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Commodore Name Sentenced To Death

Calaber

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TBH that has as much credibility as Mike Deveraux saying right up to the start of this year that "no decision has been made to cease manufacturing in Australia". It was out and out bullshit. The decision was made a long time ago and the only blank to fill in was "When"


Because they are priced out of the segment here for reasons that are beyond me. Further, the recent Opel debarcle defied belief. What a disaster - from the biggest auto maker in the world :eek: Word is that Opel is coming back under the Holden banner though.


Correct.

My bet is that dealerships will be converted over to "GM" in the 3 years post 2017 with various sub brands attached. Near certain that the Holden name will be phased out but not for some time.


Coming to a "GM" dealership near you in 2017/18 ;)

Reap

I dunno - I am convinced the Holden brand WILL remain, for much longer than seems to be the view here. To me, thee is a huge difference between deciding whether to keep local manufacture, and whether to keep the existing brand. I don't accept that the name has run its course just because local production will cease. It's a readily recognisable brand name that is as iconic as Vegemite or Qantas. Australian's don't own Kraft, who owns the Vegemite name (and probably won't own Qantas much longer either), yet there is never a suggestion that those names be dumped. Keep in mind that the Holden brand existed long before General Motors was established and it IS a historic Australian company name in that sense. It isn't a confected (ie made up)name and it IS Australian in origin. I reckon it's safe.

My question regarding the sales of Opels here related to the future, not past experience. For whatever reason, but I suspect pricing, the Opel name flopped here last year. Astras and Vectras were very popular when sold as Holdens and were amongst the best in their class at the time. Even the AH Astras sold well, despite far more serious competition than their earlier versions faced. Holden has acknowledged that the model break up here is no longer competitive and that they need to look to Europe for new models. A new convertible Opel has already been demonstrated as a forthcoming Holden and the Astra is back on the menu. Pricing will always be an issue, as the Koreans have improved in huge leaps over recent years and their cars are now extremely competitive in every sector where they appear, so any marketing for the Euro Holdens will have to be on quality and engineering standards, rather than price.

Finally, if those new Euro models appear here as "Holdens", how does GM break the cycle and re-invent them as something else somewhere down the track? My bet is that the company will introduce completely new models over two or three years, including whatever replaced the Commodore, and continue marketing under the existing brand name. If sales do improve to the levels they are hoping for, the obvious question would be "Why fix what ain't broken?"
 

disorganise

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I dunno - I am convinced the Holden brand WILL remain, for much longer than seems to be the view here. To me, thee is a huge difference between deciding whether to keep local manufacture, and whether to keep the existing brand. I don't accept that the name has run its course

Do you not think the brand damaged itself when it abandoned Australian manufacturing? GM I think is the only manufacturer that uses different names in each country. They kept Holden when they bought the company to give the view to the public that 'nothing changed'.
Now, I think there's a case to specifically engineer change. 'See, we told you Holden was too expensive. Chevs are cheaper so here you go'

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Forum Fiend v1.2.8.
 

Reaper

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Do you not think the brand damaged itself when it abandoned Australian manufacturing?

Really it need be no different to Toyota and Ford leaving, add that to Nissan, Mitsubishit (nee Chrysler), Volkswagen, Renault, Rootes all who nolonger manufacture here. Some nolonger manufacture anywhere however there are several good examples who have left with little or no impact on their brand image in Aus.

GM I think is the only manufacturer that uses different names in each country. They kept Holden when they bought the company to give the view to the public that 'nothing changed'.
Now, I think there's a case to specifically engineer change. 'See, we told you Holden was too expensive. Chevs are cheaper so here you go'

True. GM is a bit of an anomaly in that respect however the way they have gone about this withdrawal is what seems to be grating most amongst the public. Repeated and un-equivocal denials right up till the day they announced they were leaving is just for starters. Time will tell if the brand survives. I personally will be surprised if it sees much past 2020 myself. As for the current CEO's claim that Holden will be number 1 seller in Australia by 2018 (or whatever it was) - well I think that statement speaks for itself :lmao: Expect single digit market share down around #5 (or lower) sooner rather than later IMO.
 

Calaber

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Do you not think the brand damaged itself when it abandoned Australian manufacturing? GM I think is the only manufacturer that uses different names in each country. They kept Holden when they bought the company to give the view to the public that 'nothing changed'.
Now, I think there's a case to specifically engineer change. 'See, we told you Holden was too expensive. Chevs are cheaper so here you go'

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Forum Fiend v1.2.8.

I don't know where you gain that impression. GM-H was formed in 1931, when GM purchased Holden Body Builders. The Depression had left Holdens with a very small demand for their locally built bodies and, as they had been building numerous body styles for GM amongst others, the amalgamation made sense for both companies. The name Holden was retained because it formed the body building component of the newly formed company.

During 1946 or 47, when the new Australian car was nearing release, its name was still undetermined. One of the executives of the company suggested Holden and it stuck. I don't believe it was the case as you suggest at all.

Have they damaged the brand? Well, hardly. Commodores are selling at a much greater rate than they did during the last year of the VE. The 50,000th VF was recently produced. They are being exported to the US as a Chev (which is understandable) and the reviews there are very positive. As I mentioned earlier, Commodore sales only make up around 50 - 55% of total Holden sales, so roughly 40 - 50,000 other "badged" Holdens are selling per year. That certainly doesn't sound like a damaged brand name to me.
 

RWD4ever

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And this bullshit about people not buying FWD cars because Holdens have traditionally been RWD needs to be put to bed. People have been buying FWD cars for many decades, without any idea which wheels propel the things and not giving a damn. Most car buyers are NOT car nuts - it's only enthusiasts like you get on this forum who get emotional over the thought that RWD will die out and say they won't buy "X" because it is/will be FWD. If someone came up to me and said "would you like this Insignia?", I wouldn't have the slightest hesitation in accepting it, because of the engineering standards the car was built to, and RWD be damned. I know I am not alone with that view.
How long ago did Opel shut up shop? There is an Opel Clearance Centre near me, and they still have Insignias rusting away in the yard. (29,990 and an OPC model for 44,990)
 

Calaber

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How long ago did Opel shut up shop? There is an Opel Clearance Centre near me, and they still have Insignias rusting away in the yard. (29,990 and an OPC model for 44,990)

They lasted barely a year in Australia and folded early this year or very late 2013.
 

Skydrol

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They are being exported to the US as a Chev (which is understandable) and the reviews there are very positive.

Perhaps and I am not saying is a bad car but from my view/experience driving over 30 miles each way to work and traveling across the USA I have not seen a single one passing by or stand still.

One that I can tell is that I see more Pontiac than Buick on the road and GM canned Pontiac because did not sell (only Buick in China which Pontiac had no market).

Read somewhere on the thread about taking pictures of Holden cars and stamped with a Chevy bowtie on them. I do not live in Oz but I am asking to all, everybody see that way too often? The locals can tell better than just a handful of photos handed in a meeting at the GM board.

If that is the case, was a fad long ago to stamp Nissan Sentras with Audi quad rings on the grill.
 

Calaber

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Perhaps and I am not saying is a bad car but from my view/experience driving over 30 miles each way to work and traveling across the USA I have not seen a single one passing by or stand still.

One that I can tell is that I see more Pontiac than Buick on the road and GM canned Pontiac because did not sell (only Buick in China which Pontiac had no market).

Read somewhere on the thread about taking pictures of Holden cars and stamped with a Chevy bowtie on them. I do not live in Oz but I am asking to all, everybody see that way too often? The locals can tell better than just a handful of photos handed in a meeting at the GM board.

If that is the case, was a fad long ago to stamp Nissan Sentras with Audi quad rings on the grill.

Skydrol

Your question is a bit confusing but if you are asking if it is common practice over here for Holden owners to replace the Holden insignia with Chev bowties, then yes, it's pretty common and not well regarded by most members on this forum. Those cars are manufactured and sold as Holdens here, not Chevs, and replacing the insignias seems to create a bit of discussion whenever it is raised here.

You mention pictures of Holden cars "stamped" with a Chevy bowtie emblem, well, that doesn't make much sense. Yes, we have seen pictures of Holdens marketed as Chevs in some overseas markets other than the US, such as the Middle East and Brazil.

I'm not surprised you haven't seen a VF over there yet. Yours is a big country with many more millions of cars than Australia. The VF is only being exported in pretty small numbers and it really isn't particularly distinctive. You could probably drive past one and not even notice it.
 

Grennan

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It is very common. Ever since the VT Commodore came out with the LS1 its been a thing.

Since then, even cars without the LSX engines have been getting the Chev Badge Treatment, its so common, even Holden now offer the Grill as a genuine part on sale.

The point I made in my original post is (as backed up by the article), the GM Executives come over from the US and see that the Chev badge is already here on peoples cars and they take a photo, take it back to head office and say Australia already accepts the brand. However, what they dont see is, people who do that are ridiculed as ########s.
 
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did someone say cadillac?

Coming to a "GM" dealership near you in 2017/18 ;)

I'll take a CTS-V thanks (a wagon of course!). Or in Heisenburg style, a 300 SRT8. If you want muscle, there's still a lot to come... Mustang, Challenger, Camaro (FINALLY!)

And if you want Euro, there's the S4/6, M3/6 and AMG C/E63.

PLENTY of choice left! :D

Then end of Holden and Commodore isn't a bad thing.
 
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