I WAS HOPING YOU WOULD SAY THAT
with the VLs , NISSAN GAVE US THEIR ENGINES TO PUT IN OUR SHELLS. We didnt go and make a RB for the car. And they sold it as holden with NISSAN ENGINE IN IT. so yeah
Gees, I wish you guys would get your facts straight about Holden history instead of sprouting off half-correct information.
Nissan didn't "give" Holden anything. Unleaded fuel regulations were due to be introduced in mid 1986 and Holden knew the old black six could not be upgraded effectively to run on unleaded. The Holden engineers had to search the world for a suitable sized engine for the next model Commodore, which was to be called "VL", and was to comply with the unleaded regulations. The RB30 was the most suitable and most cost-effective alternative available at the time (this was around 1983-84). Another alternative that was considered was the Buick V6, but it was considered to be too old to put into a new car, as it had been in production for many years already, and the cost difference between the Nissan and Buick engines was not very much. The Nissan engine had the advantage of being more modern as well.
By the time the VL was released, the exchange rate between the Japanese Yen and the Australian Dollar had altered significantly, to Holden's detriment and the RB30 was no longer the cheap alternative it had been. That's one reason why the VL was the only model to run the Nissan engine. When development of the VN commenced, it was obvious that another engine was required and Holden was forced to go back to the Buick V6 because of the cost and its superior torque characteristics, which better suited the heavier VN.
