Cap'n Jack
Premium
- 10,129
- South of the South
- GoldMineGutted
People have been putting Chevrolet badges on Commodores down here for years and nothing's ever come of it. Unfortunately.
Zeta News 2.0: New VF Commodore and Chevrolet SS
- Thread starter YSSMAN
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- 17,891
- Florida
- GranTurismo0517
- RandomCarGuy17
Oh yeah, I've heard about that. Why do some people there rebadge their Holdens?
- 51,243
- Australia
- SpacedustDaddy
Not to offend anyone, but as a North American, I've been told by my mates down here, putting a chev badge on a Holden is "bogan". And that comes from Holden owners.
- 51,243
- Australia
- SpacedustDaddy
I'd ask the question, why is the Ute not being sold? Americans love coupes and 2-seaters. As much as 2wd pick ups are a first car for many new drivers, a V6 Commodore Ute is an easy choice. 260hp, steel wheels and loads of suspension options, I would have had one back in the 90's til now if I were back in the USA. Chevy, even Pontiac would have made a killing if the VY, VZ were sold next to the GTO.
- 5,065
- Fort Worth
- That_sneaky_azN
It is also in real life, as BMW Motorsport purchased 3 F1 GTR's, and gave it their special power and tuning.Actually, there was one time a Mclaren F1 was badged a BMW.
Albeit, not in real life.
Namely because people wouldn't get them, as it is small for a pickup.
Also, wouldn't AU cars over here in the states get expensive nifty fast as well?
However, if Pontiac wasn't sitting around in their laurels at the time and constantly badge-engineering (I don't really blame them, kinda taking the blame to GM), and sold the VT, VX, VY, and VZ over here, I'm sure they would've obtained a mass following pretty fast, and would probably raise a demand for more Australian cars in the USA, and who knows? Maybe Ford would've responded as well.
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CodeRedR51
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- 55,307
- United States
If I were to ever (not likely) buy a GTO up here, I would do a full fledged Holden conversion.
- 21,286
- GR-MI-USA
- YSSMAN
- YSSMAN
The plan was to sell the VE Commodore and VE Ute here in the US as the Pontiac G8 and G8 ST, respectively. But, the economy flipped, Pontiac folded, and plans were canceled pretty quick. Small truck sales were falling through the floor, GM pulled out of that market, and Ford killed theirs as well - pretty much leaving a Ute without a market to get into. Not only that, gas prices were soaring, and the Ute didn't fit the bill for the CAFE manded levels that needed to be met.
The bigger reality of the situation was that, well, the Ute probably wasn't up to snuff for what people wanted out of their pickups at the time. And if it probably didn't have that kind of image needed to sell, there wasn't any reason to get the car federalized (expensive), and imported (expensive).
Flash forward to today, and yes, there is certainly a market for a lighter duty pickup in America again. But, with Holden on the out, the chances of a Ute coming here are slim to none. While I personally dig the idea of having a two or four door Ute with a locking cover, getting someone like my Dad, or my brother to buy one just wouldn't fly - particularly when a Ute probably wouldn't be that much cheaper than the much larger Silverado or Sierra.
CodeRedR51
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- United States
If you have some cash laying around you can just have a US legal Ute built for you.
- 17,891
- Florida
- GranTurismo0517
- RandomCarGuy17
Silly question, why didn't GM just sell the US-Spec commodores as Chevrolet models right after dropping pontiac rather than waiting until last year to sell the Commodore here again? Not enough of a market?
- 21,286
- GR-MI-USA
- YSSMAN
- YSSMAN
The change from the VE to VF Commodore was a big part of it. Alterations to the look inside and out, in addition to fuel-saving enhancements were all a part of the deal. Granted, the SS is the equivalent to the HSV Clubsport, but shares more of its bodywork with the more standard VF Commodores.
The problem with going downmarket on the Commodore would have been significant product overlap, depending on which version of the Commodore would have shown up. Something like the Commodore Evoke would have been a halfway decent starting point, but probably would have diluted what the SS is (ie, a luxury performance sedan), and probably would have been a big dent in potential Impala sales. If they would have stuck with the idea of bringing over a V6 Commodore, something like the Calais would have made a lot more sense by making it a luxury V6 sedan - but again, that would have overlapped with not just the Impala, but also the LaCrosse, and potentially even the SS. Even thinking of it this way, how would you market what is otherwise the SS sedan, but with a V6 - and what would you call it?
I definitely think there's a market for something like a large, rear-drive, near-luxury sedan from GM in the States. Absolutely. Coming from Chevrolet, the jury is out. I love the current Impala, and would love to see Chevrolet have a premium sedan to offer to potential luxury buyers. But, the reality is that, as a Chevrolet, its a tough market for anything above $45k. Now, as a Buick? That'd make a lot of sense. Shoehorn the 420 BHP 3.6T under the hood, you've got yourself a modern-day GN.
...So, we'll see. The Zeta chassis is on its way out, there's no telling what'll happen when the Alpha chassis takes over for some of these models.
- 5,065
- Fort Worth
- That_sneaky_azN
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- It/It
- GTP_TheCracker
- 21,286
- GR-MI-USA
- YSSMAN
- YSSMAN
The old VE Caprice is sold here as the Chevrolet PPV, and I'm fairly certain that the used car market will gobble them up quickly when they start selling in the next year or so. But, with the current Impala being so good, I don't think there's much of a case for a downmarket Commodore here - yet. We'll see what happens when the development of a replacement shifts from Australia to North America.
Fair bet is that the Buick Avenir Concept will make it into production, get co-developed with Holden, and be sold in China, Australia, and the US.
- 5,065
- Fort Worth
- That_sneaky_azN
Now that I look at it, it does have a little Commodore in it.The old VE Caprice is sold here as the Chevrolet PPV, and I'm fairly certain that the used car market will gobble them up quickly when they start selling in the next year or so. But, with the current Impala being so good, I don't think there's much of a case for a downmarket Commodore here - yet. We'll see what happens when the development of a replacement shifts from Australia to North America.
Fair bet is that the Buick Avenir Concept will make it into production, get co-developed with Holden, and be sold in China, Australia, and the US.
- 21,286
- GR-MI-USA
- YSSMAN
- YSSMAN
Well, keep in mind that the sheetmetal will probably be able to be changed on the front quite easily for each market. That thing will sell like hotcakes in China, no question about it, and it'd do reasonably well here in the States. But, with a Holden-style grille and a slightly different rear end, I think it'd do just fine as a Caprice replacement, at the very least.
- 2,187
- Kansas City
- PsuPepperoni
I am now waiting on a reply.
- 40,822
I'd say the window of opportunity GM had with that being a successful venture closed completely when they took a gamble on reintroducing the Colorado and were bowled over by how much people wanted it. The lowest GM could probably get one out the door in America would be, what... 25 grand? The cheapest absolute stripper G8 was just under 26 large 7 years ago, and GM wouldn't sacrifice plant space to build them here to get the price down; so they would also have to figure out a way to get around the chicken tax without pushing the price out past 30.
At which point GM would most certainly rather just sell you a nearly loaded 2WD Colorado instead.
At which point GM would most certainly rather just sell you a nearly loaded 2WD Colorado instead.
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- 9,554
- Vermont
- catamount39
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- 51,243
- Australia
- SpacedustDaddy
CodeRedR51
Premium
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- United States
- 51,243
- Australia
- SpacedustDaddy
Yeah, I've read about this. Smart move to start this business. Should be lighter than a Camaro and make good power easily.
