HOLDEN had asked the government for more taxpayer money to build fewer cars using a s

[mpower]

I still think GM should have shifted the Commodore to an upmarket car rather than a volume car so getting rid of the Evoke, SV6 rubbish and only selling Calais and HSV variants (like the germans do with their 5's and 7's) however that's not how GM work in general. They rely on volume and lower margins.

This then shifts the volume focus to the smaller cars, I mean FFS every other manufacturer currently works this way unless i guess you count Toyota who still see Camry as volume (to a degree but that's changed too) - but I guess that's a hangover in our market.

 

[davey g-force]

SV6 rubbish

Really? Them's fighting words, some people here won't be happy about that! lol

 

[mpower]

Really? Them's fighting words, some people here won't be happy about that! lol

SV6 is bascially S Pac, sooo base model with a bodykit essentially?

marketing genius, Ford have done the same with the "XR6" unless you count the XR6 Turbo variant.

 

[Reaper]

SV6 is bascially S Pac, sooo base model with a bodykit essentially?

marketing genius, Ford have done the same with the "XR6" unless you count the XR6 Turbo variant.

You do realize that the "S Pac" was a Ford badge that came out on the XD-F Falcons in the 80's and was never, ever a Holden model. Holden had an "S" which started with the VN (?) and was discontinued when the SV6 started with the VY's.

But we digress.... mpower is right, SV6's are rubbish

 

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

You do realize that the "S Pac" was a Ford badge that came out on the XD-F Falcons in the 80's and was never, ever a Holden model. Holden had an "S" which started with the VN (?) and was discontinued when the SV6 started with the VY's.

But we digress.... mpower is right, V6's are rubbish

Fixed it. (10)

 

[mpower]

You do realize that the "S Pac" was a Ford badge that came out on the XD-F Falcons in the 80's and was never, ever a Holden model. Holden had an "S" which started with the VN (?) and was discontinued when the SV6 started with the VY's.

But we digress.... mpower is right, SV6's are rubbish

anywho, marketing genius but you digress alright - point was they needed to move the large car into a different market segment which they didn't aaaaaand it's gone. BMW don't sell the 5 series and 7 series as the mainstream version, the S class isn't the mainstream Merc either.

The Asian market runs the same way, mainstream small car - luxury variants only in the large car segment.

 

[Calaber]

But until the late 1990's or thereabouts, Australians by and large bought "large" cars and the luxury models were simply the basic large cars with lots of sugar added. If you wanted a small car, you bought a totally different vehicle in a down-sized class that traditionally was not the mainstream market. That's where our market differed from the Euro's back then.

Different now, though, isn't it?

And just to correct something that a few of you missed, the Commodore "S" ran until the end of the VY series. The SV6 was introduced with the VZ.


(Pedantic b*****d, Calaber)

 

[mpower]

Different now, though, isn't it?

And just to correct something that a few of you missed, the Commodore "S" ran until the end of the VY series. The SV6 was introduced with the VZ.

(Pedantic b*****d, Calaber)

that was my point, the market IS different now and GM has failed to realise that I believe the large car market will no longer be a volume market but the luxury side will survive.

 

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Which was exactly my point too. They should have stepped aside from volume and focused on luxury and performance. What was the saying in the 60's? Win on Sunday, sell on Monday.

 

[Reaper]

But until the late 1990's or thereabouts, Australians by and large bought "large" cars and the luxury models were simply the basic large cars with lots of sugar added. If you wanted a small car, you bought a totally different vehicle in a down-sized class that traditionally was not the mainstream market. That's where our market differed from the Euro's back then.

Different now, though, isn't it?

And just to correct something that a few of you missed, the Commodore "S" ran until the end of the VY series. The SV6 was introduced with the VZ.


(Pedantic b*****d, Calaber)

Haha - you got me - SV6 started on the VZ.

TBH though, and what most seem to miss is that although smaller cars have grown, the biggest growth is the SUV market in both the wagon and crew cab ute things. Stupidly, particularly the wagon things, most are less practical in interior space and load carrying (looking from a kids in baby seats perspective) than a Commodore/Falcon wagon. The biggest thing they have going for them is fashion :bang:

Which was exactly my point too. They should have stepped aside from volume and focused on luxury and performance. What was the saying in the 60's? Win on Sunday, sell on Monday.

Meh, Win on Sunday, sell on Monday hasn't really worked for 20 years now.

That aside, Holden have been steadily trying to move the Commodore away from a fleet seller for quite a while now. Although most are still sold into companies, they are mostly "user chooser" cars bought as part of a salary package by the driver. The upper end of the range is by far Holden's biggest sellers when it comes to all 3 (sedan/wagon/Ute) and it has got to the point that base model utes are only built to order and well over 50% of Ute sales are V8's . V8 sales in the Commodore has also been steadily growing for well over 10 years now. In the 90's V8's were around 7% and now they are approaching 10% of every Commodore built. These cars are just money for cream. I'll see if I can find the stats that Holden published at the introduction of the VF re V8's and post it. Interesting reading.....