Is anyone considering the NG commodore after their VF?

[Forg]

Dunno if I believe he's owned by any particular brand; he's just Captain Clickbait.
He won't denigrate Kia or Hyundai cars because no owner of them has any passion for them so he won't get a rise; HSV on the other hand, there's almost no concievable sensible reason to buy one, they're all bought out of passion, so he can elicit a strong response by calling 'em dinosaurs (which probably isn't inaccurate after all - that's certainly a part of why they're liked by those of us who like them).

 

[Zeke Topanaga]

OK then, on this:

I don't believe you're correct here. Not that we can't do it, I agree we can, but more on the motivation for not providing a business-environment in which it'll happen.
I don't truly think the various gumbyments are necessarily sleeping-around with the banks etc, I think the issue is that the modern most-commonly-accepted economic theory says the level-playing-field is the best way to go for a country's economy. Basically, everyone's economic advisors are saying that it's all about the money, that the best outcome for everyone is that the cheapest place to make something makes it, and that everyone who used to be employed in & indirectly-by the automotive industry will find another job that they do more efficiently.

Note that I'm not adhering to this theory. I think it totally ignores friends, families, homes, communities; and prioritises money over everything else (Deity Of Choice knows I can't do with the 3 cheap 80" TV's I've got, I need to buy another!!). However, I do think that this is the real gumbymental motivation for not supporting ... well, any industry, really.

Sure I agree, but there is no level playing field in reality.
The Banks own the Nations and a nation, just as a person who needs to borrow money is a slave to the one who lends. your vote means f all if you are enslaved.
I am not saying the banks are a bad thing, but most people sure are gullible.
Put your nation 1st because no other nation will, but that does not mean one can work to the benefit both or others.
Our government have been selling Australia out like a whore from 1973 on.

 

[Zeke Topanaga]

You only have to watch some of the videos on his channel to see how much of a wanker he is. He describes VF Commodores as low tech dinosaurs and according to him HSV owners are all knuckle dragging bogans amongst other things.
He is little more than a trumped up sales rep for Hyundai and Kia as these are the only brands he has praise for.
I wouldn't give the guy the steam off my **** let alone the time of day to listen to his ridiculous rants. He is widely regarded as a joke in the automotive industry and its easy to see why.

He correct in some things but he is pissing into the wind with a lot of he says as well, like claiming that GM Ford Toyota is taking advantage of us Aussies but fact is we are employing Aussies regardless and the other side of the coin is we are not.
Fact is the clown should of pointed out the fact that Australia has from the 1950's always had to help establish making cars here and the reason why we did do that.
Just because the Tariffs are gone, now he thinks we then are forking out to keep the industry alive from that point.
Sure people are buying **** because they can't afford a Commodore nowadays, as who would truly want all that 4 cyl **** that's about really. I think that they made the VE too big but it was an export they were looking at as well with that car as they could of exported to the USA as much as they could ever make, if it all went to plan, but for the crash and the high Aussie dollar.

 

[426Cuda]

Dunno if I believe he's owned by any particular brand; he's just Captain Clickbait.
He won't denigrate Kia or Hyundai cars because no owner of them has any passion for them so he won't get a rise; HSV on the other hand, there's almost no concievable sensible reason to buy one, they're all bought out of passion, so he can elicit a strong response by calling 'em dinosaurs (which probably isn't inaccurate after all - that's certainly a part of why they're liked by those of us who like them).

Soon to be extinct too Forg. But like the T-Rex they'll elicit fear and respect long after they're gone.

 

[Forg]

I'd usually prefer a smaller car to a larger one, Zeke. The only reason for the VF SSVR was because I'd never owned an Aussie V8 car, and it felt like something I should try, even if my usual 'druthers are in small & nimble & zingy ... I just find the lack-of-momentum more fun, for some reason.

The last Commodore I had any experience with was pre-VE, and the VF being so good surprised me. I don't think I could have justified paying new-car money for any of the models of Commodore I've driven before, they just had too many ... I dunno, rough edges. Really the only things they did better than the alternatives were physical size & torque, and the size I cared nothing for & the torque I didn't enjoy as much as throttle-response.

 

[zero_tolerance]

You should learn to be more open and frank Zero. This fence sitting is just not on!
Haha - Good to see you earning your tag lol.

Lol, it was probably a touch overboard, but people like him who continually bleated negativity and doom and gloom about the local product, while at the same time glorifying and promoting imports to anyone who would listen, played a major role in the demise of Aussie car manufacturing.
He deserves every bit of the criticism he gets.

 

[426Cuda]

Lol, it was probably a touch overboard, but people like him who continually bleated negativity and doom and gloom about the local product, while at the same time glorifying and promoting imports to anyone who would listen, played a major role in the demise of Aussie car manufacturing.
He deserves every bit of the criticism he gets.

Not at all mate. I wholeheartedly concur! Bloody hypocritical tabloid bullshyte is alive and well in motoring journalism.

 

[Calaber]

I get really pissed off with people who bucket the local product and keep telling us imported is better.

I've told the story before of my brand new Mk 5 Golf purchased in 2005. It had so many serious faults that I traded it before the warranty expired. It was replaced with a four year old VY Berlina which proved to be a far more reliable car.

Local cars haven't kept pace with the latest technology and that's really the only way they can be considered "inferior" to the latest imports. Structurally they are the equal of most of the latest stuff and their basic technology levels are way better than even ten years ago. Their ride, handling, braking and comfort levels match or beat the most popular imports and are really only bettered by upmarket foreign cars.

So why don't they sell more of them? For the members of this forum who are principally enthusiasts, there are few better affordable choices than high performance Commodores but for the average Noddy who has no use or need for such vehicles and little interest in cars generally, there is a huge variety of vehicles of different body styles, sizes and equipment levels to choose from and they are better served in their minds by vehicles which just aren't made here. Sure, a lot are buying SUV's for whatever reason (and for some of us, there ARE practical reasons) but there are other sorts of cars selling in big numbers which can only be supplied from imports.

 

[Dirty Harry]

Let's not forget that Ford had a crack at SUV's with the Territory and Holden had a go with the Vectra, Adventra and finally the Cruze. So local manufacturing did try to diversify.

I would put it down to the following (in no particular order). A highly competitive market with lots of choices, lack of government support, high Australian $, lack of export opportunities (killed by HQ for both Holden and Ford), long model cycles thanks to GM stripping $$$ from Holden to try and stay afloat (i.e VE dragging on for what seemed forever, VF launch delayed), and badge snobs (i.e Euro and Japanese preferences).

 

[Forg]

So why don't they sell more of them?

Diversity in the market; so many cars meeting people's needs.
An example - a Mazda3 is faster than a VH 308 Commodore, and has pretty close to the same room while being safer & using 1/3 the fuel. Noddy looks at that, and asks why they'd pay 50% extra to get extra car they don't need & fuel-usage they don't want.
The Golf you mentioned ... they just do NVH, interior trim & the illusion of quality so well ... yeah there were problems in the Mk5 days when they were pumping-up sales, in fact I wouldn't recommend my sister an auto VW of any sort these days either, but people buying new cars aren't so worried about such things as usually they'll trade-in before the warranty expires.
And as you mentioned, the gerlytruk fashion-trend isn't going away, in the low-brow buyer's club.
And then you've got squeezing from above, BMW & Benz are making Corolla-competitors but fitting them out with less sparse-looking materials/design and selling Corollas for Commodore money ... again, the German Corolla meets people's needs these days, so they buy the thing with the newer design & the badge.
Not to forget squeezing from the side, before wide-body Camry there was no Toyota in that size-segment really, Honda & Nissan sell something there now where they didn't previously.
Added to all that, people take a long time to forget ... scratchy-plastic interiors, early appearance of rattles, general looseness & boatyness, these are things that people still associate with Falcodores & stop people even dropping into the showroom when making car-buying decisions.