ZB in the mainstream media

[figjam]

I read that article about the social media ‘hate’ toward the female ZB owner.
It would not have happened in 1980 as there was no social media, ( true story, kiddies ) but there was the initial motoring magazines' ( yes, book type things ) comments that praised the new Opel, sorry Holden, for its handling, but criticised it for interior room, fit and finish, and outdated engines. So it did cop it’s share but in a different way. But there was none of the current personal, but anonymous, evil vitriol that is so common with the digital generation.
I was a Kingswood fan, and did not consider a Commodore until the VN. Thought about a VK for a while, and bought a Nissan Skyline 240E …….. an imported 6 cyl 5 door hatch with more room and better engine and suspension …….. sound familiar ? Nice car, but replaced within a few years by a ‘dinosaur’ 5.0l VN.
If I wanted a new car the first place to visit would be a Holden dealer, then cross shop Holden dealers. I am sure that the ZB is a very good car compared to whatever else is out there, but the appearance, and configuration makes it sort of the same as every other new car, with nothing that is an outstanding feature.
Perhaps if Holden made them available in other colours than red and five shades of grey, they may be more attractive.

 

[mpower]

five shades of grey

have you seen a mazda 3 lately? I swear it's the only colour they have.

 

[Calaber]

Off topic briefly, but colour range for cars can make a difference in sales. Look at the VE and VF. Throughout their lifespans, they were available in an amazing variety of colours which no doubt helped sales.
These days, most cars have a palette of about six colours and they all seem to be the same. Boring.

 

[Villa_23]

Yeh I agree. I ended up getting white as it was one of the only free colors and the others were just boring black silver or grey.

 

[vs-lover]

You can never go wrong with white, it's the easiest colour (shade) that will hide a variety of sins, try touching up an unwanted scrape on a front bar in metallic. This would basically make it stand out even more, whilst in white it disappears into the bar and is only visible from close up after being brush touched.

 

[vs-lover]

Look at the VE and VF. Throughout their life-spans, they were available in an amazing variety of colours which no doubt helped sales

That's probably not the fairest comment but I do agree with it that it helped many of us notice them more. The whole market trend keeps moving.

Have a look at many Holden colours of the 1980's and they were all pastel boring (apart from Marranello Red and Kimberly Bronze in VL) and then look at most other manufacturers of the same era, all boring as well.