Holden targets premium brands with new Commodore

[Express]

Holden targets premium brands with new Commodore


Why brands including Holden and Volkswagen are fighting back against cheaper luxury cars.



08 March 2017

Stephen Ottley




Holden has unveiled its successor to the Australian-made Commodore. Photo: Supplied


The next generation Holden Commodore has been designed to take on the likes of the BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Mark Adams, the man in charge of Opel design and responsible for overseeing the new Insignia which will be badged as the Commodore in Australia, says it has been pushed upmarket on purpose.

Speaking at the 2017 Geneva motor show where the Insignia made its public debut, Adams said he wants the new sedan to push back against the increasingly more affordable models from the premium brands that have begun to encroach on traditional mainstream models such as the Insignia in Europe.

It is a stance backed up by Volkswagen which launched its Arteon model in Geneva, the replacement for the CC which will be positioned against prestige rivals in Australia.

"For us in Europe our key role - just to play the other side of this because we're trying the balance the other side of this - was we've had the premium brands coming down into our space for a while now," Adams explained. "We felt this is a car we needed to push back a bit. Why do we always take it that they're coming into our space? We think we've got a car that projects that aura of premiumness at a much better value proposition. So as long as you're not a brand snob then you can find a better balance there. We thought that was important and also fits what Holden needed to do as well."

Adams explained the design of the new Insignia/Commodore features several elements aimed at giving it a more premium appearance, such as the longer wheelbase which was done to create the impression that it is rear-wheel drive.

While the Commodore has never competed against the premium brands in Australia, Adams said the mainstream car makers shouldn't back away from the fight.

"I think we've got to," he said. "What do we do? We shrink and say 'oh yeah, come into our space, we're all good', no, we're not going to take that. We know we do great products and we want to fight back a bit. We think this is a great vehicle that can do that. There are other vehicles that we think we can stand tall on and we don't need to worry in that context. In this particular segment you do need to worry about that because the premium executive cars play a big role in that space so we've got to be able to perform in that."


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http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/h...08-gutpo0.html



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[CyberWasp]

Another reason why it should not have the Commodore name and why it will tank.

[mike_nofx]

Do people really see a long wheelbase then assume it's RWD? Do they think people will be fooled by this?

[Vesper Martini]

Originally Posted by mike_nofx

Do people really see a long wheelbase then assume it's RWD? Do they think people will be fooled by this?

Yes, well sort of.. they wont even know the current Commodore is RWD.
or that an Aurion if FWD
to most its not important

[mike_nofx]

Originally Posted by Bevsta007

Yes, well sort of.. they wont even know the current Commodore is RWD.
or that an Aurion if FWD
to most its not important

Yeah I get many people don't care about RWD, so why fake it to look like RWD when no one cares? And those that do care know that it's not RWD anyway. So who they trying to fool.

[Vesper Martini]

Originally Posted by mike_nofx

Yeah I get many people don't care about RWD, so why fake it to look like RWD when no one cares? And those that do care know that it's not RWD anyway. So who they trying to fool.

Well agreed I'm not sure how making a longer wheelbase makes it look like a RWD, which in turn make it more prestigious.

Why not just say we extended the wheelbase to make it look more prestigious.

IMO having wheels finish flush with the body makes it look more prestigious something Falcon & Commodore never really got the hang of.
even Kia have figured this out.

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by mike_nofx

Yeah I get many people don't care about RWD, so why fake it to look like RWD when no one cares? And those that do care know that it's not RWD anyway. So who they trying to fool.

Just like Audi I guess too.

[Nikked]

Originally Posted by mike_nofx

Yeah I get many people don't care about RWD, so why fake it to look like RWD when no one cares?

So how should it look? there is a FWD look?

[Trump]

Holden will learn a very valuable lesson the hard way soon.

[Pepscobra]

I guess this is the FWD look...

[mike_nofx]

Originally Posted by Nikked

So how should it look? there is a FWD look?

Well according to the article, RWDs have long wheelbase.

[DJM83]

Nothing about that car tells me its RWD, nor the average punter. The average punter gives 0fks about which way it drives.

Maybe this is the RWD look

[ebxr8240]

Just rhetoric from Holden .. Again !!

[malazn mafia]

Originally Posted by Nikked

So how should it look? there is a FWD look?

Yes, the front of the car bounces up and down under sudden acceleration. Very annoying. With a RWD, the rear dips and the headlights tilt upwards and you get the feeling of being pushed , not pulled.

[littlered]

Originally Posted by Trump

Holden will learn a very valuable lesson the hard way soon.

They should have already learnt the lesson from the Vectra mark 2 failure

take a reasonable selling vehicle (vectra mark 1 sold in reasonable numbers) and hike the price to what the premium competitors are selling and expect the public to think it is in the same league.

customers see the holden badge and think ****** that... for the same money I can by a VW Passat or Subaru Liberty or a Skoda, Honda Accord etc..

[.:4:.]

Holden aren't going to shake the current stigma in an instant. The whole (I use the term loosely) bogan image that is still current isn't going to blend well with the new range to existing customers. It won't impact the small car market. If it's cute, hair dressers will buy them regardless.

[Crazy Dazz]

[MethodX]

If VW can do it with its polluting puss boxes. And attempt to do it with Skoda.
Then good luck to GM.

[UKXR8]

Ah Holden, those guys crack me up! Good luck with the new GM/Vauxhall/Opel/Peugeot Insigni-commodore..

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

Yes, the front of the car bounces up and down under sudden acceleration. Very annoying. With a RWD, the rear dips and the headlights tilt upwards and you get the feeling of being pushed , not pulled.

Yeah ok thats how wrong way drive cars feel

[tranquilized]

Originally Posted by Nikked

So how should it look? there is a FWD look?

Yes there most definitely is a FWD look, and it aint pretty. The two big giveaways are a long front overhang and the front wheel arch is hard up against the front door. Car designers try every trick in the book to avoid it. Mazda is one example with the current 3, a lot of effort was made to make it look RWD with it's cab-back design and they succeeded to a degree but at the expense of interior space.

A longer wheelbase is a new one though, haven't heard of that before and it's effectiveness is obviously questionable. Big cars have long wheel bases, small cars have short ones. Some big cars are FWD, some small cars are RWD. The Insignia is about the same length overall as the VF, but the wheel base is significantly shorter. It doesn't look anything like a RWD car.

[Nikked]

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

Yes, the front of the car bounces up and down under sudden acceleration. Very annoying. With a RWD, the rear dips and the headlights tilt upwards and you get the feeling of being pushed , not pulled.

I think that's got more to do with your spring & shock rates

My Mondeo doesn't do that, and my mates mini certainly doesn't do that when he has his boot jammed in...

[roKWiz]

Will this euro trash look come in boring black, boring white or boring sliver.

[au2000]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

Holden aren't going to shake the current stigma in an instant. The whole (I use the term loosely) bogan image that is still current isn't going to blend well with the new range to existing customers. It won't impact the small car market. If it's cute, hair dressers will buy them regardless.

Exactly...... At the end of the day general public will see a holden badge on I and say it's a holden, not ohh you have a 3 series, oh you have a A class, you have a jeep? , yes I considered them but the commodore was just superior

Holden like Ford have a battle on their hands if they way to compete with prestige euro, and have to play the game on all levels including customer service way better.

As we know fords saving grace ATM is ranger and to a lesser extent mustang, loose mustang or ranger and they will be really struggling, Holden on the other hand does not even have that ATM.

[FairmontGS]

It's still a Holden. Badge-conscious punters who have the money for Audi, BMW, C-class will not be buying a "Holden" when they can get a Euro-badge for same price. As Trump said, epic fail on the way.

[SumoDog68]

Originally Posted by tranquilized

Yes there most definitely is a FWD look, and it aint pretty. The two big giveaways are a long front overhang and the front wheel arch is hard up against the front door. Car designers try every trick in the book to avoid it. Mazda is one example with the current 3, a lot of effort was made to make it look RWD with it's cab-back design and they succeeded to a degree but at the expense of interior space.

A longer wheelbase is a new one though, haven't heard of that before and it's effectiveness is obviously questionable. Big cars have long wheel bases, small cars have short ones. Some big cars are FWD, some small cars are RWD. The Insignia is about the same length overall as the VF, but the wheel base is significantly shorter. It doesn't look anything like a RWD car.

There is definitely a FWD look as you mention - front overhang is big on fwd because engine is in front of the axle and as a side effect steering mechanism has to go behind the axle. BMWs are a good example of a RWD look with very short front overhang which looks better to most people.

[CyberWasp]

and how many Insignia's have they sold this year so far.....

[XRtowcar]

Holden can compete with a Peugeot 508 maybe.
Oh wait it is a Peugeot already.

[roddy1960]

G'day all , Bad enough they're sullying the name of Commodore the way they are with an impostor anyway but this is could well be mutton dressed up as lamb perhaps...Stay within your limits GMH ...Cheers Rod..

[Express]

The only people who’ll miss the old local built Commodore is the V8 crowd.

Even though I have no interest in FWD vehicles this new recruit is most likely every bit as good as the outgoing V6 variants.

Will it sell?

Probably not but as of yet who knows as with the right marketing and price point consumers will buy anything.


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