so.... what name is going to be used for GM badged cars in Australia

[mauser]

If GM has said the Commodore name and probably the Holden name is dead.....

Are we now going to be selling Opals or Chevys in Australia?


Mauser

[Kiwivan]

Astra is already an Opal(or vise virsa)
Different countries have different names of cars,Hence we had the Subaru legacy,Over there(Ozzie) it was the liberty.
Will just be a bit more badge engineering.

Cheers Kiwivan

[Dr Terry]

I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere that the Holden name is dead.

Whatever replaces Holden Commodore will be badged the Holden xxxxxx (insert name here). Just like Kingswood replaced the Special & Commodore effectively replaced the Kingswood (even hough there was some overlap). They were still all sold as Holdens.

Dr Terry

[HK1837]

My gut is the assembly of VF platform may be done in Korea (or Thailand). A lot of the parts currently come from over there anyway, and V8 engines and transmissions can be imported there from the US instead of into here. The V6 engine plant could be sent over there too. Same with Cruze, they can be built back where they were before. So my guess is we won't really see a huge difference immediately, still stuff badged as Holden. If they can match the quality of the V6 engined Hiluxes Toyota assemble in Thailand I don't see a major issue. I still won't buy a Holden branded product until they sell somehing I want though. A Colorado with an LS2 and 6L80E transmisssion would be a good start.

[Frosty]

It might be cheaper to do it all in Russia. I like the name KLUNKSTOP

[hqhzvans]

I saw recently on TV that FORD MUSTANGS were being looked at for pursuit work by Police States in Australia I imagine that some GM Muscle cars will also get a look in, has their been any whispers of what vehicles Holden plan to import to replace the Commodore , SS etc

[HK1837]

HSV are going to sell the Camaro last I heard.

[Big Rob]

Yeah, don't be surprised if we end up with a Holden Camaro, and a rebadged Daiwooooooo 4-door as the Commodore replacement, along with the next generation of Cruzes and other midget cars with Holden badges on them. Opel is going to get a run too, but rebadged as Holdens after the massive failure they experienced a couple of years back here trying to get Aussies to buy the Opel brand.

On the surface the car buyer won't notice a big change, just the poor car industry workers that will have to suffer the pain of buying a car that they could have built better.

[mauser]

See I think the Holden name should go along with manufacturing here. I get the point that GM executives came here and saw Chevy bowties on all the Commodores and then discounted the arguments that many Australians had exclusive brand loyalty to Holden. Many brands have gone by the wayside, the cessation of manufactoring here should mothball the brand name as well.

Australia had imported Chevys previously and they are brand aware. I thought lots of origiopnal dealers sold Chevys prior to the FX's introduction. Rebadging imported cars and expecting us to believe they are home grown Holden’s is silly. HSV can be another Callaway for cars customsied for our tastes and conditions.

Can’t every current Holden dealer just get a few new signs made and off they go…. Goodby V8 Supercars and hello Nascar!


Mauser

[HK1837]

It wasn't just Chevs, we had GM/GMH dealers selling Pontiac and Buick too as well as Truckpower dealers selling Isuzu, Bedford and Chevrolet. GMH assembled most of these here too.

The Holden car is essentially gone in any case. It died as a passenger car with HZ in 1980 and with WB commercials in 1985. I know it is far more complicated that what you can type in a few words, but essentially in the 90's the Company formally restructured/changed and became HOLDEN rather than GMH, and everything sold by HOLDEN was a Holden rather than GMH selling the Statesman, Holden, Torana, Sunbird etc. The "push" (for want of a better word) to call everything a Holden appears to start in early Commodores and Sunbird as in advertising these were called Holden Commodore and Holden Sunbird and sold alongside the Holden range, Torana range and the Statesman range. So to me a proper "Holden" car is a 48/215 through to a HZ (excluding Statesman and commercials) and a "Holden" commercial is the utes, vans and cab-chassis. Others are GMH Torana, GMH Gemini and GMH Statesman. Others will/may disagree but that is how I see it.

Some newer stuff does bear the Holden name in full, like V2 Holden Monaro and in essence this is a Holden as it isn't a Holden Commodore.