already been done for the RHD C8.
c) Either now or in the recent past are Australian articles which explain that General Motors intends to collaborate with a certain brand (see my post above) to pursue niche segments in Australia.
ETA: In response to your statement, please note: Chevrolet began regular production of the C8 in LHD two weeks ago. See my post of Wednesday 5th February at the link that I include in point (a) above.
bada bing!
GM Committed To Right-Hand-Drive Corvette C8 Following Death Of Holden
https://www.carscoops.com/2020/02/gm-committed-to-...
-crookedtail- said:
Triumph Man said:
jamesson said:
I had a Commodore hire car in Australia a few years ago and liked it very much. Nothing special, but it was a decent product. Not quite Peter Brock tearing around Mount Panorama but I had fun with it anyway.
.
Yeah pretty much what I thought. One thing that I did notice was that the manual shift on the gear lever was the correct way round (backwards for up, forwards for down), which always makes me think "someone thought about that". .
Aussie road trips won’t be the same without them.
Thorburn said:
Going to New Zealand for next month and was really excited when I realised I could book a Holden Commodore RS Wagon to tour round in - had visions of cruising round in a V8 (or at least V6) RWD estate.
Then looked it up and realised I've basically booked a Vauxhall Insignia. Gutted.
Holden is already dead, they're just making it official.
The RS Wagon is still a nice car, though. V6 4WD, I think, isn't it? It's tarred by the brush of not being a V8 RWD in OZ, but move on from that and it's a pretty decent car.Then looked it up and realised I've basically booked a Vauxhall Insignia. Gutted.
Holden is already dead, they're just making it official.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff