The slow death of our great Australian cars

[VL Executive]

Well, The news today has been full of doom and gloom reports of Holden having more redundancies, and more anti Commodore speculation. Largely blaming small 4 cylinder cars and SUV's for its poor sales performance.

All I can say is, Im saddened by this, and even to me now once beleiving there will always be a Commodore in Australia. I can now see that in a half dozen years. Our unique rear drive Australian cars will be gone forever.

There is nothing else in the world like them, and in some cases Australia is envied for its large rear drive Holden and Ford vehicles - especially the performance models. And the likelyhood is, it will all be gone in a few short years.

The negative reports in recent times by the media dont help things either. Thats what accelerated Mitsubishi's demise

Ill certainly be hanging on to my VY SS ute

[1BEAST2NV]

ill beleive it when they stop making them

u can never get rid of rear wheel, where there's a will, there's a way

Im sure they'll push through...

[350VZ]

I've always loved the Commodore, but I feel ever since VT that the car became unnecessarily large and even when you look at VE, it's a big, large, heavy car. I really liked the size of the VH/VK. Imagine the current VE shape in that size. No need to go to 6 litre engine capacity which scares some people off. The thing would be a rocket even in V6 format, let alone 5.7 for the revheds like us.. Just my 2 cents

[Goggles]

its articles like this that don't help: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-0...llapse/4351194 wonder what makes him an expert, given that Holden announced it would be manufacturing in this country until at least 2022. I'm betting Commodore-type vehicles will still be sold by Holden in the future. they will likely be made outside Australia in bigger numbers for more than just the Australian market. the Chev SS is the beginning of this. globalisation is the way of the future. I don't care where my Commodore is made, as long as it is available with a V8 and proper manual transmission.

[HZforMe]

Yea I agree with 350VZ the commodore has become quite big but I like a big car. Have a HZ and a VZ Adventra but that said I would be happy if they manage to retain the rear drive platform in something a bit smaller. The torana was a great car.

If it means a smaller commodore or whatever name to keep the rear drive V8 them i'm for it. That said I like a bit of room so wont part with the HZ but will see when it comes to the VZ.

[BLACKVE]

Commodore isn't dead yet, we look at a smaller car and couldn't do it ended up with a VE berlins on gas 700kms out of $50 bargin and drives nice.

For the future they need to get the weight down

[Woodchukka]

I've always loved the Commodore, but I feel ever since VT that the car became unnecessarily large and even when you look at VE, it's a big, large, heavy car. I really liked the size of the VH/VK. Imagine the current VE shape in that size. No need to go to 6 litre engine capacity which scares some people off. The thing would be a rocket even in V6 format, let alone 5.7 for the revheds like us.. Just my 2 cents

Wasn't part of the reason Holden went to the smaller Commodore was the Kingswood was considered too big and thirsty. Come full circle then it seems. Oh well looks like they will have to make the Epica rear drive and put the V8 in it. Bummer.

[Marco]

I admire the optimism but guys, it's over. No way will we see another all-new Commodore when the VF is done unless sales double. Far more likely for GM to build an overseas design such as the Captiva or the Impala that will cost very little to get into production here than spend mega bucks on what is basically a niche product.

Unless there's some miracle and we get an Alpha platform car built locally after 2018, my advice is to get your Commodore before its too late.

It's a problem though. At the recent Motor Show I tried to find something that's not a Commodore that would suit my family's needs (basically, lots of space front and rear plus big boot) and came up with the following depressing short list:
Skoda Superb - nice car but wouldn't be keen on replacing the DSG when it inevitably blows up
Camry/Aurion - do YOU want one?
Toyota Kluger - see above
Mazda CX5 - surprise packet with much more space than you'd expect, short service intervals though....still, would most likely be my pick of the above.

Not exactly an exciting future....

[Jag530G]

I admire the optimism but guys, it's over. No way will we see another all-new Commodore when the VF is done unless sales double. Far more likely for GM to build an overseas design such as the Captiva or the Impala that will cost very little to get into production here than spend mega bucks on what is basically a niche product.

Unless there's some miracle and we get an Alpha platform car built locally after 2018, my advice is to get your Commodore before its too late.

It's a problem though. At the recent Motor Show I tried to find something that's not a Commodore that would suit my family's needs (basically, lots of space front and rear plus big boot) and came up with the following depressing short list:
Skoda Superb - nice car but wouldn't be keen on replacing the DSG when it inevitably blows up
Camry/Aurion - do YOU want one?
Toyota Kluger - see above
Mazda CX5 - surprise packet with much more space than you'd expect, short service intervals though....still, would most likely be my pick of the above.

Not exactly an exciting future....

The Skoda would get my vote if you were only owning during the warranty period. Basically a bigger cheaper Passat (begs the question, did you find the Passat not suitable?). Agreed, the reliability of VW Group DSGs seems a bit iffy.

Maybe we all get good at keeping second hand Jag XF V8s, BMW 5 Series V8s and M-B E Class V8s on the road as they are the only other Commodore sized V8s around.

Cheers, Matthew

[vicarious]

I admire the optimism but guys, it's over. No way will we see another all-new Commodore when the VF is done unless sales double. Far more likely for GM to build an overseas design such as the Captiva or the Impala that will cost very little to get into production here than spend mega bucks on what is basically a niche product.

Unless there's some miracle and we get an Alpha platform car built locally after 2018, my advice is to get your Commodore before its too late.

It's a problem though. At the recent Motor Show I tried to find something that's not a Commodore that would suit my family's needs (basically, lots of space front and rear plus big boot) and came up with the following depressing short list:
Skoda Superb - nice car but wouldn't be keen on replacing the DSG when it inevitably blows up
Camry/Aurion - do YOU want one?
Toyota Kluger - see above
Mazda CX5 - surprise packet with much more space than you'd expect, short service intervals though....still, would most likely be my pick of the above.

Not exactly an exciting future....

the cx5 would be my pick but only in petrol form, to much oil rise issues with the diesels & the dpf.

[CLUBRED]

I think the commodore will become a sports only model.

[C4B]

As much as it's a terrible thought. It would be delusional to suggest that Commodore is anything but on its last legs. The sales figures for the first 6 months of 2012 show it was lucky to even scrape into the top 5 cars sold in Australia (5th). The problem is there are so many superior products on the market these days, The biggest thing Commodore has to trade on is Brand Loyalty.

I feel sorry for HSV, because I think they would still have a market long after Commodore ceases to be, but since they rely on the donor cars from Holden, the day Commodore dies, HSV will as well. They'll probably go through the motions for a couple of years post Commodore churning out hotted up Cruze's, but the reality is HSV exists for Commodore, so unless they can pull something extraordinary out of their hat, they'll die with Commodore.

[planetdavo]

For years Australia has been becoming more and more like an outpost of certain other international nations, so our motoring tastes have similarly become a clone of certain other parts of the rest of the world. Most buyers aren't patriotic with their purchasing decisions anymore. Many, in fact, INTENTIONALLY don't buy Australian made cars, be it from either real or perceived deficiencies (or snob factor).
Like it or not, the end result is inevitable. Whilst people are free to make their own decisions as suits their needs, we really only have ourselves to blame for the slow death of manufacturing OF ALL TYPES in this country. Add in wage greed as a big factor too, combined with a "perfect storm" economy. Our dollar is killing this country- even if many only see the short term benefit of cheaper prices and think it's all wonderful...

[planetdavo]

The problem is there are so many superior products on the market these days, The biggest thing Commodore has to trade on is Brand Loyalty.

There have always been "superior" products to Commodore (and Falcon). The unique aspect of these two locals was space, performance, towing capacity, long distance driving comfort, and a certain degree of pride in buying local and cars with a motorsport fanbase. The locals are more advanced than ever, with Holden in particular using latest generation international GM drivelines for a while, and a lot of included equipment for no more money than Commodore cost nearly 10 years ago. Brilliant value cars. Not the most touchy feely interior, but they've never had that to begin with. Rugged Aussie charm is perhaps the best term for the locals.
As soon as they try to move away from this unique style of vehicle, they hit a minefield of existing international product. The bosses clearly wont allow Holden to blow a fortune developing a near identical product to what is already developed somewhere else in the world, if customers just aren't sufficiently interested in the category. Cheaper to either fully import, or locally assemble (mostly) CKD kits like Cruze.
Many other brands have brand loyalty too. Toyota and Subaru are perhaps the two best examples I can come up with, even though their cars (like Holden's) aren't often the best in class.

[trevorturner]

The 62 "other Brands" being dumped in the Australian market is a bit of a problem, nowhere else in the world do cars get Dumped in such numbers WAKE UP AUSTRALIA !!!