VE Holden Commodores celebrate the Commodore’s 1978-2008 anniversary.
(first posted 4/25/2014) Greetings Curbside Classicists, today, April 25th, is Anzac Day downunder, the official Australian and New Zealand day of remembrance of those who served and died for their country. As with many Kiwis and Aussies, my Grandfather fought and was injured in WWII, notably at the Battle of Monte Cassino. So given today’s strong sense of Australasian pride, let’s celebrate with some Aussie metal of the vehicular variety.
Now, I’m not in the Wonderful World of Oz, but live across the ditch in Wonderfuller World of NZ, where virtually every Australian designed and/or built car has also been sold. Let’s face it, the Aussies might say ‘six’ really strangely, but we’re geographically close and watch each others’ TV soaps–and that’s when good neighbours become good friends. We also share a similar passion for large sex, sorry that was me slipping into Australianese, six and eight-cylinder cars–especially the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon, with honourable mentions to the 2005-current Chrysler 300 and the late Leyland P76 and Chrysler Valiant.
P76 and Valitank. Author photos.
2006 Chrysler 300C Diesel wagon.
Aside from building some stonkingly great cars, the Australasian car market is distinguished by its unusual car model designation habit. Model series aren’t usually known by a year, ‘Series’ or ‘Mark’ (or ‘Johno’); rather, they’re identified by a 2-letter code–e.g. the current VF Holden Commodore (aka Chev SS) and FG Ford Falcon. The codes are generally arbitrary designations following a vaguely alphabetical order, and don’t usually stand for anything (although the FG Falcon commemorates the late Fairmont Ghia). The codes could represent a new generation, a major update, or a minor change–on one occasion the sole visual change was a new bonnet emblem.
We’ll forage into the Falcon/P76/Valiants another day, but for now, let’s take a gander at the Commodore. What got me thinking about them was seeing two workmates’ 2001 VX and 2003 VY Commodores parked together at work. I planned to post an outtake of them, but my photos were spectacularly craptastic (and feature further down as evidence), and a VB-VF Commodore Family Tree seemed a more interesting option for the folks here at CC. This article relates primarily to the code-sharing Commodore sedan and wagon (and ute when available). The related coupe (Monaro) and LWB (Statesman/Caprice) derivatives are grafted trees in their own right and will be looked at another time–otherwise the Commodore Family Tree would be a forest!
The current VF Commodore is the latest and probably last (which is surely a GM Deadly Sin!) in four generations that began with 1978’s VB. Ultimately, the Commodore family tree has grown its way through four generations comprising 18 branches–(20 if you count the two ute-only designations of the concurrent sedan):
- Gen1 = VB, VC, VH, VK, VL
- Gen2 = VN, VG (VN ute), VP, VQ, VR, VS
- Gen3 = VT, VU (VT ute), VX, VY, VZ
- Gen4 = VE, VF.
Of the missing letter combinations, some were skipped due to unfortunate connotations (“Yeah Bruce, I just went down to me ‘olden dealer and picked up a VD”) or being more closely associated with another manufacturer (“Hey Wayne-o, check out my new VW Commodore!”).
VB Holden Commodore
Holden’s two-letter-designation Commodore story begins in October 1978, when the VB Commodore replaced the much larger HZ Kingswood as Holden’s mainstream family car. As has been mentioned here on CC previously, the VB was basically an Opel Reckord ‘E’ body with an Opel Senator ‘A’ front end–albeit heavily re-engineered for added strength after one of the original three prototypes broke in half at the firewall. I don’t know about y’all, but I hate it when that happens! To save time and space, well leave most model-specific details for model-specific CCs another time.
VC Holden Commodore SL/E with Shadowtone paint
March 1980 saw the VB become the VC. The update centred around engine upgrades, with a minor visual update of a new grille–the Holden badge dropped from the top-centre to dead-centre.
1981 VH Holden Commodore V8. Author photo.
The VH rocked up in September 1981, featuring new panels ahead of the windscreen, and pointier lights front and rear. My late Uncle bought a top-spec VH, an SL/E V8, new in 1982; I remember being wowed by the deep-blue velour seats (the first I’d sat on) and the Shadowtone exterior paint (dark blue over silver, similar to the VC pic). To eight-year-old me, the VH SL/E seemed awfully glamorous in what were dark economic times for New Zealand. Despite tough times though, Holden offered an NZ-only version of the Commodore, the Royale. It was basically the best spec mated with the worst engine (the horrendous BackStarfire four cylinder).
1985 VK Holden Commodore SS Group A; a genuine HDT car, #176 of 500.
Because the Commodore was smaller than its Kingswood predecessor, it was also smaller than its main competitor, Ford’s Falcon, which swept to market leadership in 1982. In an effort to make the Commodore appear bigger and more competitive with the Falcon, the VH was replaced by the extra-windowed VK in February 1984. I think the VK has the best-looking exterior of the gen1 Commodore variants, but the new interior was marred by ugly square instruments–although at least it didn’t have a square steering wheel! There were also new trim level names–including Executive, Berlina and Calais, in order of increasing opulence/decreasing crapulence. As with the VH, there was also an NZ-only VK Royale with Calais trim and MisStarfire four.
1987 VL Holden Commodore (top), 1988 VL Holden Commodore with Calais front clip (bottom).
Since the VK was a major update, it was a surprise when so too was its VL replacement in February 1986. The VL had a completely new front end design (with semi-hidden headlights on the Calais), a new tail and a revised dashboard (hoo-roo ugly square instruments). An even more major change was under the bonnet where Holden’s seriously outmoded straight-sixes were replaced by imported straight-six Nissan RB engines–in NZ, the Royale finally dropped the B-movie-“Star”fire four in favour of Nissan’s RB20 six. The engines were enormous improvements, but the VLs I’ve driven felt cheaper–especially the dashboard–compared with the VB-VH.
1991 VN Holden Commodore. Remember when 14″ alloy wheels were cool? Author photo.
August 1988 saw the VL roll over and play dead, replaced by the first of the gen2 Commodores, the VN. For reasons known only to GM, the VN ute leapt backwards in the alphabet and was designated the VG. The VN continued the Commodore’s heritage of mashing up Opel body parts, but Nissan’s smooth straight-six was replaced by the ubiquitous but coarse Buick 3800 V6. In NZ, the VN Royale Berlina dropped the Nissan six, along with smoothness and performance, for GM’s Family II four.
1987 Opel Senator ‘B’
Although the VN represented quite a visual change in Australia, it was less so in NZ, as the VN’s panel-donor, the Opel Senator ‘B’, was sold new here in 1987 (we got RHD Opel Astras, Mantas and Senators new in the mid-80s and no, I don’t know why). A classmate’s parents bought a Senator new in ’87, and it was a very nice car. Opel withdrew from the NZ market around the time of the ’87 share market crash though, so in late ’88 Holden was able to pretend that the Senator never existed and that the VN’s styling was all new–(*ring-ring* “Hello?…Opel who? Sorry, don’t know them; would you like to buy a Commodore?”).
1992 VP Holden Berlina with Freddie Mercury-style grille
Nearly three years after the VN, September 1991 brought the VP Commodore–the VG ute became a VP like its more-doored siblings. The VP Joe Biden Commodore was a relatively minor facelift of the VN, notably featuring a Mercuryesque (Sable, not Freddie) clear plastic grille on the base models. The NZ-only Royale abdicated for the time being.
1995 VS Holden Berlina sedan and Acclaim wagon. Author photos.
A major update was July 1993’s VR Commodore, which finally got rid of the ugly Opel Omega-based flat-top rear wheel-arch (on the sedans at least). The natural successor to the VR was April 1995’s VS. The left Commie above is a VR, the right one’s a VS. No, hang on, I just checked their VINs, they’re both VRs. Embarrassingly, I can’t tell a VR from a VS! In my defence, the exterior changes were limited to a redesigned bonnet emblem and different wheels…
1998 VS Holden Royale with Opel 2.5 V6. Although lacking power, it wasn’t completely ‘opeless…
There were two versions of the VR and VS Commodores that were easily identified though. Holden imported Opel engines (2.6 litre straight-six in the VR and 2.5 litre V6 in the VS) and fitted their own LWB Holden Caprice front clip, to export the resulting Frankenholden to Malaysia and Singapore as the Opel Calais. Following a cancelled export order, the VS Opel Calais was sold new in New Zealand by my local Holden dealer as the VS Holden Royale. I’ve also seen a few of the VR straight-six models here too.
Well, we’re two generations and 10 descendants down and several to go, how are y’all holden together? Sorry, bad pun I know, but not nearly as bad as the local radio station competition wherein the prize was a “Commodore”. The winner turned up for their prize and was not impressed to be presented with the driver’s door of a 1975 Commer van, much like the one below:
1975 Commer door still attached to Commer van. Author Photo.
Anyway, that was a minor knot halfway down the Commodore family tree, so let’s swap Commer doors for Commodores.
1999 VT Holden Calais. Author photo.
The first gen3 Commodore, the VT from September 1997, continued to share a lot with Opel. A major visual change over the preceding Commodores was the deletion of the C-pillar window. This meant that Holden could visually differentiate the Commodore’s upmarket LWB Statesman/Caprice derivatives by giving them the extra side window instead. Ford Australia used the same technique to distinguish its upmarket Fairlane/LTD from the Falcon.
ol’ faithful, the Buick 3800 V6.
Aside from the still-present and still-coarse Buick V6, the VT marked the first time a Commodore didn’t feel like it had been designed and built on a shoestring. It felt like a car that could be enjoyed the world over, and it was! Engineered in left- and right-hand-drive forms, the VT was sold in a number of international markets as a Chevrolet. In Northern America, the Commodore coupe (Monaro) was sold as the Pontiac GTO; in England, the Monaro was a Vauxhall. In fact, the VT Commodore, rather than its Opel Omega cousin, would likely have made a better base for the concurrent Cadillac Catera.
My workmates’ VX (L) and VY (R) Commodores; also a photo-bombing Explorer. And no, we don’t all drive green vehicles! Author’s aforementioned crappy photo.
Given the massive investment in the VT, October 2000’s VX was a fairly minor update, largely involving new lights front and rear. The Holden Ute division missed the memo about skipping from VT to VX, and accidentally designated the ute VU. “C’mon up to Holden, the VU’s great from here” wasn’t the advertising slogan.
My workmates’ VY (L) and VX (R) Commodores. Explorer still keen to get in the pic. Author’s second crappy photo.
The VY Commodore of September 2002 also saw new panels and lights front and rear, accompanied by a new interior, giving a sharper-edged look inside and out. In a truly international move, the VY took full advantage of GM’s ownership of Saab and featured Saab’s very stylish swiveling cupholders.
VY Headlight pimple
One unique feature of some VY variants is a small parking light hanging off the bottom edge of the headlights like a pimple. I like that feature a lot.
2005 VZ Holden Adventra LX8
Sadly the parking light pimple was squeezed out for August 2004’s VZ Commodore. Also squeezed out, finally, was the Buick 3800 V6, replaced by GM’s Alloytec 3.6 litre V6. Chevrolet’s 235kW/315hp LS1 V8 was available too–one such LS1 powers my sister and BIL’s VZ Commodore SS. Their VZ is a very nice place to be, and with the V8 is a great drive! I could spend hours playing with the Saab cupholders too. As with all Commodores since the VB, the VZ’s boot release remained where Opel originally stuck it, in the glovebox–a quirk that can be either useful or annoying, depending on how you look at it.
The VZ Commodore marked the last time that a Royale version would be built for and sold in New Zealand. Kiwi songstress Lorde sang about this recently: “And you’ll never see Royales (Royales), they don’t run in our blood, that kind of luxe just ain’t for us…”
2012 VE Holden Omega with factory option pack #911 that comprises sporty stripes and lights. Author photo.
The VZ was the final Opel-based Commodore, as July 2006 saw the all-new, all-Holden gen4 VE Commodore appear proudly on stage. After years of rehashing Opel panels and design cues, Holden’s stylists finally got the opportunity to do their own thing, and what a thing it turned out to be! I’m unabashedly a Falcon fan, but strewth me ol’ cobbers and sheilas, the VE’s a bonzer looker inside and out, mate! It makes me feel proud of what the Australians have achieved! As with gen3, the VE was engineered in left- and right-hand-drive form and sold in various markets as a Pontiac, Vauxhall and Chevrolet. The VE was so well-received, and/or so expensive to develop, that it remained on sale largely unchanged for seven years (crikey!), not being replaced until June last year (2013) with the VF Commodore.
2014 Holden Calais wagon
The VF retained the VE centre-section, but received all-new front and rear ends (sedan-only for the rear), and a nice new interior. After 35 years of the power window controls cluttering up the centre console à la Opel, Holden finally moved them to the driver’s door. Angels sang and the people rejoiced! I don’t think the VF has quite the design purity of the VE, but this 16th Commodore is overall the best yet. Sad then that after 36 years of Australian Commodores, GM is following Ford and ending all Australian production by 2017 (as is Toyota). This news caused huge consternation, as although demand for a large RWD family sedan isn’t what it once was, GM’s international portfolio doesn’t contain anything enthusiasts deem worthy of replacing the Commodore. It seems ironic that in three years’ time, neither Ford nor Holden will be marketing large RWD sedans in Australasia, yet Hyundai and Kia will… How the market reverses over time!
But until that day arrives, let’s celebrate the Holden Commodore VB-VF Family Tree. The evolution that occurred among the 18 branches of the tree culminates in today’s VF. The Commodore tree may be dying, but what a way to go–saving the best bloom ’til last.
The first picture reminds me of the child’s game “Rush Hour”.
Haven’t heard of it Brendan, but it looks fun! (if only I was 30 years younger…)
This game is for anyone who wants to keep a nimble mind regardless of age. I’ve enjoyed mine for many an hour.
Great article!! Is that Countdown Morrinsville by any chance (’91 VN pic)?
No Countdown Te Awamutu – and Pak n Save Te Awamutu and Te Awamutu police station (can you guess where I live lol). I’m familiar with CD Morrinsville though, having been my former employer’s rep there for several years last decade.
Fantastic write-up. I particularly like the Adventra. As an American college student, I spent a lot of time perusing Holden and HSV’s websites. The endless varieties of the Commodore amazed me. My particular favorite is HSV’s version of the Crewman, the Avalance XUV.
Yes, the number of VY and VZ Commodore variants is quite spectacular – and worthy of a CC in its own right as soon as I find a few more of them to photograph! The Crewman must be the only 4-door car-based ute in modern history!
My brother has a Crewman as a company car he hates it no comfort at all.
They’re all over the place here. Very popular.
In fact there’s one for sale a few blocks away. Basic, white. Wanting 10 grand.
Depite things looking good on paper and producing some interesting cars, I regard the Adventra as a Deadly Sin. Holden spread their development dollars and I’m not sure they made money on all variants. The Adventra was merely a jacked-up Subaru Outback style wagon that was shot down by Ford’s proper SUV Territory, that was much more accommodating, with 3 row seating for starters.
It was not helped by poor timing where they were V8 only initially because the old 3.8 V6 was about to be replaced so they didn’t spend he money to do the awd version of it. By the time the new 3.6 came the writing was on the wall.
Lol, that red VH belongs to a workmate of mine. It’s a pretty sweet car, was done up a good 11 years ago or so. His missus recently took it drag-racing at Meremere, did high 15’s I think.
New Zealand is a very small world lol! I photographed it at the Cambridge Stragglers car show last year – the photo also featured in the article I wrote at the time: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/car-show-classic/car-show-classic-curblakeside-in-cambridge-ii-the-australian-alumni/
Among the sea of badly finished modified Commodores, it stood out as how to modify one the right way! Here’s another pic:
Haha, so it is. That other article was posted the day I started at my new job, so didn’t know the connection there. I was in the office today and showed it to the guy, told him his car is world famous, he’s stoked!
Yes, it is a really nice example of a model that is usually seen in fairly bad states.
The VH ushered in new rear axle location cfhanges to rid the Dore of its tendancy to spear off the road backwards if thrown into a corner at the limit, also the VK saw a new motor the black 3.3 with air pump and single point injection, I prefer the VH I owned a SLX with 4wheel disc brakes and gas shocks all round a mild cam and Walker sports system with twin lukeys it went like a bullet but still got around 9L/100kms highway with the air on.
Lol Bryce “went like a bullet” is fairly subjective in the world of of early Commodores! Used to run rings around everything up till VR HSV’s with the ol’ ST162 Celica.
I note the comments on the improvements on the VK, a mate of mine had a VK facelift with the 3.3, and I’m sure that had full multi-point EFI? Was that a feature of the facelift perhaps? Was a great cruiser for spectating at the old illegal drags on Quay St and Neilson St etc. back on the 90’s in Auckland.
My parents had a VB 202 auto sedan courtesy car for a few weeks sometime in the mid-80s. Compared to the 2.0 Cortinas we were used to, the Commodore was slower and thirstier. It had one of those economy gauges and I remember egging Mum on to see how bad bad she could get it to read – flooring the accelerator up the steep winding back road en route to my grandparent’s farm did the trick!
I had a VC 202 auto wagon as a courtesy car for a week in 1996 (while waiting for my newly purchased Ford Sierra to be ready). The VC was tragically underpowered and thirsty, but I liked the exhaust note and it was actually really nice to drive. Great seats too.
My HQ Monaro was a 202. That engine was more than adequate for my non-revhead self.
…the 202 wasn’t the most rugged of the Holden sixes due to the piston pin height …the 186 was probably the best all rounder (in XU1 form a great engine even) ..the cylinder head of all these Aussie Holden sixes was interesting right up to the 12 port 202 version in that ports were shared between some cylinders although it didn’t seem to adversely affect power and torque that you could really notice it, and the 12 port head version wasn’t significantly more powerful as the ports were small.. i have one of these engines (the early HR steel crank 186 9 port) dry sumped in a Lotus Seven replica (640kgs wet all up) ..and it isn’t slow, although probably the Toyota BEAMS version made by Fraser Cars would lick it
Craig, a mate of mine had an LJ Torana with a 173 I it, that seemed a nice motor. It’s actually in the pics on Wikipedia under LJ Torana, with the rego “GD2835” quite a coincidence given the cc capacity of the engine. It was very tidy (place-getter at Auckland Concourse from memory) but sadly it wasn’t really a good option as a daily driver for a 18 year old guy. He sold it for far less than it was worth and bought an R32 Skyling GTS-25 coupe. Which was a far better car in almost every way, but still not quite the same.
Yeah bullet is subjective compared to my other Holden at the time it was ok I also ran a 179 trimatic EH, but in the Dore you could stand on it in drive ant it shifted at 95, 140 and ran out of steam around 210 3.08 back axle no it wasnt stock engine was the wrong colour blue I deleted the unnecessary vacuum system for the pollution equipment just kept the usefull stuff like the EGR without that they run too rich and got a proper Walker performance exhaust fitted it could pull a 2horse float loaded with ease in hilly Tasmania it really was a good car and went well I sold it with a few faults to a guy with a 351 Fairlane, as a runabout he ditched the Ford eventually the Commodore was quicker quieter and handled properly, my caravan park neighbour at the time had a 253 VH with supra 5speed we swapped one day it was fun he didnt want to give my car back it went around corners better being lighter up front, I liked the manual but no deal the gas bill would be too much.
No TBI wasnt on all of them most retained the awful Rochester and of course NZ versions didnt have the pollution equipment mandated in Aussie.
Awesome article! Thanks for posting. I’ve been interested in Australian cars as far back as I can remember. It’s too bad much of the cars sold here in the USA aren’t built in Australia. The only car I remember that’s built in Australia and sold here in the USA (basically a Holden Commodore) was the Pontiac G8. I hope Holden never leaves Australia. Australia needs its workers and the money in Australia. If we need to import cars from any country, I’d rather it be made in Australia.
With Ford closing its Australian factories, the economies of scale just aren’t there for Holden (and Toyota) to remain in production, so sadly Holden is completely closing. The name will live on, but only as a badge on imported vehicles made by other GM factories. Unlike Holden though, Ford is retaining its engineering and design team in Australia – Ford head office seems to recognise the great job the Ford Oz development team has done over the years. The Holden development team has done an equally great job over the decades; it’s a shame GM head office doesn’t want to know. EDIT: I was incorrect, the design centre is remaining once the factories close.
That is only one of the many things that GM’s head office doesn’t seem to want to know….
I like your writing, and get a kick out of your wordplay.
Thank you!
Either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care. Either way, it’s just unforgivable. Who the hell are the GM head offices to just abandon their Australian workers? That doesn’t make any sense. It’s not enough just to have cars and trucks designed in Australia, a car has to be built in Australia.
That’s unforgivable. Unfortunately the same thing is happening here in the Disunited States. The USA govt doesn’t like supporting American car companies, they’d rather we buy cars from Japan, or somewhere other than the USA or Canada.
Current Aussie cars in US: Chevrolet SS and Caprice (police car)
Previous:
-Pontiac G8 (Commodore)
-Pontiac GTO (Monaro)
-Mercury Capri (Aussie Ford Capri based upon Mazda 323 mechanicals)
If I’m missng any, please feel free to add
The Mitsubishi Diamante Wagon
Oo, good catch, I’d forgotten about that!
these things go like scalded cats….. as quick up to 160kmph as the WRX
..i had one in my sights the other day on the dreaded state highway Maramarua to Tauranga ..he overtook me like a bullet (in drizzly misty weather) when i was dozing along at the legal limit (90kmph) ..a kid sitting on his neck with his hat on backwards
it’s shockingly risky as the fuzz ‘do’ this piece of roading with monotonous overkill
my 6G74 has 224,500kms on it.. yes, it is tweaked a bit
…but when the kid thought he was fast and shot up to the ton the Diamante was right on his arse… in the end he lost his nerve
we went past his white WRX (and the vehicle he was tail-hugging) at whatever speed it was ..but he had given up, and it was the old Mitsi’s day!! 🙂
. NSW Police road tested the Subaru WRX and approved them for city car chase work but they banned them from freeway use in favour of the V8 Holdens they are too slow once you make the roads super straight the Aussie cars rule, though I had a Mitsubishi 3.5 Diamonte rental in Melbourne took it up through Healesville and all over the Dandenong ranges, awfull car no turn in what so ever I wasnt impressed and it was new less than 1000kms ok in a straight line yep not bad at all, Mate o mine scared a young keen Evo pilot when he stood on the gas in a 90 3L development model Camry at 145kmh the tyre smoke put him off it seemed and he shrank in the mirror you gotta watch some of those old Jap cars some really go.
I remember the Mercury Capri. For some reason, Ford discontinued it here in the USA.
That would be because you were our main market and you weren’t taking enough, so we stopped building it!
Why do you reckon that was? I’m afraid I’ve never owned or drive one.
Two reasons –
1) Despite being Ford Laser/Mazda 323 based, it developed a reputation for quality problems.
2) The Mazda MX5 won the showroom and on-road battles.
The second reason is probably the most significant. The Capri and MX5 were launched around the same time, so magazines and purchasers cross-shopped the two. The MX5 was RWD and looked great; the Capri was FWD and decidedly slab-sided. Although the Capri came across as more modern than the traditional-feeling MX5, it was traditional virtues of RWD and chuckable handling that won the MX5 its acclaim.
Great write-up! As a young car enthusiast in Melbourne during the 1990s, Commodores and Falcons were easily the most common vehicles on the road. These days they are just another car amongst a much more diverse selection of vehicles.
There have been a few Commodores in my family during my lifetime. My paternal grandparents had a VN; my maternal grandfather had a VL Calais with the partially-covered headlights and my dad briefly owned a VT.
Even though these cars are not particularly to my taste, I’ve always liked the idea that Australia made these specialised vehicles that suited local conditions. Unfortunately, their time has past and they will soon be no more.
I think there’ll always be a market for RWD 6/8 cylinder family vehicles. But said market will be too small to justify the development of such locally-specialised vehicles. They’d need to be exported to sell the required volume, and both Ford and GM head office seem to have a not-invented-here problem with their colonial outposts’ products. Perhaps they don’t like their often-lackluster local ranges being shown up by their offspring downunder producing better results from less resources!
Part of the problem too is head office getting in the way and telling us what we can and can’t do. Ford had been going to build the Fiesta here (good decision, that’s the size car we’re buying), but head office said no. The result is it gets built in Thailand and arrives here as yet another import. All head office lets Ford build here is a car people aren’t buying, and an SUV that’s built off the same basic bits. At least GM lets Holden build the Cruze as well as the Commodore.
That doesn’t make any sense. Why are Holdens being made in Thailand, of all places?
It’s not “Holdens” that are being built in Thailand. It’s “GM” vehicles that are built in Thailand and exported to GM brands around the world where they’ll be sold under whatever the local brand is. Ford does the same – the Australasian Focus, Fiesta and Ranger are Thai-built.
I didn’t realize the VF lost the console window switches, I actually really liked those in the GTO. I’m not super fond of the new front clip either, it looks like a blown up Chrysler 200, which looks dated in itself.
My old Ford Sierra Ghia had the window switches in the console. Come to think of it, old BMWs and Jags did too; could be a European thing. I don’t mind them being there as long as thehy’re not using space that could be better used for something else – bigger and better cupholders in the VF’s case lol! It does seem more natural though for them to be on doors because they’re then effectively adjacent to the function they’re controlling – similar to console-mounted gear levers being above the gearbox in traditional RWD cars.
See I’ve never been fond of cupholders in cars(only liquids I allow in my car is bottled water), so to me the center console should be high tech and littered with buttons! :D. Otherwise consoles are just an intrusive hunk of plastic.
Plus I always appreciate uniqueness to intuitiveness. The latter can always be learned.
Holden should have used a modified 2014 Camaro front and rear end for the VF update.
I’ve often wondered the significance of the two-letter designations, thanks for clearing that up. That Calais wagon is sweet! I’ve always had a soft spot for longroofs.
At least the Commodore’s designations are in vaguely alphabetical order! I’m writing another family tree on the pre-Commodore big Holdens, the letter-combos of them leap around all over the place thanks to a complicated table of years vs letters that Holden used to use to arrive at the designation. Glad you liked the Calais wagon – I included that rather than a VF sedan as I figured North Americans might appreciate seeing what a Chev SS wagon would look like!
What? No mention of the Monaro coupes? The utes and wagons are WAY badass…we need those stateside and PRONTO. The sedans…well, sedans can suck it. You guys down under do get some interesting rides though….
I kinda mentioned them near the start! They’re different enough to demand their own Family Tree which I’ll write in the next few months 🙂
Yup you did, my fault. Granted I mostly skimmed thru the article since I was on my way over to a buddys place. I always thought the Monaro was just another branch on the family tree…even if its the coolest one! Im stupid for V8 rwd muscle cars in 2-door form so there IS that!
2 door cars basically dont sell well in Australia, eg the 1970s Mad Max era Falcon hardtops sold under 20,000 cars in 7 years. The 2 door Monaro didnt last either, they stopped building them in 1976 (?) while the sedan it was based on ran through to 1979. The same thing happened with the Charger.
The story of the ‘new’ Monaro is an interesting one, suffice to say that US sales were never part of the original plan.
Why do you reckon two door cars don’t sell very well in Australia?
Hi Jason, sorry I didn’t see your reply before. I think it is because most cars, especially 40 years ago, are used for family or company use with the rear seat often used by adults. Going back 40 years the car ownership rate was a noticeably lower than in the USA, which would be one factor. From the 1950’s they stopped building 2-door versions of large cars, because people preferred the ease of access to the rear seat. The same has happened to smaller cars over time as well.
Ah! Ok. My favourite two door Australian cars are the HK-HG Holden Monaro.
Superb, Scott. Never heard of the NZ Royales. My fave is the VE, a fantastic looking big sedan, shame they went sports instead of family on the wagon.
My father was born during the war in a little town just south of Monte Cassino. When I was there a few years ago he pointed it out and told me the story. Lest we forget.
Thanks Don. The Royale of all years was popular here. We also had Formula and Vacationer special editions that I think were shared with Australia. The white VL photo is a Formula.
The story of Cassino is such a poignant one for all sides. Mr grandfather would still mention it right up to his death last August (aged 97!). He was in Naples when Vesuvius erupted in ’44; upon his death I inherited a lava-encrusted Italian coin he brought back.
Lest we forget indeed.
Couldn’t get your four cylinder Commodore off my mind, something seemed familiar. We had a 4cyl for the VC and VH. Not sure what size it was and not a success apparently.
The other interesting thing about the Commodore is that WB Kingswood/Premier model development continued up until 1979. The Commodore was originally to be a larger replacement for the Torana. Apparently worn HQ-HZ tooling was one of the (many) factors in shifting the Commodore to be the fullsize replacement.
Yes, the Australian VC/VH 4 cylinder was the 1.9L Starfire; the Starfire remained in our VK too. It was basically the 2850cc six with two cylinders cut off, and was about as refined as that sounds. It was created for the Sunbird; Toyota also fitted it to Coronas. It was a heavy, rough and thirsty engine.
My old scoutmaster when I was a teen had a Starfire VK which I rode in a few times, it always felt like it was powered by a 1300cc engine the way it screamed if you tried to go fast. Hang on, just checked wikipedia, apparently the Starfire had 58kw and took 17.5 seconds to “propel” the Sunbird/Commie to 100km/h. Even my diesel Laurel beats that!!
The 2 litre (or thereabouts) segment was the #1 in NZ by a mile through the 70s/80s, so the 1900cc Commodore actually sold very well. That’s why the Starfire remained in our VK (we still got the sixes and the V8). It’s why the RB20 2-litre six was standard in our lower-spec VLs – despite the fact the RB30 was faster and used practically the same amount of fuel. And our love of the 2-litre market is why the VN was introduced with the Family II 2 litre four cylinder. My high school vice-principal bought a VN with the Family II new. By the time of the VN though, the car was too big and heavy for the Family II and it died a quick death.
Actually, come to think of it, the VB’s Opel Rekord E donor’s smallest engine option was a 1700cc version of the cam-in-head four fitted to Toranas. As fitted to the Rekord, the 1700 produced a healthy *cough* 44kW…
yer know the LH Torana here in NZ was available from Schofields back then mainly with the Opel 1.9 cam-in-head engine (you could get the 202 version but with overseas funds) and really compared to the 2 litre Cortina Wagon it didn’t honk …the handing wasn’t bad though, being a heavy car it sat nicely but it could have done with two extra cylinders…lol
My late Uncle (who had the VH SL/E noted in the article) worked part-time as a salesman for Ebbetts in the 70s, I remember him turning up at my grandparents (he was my Gran’s brother) in an orange Sunbird when it was first released. I was about 4 years old, but can still remember the excitement of waiting for Uncle Bill to turn up in this brand new Holden with a brand new engine and such a snazzy name – Sunbird! I can still see him driving it down the long straight to my grandparents’ house. He wondered if they might like to trade their Volvo 164E on it, but they declined, oddly 😉
Years later one of my sisters’ boyfriends had an LH Torana 1900. He’d swapped out the 1900 for a 186 and 5-speed Celica gearbox (as everyone did in those days. I remember riding in it a couple times, it sounded nice and went well. Felt very solid too. He and my sister broke up but I understand he later went on to swap out the 186 for a 350.
Aussie had the 1.9 Starfire only NZ kept the 4 banger model going right untill local assembly stopped but they used the Vectra engine in the VN same engine was in the final Aussie Camira NZ didnt get we had Vectras a lot earlier than OZ the came concurrent with the big Opels.
NZ also had GTS Holdens in VL VN and VP I think. NZ Holdens differ substantially from Aussie models in trim and spec, always have done. That includes all the anti pollution piping on 80s Aussie cars NZ cars have none of it I was quite surprised having been under the bonnet of several Falcons in both countries and the Holdens are the same no ADR stuff.
Seriously? I find sporty/muscle wagons HIGLY appealing. While they give up a few style points to coupes, they still beat out sedans when it comes to curb appeal…of course that’s all opinion and stuff but when it comes to usefulness, they definitely outgun every ‘car’ bodystyle imaginable.
Sedans…well Id rather that 4 door sedans didn’t exist at all. But as base level bottom level cars for families and cheapskates or as wallowing cushy luxo barges for overpaid execs…that’s the only roles I think theyre appropriate. If I did have to own a family vehicle, a hotrod wagon would be the least amount of compromise. Hell, Ive come dangerously close to plunking down my cash on a Hemi Magnum….
Yeah, I like things like the AMC Sportabout. The VE is such a good looking car I think it needs a full volume wagon space to match the rest of the car. I’m at a disadvantage in this argument because I think a 71 Buick clamshell is the best looking wagon ever.
The VE wagon was no longer on the long wheelbase and the roof was munh lower than the old wagon. Total load volume was down by a third, a huge change. Possibly not such a silly option in the face of SUV alternatives to go for style/sportiness rather than outright space.
“Let’s face it, the Aussies might say ‘six’ really strangely”
Most of the Yanks probably don’t know that in NZ, sex is something that lies between five and seven.
(You’ve been very gracious to the West Island, by the way.)
No, no, it’s in Aussie that sex is between five and seven! 😉 And we Kiwis are always gracious to our Ocker cuzzies as, let’s face it, most Kiwis (including me) have close friends and relatives who’ve moved there!
Maaaaaaate, we have sex anytime. If youse want to have it between five and seven, you’re only limiting the possibilities.
Laying between five and seven sounds like quite a good time.
Don, we like to stick to routine here in NZ! Chur.
“seeks” = oz ‘six’ …hahaha
“sucks” = nz ‘six’ (nz pronounced “new zullind” ..(yuk) gimme brit-speak anyday 🙂
🙂
Feesh in cheps = ‘Strayan
Fush un chups = New Zullun
I enjoyed the article. I have watched Holden for years. I have been a fan of the Calais, the Statesman and Caprice. In the 1990’s up to a point in early 2000’s the Holdens looked like Oldsmobiles. They looked like Ninety Eights, Cutlasses, and Eighty Eights. I think they should have used Oldsmobile and Holden together globally and that would have assured both of their futures. Oldsmobile at one time was going to start selling Holden’s as Oldsmobiles:
Quote:
Did you have a Holden-Olds plan, like the Pontiac GTO?
General Motors wanted to get out of racing, and down at Holden’s we had our own factory team; so, I said, well there’s probably a way to do this. Let’s take the race driver and about 20 or 30 Holden dealers and come up with a car-tuning company that’ll do a special deal every year or two, and then only those dealers can sell it. We brought out that first Holden dealer team special vehicle. It was a good-looking car, and it performed. We launched it in Australian Playboy. On one side of the magazine, we had Bo Derek, and on the other side Holden driver Peter Brock and this car. When I got to Oldsmobile, I brought Holden sales manager John Crennan over to the Townsend Hotel. And we set up shop in one of the suites out there and invited my boss, Mr. Ron Zarrella, in. We showed him the whole concept of special vehicles. What we could do for Oldsmobile and how I could get a rear-drive car, and we could get some image and distinctiveness out of all this, but it would take resources and doing some things different. Zarrella got up, looked at his watch, and said, “Do you realize you’ve just wasted three-and-a-half hours of my time? Don’t you understand what we’re trying to do at General Motors?”
Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/classic/features/c12_0606_john_rock_general_motors/closing_oldsmobile.html#ixzz2zx2OxLPy
Holden built some great cars. The global economy could not support GM or Ford or Toyota producing cars locally in Australia. GM will still have a design center in Australia. They are working on global GM products now. It is amazing to me how Holden took Opels and turned them into better cars for the local and global markets.
Ah, good to know they’ll retain their design centre – upon checking I see the early reports I read saying it was closing too were incorrect.
Fantastic interview with John Rock about Oldsmobile, thanks for posting the link!
You are most welcome!
Here is an article:
Holden design centre to remain open after company ends manufacturing in 2017 :
http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/holden-design-centre-to-remain-open-after-company-ends-manufacturing-in-2017/story-fnkgdhrc-1226873669915
That VB may be based on an Opel E-Body, but it sure smacks of GM J-Body to me…
Don’t worry, Holden had their own version of the J-Body too, the Australian-built Camira with some Holden-specific panels. Well, except in NZ where for the majority of the Camira’s life it was actually the Isuzu Aska J-Car with Holden Camira badges.
Yeah Wiki harvested my photos of my Dads Aska/Camira from the cohort page very rare cars though I saw one last week.
The Opel ‘E’ just means it was the fifth version of the car, they were the V-car (body), and obviously shared some styling cues.
At the time the J-car Camira launched, the Commodore, Camira and Gemini all looked like the same car in 3 sizes.
Thinking about it, the Kingswood, Torana and Gemini were also similar, sharing the same rear door/ c-pillar treatment, and drooping 70s bootline. Holden was always strong on a “family look”.
Outstanding article. I have been hooked on cars from Down Under since a co-worker moved to Australia in 2004 and had a trader magazine from Sydney for people to look at. Everything was so familiar yet so wonderfully different.
Oh, and if your lady has six babies at once, ever notice how they are called sextuplets? It just seems so blatantly obvious.
And I’m proud to finally be a sexagenarian! I’ve been working hard on that for a long time.
Scott; Thanks for a great article…it’s a bit of a challenge to keep it all straight, but I’m working on my Australian alphabet soup. Tasty stuff.
Thank you Paul – high praise from the master! I think “Australian Auto Family Trees” will hopefully make an interesting series for CCers, so have begun writing family tree articles on the Falcon, Valiant, and pre-Commodore big Holdens. I just need to find a few more of them to photograph!
Scott, got plenty oz big three 1960s on my cohort and some XB and HQ-HZ I haven’t uploaded yet. Let me know if you have any gaps needing filling.
Square steering wheel link now working 🙂
Thanks Scott,there’s definitely Vauxhall/Opel DNA there but they look a bit different.The Monaro/GTO is quite popular in the UK,plenty coupes and sedans but yet to see a wagon on the road.Other Holdens are a rare sight here though the odd one turns up at shows,there was an Aussie car club in the UK a few years ago
When on holiday in the UK last year, I felt a surge of pride on the rare occasions I saw Aussie cars – although I saw only one Commodore, the Vauxhall VXR8-badged version of the VE sedan. I saw several late model Falcons/Fairlanes, not surprising though as Coleman Milne imports and rebadges them for the funeral market.
Great tale, well told.
I saw the Commercial van in the media library and wondered where it was going.
And clearly, whoever picked the name Calais as the name for a premium model has obviously never been there!
😀 Yes I enjoyed the cognitive dissonance of that too.
Here’s a picture of sumptuous Calais for those of you who’ve never been:
Depends on the point of view while taking a picture.
I was of course being facetious – you’re quite right Johannes, Calais isn’t entirely ferry-port. It’s just that that’s the enduring image for a lot of folk.
I assume Holden was thinking of the mid-60s to mid-70s Cadillac Calais rather than the town! Although I understand the Caddie was named after then town – maybe it was different in the mid-60s?
Calais is an old city that goes back to the Middle Ages. Nothing wrong with the name. “Bonjour monsieur Cadillac Calais !”. Sounds all very authentic to me.
Nice piece there Scott, I wish I’d had this to hand in ’06 while I was backpacking ’round Australia struggling to keep all those crazy parallel-universe almost-Granadas (Falcons) and nearly-Carltons (Commodores) straight in my head!
The only one I managed to get my grubby mitts on and actually drive, was a late model ’05 VZ “Executive V6” rental (pictured below) which I tooled around Western Australia in for 10 days or so if memory serves. I named him Bruce for the duration of the road trip. We got on very well – great fun to hurtle along the south western coastline in, a surprisingly comfy place to sleep too.
Being a lowly fleet spec, those SAAB cup holders you mention must’ve been deleted, at least I don’t recall seeing them. In fact my only gripe with Bruce was partly due to poor comparison with a SAAB. Everything in and about the VZ felt a little bit cheap and insubstantial. Mostly the interior, but just generally. My then-car back in Scotland – “Frank” – was a base model ’96 SAAB 9000 CD. Very similar in size, similarly long-legged for distance runs, but altogether plusher and more substantial. Worryingly for a car 10 years younger, the VZ often left me longing for Frank’s taught, nimble handling, and more eager turbo charged four.
That niggling comparison, and the inevitable surges of envy each time one of the (then brand new) VEs swept by were only mild irritations though… Oh and the laughably awful sat-nav I stupidly paid extra for… But on the whole VZ Bruce was a hoot to drive and forms part of some very very fond memories (except for the half hour spent clearing locusts out of his engine bay after driving through a swarm in the wheat-belt. Never seen so many twitching legs…)
Were I to move down under, I’d have to treat myself to a VE Commodore. Their styling really does it for me and I’ve always had a soft spot for big gutsy four doors in the right context. Globally “big” cars don’t work in Scotland – we’re a small country – but Australia’s perfect for them! Sad to think Aussie production is winding down: they’re special cars and the automotive world will be a poorer place for their passing.
I had Bruce’s wagon sibling, in black, for a couple weeks around that time, although I don’t remember why. I don’t remember if it had the Saab cupholders or not, but you’re correct, they weren’t on all the models. My workmate Renee’s VY Berlina has them, one each side of the stereo (see pic below)
The interior was certainly built to a price, although it was an improvement over the VT/X. The VY/Z did receive a new dashboard, but Holden couldn’t afford new doortrims too, so there was a mismatch between the new more angular dashboard and the old organically-styled doortrims. I never like the airvents being door mounted rather than at the ends of the dash. Pic below shows my workmates’ VX (L) and VY (R) dashboards.
After hauling a Ford Transit-based Rimor Katamarano motor home around Scotland last May, a Commodore would have been a breeze by comparison! Honestly, I managed to fit that motor home in loads of small spaces around Scotland and the Isle of Skye, so if I can do it, you’d be fine with a Commodore (aka Vauxhall VXR8)!
Oh god, motorhomes in the highlands and islands *shudders*
People do take some stupidly big rigs round our little roads. Many a time I’ve seen folk stuck in the gates of campsites in things the size of the Rimor Katamarano and even larger. Always infuriating to get stuck behind one of those on the A82!
As for the VXR8 fueling one of those anywhere in western Europe would require a second mortgage 😉 I’ll save the big V8s for big countries I think.
Oh, no-one was stuck behind us on any roads – the Transit was brand new with the 2.2 litre direct-injected turbo-diesel and 6-speed manual, and it seriously flew for something the size of a single-car garage! Acceleration was great and it had no problems getting to or sitting on 130km/h – and with a bit of deft gear-changing it didn’t lose much on hills at all. Such a huge contrast to the 2011 Transit diesel van I’ve driven here a number of times which is a slow and noisy pig by comparison.
Interesting I had a 06 Commodore rental in 06 in Queesland and it failed to impress the lack of lowdown torque from the alloytech had it hunting for 3rd on every slight incline and the comfort was only so so, good on gas though on the highway 8L/100kms@119kmh average speed had to wipe the computer before handing it back in, It put me off buying one I bought a turbo diesel 406 Peugeot instead faster quieter far more comfortable and 48mpg in town.
Fascinating stuff, and nicely done. Like some other Yanks, I find these cars very interesting, oddly familiar, yet quite strange, all at the same time. This will take a few reads for me to get my head around it all. Your explanation of the two-letter series designation is very helpful, now I just need to soak them all in somehow.
Count me as another who has been disappointed that more of the Aussie rwd stuff never made it to the US, either as whole cars or as a platform for a US model to mutate from. Also, it is sad to me to see the auto industry in another country bite the dust.
Thank you JPC 🙂 Interestingly, I was just reading about the Chev SS aka Commodore on Autoblog, I was surprised at the vitriol in some comments from people saying it was un-American to buy one because it was designed and built in Australia. I know that attitude’s in the minority, but it must be a difficult one to overcome for Holden and GM, and I wonder if it’s part of the reason that more Aussie RWDs didn’t make it. Then again, all the more Commodores and Falcons for us to play with! 😉
By exporting production to China, I believe Holden committed an unforgivable sin. I thought Holden was an Australian car company, first and foremost. It’s one thing to have cars built in other countries, as long as production for the home market stays at home. But when you send production to other countries and then import them home, that’s wrong!
Holden don’t import any cars from China, just South Korea and Thailand! And those are cars/pickups Holden only has a minor input into (changes for the local markket).
There’s nothing wrong with importing and exporting cars to other countries. The problem is when they export production and facilities to those countries. That’s wrong.
Thats how the Falcon and Valiant both arrived in Australia along with Holden cars they were never Australian just mere the Australian branches of US based global auto companies, Holden existed as a saddlery outfit and body builder before the GM takeover in 1931 but it never actually built a car until a Buick prototype was sent its way.
Nice article Scott, it must have been a challenge to decide what to include. The old Rekord-Senator thing is a bit of a furphy though, have a look at the Opel Commodore C that accompanied those cars.
You mentioned the Commodore being smaller, it would have to have at least 4″ less shoulder width than the old Kingswood or the Falcon and is the reason it lost saleas leadership to the Falcon for the first time ever. The carry over mechanicals didnt help either.
The 1988 VN addressed the space, being a stretched and widened version of the Opel, however the suspension was the same so too narrow. The 1993 VR fixed that.
It’s worth noting that the first generation Commodore didnt have a ute version. Holden kept the old model in production until 1984 so there was a 6 year gap.
That narrower width killed the taxi market for Holden.
Thanks John H, and yes it was a challenge. I’ve never been 100% convinced either way re the Reckord-Senator vs Commodore C. Wikipedia quotes Peter Robinson as the source of the Rekord-Senator hybrid story, and I trust Robbo implicitly. Then again, wikipedia also quotes Bill Tuckey as saying the Commodore C came about after Opel saw Holden’s Commodore, but that’s chronologically impossible; and the C was just the successor to the B. I always assumed the same floorpan was under all of them regardless of engine size. My late Uncle was selling Holdens when the VB came out, I inherited the dealer-only stuff he had from the VB launch, including the background to its development. I’ll dig it out sometime and re-read it to see what the official word was – the truth is out there!
Yes chronologically impossible plus there had been earlier Opel Commodores. Yes it was a giant piece of mix-and-match.
Last year at the Birdwood (SA) national motor museum I had the opportunity to speak to a former Holden designer and asked him about the stories of the Commodore prototypes failing. He said the strut towers either failed (metal pressings ripped in half) or pulled out of the car. I think it was the former but it was a long time ago for him to recall and I didn’t feel I should get into forensic analysis over it! I’m sure the US rust belt readers will be used to strut towers popping out of cars, but not on new cars!
An earlier story I read was the test cars were instrumented and the strain gauge readings for structural loads were sent to Opel where the engineers didn’t believe the figures they were seeing, they were so far outside their experience. Tallies with roads in outback Oz being a little different from what they have in Germany!
Incidentally the Holden designer said that the VK 6-window change was basically redesigned from the Opel Senator origins to make it simpler & cheaper to manufacture, the details were sent back to Opel to a reaction along the lines of “wish we had thought of that”.
There were lots of under the skin changes throughtout the series rear axles especially do no interchange I went looking for a replacement for my VH and only a VH or VK fits the mounts are different in the end I just put up with the noise it made it never got any worse! Yep Holdens started with a 6 cylinder Senator Reckford hybrid it was cheaper than using an entire Senator body why? who knows they look the same but the Reckford is FWD.
No, the Rekord was RWD. It was the 4 cylinder version of the Senator.
Nice article. Very detailed explanation. Too bad GM is going away there. I’m now going to drive my VW in a VC (very confused) state. I’ll come back later and re-read until it sinks in.
Excellent article on a part of the landscape around these parts. Thank you!
In regard to the two-letter model designations, they were not always so random.
Don Loffler states in his second (of 5 outstanding books on the early Holden) that the first letter indicated the decade and the second the year of introduction.
A=0, B=9, C=8, D=7, E=6, F=5, G=4, H=3, J=2 and K=1
This system lasted well into the 1960s with some accuracy. Late to the party, I know, but it is a holiday weekend as Scott noted.
You’re welcome Jim!
Re the early Holden designations, you just stole my thunder for my upcoming article about the pre-Commodore big Holdens! The table stopped working with the HD, but I understand there’s a revised table for the HD-HZ. I’ll research it properly before the next article anyway. 🙂
Scott, get a hold of ‘Heart of the Lion’ by John Wright. Juicy story about how the HD code came about…
I always enjoyed John’s work, haven’t seen that one but will seek it out. Are you saying HD doesn’t stand for Holden’s Disaster after all? 😉
If you can’t dig it up, I’ll send the excerpt via email. Very good book, will be an excellent resource for your much needed Aussie family trees. Epic task, I’m rapt you’re doing it.
Horridly Designed, followed by Hastily Rectified!
Holden’s Disaster followed by Holden’s Remedy! 😉
EH was the last one designed solely in OZ and the last car the sequence worked on from then on the H denoted a crib of an Opel design
pretty sure they were all designed in detroit up until around 1970 or so. Here is a link to apdf of a magazine published a few years ago – a kind of Australian Collectible Automobile. Sadly it only lasted 2 or 3 print issues.
http://www.retroautos.com.au/docs/Blade%20Runner%20HD.pdf
and here is something on the EH
http://www.retroautos.com.au/docs/50%20years%20of%20EH%20Holden.pdf
Yep, styling was out of US. Not so sure about under the skin, think it was basically EH. Look up the EF to see what was rejected for this update.
Btw nice articles Dave. Would love to know what that model is top left of last EH pic.
Wow, spectacular pics there dingleydave, thanks for posting the links!
Lucky they redid it in OZ those are very little like the actual EH,
theres a ton more on the site:
http://www.retroautos.com.au/TheMagazineArchive.html
that middle are a scrolls a long way although it looks like it doesnt
I’m particularly fond of that VL Calais–the gunslit lamps give it a nice aggressive look (though it’s a bit odd combined with the angular rear). I’ll also agree with how much the VB shares a family similarity with other various GM cars of the early 80’s…most specifically, it looks like an upsized J-car with the front clip from a T platform Isuzu Gemini! Maybe that’s just because we never had any Opel Rekord or Senator derivatives from that generation here in the US.
GMH deliberately styled a family resemblance into their J car the Camira they had no imput into the Gemini that was an Isuzu rebadged
What can I say that hasn’t already been said? A fine article.
Good article and you covered a lot of ground.
Being Australian, I too was upset at the thought of Holden ending local production. They always made tough, spacious cars that were suited to our conditions. The fact is however that Australians stopped buying them – even Government fleets stopped buying them!
Look at the history and you will see that Holden, ever since GM bought the Adelaide based auto body make of that name in the 1930’s, has been as Australian as a Cony Island Hot Dog. They started making “The Holden car”, with a handsome government subsidy in the late 1940’s, regularly took/demanded/accepted more and more government subsidies over the years and most recently basically demanded more government money under threat of leaving. They then accepted hundreds of millions more of government money – and promised the then PM to stay – and announced they were leaving anyway! In other words, the subsidies stopped and they pack up.
Given their ethics, their disregard for their workers and the market and now their hideous campaign that “Holden is here to stay”, I say good riddance!
Why do you reckon people quit buying locally built Holdens? It’s almost as bad as people not buying American built Chevrolets, Fords, or Chrysler and Plymouth.
Not just Holdens; the market has moved away from that size car. Once they were THE Aussie family car, but nowadays people are buying smaller cars. For several years now the Mazda 3 has been the top-selling car in Australia. As a Mazda 3 owner myself, what can I say? 🙂
Petrol is expensive here, and getting more so. Cities are becoming more congested. Aussies without large families are moving to smaller cars. Why cart around all that bulk if you don’t need it? Aussies with large families are moving to SUVs – mostly economical diesels. Look outside any school at the morning or afternoon rush hour, and that’s what you see.
Holden isn’t in a good position here. Since the demise of the Torana of the seventies, they have always been weak in the mid-size market. The Camira (J-car) was a disaster. Since then they have sold a seemingly ever-changing variety of badge-engineered oddities. A partnership with Toyota brought the Holden Apollo (nee Camry) and in return gave Toyota the Lexcen (nee Commodore). Then they threw over Toyota and started importing Opels. Good move, guys. Then when the exchange rate made that a money-loser, they imported Daewoos. Blind Freddie could tell they weren’t as good as the Opels! Buyers went elsewhere. Meanwhile the Commodore grew larger – why? And now there’s a yawning gap between the locally built Cruze and the Commodore. Theoretically the (Daewoo) Epica sits there – but you hardly ever see any.
Ford isn’t in a much better position nowadays. The Falcon is likewise too big for the market. Below the Falcon they sell the Mondeo, Focus and Fiesta. That should be a strong line-up on paper, but buyers seem to prefer Japanese for their mid-sizers. And historically, when a company is going to shut down production in Australia, sales drop.
People don’t want to buy from a company that’s perceived as going under. Nissan shut down in Australia back in the ’90s, and has been an also-ran ever since. VW shut down in the ’70s, and has only just started to sell in big numbers in the past five years or so.
if you shut down car production in Australia, buyers make sure you pay for it. Ford and GM should be very afraid.
+1 unfortunately, you’re telling the truth, Old Pete.
I think the size thing is partly perception though – the new gen5 Mondeo is practically the same width and has a longer wheelbase as the FG Falcon; the gen8 Malibu has a shorter wheelbase but is otherwise similar. The only significant dimensional difference is overall length, where the FG is 9ish cm longer than the Mondeo/Malibu. I think rather than the Commodore/Falcon growing too big, the sizes of the cars below them have grown too big, leaving an insufficient gap between them and the ‘big’ cars. Heck, the Holden Cruze has a longer wheelbase and is wider than the VB Commodore! The Mondeo/Malibu have grown to the point that they occupy the dimensional space once filled by the Falcon/Commodore etc.
New Mondeo is wider than the current Falcon but not as long my BIL had fun trying to get one down his driveway where a Falcon fits quite well
“if you shut down car production in Australia, buyers make sure you pay for it. Ford and GM should be very afraid.”
A prescient comment now two-plus years on.
Interesting article – that car has quite a fascinating history. The first Daewoo car I ever saw (I think it was called a Daewoo Royale) looked a lot like that first generation Commodore, and the Holden badge shown here reminds me a lot of the Vauxhall/Bedford one.
Yes, the Daewoo Royale was, like the Commodore, a Rekord/Senator hybrid – and the body panels were actually made in Australia for a number of years! EDIT – from 1978 to 1984.
This is the Bedford Griffin holdens used a lion, somewhere I have GM issue cufflinks that turned with a shipment of Commodores where my Dad worked
After the previous post, it was a relief to see some Royales rather than Royal’es.
Thanks for re-posting this Paul, I had fun writing it at the time – 6 years ago! I was single then, working in a dead-end job, living in a small suburban unit and driving a (then) 17-year-old diesel Nissan Laurel. Fast-forward 6 years and I’m married, self-employed in my own business, living in a large country homestead and driving a 4-year old hybrid Peugeot 508 RXH (and my magnificent Elderly Ford Sierra of course!).
When I look at the tremendous changes in my own life in just 6 years, it makes it easier to understand the tremendous changes in the automotive world over the same period – when I wrote the article, who’d have thought that GM would shut Holden down?! Such a sad end to a fine brand, but at least with the VE/VF they went out on a high (yes I’m ignoring the imminently-dead ZB).
At least one thing has remained constant over the past 6 years and more: Curbside Classic. Why mess with success? GM did and look what happened…
You missed one Kiwi only model Commodore Scott Shame on you I’d forgotten about them too untill a mate in Christchurch bought a VN example,
The Aussies made a big deal about the return of the GTS badge after so long away but of course GTS Commodores already existe in New Zealand and only died out when local assembly ended available in V8 and V6 my mates one has a 3,8 Buick engine which I didnt realise existed,
The NZ Commodore lineup is very different to the Aussie efforts if youve lived in both countries and driven them you’d notice try finding any VN onwards Dore in NZ without power windows all of them had them in Aussie the base models didnt AC was optional in OZ in NZ you got whether you wanted it or not, those minor trim differences go back into the mid 60s when NZ assembly cars were optioned up compared to Aussie versions with carpet as standard and disc brakes standard to compete with British six cylinder cars that sat in the same GM showrooms Aussie didnt have that problem the British GM and Ford cars had been slowly but deliberately deleted from the lineups.