Will ZB be the end of GM in Australia

[Immortality]

The new Commodore had more sales here in NZ than in Aussie, that is a scary thought.... and they probably sold more of the old VF stock than the new model to boot.

Losh

Your post is full of generalisations and errors.

Let's start at the beginning. The Commodore was an Opel long before it became a Holden. When a German model name was first adopted for the new smaller Holden in 1978, Holden fans weren't jumping up and down decrying the decision, but younger drivers today, who never knew Holden before the Commodore seem to think that keeping the name for a new model, again from Opel, is the end of the world. What bullshit. Get a life FFS.

Well yes the Commodore started life as an Opel, but the very first Commodore that reached the public was very far removed from said Opel as it simply did not withstand the harsh Aussie conditions. So although the chassis was the same, the body was a bit of a mash up of 2 different Opel models and the suspension and drivelines were all Aussie from the beginning if I'm not mistaken.

Interestingly, one of my uncles in Europe actually owned a Opel Senator....

 

[losh1971]

VB 6cyl was a 202 red, 4cyl was a Starfire AFAIK, essentially a 202 with two less cyl's. Late 70s Holden's were using an Opel 4cyl in some LX's and UC's but AFAIK they stopped once the Starfire engine was introduced. Although the Opel engine was hated by most back in the 80s, it was damn good on fuel for a car of that era.

 

[lmoengnr]

We have an 2008 Astra and it has been mentioned the Astra's are junk. Some no doubt are but our 08 is pretty decent. The wife never serviced the trans and did over 120k and it was bought with 90k on the clock, while the oil was black it still is going fine. Given the 08 Astra trans filter can not be replaced without removing and dismantling the trans I hope we don't have problems down the line. However we have had no major issues with the car reliability wise, although the aircond clutch has failed and needs to be replaced but at $500 or more it can be left. When I came along I pumped about $1000 bucks into it to have the trans serviced, tyres and rear brakes plus the timing belt but they are things that go with most cars. My brother is law has a 2016 Captiva and it already has had a heater core burst among other problems.

I had a 2008 SRi coupe, my son has it now. AH Astra's had a common problem with the A/C clutch, they mostly failed.
Holden only stocked complete A/C compressors, so the fix was to replace compressors...
Clutch assys. are available from eBay UK a lot cheaper.
The 2008 Z18XER engine also has a known problem with the intake cam VVT phaser wheel.
The spring steel inner 'seal' falls to bits and it starts running like a chaff cutter.
Its known to occur from about 105,000 kms onwards.

 

[losh1971]

I had a 2008 SRi coupe, my son has it now. AH Astra's had a common problem with the A/C clutch, they mostly failed.
Holden only stocked complete A/C compressors, so the fix was to replace compressors...
Clutch assys. are available from eBay UK a lot cheaper.
The 2008 Z18XER engine also has a known problem with the intake cam VVT phaser wheel.
The spring steel inner 'seal' falls to bits and it starts running like a chaff cutter.
Its known to occur from about 105,000 kms onwards.

Good to know the clutch can be bought from the UK. might actually have it fixed at some point, although the compressor might be stuffed now anyway as it has been like it for over three years, unable to be used. The Z18XER is that the engine our Astra will have? Our Astra is close to 300k. Is it a costly job to have a mech replace this part??

 

[ausmac91]

Yes and no depends what the scoring is based on. 10 years on it may be a different story once we see how reliable the VF is over the long-term and we find out what common problems we have with it and how major these problems are once they surface.

I'm certainly not enamoured with the 'thin' paint on mine, talk about chip prone. But they handle great (most of my experience apart from my own being hire cars TBH), cabin's excellent (i have to kick myself to remind myself i'm in a Commodore), safety gadgets mostly up to date, LS3 in SS, cabin NVH is amazing (though maybe im a rattle free exception knock wood), i like the rear look, dislike the front, MSE is a cracking car. I didn't expect much of SII, I mean why bother except a send off. Much better than it could've been. But yeah, concerned about corner cutting that's taken place in materials here and there....and irritated finding bits at home in my wife's Cruze in the cabin. (funny thing i was switching the climate this morning and the air flow 'pic' looked like the silhouette of a Camaro). Woot the? Probably just haven't paid attention before.... I'll likely move mine on in 4 years and never find out.

 

[ausmac91]

I’m not suggesting it was a good idea continuing the Commodore nameplate but for Ford the decision to drop the Falcon nameplate was a no-brainer. One of the points I was trying to make was that Ford long before decided to stop advertising the Falcon & also stop developing it anymore than they had to in the last couple of models - the interior in particular is what I mean here, which still says a lot when you think about it, even if the enthusiast places more emphasis on the engine, drivetrain etc.
So why would Ford continue the nameplate (that they let well & truly slide despite all its heritage) on an imported model?...to continue with it would have been a far greater insult than Holden continuing to use a nameplate that they continued to develop & market proudly to the end of the VF.
Again, I’m not saying Holden has done the right thing but the ending of both nameplates on the Aussie builds were pretty much chalk & cheese scenarios.

I'm from the traditionalist school of thought that says the nameplates belonged on the Aussie manufactured cars..no more. That's where they meant something to me. I'm with you on the Falc, FG was a damn good car for 2008 (though it's timing close to VE meant the benchmark had moved), but even through to FGX it was left to pasture with minimal development. Falcon's demise seems to have been planned a very long time ago. With GM's current effort in models and advertising, it feels like the 'Holden' brand's demise is in the air with GM in our future flying the flag. Don't get me wrong, i don't wish it in any way. It's just another door closing on a era with a slam. But it almost feels like they're running it into the ground, for a future refresh/rebrand.

 

[lmoengnr]

Good to know the clutch can be bought from the UK. might actually have it fixed at some point, although the compressor might be stuffed now anyway as it has been like it for over three years, unable to be used. The Z18XER is that the engine our Astra will have? Our Astra is close to 300k. Is it a costly job to have a mech replace this part??

I think all 2008 Astra's had the Z18XER, if yours is up to 300k without replacement, you got a good one!
Holden quoted my son $1900-$2000 for the job.
I ended up doing it myself. My son needed the car urgently, so I sourced all the parts and cam alignment tools locally.
All up, it was $820 for everything including a timing belt change and a service. Took about 7 hours.
Did need a third hand to hang on to the camshaft with a large wrench whilst I stretched the phaser mounting bolt.

It could have been a lot cheaper if I had the time to source the bits from the UK.

 

[losh1971]

Whollll lets hope that it doesn't go then. Wish the bloke who replaced the timing belt mentioned it at the time. That in itself was around $600. $2k job for a car worth $4k. I hope we never have to replace it. I remember saying to the fiancé at the time "we must get the belt replaced", because it will end costing a mint to repair the engine if it failed.

 

[lmoengnr]

Whollll lets hope that it doesn't go then. Wish the bloke who replaced the timing belt mentioned it at the time. That in itself was around $600. $2k job for a car worth $4k. I hope we never have to replace it. I remember saying to the fiancé at the time "we must get the belt replaced", because it will end costing a mint to repair the engine if it failed.

That's about how much extra Holden charge at the 120,000k service when the timing belt is due.
When I pulled the Astra apart at 108,000k, the belt was just about stuffed. Don't think it would have made 120,000k.

 

[losh1971]

Our belt was in pretty decent shape but the pulleys were fairly rough to the feel, according to the mech who did the repair. Maybe we wait until it is time for a new belt and get the intake cam replaced at the same time; if it doesn't fail beforehand.