Is my car rare?

[stmcomms]

HI all, I have a VP V8 5 speed factory manual station wagon. I keep getting told its very rare. I talked to the person who purchased the car in 1993, he said that he asked Holden to put the 5 speed manual in the VP as a request.

Come to think about it I have never seen another one, sure I have seen VN's with a 5L, 5 speed wagon but never a VP????? (remember its factory)

Anyone got any idea if these were produced on purpose? And if so how many?

[V85000i]

you don't ask for a manual, manuals are standard, you tick auto as an option, but it is still fairly rare. i dunno if cars options are the same these days though, auto might be standard now

[stmcomms]

thanks, I was under the impression these only came out in an auto??????

[keza87]

Trust me, I looked for 3 months before buying a decent V6 manual wagon. Any manual wagon is rare.
BTW VY-VZ wagons are auto only, every other model had a manual option

[immortality]

you don't ask for a manual, manuals are standard, you tick auto as an option, but it is still fairly rare. i dunno if cars options are the same these days though, auto might be standard now

na, there are way more auto's then manuals, doesn't matter if it's a V6 or V8, wagon or sedan. majority definitly left the assembly line with auto's. 88GreenVN should have the production numbers, no doubt when he comes on and spots this thread he should be able to give a fairly accurate number for ya

[V85000i]

na, there are way more auto's then manuals, doesn't matter if it's a V6 or V8, wagon or sedan. majority definitly left the assembly line with auto's. 88GreenVN should have the production numbers, no doubt when he comes on and spots this thread he should be able to give a fairly accurate number for ya

i know there is more autos than manuals it's just that you used to have to pay extra to get an auto fitted and manual was standard.

[ssmate]

Trust me, I looked for 3 months before buying a decent V6 manual wagon. Any manual wagon is rare.
BTW VY-VZ wagons are auto only, every other model had a manual option

vy ss wagons are manual

[immortality]

i know there is more autos than manuals it's just that you used to have to pay extra to get an auto fitted and manual was standard.

the auto always been a little more expensive then the manual but i wouldn't say manual was standard and you had to option auto, if that was the case there would be a lot more manuals out there.

[keza87]

vy ss wagons are manual

Valid point!
Were all of them manuals??

[Shortstuff]

Valid point!
Were all of them manuals??

Pretty sure an auto came in to work the other day.

I think auto is a $2k option on most of Holden's range still.

[pandaman]

the auto always been a little more expensive then the manual but i wouldn't say manual was standard and you had to option auto, if that was the case there would be a lot more manuals out there.

According to a couple of articles I've read, manual is still standard for both falcon and commodore if memory serves. The reason the market is flooded with autos is because most dealer vehicles come "pre-optioned" with the bastard things. Everyone loves the auto's ya know. Friggin piles of slushomatic crap.

[Lost_Pete]

According to a couple of articles I've read, manual is still standard for both falcon and commodore if memory serves. The reason the market is flooded with autos is because most dealer vehicles come "pre-optioned" with the bastard things. Everyone loves the auto's ya know. Friggin piles of slushomatic crap.

My memory of the day when we actually shopped for these cars new. (No hard facts to back any of this up)

Basically the lowest spec car (Commodore Executive or Falcon GL(?)) was a manual with no air conditioning. This was really only for advertising purposes.

Most cars were sold with autos and air.

Government cars mostly came with air. City Government cars mainly came with autos. Some country Government cars came in manuals.

The sporty variants obviously had more manuals.

In the wagons, any manual is rare, V8s even rarer. Someone once quoted that 95% of Commodores in the VN/VP era were autos. I have seen factory Belina V6 wagon with a manual transmission.

[Pub247]

the auto always been a little more expensive then the manual but i wouldn't say manual was standard and you had to option auto, if that was the case there would be a lot more manuals out there.

I have the original Vp sales brochure manual are standard on all models except berlina and calais

[greenfoam]

In the VN days and most of the days since the Auto was aobut 2 grand? extra over the manual (which was the default gearbox in the VN/P/R/S) BUT because Holden think they know everything and because most people live in big cities and those same people hate manuals Holden just whacked autos in most of them because they knew most people would want a auto anyway.

My parents bought a brand new VH back in the day and it was a manual, nearly all VH's in my town/area were manuals, it was very odd to see a auto one. But now that all the VH's around here are refugees from the city, they are pretty much all autos. Still even to this day though I can drive 100km inland to the real sticks and find a manual VN for sale any day anytime I wanted one because out there no one wanted a auto

[Doctor Sodways]

Valid point!
Were all of them manuals??

Not all of them are manuals, there are various splits depending on the series, im pretty sure the autos still out number the manuals in both series though

[immortality]

I have the original Vp sales brochure manual are standard on all models except berlina and calais

obviously a marketing gimick then, as mentioned above, most dealers optioned em with auto's. holden must have a **** load of manual box's sitting in storrage somewhere then caue not many ever made it into actual cars

[hemi01]

I worked for Telecom (Telstra) through the 80's and 90's. All our section's vehicles were full sized wagons, Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores. Every one (and there were plenty) was a 6 cyl 5 speed manual. They bought for a price and the manuals were the cheapest.

The fastest that I recall was a white manual VP Exec wagon, amazing performance from what was the most basic Commodore sold.

Your VP may have been a special order by the first buyer but only because so few were built compared with autos (probably needed to be built rather than found sitting on the floor). I would have been a bit cheaper than an auto and much rarer.

A great car to have and I'm sure a lot of fun to drive. Well done.

[greenfoam]

Hey were those telstra wagons a custom orange colour? I remember seeing a few orange wagons getting around in Melbourne the few times I've been there

[STEALTHY™]

Can't forget the Cadbury Purple ones haha.


On the VY SS subject, series ones were 250 made in Red, and 250 in black. Not sure if the Trans were split down the middle tho, but most i've seen in SA are manuals.

Series 2 had Silver, not sure if they kept both black and red aswell tho.

[pumba]

a mate of mine has a VR V6 5Spd wagon and it goes alright for a stocka. it took him a while to find it but he found one and bought it lol.

[Cogez]

I have the original Vp sales brochure manual are standard on all models except berlina and calais

Speaking of manual Calais, does anyone out there have a manual VP Calais??? According to the original sales manual, it was an option, but you didn't get cruise control.

Surely someone's got one......

Even rarer, has anyone got a Calais wagon...in manual

[STEALTHY™]

You will never find a factory VN-Z Calais Wagon.

The best you will find is a Berlina wagon, or if you really want a Calais wagon, get a VL or a VE.

You could find a manual Calais, or manual Berlina wagon in VN, less in VP, and almost non existant in VR/S.

As you said, factory manuals have cruise deleted, unless were talking the GTS in VR and VS models.


Pretty sure theres 2 guys on this forum with VN Calais with factory manuals, and i know of 2 factory VP Calais' with manuals.

[Doctor Sodways]

My mate has a VR calais manual 6cyl, thing boots hard too

[STEALTHY™]

My mate has a VR calais manual 6cyl, thing boots hard too

It wont be factory. HSV enhanced maybe, but VR and VS never left the factory as a manual Calais.

[cruzn]

Holden only makes what is demamded. By this, not many people what manual in a new car thus dealers do not order the manual version as to prevent it sitting there for months without getting sold.

This trend can also be seen in used car dealers where about 70% of used cars are manual when only about 20% of cars on the roads are manuals. Thus with the exception of Commodores and a few other makes and models, manuals are HARDER to sell and cheaper.