Surely the first thing any self respecting FWD commodore owner would do is swap out the badges for chevy ones.Quote:
Originally Posted by C4B
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Surely the first thing any self respecting FWD commodore owner would do is swap out the badges for chevy ones.Quote:
Originally Posted by C4B
and what will become of the great race round Panorama??
Probably not a bright future there either. Unless we get the Camaro and then we can have Camaro vs Mustang vs ???Quote:
Originally Posted by GR346
Probably do what Nissan does, if we have a V8 somewhere in the range of anything anywhere they will let it slide
Or go full silhouette something or other
Much like others have said I cant see Holden lasting much longer if they go down the path of FWD and no V8. It will not only lose them the V8 market (plus HSV) but a percentage of the guys buying SV6 because its RWD and the halo effect of the V8 and HSV models. The point of difference is gone, I see no reason to buy a GM FWD 4 or 6 over any of the other similar cars on the market, to these buyers the Holden badge is probably more of a turn off than a turn on!
It all seems very short sighted to me, it points to the fact (sadly) that they would probably be better off killing the brand then importing Chevs and selling them for cheap, only way to get market share with that product I think. I had wondered if what GM are thinking is that the Camaro will come in as the halo car for Holden and help sell all those v6 FWD sedans. However I thought they were against putting a Holden badge on a Chev performance product so then a Camaro makes no sense either. I am not even sure the Camaro would sell that well here.
same here,ive been a holden man all my life but if this is true....
maybe we'll get the all new Cruze SS-V lol.Quote:
Originally Posted by C4B
Geez that guy is a wanker, only ever writes articles trashing the local car industry. Unfortunately crap like that helps mould public perception which then influences sales. That and people feeling a need to buy less safe and less economical than one would think "SUV"s.
Personally I think they'd be better off stopping commodore (or Holden for that matter, but Australian assembly would be nice) production and importing other GM cars (Camaro, challenger, charger etc.), don't bother making a FWD econo-box which nobody will buy. This is what ford seem to have planned, and makes more sense to me than trying to flog a dead horse.
um, only one of those is from the General...Quote:
Originally Posted by VNV8
If Commodore becomes FWD I don't see myself buying one. If I was looking for medium size car ATM I think Mazda 6 most likely, or possibly Mondeo when the next model is released. If smaller I think SRI Cruze 1.6T or Mazda 3 or Focus. I have a Fiesta plus a VE SV6 and the Clubby, the Fiesta is a good drive for a small cheap car.
Edit - I been in Commodores since I bought a new VK 5 speed in 1984.
I really wish the media had something else to report on daily. neither, the consumer,GM or the government spell the end of holden (lack of support) but it will be the media's doing 100% all this negative jornalism does nothing for the confidence in the product. It was exactly the same in the 90s with Mitsubishi here in adelaide. They came up with a great car in the 380 and was the first to offer 10 year warrenty but it did nothing to save them, why? because the media had succeded in ruining the brand though daily bashings.
and this thread is a great example.... mention FWD and look at how many people that put up their hand saying oh id never buy that!. Fcuk give the guys a break and a chance and report on how good the VF is and watch sales grow
GM will do one of either two things.
First they will drop Holden and rebrand to their global brand, that being Chevrolet. My opinion is this will be most likely as only the die hard fan boys will punish them for killing Holden. The majority of the population could not care less. This way they will then save money as all of Holdens offerings are designed to wear the Chevrolet badge anyway. They are actually rebadged as holdens. For example the captiva, colorado, cruze, malibu, barina, spark, trax are all rebadged with the holden badge not the other way around. It makes sense for them to do this due to less cost for parts, one advertising campaign and global brand recognition for visitors to Australia, ie hire car company preferences etc.
Second option, GM will rebrand holden dealers as GM Dealers offering rebadged holdens as well as allowing the sale of other GM brands such as Chevrolet etchence the Camaro will land here as the next gen is likely to be developed for RHD markets as well. Mark Rouess or whatever his name is has already said that if the SS takes off in the States the next gen version will be American designed and made in order to appease the american public, if you have to give them something they are patriotic, so under this scenario we could see the next gen SS sedan sold here as well if it goes ahead.
GM will still offer a performance version for buyers to compete with the mustang. Yes they are coupes and may alienate some buyers but understand that these are american companies we are dealing with and in America coupes are the performance cars, always have been. The majority I think will not care and their sales will be adequate as the majority of buyers either already have the missus and kids car and the camaro, mustang is their toy car/daily driver second car or people will learn to live with the coupe as opposed to a sedan.
Reckon a move to Chev brand could well be on the cards in time. Was it on this forum many years ago where Holden's marketing department was asking about Chev badges/brand recognition? I remember something like that.
Cheers, Matthew
I suspect a move away from the Holden branding would be a wise move post Commodore. It's not like the other imported vehicles in the Holden range are known for their above average styling or overall quality, so a major rebranding could actually work in their Favour.Quote:
Originally Posted by GTSLOVER
Sadly the common loser (regardless of what they do) seems to be HSV. They are the Commodore Hot up shop, and once Commodore in RWD V8 form ceases to exist, I believe HSV will go the way of Blockbuster Video store.
and guess what, the American designed SS will be exported, or built in Australia as the next generation Commodore.Quote:
Originally Posted by GTSLOVER
I don't understand where this rubbish coming from that the next generation large Holden will be FWD.
Holden/GM have never confirmed this, and until they confirm what the next generation Commodore is, I will take any ramblings in the daily newspapers with a grain of salt.
I also doubt that even if Holden ceases manufacturing in Australia, that the Holden name will die. IMO, there is still too much value in the name. changing a few badges here and there is probably irrelevant to GM.