Stupid stuff Holden did.

[keith reed]

Not being able to get the clock in the VE commodore able to accurately tell the time. I mean, really, car makers have only been doing it for 50 years or more now.

My vh doesn't have too much trouble with accuracy.

 

[figjam]

Their advertising during last few years before cremation.

Metro-sexual, LGBTI+ politically correct, a pop concert, a stolen painting and " I don't want to drive a car that my Dad drove " themes.
All you old, bogan, horsepower hungry Holden owners of the past can get knotted, Holden is now hip, chic and de-knacker-ated for the future buyers.

 

[Skylarking]

From an engineering/manufacturing & servicing perspective around my VF:

• Extensive use of TTY bolts without max length specified thus limiting safe reuse.
• ZF diff design which makes clutch pack changes an expensive PITA.
• No access hatches for easy fuel filter/pump and fuel level sender replacement.
• Lack of full alignment adjustability for wheels.
• PITA headlight globe replacement on substandard halogen headlamps assemblies (when HID assemblies were a available on LHD models).
• Removal of the second horn on later VF’s so it sounds like a $15k Kia shitbox.
• Lack of electrochromatic interior rear vision mirrors on Redlines.
• Lack of electrochromatic exterior mirrors (both sides)
• Lack of folding mirrors.
• A infotainment headunit that can’t grab time from GPS and can’t adjust automatically for daylight savings time…
• A infotainment headunit that can’t get updates for GPM map data because the manufacturer couldn’t be stuffed…
• An infotainment headunit that can’t have “apps” installed (apps and GM AppStore was a big sell by GM and then fell by the wayside).
• Cheaping out with HCAV temp sensors in VF and using a flawed algorithm to guess what temps may be within the cabin and vents giving us a Jeckle/Hyde temperature control.
• Lack of seat cooling in a vehicle sold in a hot climate, but hey let’s give them seat heating..
• Interior trim pieces that are clipped into place making removal without damage a PITA. This will especially be problematic once the plastic has reached its short design life and begins to get brittle…
• AC hoses that leak after a handful of years when back in tne 80’s they’d last for decades without issue.
• PITA cooling system design that makes getting all the air out a challenge.
• All the external trim rubberised/plastic chrome covered trim pieces that will look shabby after a handful of years where replacement costs will be silly money.
• Thin factory paint that can’t be safely and easily blocked back to remove peel.
• Stupid cabin air filter design that’s a PITa to replace (as compared to other manufacturers designs).
• The general design philosophy that assemblies are replaced and not repaired while companies spruce their environmental credentials…
• Use of a regulatory scheme where certification is done on a model variant basis rather than a body type, thus making owner upgrades more complex and needing VASS engineering approval for stuff like bolting on Brembo brakes and rotors…
• Oh, and poor assembly line quality control meaning that many body seams weren’t sealed correctly resulting in owners having water leaking into their cabin… or earth bolts weren’t correctly tightened resulting in electrical gremlins (based on some threads within this forum)
• Injector failure issues, piston slap issues, rocker arm failure issues, ELS assistance failure issues and the poor way they handled them.… took them more than 2 years to do a recall on EPS assistance failure and they never did for injector issues let.… GM not standing by their product quality can’t bode well for any future business they try and do down under…

I could go on about engineering/manufacture & service but it’s pointless really.

Its fair to say that from a product planning perspective, Holden simply missed the market and GM didn’t want to spend the money to make the products our market wanted, even when they were presented with options by Holden… And GM seemed to be less interested in Holden exporting stuff which hobbled them quite a lot…

edited to add

• No auto transmission fluid dip stick (& sealed for life transmissions from many manufacturers).
• wiper blades that require the whole blade and carrier to be replaced rather than just the rubber.

 

[Commo64]

Apparently there was a reason for the clocks jumping forward... I think it was something to do with battery voltage though I'm not too sure...

 

[Commo64]

Their advertising during last few years before cremation.

Metro-sexual, LGBTI+ politically correct, a pop concert, a stolen painting and " I don't want to drive a car that my Dad drove " themes.
All you old, bogan, horsepower hungry Holden owners of the past can get knotted, Holden is now hip, chic and de-knacker-ated for the future buyers.

Holden advertisements were weird and didn't really relate to the car itself (probably because their products were sh*t)... Also nobody really cared about what a car company thought about politics and Holden alienated existing customers by reshuffling their line-up too quickly and turning the brand into a massive environmental movement...

 

[Sandman]

Importing Daewoos.

Calling the ZB a Commodore. Ruined the potential market for a decent car as it alienated existing Commodore customers whilst as well as potential non Commodore buying customers that didn't want it because it was a Commodore.

 

[Fu Manchu]

Another stupid thing Holden did was treat their customers like a smuldering bag of dog poo.

Not interacting with their customers on build data (nor making it available).

Not giving Aussies the ability to access parts info/referencing like in the US and UK.

 

[J_D 2.0]

Another stupid thing Holden did was treat their customers like a smuldering bag of dog poo.

Not interacting with their customers on build data (nor making it available).

Not giving Aussies the ability to access parts info/referencing like in the US and UK.

It seems to be a common problem across a lot of industries here in Australia. They like to treat us like mushrooms and provide SFA information about anything, especially for cars.

If I want to find information for anything I’ll look at if the US or Europe has a similar model of said item and go from there. At least then you’ve got a chance of finding something useful.

 

[hademall]

Another stupid thing Holden did was treat their customers like a smuldering bag of dog poo.

Not interacting with their customers on build data (nor making it available).

Not giving Aussies the ability to access parts info/referencing like in the US and UK.

Thank God for the “justcommodores” forum eh!

 

[Pollushon]

How Holden sees its customers