China to build new commodore

[BHDOGS]

Front wheel drive 4 cylinder with no wagon option this cant be true! Kill the name plate if it is dont do this

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/n...-1226783057648

THE Holden Commodore of the future will be as Australian as the shirts on our backs: it will likely be made in China.

To gain approval to develop a new Commodore, General Motors did a top-secret deal with Holden to pair the next generation sedan with a Buick that was originally exclusive to the Chinese market.

Holden won the contract to design the car, which was then due to be built in Australia and China.

But now that Holden has decided to shut its Elizabeth car assembly line in 2017, China is poised to become the sole producer of the vehicle.

Documents obtained by News Corp Australia confirm every Holden fan's worst nightmare: the next generation Commodore will be a front-wheel-drive car powered by a four-cylinder engine.

Every top-selling Holden since the birth of the company in 1948 has been a six-cylinder, rear-wheel-drive sedan.

The last time Holden sold a four-cylinder Commodore in the early 1980s, sales tanked.

The four-cylinder Ford Falcon released last year has also failed to boost sales, accounting for less than 10 per cent of deliveries.

Holden insiders are now fighting to make a V6 available as an option on the future Commodore.

When asked why Holden would continue with the Commodore badge given that the 2017 version bears no resemblance to the models before it, a Holden insider said: "It's easier to explain to buyers that something has changed about a car they know, than to say 'Here's the new Holden XYZ'."

The 2017 Commodore will lose its practical box-shaped body and instead take on sleek styling cues from Europe.

Sales of European sedans have been revived overseas since they were restyled to look like four-door coupes.

A Holden insider says the new Commodore will be almost 5 metres long and almost as wide as the current car, but it will look smaller because of the low roofline.

"It's about making sedans look cool again," said one Holden insider. "Audi's done it, Mercedes has done, now we're going to do it. It's the only way to bring customers back to sedans."

Sales of traditional sedans have been in free-fall for 10 years as Australians embrace SUVs in record numbers.

The shift away from traditional cars is so strong that there will be no wagon version of the new Commodore for the first time ever.

[stevz]

I stopped reading where it said made in China.

[chevypower]

Originally Posted by stevz

I stopped reading where it said made in China.

Yeah the thread title is a little vague.

[Danny]

Originally Posted by stevz

I stopped reading where it said made in China.

Unfortunately it didn't stop you coming in to make a comment.

What a brilliant intellect..

[stazza]

The unions will wear this. Selling off the commodore name to the chinese for some extra cash.

[Nikked]

So...I guess this is one of the two new models we were going to build here?

Not surprised, I thought that a Epsilon platformed car would have been what Holden would have had after 2017, with the Malibu built here as well instead of the cruise to save costs...


The reality is, it will be a chinese built, re-badged Impala, unless the it really is the Buick Lacrosse, but I can't see that is 100% true...perhaps both?

[CyberWasp]

lol and people say the Korean built Holdens are junk.
What will they say about the Chinese ones.
This will sell worse than the Malibu.

[danzvtil]

this doesnt make sense, why develop ANOTHER mid size FWD car, GM already has the malibu.I think some reporter is just having a wet dream.

[Moby Vic]

Originally Posted by danzvtil

this doesnt make sense, why develop ANOTHER mid size FWD car, GM already has the malibu.I think some reporter is just having a wet dream.

You'll see all sorts of crazy rumors for the next few years, but ... GM always does things like this. Multiple overlapping divisions with multiple overlapping models is tradition there. It's one of the many reasons they went bankrupt once.

The current Malibu and Impala are nearly the same size. And now there's the SS, which is roughly the same size as the Impala. Why? Make up your damn mind about a full-size sedan!

And then Buick and Cadillac get sedans on the same chassis to dilute sales further. (And there also used to be Oldsmobile and Pontiac versions, and Saturn had to be fed as well.)

[Nikked]

Originally Posted by danzvtil

this doesnt make sense, why develop ANOTHER mid size FWD car, GM already has the malibu.I think some reporter is just having a wet dream.

They arn't...the car is already developed. The Epsilon II platform is available in both mid-size and large.

As I said in my post above, (if this happens) we'll get the Impala/LaCrosse large car along side the malibu.

[csv8]

Bring in the Impala and badge it Commodore ???

[malazn mafia]

Lol poor commodore. That would be like death by a thousand cuts. Wonder if Ford will make the Falcon replacement in India.

[Tysonv48]

If its not an Aussie car let the nameplate die with the respect that it deserves

[The FOMOCO]

Originally Posted by csv8

Bring in the Impala and badge it Commodore ???

LOL LOL LOL Don't say things like that youll confuse the Holden bogans

[karj]

GM clearly do not understand the Australian market or Australian consumers if they think they will be able to sell a Chinese made 4cyl FWD sedan badged as a Commodore.
It will tank more severely than the Melbourne Footy Club.

[LeadFoot81]

It's a hell of a gamble, but the Commodore name still has some legs and GM will milk it to the end, just like the Holden badge itself.

Considering the % of V8 sales of the current car, how well could this 4 pot only version do?

[Crazy Dazz]

WHY are we giving any credence to an article from Dowling? He wouldn’t recognize a fact if it jumped up and bit him on his incredibly small wiener.

We’ve known for a long time that the next Commode would be a mid-sized FWD, built from GM global components, and available in V6 and 4’s only. Dowling’s contention that it will be some unique model, shared only with China, is so stupid it’s laughable. It may well be a never before seen amalgamation of components, but there will be nothing unique about it.
The Chinese market has NOTHING in common with Australia, and Dowling is simply rehashing OLD news. GM has for some years sold Australian Statesmans in China as a “luxury” Buick. But these are only ASSEMBLED in China from CKD kits made by Holden.

WHERE it will be made depends on a number of factors. But the whole point of their streamlined global component approach is that you can build the models wherever there is spare capacity and it is economical to do so. So they car might well be assembled in China, using engines from Spain, and some panels from Mexico.

Where the Commode differs from the Falcon is that it has always tended to be derived from global designs & components. The original Commode was simply an Opel with the old Holden Red motor thrown in. Even though the current (Zeta platform) models were largely developed by Holden, they were INTENDED as global platforms, and the Zeta platform has now pretty much died in the ****. Despite being dubbed the “Aussie V6” it too is a global component.

The reality was always going to be that any post 2017 Commode would be a localised FWD grab-bag of global components, and Holden fans would have accepted it just as they have every other time. The irony is that they will STILL get the same car, it just won’t be made here. In that context, continuing the badge seems fair enough.

[1TUFFUTE]

Ewwww. What a joke....really....a fwd 4cyl large commadore. Can't see that selling well when the brand new one isn't lighting any fires....here or in nascar land.

[BDA074]

The below article seems to explain decisions and plans better;
http://m.smh.com.au/business/holden-...213-2zcyb.html
Seems Australian Holden's will come from South Korea using the old Deawoo plant. Now Chev has pulled the brand out of Europe there is capacity to fill. Decision to leave Australia linked to other decisions.

[aussie muscle]

Originally Posted by 1TUFFUTE

Ewwww. What a joke....really....a fwd 4cyl large commadore. Can't see that selling well.

I didn't think Great wall or chery would sell well, but there was enough stupid australians to prove me wrong.
Driving enthusiasts may not like it, but seems most blokes do what their wives say and buy a slug-box instead of something with a soul.

[pauljh74]

Originally Posted by aussie muscle

I didn't think Great wall or chery would sell well, but there was enough stupid australians to prove me wrong.
Driving enthusiasts may not like it, but seems most blokes do what their wives say and buy a slug-box instead of something with a soul.

I recall one of our customers saying they started to switch to Great Walls - then one was in a crash and looking at the damage from the T-bone, they decided to go back to Hiluxes in the interests of OH&S.

Anyway - any man who lets his wife decide what car he gets is merely a shell of a man that regularly mutters the mantra "Yes Dear"

[SpoolMan]

Wont be the first 4 cylinder Commodore.
1980/81, 1.9 L 58 kW (78 hp) Starfire engine was a power plant turn the A/C on and it really struggled for power.

[borough]

Even though it is sad to see the Falcon go I'm glad Ford have not gone down this path. A 4 pot FWD Falcon? Ford already have something in their lineup for that and it is called a Mondeo.

[Dodge]

Boycot

[Dr Smith]

LOL, maybe the could use the new 2.3L Ecoboost Ford, 227kW @ 5500rpm & 407Nm (@2500-4500rpm), just for reference the current Falcon I6 is 198kW @ 6000rpm & 391Nm @3250rpm.

[OCTANEBOSS]

Finally a true commydore

[pottery beige]

我對你多少你的中國統治者內置前輪驅動狗屎箱熱烈歡迎

[SM1DY]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

我對你多少你的中國統治者內置前輪驅動狗屎箱熱烈歡迎

I told you how much your Chinese rulers built-in front-wheel drive dog feces tank warm welcome

???

[robertjp]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

我對你多少你的中國統治者內置前輪驅動狗屎箱熱烈歡迎

我以為他們把狗變成昏暗的模擬人生！

[Mr Brooksy]

Originally Posted by robertjp

我以為他們把狗變成昏暗的模擬人生！

Originally Posted by pottery beige

我對你多少你的中國統治者內置前輪驅動狗屎箱熱烈歡迎

You guys really need to stop relying on Google translate for your err "Chinese". They use simplified characters not these!

I can see the logic in GMHs thoughts of building a Bombodoor overseas, if you asked the majority of everyday non car enthusiasts where all Holdens are made, chances are the response would be "in Australia of cause".

So not killing the Commodore nameplate would continue to give them credibility with their new "Commodore". Everyday drives could and would believe that it's still somehow part of Australian culture. The marketing Dept may even be able to sell it as all Australian!