Denny Mooney Dumps Concept Car Tradition

[ABS]

Holden boss Denny Mooney wants concepts to remain 'special'

By TERRY MARTIN 30 March 2005

HOLDEN chairman and managing director Denny Mooney has defended his decision to end a string of headline-grabbing reveals and not to show a concept vehicle at this month’s Melbourne International Motor Show.

It is understood that a show car was in development before being knocked back.

"I don’t know that we want to do a special show car at every show (because) it doesn’t become special any more – it becomes the norm," Mr Mooney said.

"I don’t want it to be just kind of normal business. When we show a unique show car, it’ll be unique and it’ll make a lot of news. It’ll have meaning behind it – it won’t just be an exercise.

"It’s not just cost ... it’s your technical resources that get diverted from working on mainstream programs to work on show cars – the designers, the sculptors, and even our engineers that get involved in some of the projects that we work on. It diverts your resources from doing the mainstream stuff that you’ve got to get done. That’s always part of the trade-off."

Having said that, Mr Mooney hinted that a show car would materialise at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney later in the year.

Source: http://redbook.goauto.carsales.com.au/mellor/mellor.nsf/story2/C0E1CCA741BFFE7ECA256FD4000CAB1B

Looks like Denny Mooney wants to be another bloody bean counter. :mad:

[V-Car]

Thats about what i'd expect from someone who has no real idea or passion for the local industry, and is just towing the corporate GM line.
Long gone are the days when Holden were left to their own devices to get on with the job of running one of the most successful and clever (for the money) divisions of GM anywhere.
Imagine if you were sent from here to Zimbabwe, which is probably what Australia feels like to him....would you have alot of interest in the local industry or Motor Shows? I think not.
Maybe im being a little harsh, but i cant help but feel that Holden has seen the end of its glory days, and is now settling into its twilight years under its new boss. Ferkin' globalisation! :(

[ABS]

I get the feeling Denny Mooney is going to prgressively strip Holden's local product back to a sedan only FWD product eventually, powered by a 150kW 2.8L V6 engine. I know it sounds like a ludicrous statement to make. Mooney is a yank after all, and they are clueless when it comes to building decent cars. :mad:

He's a bean counter yank after all! Why did Hanenberger have to be replaced by Mooney???

[XLR8 V8]

"I don’t know that we want to do a special show car at every show (because) it doesn’t become special any more – it becomes the norm," Mr Mooney said."

The thing he seems to be missing is the fact that the media and the public send Holden publicity skyward even before the show due to the anticipation and speculation about "What cool concept will Holden come up with this year?". Doing it like that, they get publicity before, during AND after each show .... and I'm talking WORLDWIDE publicity with the TT36, SSX and HRT427 gaining strong feedback from the US and abroad. Mooney sounds like he could be the perfect dull guy to destroy the "WOW" factor that Hannenberger helped build up. :(

Maybe if they actually put a concept into PRODUCTION occasionally, it might help offset the cost of resource diversion :rolleyes:


Edit: Just had another thought .... maybe the design dept resources wouldn't be so stretched if he hadn't just recently retrenched half the design dept??!!

[nickh]

now i have just spoken to a gentlemen that works within holden as a reasonable level..and His words are that Dennis Mooney is a f*((*king tool he has canceled the twin turbo development(which was 18months into its 2 year process) he has canceled all AWD development and after the end of this year/introduction of VE there will be no more varients of the platform...eg just sedan and lwb sedan will survive,VZ ute will not be replaced until 2008...also that he has reduced Holden engineering by nearly a 3rd in actual fact this person is just waiting to be offered a package...he also mentioned that ALOT of ppl with Holden arnt happy and that theres a feeling "da ar ve" of what happened in 1985 (vk) where Holden nearly collapsed is on the cards again...WHY DID YOU HAVE TO LEAVE HUMBURGER?

[HRT433]

umm...i thought he just meant there is no need to do a concept for every show (ie. sydney, brisbane and melbourne)? that makes sense to me, and think if they only produce one concept a year won't they concepts that they do be better???

[ABS]

Denny Mooney's move highlights the greater issue that he has basically been introduced as a bean counter in Australia. He's canceling programs and basically f**king over Holden. If the yanks had thier way the Commodore would be a 2.0L FWD sedan. *shudders* Seriously wtf is going on???

[F6Mauz]

I can see where he is comming from with all he has done so far doing exactly what has been done in the US. And as we all know they have been sooo successful to date :rolleyes:

Bloody wanker.

[ABS]

Holden has remained profitable by avoiding American mismanagement and remaining independant. Now that the Yanks have notcied Holden they are slowly Americanising Holden and running it into the ground. I may be over-pessimistic, but Holden is f**ked!!! :eek:

[Waughy]

I agree with the not having a concept at every single show thing. Like he said, it becomes the norm and then everyone expects to see something at each show, then what happens when they don't have one to show? Some serious backlash from the media and public. Once a year is good, build the anticipation, make it a different show each year so it's not predictable as to when it will surface.
As to the rest of what Mooney is doing, wake up fella, how it was when you got here and what was being worked on was going well, it was what the people were looking for, now you've screwed it. Bring on the 2.0L FWD cars and watch Holden suffer as sales practically stop. Would save me some decision making as to whether I'll chase a VZ SS in the next couple of years or wait and see what's next. Put an Aussie up there who has a brain and knows how the company should be run.

[Marco]

"The sky is falling, the sky is falling".

As I keep saying in these threads, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Okay, the Ute might not be replaced until 2008 - thiis is normal. The VN came out in 1988 and the VG Ute didn't arrive until 1990. The VT came out in 1997 and the VU Ute didn't appear until 2000. So if the VE Ute appears in 2008, it will be earlier than it was last time there was an all-new Commodore.

AWD development - well, it's hardly been a rip roaring success so far, but we'll wait and see on that one.

As for the idea of a 2.0 litre FWD Commodore, there'd be no point. Plenty of places overseas can build that sort of car far better than we can, which is why Australia doesn't build cars like that anymore. Instead, we build stuff we're good at that we know sells well here and that we can sell overseas - large, RWD cars with big engines.

I don't think Holden is that stupid. If their bread and butter car was a 2.0 litre FWD, suddenly they would have all sorts of other cars to compete with instead of just the Falcon - and they would almost certainly get slaughtered in the sales race. Because let's face it, if you had to buy a car like that then as well as the Holden you'd start looking at the Accord, the Camry, the Mazda 6, the Liberty and so on - and there'd be a pretty good chance you'd buy one of those competitors instead.

[markone2]

now i have just spoken to a gentlemen that works within holden as a reasonable level..and His words are that Dennis Mooney is a f*((*king tool he has canceled the twin turbo development(which was 18months into its 2 year process) ..WHY DID YOU HAVE TO LEAVE HUMBURGER?


Some very long faces :( in the Holden and HSV camp around the traps here in Brisbane this last week..

[Danv8]

WHY DID YOU HAVE TO LEAVE HUMBURGER?[/QUOTE]

Agreed Denny is going to Fark everything up. Cadillacs and more bloody softroaders I don't mind cadillacs but we have enough softroaders for sale here already we don't need any more.

Denny you better do things right or there will be a war to play on! :bash:

[Marco]

Having said that, if these sorts of things are true and from the next model we’re back to Commodore and Statesman, then we have lived through the golden age of Holden, not seen since the 1970s and unlikely to be repeated for maybe another 20 years.

Perhaps in time we will come to regard the VT and derivatives as the Greatest Ever.

[Gee]

Perhaps in time we will come to regard the VT and derivatives as the Greatest Ever.

Nothing will ever stop the HQ being regarded as such :D

[Marco]

Nothing will ever stop the HQ being regarded as such :D

Ah, but see, that’s exactly what I’m getting at.

In the HQ days, Holden had a full line-up, with sedans, wagons, utes, one tonners, panelvans, the Statesman and Monaro. They had plenty of engine options. Loads of performance for the day. People loved the way they looked. And they sold, and sold, and sold.

With the exception of the panelvan, this pretty much describes the situation from 2001 to date. If you take out the Monaro, it pretty much describes the situation back to 1997 when the VT first appeared and started outselling the Falcon nearly 2 to 1 in some months.

The HQ is the biggest selling Holden ever. The second biggest seller? VT.

That’s why I think that in 10 years from now, or maybe 20, when the car as we know it has changed (and sad to say, possibly not as much fun thanks to either petrol being super-expensive or whatever replaces petrol not being quite the same), we might well look back and say “there were two golden eras for Holden: 1968-75ish (intro of the V8 and Monaro up until the fuel crisis), and 1997-2005.

I for one hope in 10 years from now we will be able to say “the second golden age for Holden started in 1997, and has continued ever since” – but we will have to wait and see.

[VZKOOP]

I agree Marco. The HQ in it's day was the pinnacle of Holden's development. The VT was and still should be regarded as the best looking Holden ever made. Muscular, modern and reasonably well finished. It had it's problems with tyre wear and the original LS1 being probably the biggest. The simple fact that the Monaro still looks as good as it does is mainly due to the VT's influence.
Having said that I would love to have a HQ 2 door in the garage as well some day.

[Ghia351]

The thing he seems to be missing is the fact that the media and the public send Holden publicity skyward even before the show due to the anticipation and speculation about "What cool concept will Holden come up with this year?". Doing it like that, they get publicity before, during AND after each show .... and I'm talking WORLDWIDE publicity with the TT36, SSX and HRT427 gaining strong feedback from the US and abroad. Mooney sounds like he could be the perfect dull guy to destroy the "WOW" factor that Hannenberger helped build up. :(

Maybe if they actually put a concept into PRODUCTION occasionally, it might help offset the cost of resource diversion :rolleyes:


Edit: Just had another thought .... maybe the design dept resources wouldn't be so stretched if he hadn't just recently retrenched half the design dept??!!

I agree completely re the whole marketing perception that a concept generates. Sure it costs money and takes time away from primary work commitments but this is one area where Holden in past shows has had it all over Ford for example. Even the non-production decisions of past cars are soon forgotten by the general public but a concept shows what the company can possibly achieve given some latitude not normally taken with bread & butter models. It gives a positive impression that I think can be argued leads to showroom traffic later on. Building a jaw dropping show car leads to free publicity that the initial show car development costs would return 10 fold. Every news service and every major print and electronic media would cover your car and how much would that cost in comparison.

[HQV8]

I agree Marco. The HQ in it's day was the pinnacle of Holden's development. The VT was and still should be regarded as the best looking Holden ever made. Muscular, modern and reasonably well finished. It had it's problems with tyre wear and the original LS1 being probably the biggest. The simple fact that the Monaro still looks as good as it does is mainly due to the VT's influence.
Having said that I would love to have a HQ 2 door in the garage as well some day.
:D I have a four door HQ for sale if want it!! Go the HQ :D :thumbsup:

[VZKOOP]

:D I have a four door HQ for sale if want it!! Go the HQ :D :thumbsup:
Weld those two rear doors shut and we can start talking....... ;)

[VZKOOP]

One other thing that should be considered when designing concept cars is the additional benefits gained out of the R&D that goes into them. These engineering and design systems can be redeveloped or even utilised in the future design and manufacture of vehicles. With concept design comes problems associated with limited production. The solutions to these problems can often be used in mass production. There are always benefits to be gained from R&D. Unfortunately Australia as a whole has a very poor record when it comes to R&D investment in all forms of manufacturing. A real shame because generally speaking whenever we do any R&D it tends to be worthwhile.