Holden to ditch ASTRA?

[sKeptiK]

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=62296

Bad news for Holden if it does. No more Euro connections. :bawl:

[Excellent]

Speaking of the Cruze, I saw a blue one on the road today with WW.... registration plates. It looked bigger on the road than I remember at the MMS. It looked OK too. I thought it was a Civic from behind.

[sKeptiK]

I'm impressed with the Cruze's interior. Although I'm yet to see it in person.

[iloveholden]

I dont think they'll stop their connection with Opel....other models like the insignia and corsa are possible imports for Holden and HSV in the near future.

[Big_Valven]

It's a real pity. With a car as good as the Astra - particularly not forgetting the long-term product recognition and reputation - it would be very sad to see it go. I only see the cruze being a short-term recovery solution and also don't really see where it fits in the lineup...
I also think their move from the German vehicles to Koreans is going to get them in the end... the insignia would have been a brilliant car to bring over here alongside the Astra and VE.

[falcom]

Why don't they just build Astra here in 2010 then this should solve the falling Australian Dollar issue.

They can import the Cruze to be price competitive and sell the Astra as the "premium" product.

[Fnomna]

Holden has put a stop on imports of the Astra while it conducts price negotiations with Opel, the European subsidiary of General Motors that manufactures the vehicles.

Hmm - maybe they're just holding off as they think they might get a better price from the new owner (of Opel/Vauxhall which is being sold now)...

[COSMOS]

Why don't they just build Astra here in 2010 then this should solve the falling Australian Dollar issue.

They can import the Cruze to be price competitive and sell the Astra as the "premium" product.

check out the spy shots of the next Astra which came out on the internet last week and compare them to the 'design'/'concept' renderings of the 2010 small car Holden will be building alongside the Commodore...

spoooooky

So maybe there wont be an Astra on the road until 2011 and maybe it will be called something else but it will probably be the same car.

Given the precarious state all car makers find themselves in right now I couldnt imagine Opel saying no to any deal that results in more cars being shipped out of their holding yards.

[Jag530G]

check out the spy shots of the next Astra which came out on the internet last week and compare them to the 'design'/'concept' renderings of the 2010 small car Holden will be building alongside the Commodore...

spoooooky

So maybe there wont be an Astra on the road until 2011 and maybe it will be called something else but it will probably be the same car.

Given the precarious state all car makers find themselves in right now I couldnt imagine Opel saying no to any deal that results in more cars being shipped out of their holding yards.


The Next Astra and the Cruze are actually based on the same platform: Delta II. Hence many similarities. The only notable difference is the Cruze uses the cheaper Torsion Beam rear suspension and the next Astra uses IRS. So only getting the Cruze won't be as bad as you may think. Personally rebadging the Cruze as Astra for our market would be smart, if it is a good car then the Astra badge has good street cred to help it along.

Cheers, Matthew

[planetdavo]

Badging totally different cars made by Suzuki, Opel and GM-DAT all as Barina's hasn't hurt their sales...

[Martin_D]

The whole 'Holden getting used to putting together old generation Daewoos' at Elizabeth is an important test run for Holdens future, which may even include a US Korean deal that sees a name change from GMH to DH...just like anyone that would buy such a thing :lol:

[SV346]

If holden stopped their euro connections, it says alot about them, itd be ruining their own company connections and gm opel, i dont think gm would want that, and i would be alot less inclined to consider a commodokorea in the future. Unless theyre hoping this new small car they have coming would fill the target market?
Edit: After reading the article again, holden just seem like cheapasses, sometimes they have to spend money to make money, id rather pay 2 grand more for my car knowing everything is better than pay a cheaper price, like for one, the brakes and using shi.ty plastic clips where screws are more appropriate, and using better quality products. And they could use aluminium in it, brag about fuel usage drops and handling and chassis improvements from it and sell it for more anyway?
Industry needs to support itself, but no one is prepared to do that for fear of not making a billion dollars the second a project is started. And before people go hot headed im generalising, and im pissed off with company attitudes these days im already not thinking about getting a holden again because they keep doing half assed suspension jobs on the commodores but if they show this sort of attitude im over it.

[planetdavo]

If holden stopped their euro connections, it says alot about them, itd be ruining their own company connections and gm opel, i dont think gm would want that, and i would be alot less inclined to consider a commodokorea in the future.

A vast amount of the VE is already sourced from either Korea or China.


Edit: After reading the article again, holden just seem like cheapasses, sometimes they have to spend money to make money, id rather pay 2 grand more for my car knowing everything is better than pay a cheaper price.
Holden already tried that with the XC Barina and ZC Vectra. Both lost Holden heaps of money in the end, because buyers wouldn't pay "premium" money for a better Holden.

[SV346]

A vast amount of the VE is already sourced from either Korea or China.

Holden already tried that with the XC Barina and ZC Vectra. Both lost Holden heaps of money in the end, because buyers wouldn't pay "premium" money for a better Holden.

Typical...

[planetdavo]

Typical...
Unfortunately, yes.
As much as people SAY they are prepared to pay more for better, most people seem to expect Mercedes quality for existing Holden pricing...

[SV346]

That is too true, too many people expect a miracle out of nothing. If companies simply forced better products on people, which wouldnt happen, theyd use less resouces over time considering all was equal and was more reliable. Imagine how many warranty pieces simply get thrown out a day from everywhere that does warranty work for anything over the world. Problems will always happen, but theyd happen less if parts werent so cheaply made.