2018 Holden Commodore details released

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Mercury Bullet

Is the Camaro going to be built in RHD?

If not HSV are in trouble...what can they do with this?
I thought their AWD model would come with something better than a mildly tweaked SV6 engine.

Definitely not this generation of Camaro. That ship has sailed.

I think they are referring to Corvette, but that thing will be over 100k easily and at that price it's sales will be minimal.

[Vesper Martini]

Originally Posted by Mercury Bullet

Is the Camaro going to be built in RHD?

If not HSV are in trouble...what can they do with this?
I thought their AWD model would come with something better than a mildly tweaked SV6 engine.

HSV may go down the same path as FPV

[bangm001]

Could they (HSV or aftermarket) fit some turbos hidden underneath somewhere...... Would anyone actually want to own a car that looks like that and spend the money for turbos?

[FG50T]

I think a VXR would be a hit here. Most new cars I see on the road that aren't 4wds are either new WRX's or new CLA45's so there's certainly a market for that awd turbo stuff.

Top gear review of the current VXR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QypmXbwD1k

[Express]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

But v8's make up 40% of current Commodore sales, so overnight they will basically lose half their potential customers who would never want a rubbish V6. No manual gearbox either. Not to mention ute or LWB.

This abortion is going to fail big time. Thank god Falcon never had it's name attached to a boring hunk of junk like this.

Honestly I don’t believe Holden wants any part of that market for this model and the release of this info confirms it.

They have in no uncertain terms said to the performance crowd Adios.

And fair enough as its future should be about growth and both Ford and Holden had stagnated and were convincingly over taken or at least matched by a broad range of competition.

It’s already been speculated that the Commodore name is only being used as a transition from old to new and will quickly be dropped as Holden had done with the Kingswood before it.

So far post Falcon Ford hasn’t proven a thing either other than they continue to have good sales with a Ute and Holden has yet to be proven wrong.

I don’t like the car and it holds no interest for me but that doesn’t mean they can’t spin it to a new audience.

You could be right on the money and this will fail and only time will tell and even if Ford has a better product line up, since when have consumers cared about better?

You only have to look at some of the vehicles that occupy the popular sales figures to know that’s the last thing on most of their minds.

I’m still reserving my judgement to the success or demise of both brands in our local market.

[Big_Daz]

I have read somewhere that Holden is trying to totally change the brand perception... This new "commodore" is obviously part of that vision... It may not appeal to people on here (me included) but we aren't who they are trying to sell to anyway...

Looks like your options for Affordable V8's is down to Mustang and Chrysler 300 SRT...

I always intended on making my redline a keeper, seeing this new commodore really confirms that for me...

[FairmontGS]

What a POS...

[DFB FGXR6]

This looks to be such a radical change of direction for the Commodore nameplate that you have to wonder if calling it a Commodore was the right choice.

The flagship Holden has always been -
A sedan (with variants)
Rear Wheel drive
Six cylinder
Australian made

This all changes for the new model and overnight they are going from proudly selling V8 muscle cars to "cashed up bogans" to "changing their buyer profile" by selling a front drive 4 cylinder hatches.

Ford were correct to let the Falcon pass with dignity.

[danzvtil]

Holden are done for, asking v8 driving Aussies to swap to a hatchback is like getting beer drinkers to switch to martinis.

[FalconXV]

Let me guess prices: $36k for base 2.0T, $40k for diesel, $50+ for V6. Hmmm..

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

This looks to be such a radical change of direction for the Commodore nameplate that you have to wonder if calling it a Commodore was the right choice.

The flagship Holden has always been -
A sedan (with variants)
Rear Wheel drive
Six cylinder
Australian made

This all changes for the new model and overnight they are going from proudly selling V8 muscle cars to "cashed up bogans" to "changing their buyer profile" by selling a front drive 4 cylinder hatches.

Ford were correct to let the Falcon pass with dignity.

There's probably a lot of people out there who would buy it simply because they've "always bought Commodore's"

[CyberWasp]

Epica...........Fail
Malibu..........Fail
Insignia........How many are they selling a month again..........Fail
Is it me or do you see a trend here with large Holden 4 Cylinder cars.

The decent thing to do is to retire the Commodore name. Even if it is only temporary until a true RWD vehicle is produced that is worthy of the name.

At the end of the day I think people could get over the fact that a Commodore could be made overseas, but a FWD 4 Cylinder Hatchback is not a Commodore and never will be.

Hell, even Holden Sunbird would be a more befitting name for this vehicle

[Chopped]

HSV as we know it is dead.
This thing will be competing against Camry in the fleet sales stakes.

Holden will suffer for a few years until the identity rejuvenation of the brand is complete. Even then they will be a middle brand. Buyers have embraced Toyota, Mazda and Hyundai.

Also the "new cool performance vehicle" to park in your driveaway is a crew cab Hilux or Ranger kitted up with as much aftermarket gear as they can fit.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by CyberWasp

Epica...........Fail
Malibu..........Fail
Insignia........How many are they selling a month again..........Fail
Is it me or do you see a trend here with large Holden 4 Cylinder cars.

The decent thing to do is to retire the Commodore name. Even if it is only temporary until a true RWD vehicle is produced that is worthy of the name.

At the end of the day I think people could get over the fact that a Commodore could be made overseas, but a FWD 4 Cylinder Hatchback is not a Commodore and never will be.

Hell, even Holden Sunbird would be a more befitting name for this vehicle

In that sense it looks like ford may have played their cards right to an extent, and Holden still have time. Ending the falcon was one thing, but the similar sized mondeo, no real sports model, is a now established car, and selling mustangs before the end of the the falcons empire, doesn't leave people waiting for a v8 rwd sports car, that doesn't cost that of a bmw or Benz. The mustang isn't exactly as family suited due to the lack of doors, and definately isn't associated with being anything australian, but atleast they left the option out there. Ute wise, the ranger is functional (I drive one, also have a bf sedan and fg sedan) but uninspiring to drive, but there is the 4wd option. Holden have the same option with the Colorado. The days of buying a ss ute which in the day was the poor man's monaro, or an XR8 hay hauler are gone, but in 18 months hold on may decide to import the camaro and give it an iconic name like the "camira"

[xr8cam]

[QUOTE=LoudPipes;5797533]You're not Holden's future or market target.

They don't make money out of people who buy second hand cars or only live in the past.

Love it or hate it, this car is obviously not aimed at the performance market.[/QUOTE
Everything that is older was built with pride, made out of quality parts and profit above everything was never the no1 goal. I prefer older houses,cars, guitars, drums, amplifiers, furniture & things made of timber & steel etc, they all last and have integrity.I would never waste money on new cars that last 5 mins, are full of faults and made of plastic,and way over priced. I will leave those to the younger generation that have to have it now and new. You got one thing right, I am not and never will consider a brand new car or a holden. A good cond low km car with a good history and no bugs is much more appealing, besides, most of us spend 10 grand on mods in the first 2 years we get our cars new or 2nd hand. But hey, if you want to drop 50-70k at the local showroom, good on you. I own my home, my car and am looking forward to a very cushy retirement, much more important atm.

[Sancho]

It's cool but I think the issue with this platform car is there are so many other options around that already exist and are popular... aka Subaru Legacy.

would all depend on $$$ I reckon.

Ford should do the RHD Taurus as competition obviously ;)

[lownloud]

Originally Posted by Chopped

Also the "new cool performance vehicle" to park in your driveaway is a crew cab Hilux or Ranger kitted up with as much aftermarket gear as they can fit.

I'm almost convinced that trucks are the equivalent new muscle cars of the 70's.
ie: Noisy, uncomfortable, handle and stop like crap, are reasonably quick in a straight line and have mountains of torque....

[mick74GT]

I've bought 3 VE commodores. 2 HSVs and an SSV. Have absolutely loved all of them.

This really doesn't interest me at all and I won't be buying one. It's just such a shame.

[ivorya]

I'm interested in the nine-speed auto.

Just because it was a joint effort between ford and GM.

Why though, do the GM products have access to the transmissions first? Did ford give them 1st pick, lead on design or give them the bill for all of the development.
The only ford products shown to be in line for these transmissions are the new F-SERIES and the new mustang.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by Sancho

It's cool but I think the issue with this platform car is there are so many other options around that already exist and are popular... aka Subaru Legacy.

would all depend on $$$ I reckon.

Ford should do the RHD Taurus as competition obviously ;)

I'm going to say you mean there are already established cars in that market that have reputations and good reputations. Sounds like a hard market to crack considering it has been around for a decade, and the sterile Camry has somehow exited many buyers, and as booring as they are, and others in that sense, to those who sport mullets ( tbh I'm not too far off that style myself due to the opposite, being overworked) it's going to be a hard slog for holden to convince people to jump on the new range of cars people don't know. as opposed to move on to cars that were already out. The days of seeing some one pull a single spinner out of dad's new commodore are drying up

[PaulXR50]

Looks like a Prius prototype... fuglyyyy.

[tranquilized]

The Commodore name has such bad connotations. It's widely considered as nothing more than a bogan chariot isn't it?. I would have thought this new car would have been an excellent opportunity for Holden to leave the name and it's baggage behind them.

So what is this new car's potential market? 40% of current Commodore buyers won't buy it cause there is no V8. Then there's the LWB and ute buyers who won't buy it cause it's hatch & wagon only. So that leaves what, less than 40% of a steadily shrinking market enjoyed by the VF, to be generous. As for everyone else, well they aren't interested in buying a bogans car now and they won't be come 2018 either.

The car itself won't be half bad. It'll have the right tech, it'll have the right numbers, it'll look alright etc etc, it just should have been re-launched with a new name, new deal, new hype.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by tranquilized

The car itself won't be half bad. It'll have the right tech, it'll have the right numbers, it'll look alright etc etc, it just should have been re-launched with a new name, new deal, new hype.

I think this sums it all up.

It will be a good car, but so is everything else in the segment that it will be competing with. The Commodore has lost what made it unique in the sea of FWD fleet cars.

[xr8cam]

Originally Posted by lownloud

I'm almost convinced that trucks are the equivalent new muscle cars of the 70's.
ie: Noisy, uncomfortable, handle and stop like crap, are reasonably quick in a straight line and have mountains of torque....

Some of the tradies and younger drivers of these so called 'trucks' need to realise they are not driving lowered well sorted sedans with good brakes. Seriously stupid decision to punt one of these around a corner or through a round about any faster than the speed limit. They do not handle like a sedan and its bloody reckless to drive one like it. This will not stop the marketing people from doing 'sports' models not to mention the after market performance gear. Watch the toll mount.

[naddis01]

Are they going to be classified as a large or medium car?

[MethodX]

Originally Posted by Sabantien

I'm confused.
Should I sell chev or Opel badges on eBay?

From reports about Holden wanting to have an image make over, a lack of a performance model makes sense.

This shouldn't stop Ford bringing out a Mondeo ST given they have committed to increasing their performance range.

Sell Edsel badges to Falcon owners...

[MethodX]

Should be ok.
Hopefully it sells well and they bring in the OPC version.

The V6 should be the base model though

[1970galaxie]

No way. These can't be Commodores.
I don't see any Chev badges!

[Syndrome]

I would only consider it if it came with Opel instead of Holden badges.

[GO FURTHER]

Well, now the 2018 Commodore specs and looks are known, its obvious there will be a huge public buy up of the last remaining V8 models as production ends in 2017 of the current models.

Coupled to the fact that with no new V8 Falcons, and Holden already taking up the Ford share demand .... I think consumer demand especially from commodore enthusiasts may even exceed supply in the latter part of 2017.

Anyone wanting a RWD large V8 sedan and not wanting the Chrysler 300C or Mustang would have to seriously look at their options next year before its too late.