commodore r.i.p?

[hingo1983]

Even better would be a medium sized AWD car to compete with the japanese market. I would love the option of say the new cruze with AWD and a great pokey 2.* turbo setup.

Absolutely. A car with RWD and AWD model options would be awesome.

 

[glavas]

cars are going to be so crap in the future i can just sea it.

 

[Zuicider]

GM's European arm is likely to be spared bankruptcy following a proposed deal by Canadian car parts maker Magna International to buy GM Europe's Vauxhall and Opel brands.

 

[Wesuri]

The Omega is the name given to the VT style Commodore in Europe, but I was thinking of the earlier models. They were'nt Omegas but I can't think of what they were called in Britain.

The equivalents of Opel Commodores in Britain:

Commodore A equivalents were Vauxhall Victor FD Mk I and II, Vauxhall Ventora and Ventora II and Vauxhall VX4/90. These were still totally Vauxhall's own models and had nothing to do with the Opels. The brands were however both under GM's umbrella so the design teams had some shared persons and you can (barely) see it in the lines. Just like you see the connection to Chevys Impala etc. Vauxhall used much stronger Coke-bottle-design than Opel. Interesting curiosity were the Ranger cars sold in Austria/Switzerland and South Africa. They had Opel Rekord C body combined to Vauxhall's front pieces. In my opinion these Vauxhalls were among the nicest they ever put out, together with smaller Firenza and Viva from the same period. I think the Victor was assembled also in New Zealand so maybe you have seen some of them, they were raced a lot.

Commodore B equivalent was then one of the ugliest Vauxhalls, Victor FE. Still Vauxhall's own model but you could loosely see the relationship to Rekord D/Commodore B.

Commodore C equivalent was then already a direct badge-engineered Opel model. The britons called it a Viceroy. These were rhd but built in Germany. The C model was also sold in South Africa where it was called Chevrolet Commodore.

 

[Calaber]

Thanks Wesuri. I can recall the FD Vauxhall, but not the FE. (Might look at Google to see what it looked like) Vauxhalls used to be marketed in Australia against the Holdens until the very early 60's - around the time of the Cresta with the reverse sloping A and C pillars and perhaps a little after (1963?)

We saw the HA Viva marketed as a Holden Viva, then the HB became the first Torana, which eventually became a totally Australian and much larger car in the early 70's.

It's interesting now that Australia holds onto the Commodore nameplate when it has been dead for so many years in Europe.

Edit - just looked at the FE - I recall it now. It looks like it was just a facelift of the FD - is that the case?

 

[andyman]

So essentially Holden need to create a medium sized RWD car to compete with the likes of a BMW 3 Series. I think its possible. They need to be careful when resurrecting the Torana nameplate because they wouldn't want to tarnish its name by being a FWD buzz box. I have no interest in FWD cars. I am not a fan of FWD handling, in particular their poor turning circles.

the falcon wont go fwd until the i6 is dead, the i6 in front wheel transversely mounted wont fit, unless they go similar to subaru setup,

a toyota aurion with its v6 and 6sp auto only just fit in the engine bay, the end cap of the transmission sticks into the wheel well

 

[Wesuri]

Thanks Wesuri. I can recall the FD Vauxhall, but not the FE. (Might look at Google to see what it looked like) Vauxhalls used to be marketed in Australia against the Holdens until the very early 60's - around the time of the Cresta with the reverse sloping A and C pillars and perhaps a little after (1963?)

We saw the HA Viva marketed as a Holden Viva, then the HB became the first Torana, which eventually became a totally Australian and much larger car in the early 70's.

It's interesting now that Australia holds onto the Commodore nameplate when it has been dead for so many years in Europe.

Edit - just looked at the FE - I recall it now. It looks like it was just a facelift of the FD - is that the case?

FE is not just a facelift of the FD, it's more thoroughfully ruined . FE has less curves on the body and more window area. The result is very lame and uninteresting, just the opposite of the FD.

The best looking Vauxhall Viva is imo the HC. And LC/LJ from the Toranas.

It's interesting how all the GM brands involve each other.

But why oh why is there no logic in the way Holden names it's generations. First skipping some alphabets, then using them later, or not. Insane .

 

[Calaber]

Regarding Holden's model codes, you're right, they are strange. They started with VB (VA was a designation given to a design study proposal during the mid 70's, before the Commodore was selected as the basis for the new Holden). They moved at random down to VZ, then went back to the start of the alphabet and are picking up disused letter combinations so that the old and new models overlap - weird.

Holden used to have a code to the letter designations that represented the year of introduction for each new model. It started with the FJ and finished with the EH, because a motor magazine cracked the code and was able to predict that the1965 model would be the EF. After the EH, the letter combinations were really all over the place. The only certain thing was that the last "H" model was HZ.