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Attributes of the ZB that make it Special

Discussion in 'ZB Holden Commodore (2018)' started by Badgerdog, Mar 30, 2020.

  1. mpower

    mpower Well-Known Member

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    underwhelmed how? every reviewer out there gave the VF the big thumbs up - what's YOUR problem with it?

    here's one of your cuzzie bro's taking about the SII Redline. He reveiwed the ZB at some stage too and liked it, but one thing the ZB will never do is put a smile on your face from that powerplant.

     
  2. Derekthetree

    Derekthetree Active Member

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    Watch out, that's the Tazzl argument of excellence.
     
  3. VS 5.0

    VS 5.0 Well-Known Member

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    Indeed.....I can't believe the amount of butt hurt dispayed by some ZB owners.

    Me thinks they doth protest too much.
     
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  4. UTE042_NZ

    UTE042_NZ Well-Known Member

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    Meaning to not be a more picky bastard but I think I can split that hair into even finer pieces (no doubt somebody will correct me if they think I am wrong).

    I don't believe Holden ever named their utes Commodores. Back when you could view the range of Commodores and Holden Utes online at Holden's website, they were in separate sections (named Commodore, and Holden Ute - strangely enough). The "Holden Ute", while based on and sharing components with the same generation Commodores, never seemed to have Commodore included in their name (on any official Holden document or web page). I believe the "Holden Belmont Ute" was the last to be named by Holden anything other than just "Holden Ute".

    My magnum is not a Commodore (despite what the NZTA registration label states), the Holden invoice (and the dealership service department documentation) names it as a "2017 Holden SS Magnum Ute".

    Car dealers, vehicle licensing authorities, and insurers have applied the Commodore moniker to the utes, as have we. However, if you name your son Jack and everyone else calls him John, is he really a John or is he Jack?
     
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  5. Brettly-2008

    Brettly-2008 Active Member

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    I'm glad you used the tongue-in-cheek emoji there, otherwise one might think you're delusional. I reckon that Calais V Director would be a sensational car to own, would totally overwhelm my driving abilities :)
     
  6. StrayKiwi

    StrayKiwi Active Member

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    Source for this claim? My dash doesn't rattle and I haven't read any ZB owner posting here about that problem.
     
  7. Holden17

    Holden17 Well-Known Member

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    I didn’t have to look far...currently the very next thread below this one...Matt’s ZB wagon review eg post#158 where RedlineJimmy has more concerns than just the rattles in the dash.

    The rattling dash was quite widely covered in the media following the ZB release with Holden saying they traced it back to German production and were working with Opel on a fix...not sure if they did fix it or not as admittedly more recent examples possibly relate to old, slow selling stock.
     
  8. VFRDLN

    VFRDLN Member

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    You will find surface rust under the dash of just about any car most of the cross supports and brackets are just unpainted pressed steel.
     
  9. lowandslow

    lowandslow Well-Known Member

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    Ofcourse a tuned blown fpv v8 and a typhoon are going to make a stock calais feel lazy.
    Why no comparison of a zb to a gen f gts?
     
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  10. Brettly-2008

    Brettly-2008 Active Member

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    "Lazy" is a strong word when describing a 304kw and 570nm car running very low 5s. Didn't all those stock turbo Barra's run 6s at best?

    I totally agree with your second point, would be a much more apt comparison than a VX Ls1.
     
  11. lowandslow

    lowandslow Well-Known Member

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    Lazy compared to a modified, blown V8 and one of the silliest 6 pots this country has produced.
     
  12. tuckerbag

    tuckerbag Active Member

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    None under my VP BT1 dash
     
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  13. Badgerdog

    Badgerdog Active Member

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    That's it in a nutshell. I was driving a 400kw supercharged FPV GT-P at the time probably making more than 700 nm's. That beast cost me $91K Kiwi. Holden at that time wanted $85K for something that felt woefully inferior and lacked any real urge under 4,000 revs.

    As to your second point, the thing a lot of you guys are missing is that there's no point comparing a $50K car with a $100K one.

    The dirty truth no Aussie associated with the assembly industry ever wants to admit, (and many others as well), is that with the ZB people finally got a chance to own a very good car at a very fair and reasonable price. The asking prices here in N.Z. for Australian assembled V8 Commodores have been unrealistic since Adam was a boy, for what you get.

    There's nothing else here for $50K Kiwi that comes anywhere close to my car...I know, I had a bloody good look.
    If I wanted to spend $100K again I would have bought a low mileage Mercedes-Benz AMG C63.

    People who make real decisions and buy cars on a regular basis expect bang for buck and V8 Commodores have been an epic fail in N.Z. in that regard for as far back as I can remember. After getting rorted with an overpriced, piston slapping, oil burning, diff graunching, riddled with electrical problems V8 Calais VX that Holden N.Z. simply walked away from and wouldn't acknowledge the issues, is it really any surprise I was gun shy to ever own another Australian made Holden ?

    Its official you can add point 11 to my initial list, Best handling and performing car in N.Z. brand new for $50K.
     
    Last edited: Apr 1, 2020
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  14. lowandslow

    lowandslow Well-Known Member

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    Well why would anyone compare a 50k car to a 4k clunker thats pushing 20yo?
     
  15. Holden17

    Holden17 Well-Known Member

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    What a bummer...I paid closer to $60k in 2017 for my first ever V8...brand spanker SS wagon. I guess if I rushed into Holden even now I could probably trade it on a new ZB....let me think about that for a moment :rolleyes:
     
  16. VFRDLN

    VFRDLN Member

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    You're not looking hard enough. Look under the console at the shifter assembly. I have had the dashes out of many makes and models and can assure you they are all the same, plenty of pressed steel brackets and supports that have surface rust. Manufacturers only make things that you can see look good and none are any different.
     
  17. berlina411

    berlina411 Member

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    I think the ZB is a good car, as I've said before. There is not much wrong with it and there is plenty of tech for the money.Yes it has some issues but all cars suffer from some issue or other
    The only problem was the name.
    Back in 1978 GMH released a new car. They called it Commodore. Why? Because it was different to the HZ Belmont/Kingswood/Premier/Statesman models it eventually replaced.
    The same thing happened in 2018. New and different body, chassis, engines, transmissions, drivelines etc. Radically different and nothing at all like the VF so GM should of called it something different, maybe just kept the Insignia name perhaps
    Anyway, I'll stick to my RWD V8 because that's the type of car I like. And just for the record, I have had zero issues with my VF2 except for replacing the battery last year.
     
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  18. StrayKiwi

    StrayKiwi Active Member

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    I wonder if the outcry would have been the same had the ZB been called something like Kingswood, Belmont or Premier? Insignia is a nothing name with no resonance down under.
     
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  19. Derekthetree

    Derekthetree Active Member

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  20. Badgerdog

    Badgerdog Active Member

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    Fair comment. For what its worth I think your car is the last and arguably the best made by Holden.
    They were about $80K here new, from memory which was about $14,000 more than Falcon XR6 Sprint money which makes 370 kw and 650nm's on overboost. Holden V8's were never fair value for money ion N.Z. in my view and the best of the last and their pricing is indicative of how it always was here.

    Each to their own. I'm going Euro next time, AMG C63 or BMW M5 are the current favourites. I think this Covid 19 thing has taught us all to enjoy life while we have it. Neither of my kids deserve any inheritance so I'm planning on getting a special weekend vehicle and keep the Calais V as a daily driver. Might as well spend my money and enjoy it.
     
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