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Where it all began.........

jpetrou

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The project V video is a short edit from the 50 years of holden video, narrated by Greg Norman. I think it should have been Brocky (thats another story). I remember when the "Project V" video was new, (now I am giving away my age) from what I remember, it ran for 15 minutes. It was used at the VB product launch and at motor shows around Australia. Made to convince that the Commodore not only was a new direction for Australian motoring but to convince the Aussie buyers that this car was as tough as any previous Holden. Even if you are not a Holden or Commodore enthusiast, it was worth watching. It showed the process of a car from drawing board to showroom. If anyone can find a copy of the full video, I would love to see it.
 

sle10pack

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Body mods. And an alternate looks that never made it. I wonder why Holden did not go with the 'six window' look initially and waited until VK. VK reasons are clear - to give the cabin a larger inside feel, open headrests, slightly recessed dashboard and even the new touch switches for rear demister etc were designed to give impression of more space. The rear of the Berlina and Calais seats were recessed giving more knee room. Imagine if VB's had it - or SL/e only as way of differentiation. Prior to VK lock production down the 'six-window' was only going to be a Calais only fitment - but marketing had research that VH really struggling against XE - so a very wise decision to fit it across all models.
 
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sle10pack

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As an extra I went to Europe in 2003 for 6 weeks and despite constant looking I did NOT see one OPEL like our VB / VC / VH / VK. Do Australians hold onto there cars for that long? A mate's wife is Japanese - when her parents came to OZ for first time - could not believe that Datsun 120Y's etc were still on the road.

All I saw was an Opel Omega that is a smaller version of our VT.

Imagine taking a delicious Firethorn red VB SL/e over there with the full modified V8 out of a VE HSV 'something or other'. Imagine their shock of seeing such an 'old' car still on the road, RHD none the less and UNDER FULL NOISE....
 
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Gse

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Haha yeah the Monza/Senator/Commodore B are off the road here,reason is:

1:rust rust rust we have a whole diffent climat than in Australia and steel doenst like it very much

2:Fuel consuption (Fuel is around 1,4euro a liter and thats around 3$ a liter and the straight six are quit thirsty 15l on 100kays is normal and with an automatic its even wors)

3:weight,we have to pay tax over the weight of the car and the fuel its using and a Monza-Senator is quit heavy around 1500kg a Monza on petrol is around 600 euro,s a jear on tax and that is more than 1200$ a year and on LPG the tax is double from petrol

4:people here always want new cars

There are at the moment 167 Monza,s left in Holland that are road legal and 434 A and B Senators.
(The VK model was a A Senator and the Senator B was your Commodore model after the VL)

Even the model Omega A and Senator B build from 87 til 94 are hard to find,nobody wants them because of the same reasons.

Why did Holden never use the IRS from a Monza-Senator A thats a great system wicht never breaks downs and give a way better driving comfort??
In all my 10 years of driving these things i never had problems with the IRS.
The IRS system in a Monza is more solid than the ones in the later models.
 

jakbob

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They never used the irs for the same reason they didn't use euro engines. Too expensive, and no matter how reliable the irs system was, I just don't think a beam axle can be beat in terms of reliability. Its just so simple.
 

Gse

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Ow yeah before i forgot:
The Commodore VB is exact the same as the Opel Commodore C.
And not designt by Holden,Holden just changed a few things.

The Opel Commodore C was a straight six 2.5L it was a mix between the front of the Senator-Monza and the rear of the Opel Rekord,its interior is exact the same as the VB exept some small changes to the meters.

And yeah nohing is stronger that a beam axel.

If you want to spot diffences between the European and Australian cars look here:
TWOMAS Torque • View topic - Royale Down Under

Its sad that the you cant see the last pictures.
 

Calaber

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As an extra I went to Europe in 2003 for 6 weeks and despite constant looking I did NOT see one OPEL like our VB / VC / VH / VK. Do Australians hold onto there cars for that long? A mate's wife is Japanese - when her parents came to OZ for first time - could not believe that Datsun 120Y's etc were still on the road.

All I saw was an Opel Omega that is a smaller version of our VT.

Imagine taking a delicious Firethorn red VB SL/e over there with the full modified V8 out of a VE HSV 'something or other'. Imagine their shock of seeing such an 'old' car still on the road, RHD none the less and UNDER FULL NOISE....

A few years ago, Australia had amongs the oldest vehicle fleets in the world, with the average age of cars being 10.3 years old. To answer your question in a nutshell, Yes, we do keep our cars a long time. In Japan, the registration costs increase enormously once a car reaches a certain (very young by our standards) age - I think it's about four years, and it is cheaper to get rid of the old car and buy a new one. This is intended to ensure that new car sales are maintained and that old dungers are off the road quickly. Those "dungers" become our "grey imports", which is why it is so easy to get your hands on cheap, late model Jap cars not seen in Australia like Soarers and even Skylines etc.

Our climate is kinder to car bodywork and they don't rust out like they do in Europe or North America. Local cars are generally built to be pretty durable because of the road conditions and our registration laws don't inhibit ownership of old cars, new car prices have often increased to the point where buyer resistance is higher and it makes more sense to hold on the the old girl just a bit longer.

I have to admit that the 120Y is a very good example of justification for the Japanese legislation though. Those mongrels should never have been released on our streets and the sooner the last one goes to the knackers, the better.
 
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