38 days left for Holden - RIP

[gopher]

Well done Tony Abbott now you can add being responsible for the loss of almost 50000 Aussie jobs to your resume

 

[Sansius]

 

[Tonner Matt]

The closing down of Holden didn't sink in for me until this arvo after the V8 Supercars had finished.
After the race was over I made myself a bourbon and wandered out into the garage, I wasn't in there for any reason at all but when I looked over at my VZ 1 Tonner, that's when it finally hit home.
I was just standing there looking at my Tonner while the reality of it started to sink in, and it felt really weird to be having all sorts of memories of Holdens popping into my head.
I'm buggered if I know how long I was standing there for because the next thing I know the missus had scared the crap out of me when she asked me what I was doing......I just turned around and looked at her and said:
"It's all over, Holden is done and dusted, just looking at the Tonner made me realise there won't ever be another Aussie built Holden"

 

[figjam]

I feel much the same way when I look in my garage, see what is there, and remember what has been there since 1965 (well, not in the same garage).
Since 2004, the closest I got to buying a new Holden was when the Mrs wanted something bigger than her Barina, for our retirement exploring days.
I tried hard to convince her on a 6.0l Calais wagon, but she had her sights on a Territory, so that was it.
When they announced the closure, I thought long and hard about getting ‘one of the last’, but it would have been at the expense of one of our existing ‘irreplaceable’ cars, and I didn’t want to do that. And, at my age, the practicality, use and enjoyment longevity factors also did not up.
So, sorry Holden, I am a small cog in your demise because I have not parted with the cash to help you for 13 years.

 

[c2105026]

That is a critical issue.

Many Holden enthusiasts buy used Holdens, but not new, locally made ones. Not blaming anyone - I myself have never bought a new Holden. local or imported. Why? $40k is a lot to stump up for a new car, and for most motorists something smaller/cheaper (or more versatile or off-roady) usually suffices. Truth be told - when I bought my Mazda3 last year I could easily have bought a new Commodore but.....my 13k car loan becomes 31k, i.e. an additional $188 a fortnight. That and I'll be honest I've never been a fan of the VF styling.

Could have bought locally built Cruze but took one for a test drive and.....basically, the only reason you buy a Cruze is because you didn't test drive a Corolla/Mazda3/i30.

 

[Calaber]

In my opinion, the biggest single reason that people stopped buying Commodores was because large sedans lack the versatility of other body styles and our tastes in vehicles changed dramatically over the past two decades.

The enthusiasts on this forum bemoan the fact that the Commodore has died, but they wanted the performance models for which there is virtually no alternative. I don't consider the Camaro, at 90k, to be a viable replacement for the SS. But how many on this site bought a V6 VF and they were still the bulk of production numbers. I'd be very surprised if one member here bought a new VF that wasn't a V8.

You can criticise Australian motorists as much as you like for buying SUV's in ever increasing numbers but if, back in 2000 or thereabouts, when the first thoughts turned to the next new Holden, the company had read the market trends better and worked on an SUV instead if a sedan, who knows how things might have turned out?

 

[dgp]

I bought a V6 VFI CalaisV, but I did have a VZ Clubsport for fun duties. Sold both now have a VFII Redline for my daily.

 

[Calaber]

I bought a V6 VFI CalaisV, but I did have a VZ Clubsport for fun duties. Sold both now have a VFII Redline for my daily.

You're probably the only one who bought a V6, but I'd have any VF Calais, any day.