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mpower

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it's really starting to sink in as the year goes on, every day I drive past Motorama Holden at Moorooka. End of last week all the Holden signage came down.

Motorama have been a GM-H dealer chain since 1960. The sad thing, in a year where we lose an Aussie icon it's going to be a footnote because of just how crap a year it's been all round.

 

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VS 5.0

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Personally, Holden died in 2017 for me. Honestly, comes down to marketing.

Stupid yanks don't realise how popular Australian's are in the US. Why call it a G8 or SS. All they had to do was call it a Holden Commodore and market it as the Australian car and tap into the mindset Australia has been fighting along side the US since WW2.

I think they would have sold well, American's are patriotic and would have loved owning and supporting arguably the most dependable ally the US has had. Per capita, we sent near 5-10% of our total population overseas to fight world war 2.

GM would never have done that:

1. Would have made their home built product look less attractive.
2. The auto workers union would have killed them.
 

Mikecaprice

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vq caprice v8 vq v8 vs ss man
The marketing of the ve vf based Chevy as was piss poor at best regardless of what they called it and like vs 5.0 said the auto workers union would have done anything and everything to have it stopped to protect American jobs it's a sad thing cause the Americans who know about them seem to love a big 4 door v8 means the average bloke can have a fast fun car that still gets the kids to school and can go shopping with the exact opposite of most 2 door cars they seem to be obsessed with
 

Mikecaprice

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Old mate talks about the lack of advertising around the 17 min mark and a few other American reviews say the same thing
Despite not getting a face lift or the it's still ls based making it one of the the most avalable aftermarket performance parts engine series ever produced that on its own would have been enough to get most people at least interested one would think
 

Mikecaprice

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And what I think worse about the whole situation is they never did the utes which makes even less sense cause they seem to go nuts over them cause there isn't any el Camino or ranchero options and hasn't been for a long time and none of the Japanese manufacturers are doing 2wd low utes for the American market it's all jacked up trucks and suvs
Gm really treated holden like the red haired step child and i don't think Aussies will forget anytime soon and it will work against them if and when they try to pedal their wears here
 

tml678

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All they had to do was call it a Holden Commodore and market it as the Australian car

That would have meant nothing to Americans. Unless it happens in America then it doesn’t happen.

Ask any of them where their G8’s or SS’s were built and I guarantee the very vast majority wouldn’t say Australia.

They were built by Pontiac and Chevrolet...in good old ‘Murica
 

mpower

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The VF SS only ever had SS badges, those in the know over there love them.

Marketing was the failing.
 
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