Farmers have been competing against world subsidised markets for ever. It is nearly impossible.
However, the subsidies that keep Holden in Australia are funded by our tax payments. We are paying to employ each other. That is a futile and pointless thing to do.
I could also bet that all the people who complain about Holden withdrawing from Australia have a house full of stuff made in China like everyone else. That includes the Holden workers losing their jobs.
It's a free market... Well said WB!
Yep, well done to all those people who purchased the imports. You all should be ashamed.Originally Posted by Glacier 73
It was on the cards years ago it was just a matter of time
well done australia thats what you get for buying foreign cheap cars where all guilty of it
Blaming the wrong people. It those who purchased the imports who are ultimately to blame. It's the greed and want factor.
Same as what was going to happen anyway. 2016 was earmarked as the death of the RWD Commodore.
Holden is NOT closing, it is just no longer going to manufacturer in Australia. Holden dealers will still be full of "Holden's" they just won't be made here.
Re-badging of other GM produts. I.E: Volt, Colorado, Cruze, Malibu etc Who knows the Commodore badge could be wacked on some other GM product manufactured elsewhere. Been going on since the HB Torana (Pommy), Gemini (Jap).
100% on target Byron.
I've said it before, it will take a world war to set things straight again. How embarrassing is that? Nothing has been learned from history!
It would be well and good to blame imported cars if.... Holden was Australian owned. It is no more Australian than toyota cars manufactured in Australia or Ford cars manufactured in Australia.
Sad day though for the next generation. The baby boomers sure did get to make the most of the good times. The rest of us now have to pick up the pieces.
I don't totally agree with that innuendo... It's up to the current gov to either fix or break problems when in power. Granted its more Detroit doing the axing. Same blame with labour and ford.
What happened to abbotts election promise of creating one million jobs? So far it's just been loss after loss.
Remember also that the last true Aussie built Holden product was the VZ. A significant amount of the VE is built overseas and imported here for assembly. I don't think it is as much as the Cruze, but it is still a slow decline towards the inevitable. None of this is new for GMH though, cars like the Gemini and even the original HB Torana were done this way if I remember my history correctly (Dr Terry will correct me if he sees this!).
With no local car I don't see the point of running the Holden brand. They have sold cars here before as Chevys they may as well again.
Mauser
“485650 HQ's cant be wrong...”
“You don’t drive a Kingswood, you make love to it. That’s why nuns only drive Toranas.” - Ted Bullpitt
There has been a lot of bluster with the end of the locally built Holdens. As I posted earlier, we have priced ourselves out of the global labor market. Yes the factory workers enjoyed good wages and conditions(of which I envied while sloggin' away as a mechanic), yes their union was quite militant in the 70's and 80's…(Larry Pickering did a simple but clever cartoon in that regard)...certain UN agreements we signed under Whitlam didn't help,(designed to give developing nations a start) and then all the government departments created to "monitor" workers conditions etc(OH&S for example, who seem to come up with stupid new rules, to justify their existence), then all the other overheads involved with developing new models & factory up grades and maintenance, then govt. policies which actually helped dump imports on our markets(lowering of import tariffs under UN agreements & free trade), High dollar,etc etc etc. In the end, it was just an inevitable business decision made by the General's board. Scorning the current federal government just shows one's ignorance, because the reality is, there is just no more cash in the piggy bank!(thanks to kevin, jools and wayne)
If you travel to America, there are a lot of Chevs & Pontiacs cruising about that look suspiciously like commodores and cruises. Similar in the UK. We are just gonna have to get used to it.
In the meantime, cherish the the Holdens you own now, drive em with pride and do your best to preserve them for generations to come, and maybe (if we're lucky ) we just might see an Australian made car re-appear on our roads one day.
The ad on TV for Opel cars has bothered me since I 1st saw it and I remember saying to my wife that I reckon Holden will be gone in name before too long.
Vans.... This is the 2nd time round the block, 40 years later! talk about turning back the clock!
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