Tezza's ZB
Active Member
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2019
- Messages
- 288
- Reaction score
- 40
- Points
- 28
- Location
- Victoria
- Members Ride
- ZB LT Sedan 4 cylinder 2 Litre Petrol Turbo
thanks for that link, I haven’t seen it before. I agree, there aren’t any losers.
I can’t recall whether it was you than sang the praises of the LT, but I think it was you who asserted that the LT was quicker, handled better, and I think you said it ‘it is better’ than a Commodore VF 6, yet the respective kw were 191 and 235. You poured on the praise. It we only talk about Commodores pre 2018, the site will become extinct, boring as each model ages.
Disappointingly, the Moderator has shut down a couple of threads, but many other old ones are still open
I would have thought that continued discussions about the ZB and Holden are healthy because, if nothing else, we are going through the GM Holden divorce. The more we find out about the ZB, the more we realise that the paralysis of Holden told us subtly but deliberately, that no praise would go the the ZB Commodore, when in fact it deserved very high praise as a widget. And in discussing these matters, the more rich we are, and the more rich the history is. The windows of opportunity close quickly. This happened to Holden, and GM.
One of the beefs I have with Holden has been their profligate spending on the Arcadia just to give one example; it was in your face all the time for some months, with not an iota of content. It was shameful, an indictment on GM and Holden senior managers. It was akin to the abject wastage of money of Michael Bloomberg on advertising, trying to get the nod as the democrat candidate for the next Presidency.
I never saw any TV ad on the ZB Commodore. If I was owner CEO/Director of a Holden franchise, once I learned how damn good the ZB was as a widget, I would have fronted Holden executives, shown them the reviews and pressed them very hard to fight back for the ZB.
Since I published this post, I learned that franchise owners (some of them) put their languid energy into selling run out VFs largely because they made more dollar. Yet they ignored running with promotion of the ZB despite the excellent plaudits it was receiving with pro reviewers. In other words, they had a very very worthy car. It tells me that Holden head office were asleep at the wheel, and franchise owners cared little about having a great car.
It seems that they, as a group, didn’t have the right DNA to be the hands on CEOs who demonstrate passion for individual cars. Rather it would seem that their interest was only in seeing end of month sales, with little ‘love’ for anything else. Such a crying shame. And when you look back at advertising for the ZB, Holden spent zip on ZB and threw good money away on an Arcadia which was perhaps both the worst and annoying ad I have ever seen
I was told by Car Advice that there was no more passionate advocate for Commodore than Holden Director of Marketing, Aquilina. I don’t accept that at all, it’s bunkum because I saw no TV or other marketing campaign and plan to promote the Commodore at all, particularly late in 2017, and after that too. There was ample excellent info available to hail the quality of the ZB and fill the boots of the public. The lazy Holden executives sat back and did nothing.
Their ability to do something special would have hinged on having Opel on board to work with Holden to bring forward an even better Commodore in 2021. The tumult in the Auto industry with ownership change and Tesla’s staggering stellar emergence, killed off everybody’s energies.
Of course the ‘not off the bitumen’ dumb SUV buyers were the threat, and the tumult of the beginning of the electric car was the focus. Consumer tastes are powerful. The evidence about SUVs though is not good. A recent article I read on Apple News some 3 months ago painted a very ordinary picture on the SUV at all levels. In other words a sedan fight back was going to be very difficult but possible. The evidence, look at Tesla’s success with its Model 3, a sedan.
And when I reflect now, the more I feel that dealerships were failing, and will wither on the vine, though I say that with some sadness. The reality is that the software infrastructure of cars, starting with Tesla is the holy grail, the AI, the IP that sets up the servicing structure for cars in the future. And it is hard to do that well. look at VW and the herculean task for them to get their software right infrastructure for their first foray into mass production for its ID.3. It’s still in a messy cesspool.
The next great sedan will be a rival to Tesla, but we won’t see it anytime soon, even though GM only today on Apple News is saying it will. We need to get back to perhaps making a much better sedan, but let’s rename it saloon, or limousine with a cracking motor, whisper quiet, but with a dash like a Bentley. My dream cars in the garage are Rolls, Porsche, believe it or not, a Lotus Exige, a Toyota I road, a McLaren, and one I already have, the ZB Commodore, 4 cylinder, petrol turbo.
I can just continue to enjoy my ZB LT simply because it is a such a pleasure and thrill to drive every time, the goldilocks car that Holden didn’t know it had.
The final comment is about us. We should be driving on the other side of the road like most countries. Why bother accommodating Australia. Will the change occur
I can’t recall whether it was you than sang the praises of the LT, but I think it was you who asserted that the LT was quicker, handled better, and I think you said it ‘it is better’ than a Commodore VF 6, yet the respective kw were 191 and 235. You poured on the praise. It we only talk about Commodores pre 2018, the site will become extinct, boring as each model ages.
Disappointingly, the Moderator has shut down a couple of threads, but many other old ones are still open
I would have thought that continued discussions about the ZB and Holden are healthy because, if nothing else, we are going through the GM Holden divorce. The more we find out about the ZB, the more we realise that the paralysis of Holden told us subtly but deliberately, that no praise would go the the ZB Commodore, when in fact it deserved very high praise as a widget. And in discussing these matters, the more rich we are, and the more rich the history is. The windows of opportunity close quickly. This happened to Holden, and GM.
One of the beefs I have with Holden has been their profligate spending on the Arcadia just to give one example; it was in your face all the time for some months, with not an iota of content. It was shameful, an indictment on GM and Holden senior managers. It was akin to the abject wastage of money of Michael Bloomberg on advertising, trying to get the nod as the democrat candidate for the next Presidency.
I never saw any TV ad on the ZB Commodore. If I was owner CEO/Director of a Holden franchise, once I learned how damn good the ZB was as a widget, I would have fronted Holden executives, shown them the reviews and pressed them very hard to fight back for the ZB.
Since I published this post, I learned that franchise owners (some of them) put their languid energy into selling run out VFs largely because they made more dollar. Yet they ignored running with promotion of the ZB despite the excellent plaudits it was receiving with pro reviewers. In other words, they had a very very worthy car. It tells me that Holden head office were asleep at the wheel, and franchise owners cared little about having a great car.
It seems that they, as a group, didn’t have the right DNA to be the hands on CEOs who demonstrate passion for individual cars. Rather it would seem that their interest was only in seeing end of month sales, with little ‘love’ for anything else. Such a crying shame. And when you look back at advertising for the ZB, Holden spent zip on ZB and threw good money away on an Arcadia which was perhaps both the worst and annoying ad I have ever seen
I was told by Car Advice that there was no more passionate advocate for Commodore than Holden Director of Marketing, Aquilina. I don’t accept that at all, it’s bunkum because I saw no TV or other marketing campaign and plan to promote the Commodore at all, particularly late in 2017, and after that too. There was ample excellent info available to hail the quality of the ZB and fill the boots of the public. The lazy Holden executives sat back and did nothing.
Their ability to do something special would have hinged on having Opel on board to work with Holden to bring forward an even better Commodore in 2021. The tumult in the Auto industry with ownership change and Tesla’s staggering stellar emergence, killed off everybody’s energies.
Of course the ‘not off the bitumen’ dumb SUV buyers were the threat, and the tumult of the beginning of the electric car was the focus. Consumer tastes are powerful. The evidence about SUVs though is not good. A recent article I read on Apple News some 3 months ago painted a very ordinary picture on the SUV at all levels. In other words a sedan fight back was going to be very difficult but possible. The evidence, look at Tesla’s success with its Model 3, a sedan.
And when I reflect now, the more I feel that dealerships were failing, and will wither on the vine, though I say that with some sadness. The reality is that the software infrastructure of cars, starting with Tesla is the holy grail, the AI, the IP that sets up the servicing structure for cars in the future. And it is hard to do that well. look at VW and the herculean task for them to get their software right infrastructure for their first foray into mass production for its ID.3. It’s still in a messy cesspool.
The next great sedan will be a rival to Tesla, but we won’t see it anytime soon, even though GM only today on Apple News is saying it will. We need to get back to perhaps making a much better sedan, but let’s rename it saloon, or limousine with a cracking motor, whisper quiet, but with a dash like a Bentley. My dream cars in the garage are Rolls, Porsche, believe it or not, a Lotus Exige, a Toyota I road, a McLaren, and one I already have, the ZB Commodore, 4 cylinder, petrol turbo.
I can just continue to enjoy my ZB LT simply because it is a such a pleasure and thrill to drive every time, the goldilocks car that Holden didn’t know it had.
The final comment is about us. We should be driving on the other side of the road like most countries. Why bother accommodating Australia. Will the change occur
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