The King is dead. Long live the King! RIP Commodore :-(

[Forg]

So, anyone have any ideas on how HSV will go in the coming years or what their future plans are?
It will be interesting to see if they hang around much longer.
I can't see there being a huge market for camaros or big wheel 4WD utes. If there is, certainly not in the numbers they previously sold or enough to keep them going I would think.

I think you're underestimating the size of the moron & bully markets. Unless Ford, Chrysler &/or GM start importing their overpriced thirsty ugly road-bullies, I reckon there'll be a market big enough to keep HSV going. They don't necessarily have to focus on cheap poorly-made junk base vehicles like Ram, Camaro & Canyonero either; eg. I wonder if they'd be able to do M5 wagons & sell enough to be worthwhile?

 

[panhead]

I think you're underestimating the size of the moron & bully markets. Unless Ford, Chrysler &/or GM start importing their overpriced thirsty ugly road-bullies, I reckon there'll be a market big enough to keep HSV going. They don't necessarily have to focus on cheap poorly-made junk base vehicles like Ram, Camaro & Canyonero either; eg. I wonder if they'd be able to do M5 wagons & sell enough to be worthwhile?

I wouldn't want HSV to touch my brand new M5 - BMW's M Division do a good enough job as it is and if you want to spend more then buy the Competition Edition.

Or if you want tuner action then a company like Dinan are world known and their upgraded M cars are already sold through part of the BMW dealer network.

Plus I seriously don't believe the people interested in shelling out $200k plus for a BMW would want to pay extra to have a 'Bogan' symbol associated with their car.

Disclaimer: I'm not saying HSV are 'Bogan' but a lot of higher end German car buyers do think that way.

HSV really need to get a performance car to market to rival the Mustang on price if they wish to sell in numbers.

It's there small volume high price strategy that's possibly keeping them in business but that can be risky if the competition changes.

An affordable performance sedan for the family to replace the XR's and SS would be a welcome addition to the market.



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[Skylarking]

I think you're underestimating the size of the moron & bully markets. Unless Ford, Chrysler &/or GM start importing their overpriced thirsty ugly road-bullies, I reckon there'll be a market big enough to keep HSV going. They don't necessarily have to focus on cheap poorly-made junk base vehicles like Ram, Camaro & Canyonero either; eg. I wonder if they'd be able to do M5 wagons & sell enough to be worthwhile?

Agree, HSV likely has a future building crass SUV’s and trucks ‘cause you can’t underestimate dumb

As for HSV doing whatever it’s doing, they’ve always had some sort of manufacturer support and I can’t see BMW supporting someone other than their M division playing with an M5.

 

[figjam]

Do they start a heritage/works program where HSV owners can take their cars for refurbishment?

You and I would think that would be a good idea, but to HSV perhaps not.
From what I have read they didn't keep any detailed records of the cars that went through their workshops, that was up to customer and enthusiasts to do that.

 

[Forg]

I wouldn't want HSV to touch my brand new M5 - BMW's M Division do a good enough job as it is and if you want to spend more then buy the Competition Edition.

BMW won't sell us an M5 wagon, initially because Straya but I think they've just stopped making them full-stop. I think Alpina will sell you the equivalent, and they're a pretty big percentage extra on top of the cost of an M5.

Plus I seriously don't believe the people interested in shelling out $200k plus for a BMW would want to pay extra to have a 'Bogan' symbol associated with their car.

I was assuming it wouldn't have an HSV badge on it; same as the Dodgey Ram - isn't that actually "PremCar" rather than "HSV" even though it's just a subsidiary?

As for HSV doing whatever it’s doing, they’ve always had some sort of manufacturer support and I can’t see BMW supporting someone other than their M division playing with an M5.

Yeah - actually I agree there.
It was just one front-of-mind example of a hole in the market, though. Pretty sure AMG won't sell you a wagon any more, because it cuts into the bigger margins on their archaic gerlytrux.

An affordable performance sedan for the family to replace the XR's and SS would be a welcome addition to the market.

I can't see how you can convert one for less than the Camaro costs to convert (that being the price difference between Mustang & Camaro here); and if one existed that didn't need RHD conversion the manufacturer would almost certainly be already importing it.

 

[panhead]

BMW won't sell us an M5 wagon, initially because Straya but I think they've just stopped making them full-stop. I think Alpina will sell you the equivalent, and they're a pretty big percentage extra on top of the cost of an M5.

I haven't been into BMW for a while but it sounds like they're going with the flow.
There's a big market for SUV's but not for wagons.
Both my brother-in-laws who were always big BMW fans, sedans, coupés and SUV's got rid of theirs and moved into Cayennes instead.
It's an everchanging changing market.​

I was assuming it wouldn't have an HSV badge on it; same as the Dodgey Ram - isn't that actually "PremCar" rather than "HSV" even though it's just a subsidiary?

​

Regardless of whether it's badged or not there are buyers who see the HSV brand as a negative and not the other way round.

Yeah - actually I agree there.
It was just one front-of-mind example of a hole in the market, though. Pretty sure AMG won't sell you a wagon any more, because it cuts into the bigger margins on their archaic gerlytrux.

I was in Mercedes-Benz a few weeks back and they still had some very potent AMG wagons in stock, run in quick and grab yourself one.

I can't see how you can convert one for less than the Camaro costs to convert (that being the price difference between Mustang & Camaro here); and if one existed that didn't need RHD conversion the manufacturer would almost certainly be already importing it

That's my point, there is a hole in the market for a 4 door performance car to compete with the Mustang on price as not everyone wants 2 doors.

The Yanks see performance cars as 2 doors and where Aussies embraced 4, now with no local manufacturing the US preference in cheap performance is what we are stuck with.

Still that hole in the Aussie market is probably too small for anyone to bother with.





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[VS 5.0]

.....there is a hole in the market for a 4 door performance car to compete with the Mustang on price as not everyone wants 2 doors.

The Charger would slot right in.

 

[panhead]

The Charger would slot right in.

It certainly wouldn't hurt.

I've always felt it was a better fit than the 300





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[Immortality]

There are a few getting around my neighbourhood, I think I'd rather the challenger over the Camaro at this point. Fortunately we can get LH drive car here in NZ so we save on that expensive HSV RH drive conversion

 

[apollo13]

The Charger would slot right in.

Chrysler considered that some years ago. A RHD conversion could be done using the 300C dash. But they estimated they could only sell 1000 a year, not enough to make it worthwhile.