Zehq
Active Member
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2017
- Messages
- 178
- Reaction score
- 117
- Points
- 43
- Location
- Sydney
- Members Ride
- 2016 VF2 SV6 Black
As an American living in Australia who has been driving Commodores for more than 15 years, I can assure you that there were a lot more factors that contributed to Holden's demise than just General Motor's parenting skills. Your car industry was heavily subsidized by government up until a few years ago, effectively creating a bubble that burst when the Government decided to stop subsidizing the industry. Car production costs in Australia are/were some of the most expensive in the industrialized world, thanks to your unions. But really, the main cause is Australians voted with their wallets these last few years and were not buying Holdens in volumes that would justify a GM presence. You have a very small car market in Australia that does not justify a GM subsidiary. If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves.
At the risk of being tarred and feathered, I have said it before and I will say it again, the current ZB Commodore is the best Commodore ever sold. Anyone who say's it's not a real Commodore has either not driven one or is just being a subjective fanboy. And your sentiment is exactly the reason why GM has closed shop here. If you don't buy the products, don't expect the store to remain open.
Import tariffs going from the 22.5% in the mid-90s to 5% in 2005 allowed many car manufacturers a presence in Australia they couldn't previously justify. No surprises that the car that cost a **** ton to build went under when you don't have the market share.
Oh and a source: https://www.aph.gov.au/sitecore/con...rary/Publications_Archive/CIB/CIB9697/97cib22