Keep Holden

[Taily]

If you still looking for somebody to blame, have a close look at what is currently parked in your driveway.

Yep, two Falcons (a new FG XR50T for SWMBO and an AU wagon - albeit a bit old now but doing fine on the work commute duties - but it isn't like I can buy another new wagon unless I buy something different) and the HJ. Before that we had bought a brand new Mitsubishi 380 which we planned on keeping for a lot longer than we did (was an unrepairable write off in the end) but was actually a great drive and easy enough to service - just didn't fare well on slippery boat ramps with the boat, which was the only let down for us. I did waver once and bought a second hand Golf off a mate (seemed like a good idea at the time), but lets not go there as I had no intention of "going Euro" again... Tell me why you can buy a 10-12 year old CLK for 15 grand on Carpoint.... Euro gets real expensive to live with if you keep them too long.

Had plans to upgrade the wagon to a new supercharged XR8 when they release them but leaning towards a Holden based "play" engine for the ute instead, while I rebuild the original factory fitted engine back to standard specs and mothball it under the bench ready to be re-fitted when I want to take it back to the way it came from the factory. My reasoning is that I might use the ute from time to time to commute (on a weekend or similar) so it will get some use (rare), but the main thing is that if I don't build the "play" engine now while those businesses that specialise in them are still around then once that expertise is gone there is no getting it back. I don't buy a car just to flog it off in a couple of years, I like to keep them for a longer timeframe than that, besides four regos might be a bit too much for the pocket.

This result of all three manufacturers pulling out has been a perfect storm brewing for a very long time. You cannot attribute cause or blame to any one thing by itself that has been listed previously but I will add to the previous that I think the main reason people buy certain cars is the price point they are offered at in our markets - which means our local product cannot hope to compete with when dollars are the primary driving factor of many wishing to purchase a new vehicle. We have many things to be thankful for in this country, the standard of living is one. This, unfortunately for local suppliers and manufacturers both having to compete with cheap and subsidised imports, comes at the cost of higher wages and many other costs that have to be covered by the bottom line.

I feel for those caught up in this situation directly, as well as those in both supply and aftermarket industries that may end-up out of work because of the Big Threes' departure. I'll bet a penny to a pound that once the Fat Lady has bowed out then prices will steadily rise....