Holden closure

[Express]

Originally Posted by Rodge

Profoundly sad news.

As a Kiwi over the last 15 years I've bought 7 brand new Austrlaian cars, most have been very good, quite why Australians seem to by and large have abandoned buying their own cars is something I struggle to come to terms with to be honest.

Quite why Australians thought their own cars arn't up to scratch and showed such a low level of loyalty.......................and we will all be so much poorer for it.

How did it all go so terribly wrong

One thing I did notice from the comments of people around me at the time the VE came out was a general feeling the Commodore had been left behind by the superior kit in the Jap/Euro imports. I would believe if the people I knew were picking up on this then no doubt the whole buying public were also seeing the same.

I bought a new VE Calais V and a Clubsport when they were released and was very disappointed in the lack of offerings in creature comforts compared to my friend’s cars given the amount of money I had paid. Still I bought them for their V8’s and reluctantly had no choice but to live with it.

A bit later on I made arrangements with my local Holden shop to purchase a W427 and the Dealer Principal gave me his for a few hours to test drive. It had been lowered and as I walked up to it I thought what a great looking car. The moment I opened the driver’s door I knew I’d never shell out the money they were asking for a car that was so bare boned even compared to a cheap Asian Compact let alone the C63, M3 or RS4.

There lays the problem. At a time when the Jap/Euros were pouring on the features, customers of the bread and butter Commodore models would have seen better value for money (not to be confused with a better built or engineered car) in the cheaper imports. And as any manufacturer will tell you, once the customer experiences another brand and they like it, it is hard to get their focus back.

Customers turned their back on the lack lustre features of the Commodore in late 2000 and were happy with their new found purchases and never bothered to look back. The VF came too late to rectify this, its fate and perception had already been sealed.

That’s my slant on it. Good cars were let down by not keeping pace with the creature comforts most people love. If the buying public were all performance enthusiasts Ford and Holden would out sell everything on the market but most people care little about performance and those things that mean less to us killed these two brands.


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