Future of Commodore driven by you

[PIR4TE]

HSV considers V8 future

Let the spin begin...

Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) has cautiously welcomed the news Holden will still have a V8 in its line-up post-2017.

But HSV managing director Tim Jackson has refused to say what implications the announcement — made by General Motors international operations EVP Stefan Jacoby at the Detroit auto show last month — has for the hot Holden tuner’s chances of still selling V8s once local production of the Commodore ceases in late 2017.

“We don’t talk about future products on our side but we think it is good news that Holden will have a V8 in its range into 2018 and beyond,” Jackson told motoring.com.au.

“Our job is to work with Holden to deliver a great performance car into the marketplace,” he added.

“That’s always been our job and will always be our job. The formats may change, the powertrains may change, but that’s what the HSV brand stands for.”

Jackson’s caution is understandable considering HSV’s policy of not commenting on future product, especially as this car is still some years from local sale.

HSV’s success has been built on V8 engines and rear-wheel drive. In 2014 it sold approximately 3100 cars based on the VF Commodore V8, with the supercharged LSA V8 GTS its most popular model for the second year in a row.

But what HSV evolves into post-2017 is still a work in progress. Owned by the Walkinshaw Group, it is looking to potentially tap into various strands of the GM empire, including the Opel models that start flowing into the Holden line-up from this year.

Among them will be the next-generation Insignia, which is expected to form the basis for the first imported front-wheel drive Commodore. A hot HSV version of that car would logically be an all-wheel drive turbocharged V6.

Chevrolet is another potential opportunity for HSV via the next-generation Camaro and the iconic Corvette sports car, both of which have been linked with the Jacoby announcement. They both offer V8 engines and drive their rear wheels.

A HSV role in converting these vehicles – and a less likely but still possible US-built replacement for the Commodore SS sedan – to right-hand drive has also been mooted. It is known former Holden bosses Mike Devereux and Mark Reuss are HSV fans and keen to exploit its niche conversion and manufacturing capabilities.

But Jackson says that while a future V8 program makes sense, it’s not locked in and not a mandatory requirement for a future HSV.

“I think if you ask our customers they’d say ‘yeah we want a V8’. If there is not a V8 in the marketplace there is probably an education role to do around ‘OK, how much performance is required to keep our customers engaged and excited?’

“It’s all about performance and that’s typically been delivered through V8s and it’s been a great platform for us for a long period of time.

“Our job is to deliver great performance. If it is with a V8 then it’s with a V8. If it’s with some other platform, some other powertrain, then our success will be determined by how good that ultimate performance and excitement is and how well that marries with what the customers expect.”

Whatever the outcome in relation to V8s, Jackson made it clear Walkinshaw Group management was confident HSV would continue on in some form post-2017.

“There has been a lot of conversation around the challenges of the industry and manufacturing disappearing,” he said. “But I am really confident there is a role and an opportunity for HSV into the future, particularly in that niche performance sector.

“We are working very closely with Holden and GM to find that right solution for the market. So [HSV is] very confident about what the future holds, but those things take time.

“It would be nice if we could come up with cars in an instant and have them ready to market and sell, but it does take time to get the right solution for the marketplace.”

HSV’s 2014 result was just 25 sales down on 2013, buoyed by a strong performance in NSW while mining states Western Australia and Queensland softened.

“We had a pretty steady year,” Jackson said. “We launched GTS Maloo, which created some excitement with our customer base, but we pretty much hit exactly where we thought we would hit.”

 

[Reaper]

^^^ Beyond the miscalculation of the market place, they have also miscalculated the cost of redundancy of the workforce to the tune of billions! Any wonder nobody wants to run Holden any more. They have been without a leader since Dorito was marched out the door (rumour has it he was sacked after publicly blaming the dealers for Holdens sales decline) in October with gm execs playing pass the parcel faster than an arab birthday party with the new MD's appointment letter.

 

[Skydrol]

Well well, http://www.motoring.com.au/news/2015/holden/gm-underestimated-impact-of-holden-factory-closures-48614"]check this out!

In an admission that GM's top brass miscalculated the lay of the land Down Under, the man who made the decision to terminate Holden manufacturing operations in Australia has admitted the customer uncertainty that has followed is more serious than expected.

Pray that is true and not the Product/PR from a backroom deal. There is more at stake here than just a car; indirectly, they are talking about jobs too.

I know, this is a car forum and is for Holden/Commodores. But a real gear head also look what the competition has to offer.

When Engineers Build and Bean Counters Pay, not the other way around. Get some pointers GM

 

[PIR4TE]

A big donk doesn't improve your love life

Pray that is true and not the Product/PR from a backroom deal. There is more at stake here than just a car; indirectly, they are talking about jobs too.

I know, this is a car forum and is for Holden/Commodores. But a real gear head also look what the competition has to offer.

When Engineers Build and Bean Counters Pay, not the other way around. Get some pointers GM

Mate that car is as ugly-as-sin, which is fine with me and my mates on the frog up the local (actually the uglier and daggier with a big fricken donk FTW).

Yeah it has its place and would've been truly excellent for circle work at a skating rink carpark back in the 80s but that package is an anachronism of design language that sits uncomfortably in the modern idiom, an unfashionable and impractical behemoth posing as a modern sports sedan alternative to Eurocentric design and Asian affordability.

Yeah it makes a statement - a puerile one we've heard before and grown away from, not clever in today's retail market. In an abstract sense I can envisage a scenario where this overpriced orphan would be appreciated - affix DILLIGAF plates in a middle suburban Aldi carpark - there it would shout a defiant statement to local lemmings buying Chinese-sourced Italian pasta and miscellaneous, valueless bargains sourced in bulk (or dumped) from the Third World, packaged with suitably acceptable branded labelling.

Yeah it is an automotive curio, a visual joke from the past, a brash and tactless statement that is deliberately unappealing and un-Australian.

Yeah yeah but nah.

 

[Skydrol]

DILLIGAF.... how hilarious ! I wrote that on a LMTV that I drove in Iraq in a Convoy; I can say that was my front plate

The thing is, ugly or not ugly, a blast from the past, fuglier than a kick in the balls.... The point is, they are making some with performance. Not trying to turn this on a GM Vs Ford Vs MoPar thread; just checking the competition.

Instead GM is like, tossing an Opel Shell and here is the sandbox (about the size of a matchbox) and go play with it.

If you watched the video, did you heard the Engineer Vs Bean Counter remark?

To be honest, in my opinion, I like the retro look.

 

[PIR4TE]

Holden confirm plans to launch a V8-powered sports car in Australia as soon as 2017

Holden will launch a V8-powered 'sports car' in Australia within the next few years, a General Motors executive has confirmed to Australian journalists in Detroit. The finer technical details of the plan are not yet known, but Holden has confirmed the comments made by Stefan Jacoby, Executive VP Consolidated International Operations. "It will be most likely a V8, it will be a sports car and it will be a global car."

The list of possible nameplates is short: the rear-drive Code 130R concept shown in Detroit 2012 and the all-new Camaro:

Code 130R Concept

More pics here.

All New 2016 Camaro

Jacoby immediately ruled out the historical nameplates Monaro and Torana as possible names.

Jacoby would not provide additional information other than to offer cryptic clues: "It will be something which truly fulfils the requirement of a true Holden sports car. We will bring a true sports car to Australia for the brand portfolio. It is not currently in production." The reveal and on-sale date will fall around the same time GM Holden closes its manufacturing facility in Elizabeth and ends Commodore production in 2017.

The likely nameplate is Camaro and the timing fits. An all-new Camaro is expected in North America in 2016. Plus, Holden engineers have a history with Camaro; they were responsible for dynamic chassis tuning of the current car, and their work has received high praise from customers and fellow GM engineers in the US. It is quite probable that the next-gen Camaro is presently undergoing ride and handling tuning at Lang Lang in the hands of Australian chassis engineers in preparation for its North America launch in 2016.

The next-gen Camaro is believed to be built on GM's Alpha platform, much smaller than present Zeta Camaro, but GM remains unwilling to comment on right-hand-drive possibilities for Alpha. As recently as November, Mark Dickens, the Director of Performance Variants, Performance Parts and Motorsports Engineering at GM, told motoring.com.au that RHD was possible for Camaro but highly unlikely. That may have changed between November and now.

That aside, will a V8 fit within Code 130R's compact dimensions? The Code 130R is rear-drive and it is small, the 109.3" wheelbase is same as the Alpha platform of the Cadillac ATS. The good news is that the ATS in RWD guise fits a 3.6 SIDI longitudinally, compatible dimensions as a GenV V8, is engineered for AWD, and originally benchmarked in its engineering competitively against the BMW 3-Series and 4-Series. The concern regarding Code 130R as the possible source for a Holden badged sports car is that GM has not confirmed production. It is still a concept – and well-founded speculation suggests the Code 130R will remain a concept only. For these reasons, Camaro seems the logical choice as the donor for a RHD V8 sports car.

GM and Holdens' decision to develop a V8-powered RHD sports car was made within the past few months and may be linked with recent customer research in Australia indicating that Holden risks losing significant customer brand loyalty with the end of local Commodore production. Most obviously, a Holden V8 sports car will also counter Ford's power moves with Mustang in Australia, and Holden executives know that loyal V8 fans will defect from Holden and convert to Ford on the strength of Mustang's offering.

 

[VS 5.0]

That Code130 needs to stay as a concept. Yuk.

And the Camaro....needs to have a leaner look to it. At least the cool kids will like that paint job

 

[Skydrol]

Yes, need to stay as a concept. Kind of reminds me of the Mazda RX8

 

[VS 5.0]

Except the RX8 looked OK.

 

[Skydrol]

Except the RX8 looked OK.

Hey, no gripes on that car. Is the only rice burner that I have soft spot for it. Long ago we used to mess around with the RX3s and RX4s.

At one time, GM had a Corvette called the Aerovette that was supposed to be Mid Engine with a Wankel 4 rotor. Too many technical problems shelved the engine and the car.