Holden Commodore still number one in Full Sized Family

[Reaper]

I'm trying to remember exactly when Holden announced factory closures. Cause 58.8% sales increase over last year is massive. Is it just people getting all nostalgic and patriotic, and wanting to buy one while they still can?
I think Ford had a similar sales surge when they announced their factory closures.

The closure was announced January this year. You have to remember that the VE was in virtual standstill for the last 8 months of it's life till the VF was rolled out. This isn't really a sales surge because of the factory closure, more pent up demand over the previous model. Remember that a lot of people would be onto effectively their 3rd VE by the time it went to god.

 

[commodore665]

I'd still like to know why the Commodore sells as well as it does, yet the Falcon has almost disappeared. There isn't that much difference between the cars, although the VF upgrade puts the Commodore ahead of the Falcon for features and "modern-ness". Marketing probably has something to do with it, but the VE was outselling the Falcon by large percentages a few years back. Wonder why Aussies have decided they'll still buy a Commodore but forget the Falcon?

Possibly down to same reason it sells well in NZ , fleet buying( Sales Reps ) , Government fleet , ( police , and motor way patrol cars ) rental car firms , or maybe , like me people like them .

 

[Pollushon]

I'd still like to know why the Commodore sells as well as it does, yet the Falcon has almost disappeared. There isn't that much difference between the cars, although the VF upgrade puts the Commodore ahead of the Falcon for features and "modern-ness". Marketing probably has something to do with it, but the VE was outselling the Falcon by large percentages a few years back. Wonder why Aussies have decided they'll still buy a Commodore but forget the Falcon?

Possibly down to same reason it sells well in NZ , fleet buying( Sales Reps ) , Government fleet , ( police , and motor way patrol cars ) rental car firms , or maybe , like me people like them .

That's my theory too. We only seem to buy the VF not the Falcon (no idea why), so there'd be quite a few hundred non AFP Commodore's operating in the Parliamentary Triangle alone.

 

[Calaber]

I'm trying to remember exactly when Holden announced factory closures. Cause 58.8% sales increase over last year is massive. Is it just people getting all nostalgic and patriotic, and wanting to buy one while they still can?
I think Ford had a similar sales surge when they announced their factory closures.

I can think of a few reasons.

1. The VE production run went far too long without substantial changes being made to the car's appearance. IMO, the VE was started to look very dated. It had lost its market appeal and people were looking to more modern designs from other makes. I realise the GFC and various other financial factors meant the production run was much longer than originally planned, but the Series 2 facelift could have been much more extensive, particularly internally.

2. As you point out, the VF is a huge improvement on the VE's interior. Holden recognised that the VE looked cheap and nasty inside and I read somewhere that the only carry over part from the VE interior is the console armrest pad. Everything else is new and far more up-market.

3. Perhaps a bit of patriotism has crept back too. The VF looks desirable and people know that once it's gone, it's gone.

 

[Benzito]

1. The VE production run went far too long without substantial changes being made to the car's appearance. IMO, the VE was started to look very dated. It had lost its market appeal and people were looking to more modern designs from other makes. I realise the GFC and various other financial factors meant the production run was much longer than originally planned, but the Series 2 facelift could have been much more extensive, particularly internally.

I personally think the VE interior looks better than the FG Falcon interior, let alone the VF. I have always been a Ford guy but when the time came a few months ago to buy my first ever V8 Ute I looked at FG, VF, and VE models. I chose a VE. Even though they are a few years older, I think they make the FG interior look cheap and nasty. The VF is very purdy inside but I personally don't like the body shape as much as the VE, it just lacks fatness, so that's how I made my choice.
So I reckon the Commodore is outselling the Falcon, at least partially because of the interior.
It's pretty sad when a Ford enthusiast decides a Holden is a nicer car in every way(inside, outside, engine, etc). That said, every time in sit in my SSV and think about the FG's I test drove, I know I made the right choice.

 

[c2105026]

Even in the US the large RWD sedan sector, a long time mainstay of Detroit, has basically died. Only people who buy such car now are taxis, cops, and old people. US have an appetite for mid-size sedans (Camry, Accord and similar), corolla/civic/focus, and of course various types of pick-ups and SUVs. Just recently the smaller yaris, fiesta, rio etc have appeared on the market as US motorists have grappled with soaring petrol prices of......an eyewatering $1.10 a litre! Then again average american motorist does drive about 20-25000km due to their near absent public transport infrastructure, and urban sprawl, as compared to our average of 16,000km.

Even in the UK the market has gone down in size. The Cortina was the biggest selling car there in the 70s; now it's the fiesta.

 

[Grennan]

I personally think the VE interior looks better than the FG Falcon interior

I just purchased my VE and the one thing that kept me looking at FGs was the interior.

The SSV interiors are much better, the standard trim is absolutely abysmal.

 

[Calaber]

There are two VE Omegas in our family - a wagon and a sedan. I can't get over the incredibly cheap plastics used in the centre console and that fake aluminium sprayed silver finish. Then there's those seat trims that crack and break away and the glovebox lock that keeps dislodging in the wagon. Absolute rubbish. I've always felt that the VY and VZ interiors were streets ahead in appearance and quality. GM knew it had a problem with the VE interior - just look at how extensively the interior was redesigned and the quality of the materials used in the VF.

 

[Grennan]

There are two VE Omegas in our family - a wagon and a sedan. I can't get over the incredibly cheap plastics used in the centre console and that fake aluminium sprayed silver finish.

Yeah the silver brushed dash strips ugh.

But the dash material is the worst. It looks like an abrasive plastic. Feels rough and hard.

In the lower spec models, that huge stereo system that looks fugly. The color screen should have been standard, or at very least like the lower spec falcons, a smaller black and white screen, larger touch color for upspec.

The Omegas were such a cheaply optioned car that made the entire car feel like ****. What worse is, the Berlina's etc werent much better.

 

[Calaber]

What worse is, the Berlina's etc werent much better.

Oh, I dunno. If you bought an early VE Berlina, you got that spiffy fake woodtrim across the dash.

That lifted the interior a bit. From ugly cheap crap to really ugly cheap crap.