Zeta News 2.0: New VF Commodore and Chevrolet SS

[05XR8]

Lack of big car sales down here.

 

[CSMDuty11]

Shoulda imported it to Europe then! It woulda boosted sales!

 

[Grandea GTR]

Lack of big car sales down here.

Ah, that's what I thought. Are compacts taking over that market over at Oz?

Shoulda imported it to Europe then! It woulda boosted sales!

They did, as the Vauxhall VXR8.

 

[CSMDuty11]

They did, as the Vauxhall VXR8.

Most of Europe.

 

[ClydeYellow]

I have to ask, what caused Holden's plug to be pulled by GM?

Because GM must yet again implement solutions that won't make their customers happy, nor raise their profits.

 

[05XR8]

Ah, that's what I thought. Are compacts taking over that market over at Oz?.

Corolla, Mazda 3 are the top sellers. The Hyundai i35X mini SUV is a big seller and the CX-3 actually sold more in its first month than the i35X in the last 4 months.

 

[05XR8]

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.nsf/story2/BA72FD16E78AF05CCA257E3F0018B37D

Holden is also making standard the 20-inch rims that were a $1000 upcharge on the Opel.

The VXR ships with a long standard equipment list that includes heated Recaro leather-appointed front seats, front and rear park assist, reversing camera, rain-sensing wipers, auto headlights, dual-zone climate control, satellite navigation and adaptive forward lighting with bi-Xenon headlamps and LED daytime running lamps.

It’s also equipped with in-cabin adjustable dampers, with a centre console switch firming up the ride, while also sharpening throttle and shift maps.

A new digital cluster with 8.0-inch display complements Holden’s latest MyLink touchscreen infotainment system.

GM Holden executive director of sales Peter Keley talked up the exciting performance of the Insignia VXR.

“Performance and great to drive have always been part of Holden’s DNA,” he said. “Add to this a German designed and engineered AWD performance sedan, loaded with equipment, and you have one very exciting vehicle.”

The Insignia has no real logical competitors in its space. Subaru’s WRX STi comes closest in terms of price ($54,990) and philosophy (turbocharged AWD four-door), while the next similarly sized AWD turbocharged rival is Audi’s S4 at $105,000 plus on-road costs).

While Holden is yet to confirm its plan for a Commodore replacement, the next-generation Insignia – which will be based on GM's E2XX platform – is firming as a contender to carry the Commodore badge beyond the closure of Holden's local operations in late 2017.

 

[Grandea GTR]

Sadly, it won't be the same.
I couldn't see a Commodore replacement being FWD-Based AWD or FWD in that matter.

RWD-Based AWD or flat out RWD would've been fine in my book when it comes to the successor of the Commodore.

I would've preferred it to be RWD only, though.

 

[05XR8]

I remember when Porsche said they were making the Carrera4. Even though the 959 paved the way, I felt it was wrong to make 911 AWD. I felt the same about the 1980s Buick Regal. How can that Muscle car have a V6 turbo when it should have a big rumbly V8 like the cars my Dad owned?

Times are changing as we see. Iconic cars that were once RWD(Impala, Malibu, Monte Carlo, Cutlass, Cadillac Eldorado) were made FWD. We'll see how this plays out.

 

[Grandea GTR]

I remember when Porsche said they were making the Carrera4. Even though the 959 paved the way, I felt it was wrong to make 911 AWD. I felt the same about the 1980s Buick Regal. How can that Muscle car have a V6 turbo when it should have a big rumbly V8 like the cars my Dad owned?

Times are changing as we see. Iconic cars that were once RWD(Impala, Malibu, Monte Carlo, Cutlass, Cadillac Eldorado) were made FWD. We'll see how this plays out.

But the thing about the Buick Regal having a turbo V6 became a good thing when it came to the Grand National, and the GNX. That's why I wouldn't mind them applying Cadillac's Twin Turbo V6 instead of the massive V8.

Whenever it comes to engines, GM can do performance right. Everything else in most cases I don't even think they know what they're doing.

 

[05XR8]

The Insignia should do well. It'll keep people in Holden's corner. It's just got to be a bit reliable.

 

[Tornado]

GM Holden executive director of sales Peter Keley talked up the exciting performance of the Insignia VXR.

“Performance and great to drive have always been part of Holden’s DNA,” he said. “Add to this a German designed and engineered AWD performance sedan, loaded with equipment, and you have one very exciting vehicle.”

You always have to feel sorry for people in this situation when they have to be fed lines like that.

 

[Grandea GTR]

The Insignia should do well. It'll keep people in Holden's corner. It's just got to be a bit reliable.

I think it'll need more than just being reliable to satisfy some customers.

 

[05XR8]

Some customers only care about sat nav and Bluetooth. If it's got that, they're buying.

 

[05XR8]

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.nsf/story2/6E16F3AC4CBCA736CA257E51001AFFDA

The Monza application was lodged in Australia by Melbourne-based trademark attorneys Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick on behalf of Opel Special Vehicles GmbH of Germany in April last year, about six months after the Monza concept was revealed at Frankfurt.

According to the document, acceptance is due in December this year.

If it eventuates, an Opel-developed Audi A5-style halo model would be a spiritual successor to the Senator-based two-door liftback Opel Monza sold in Europe between 1978 and 1986.

While that old model was rear-wheel drive, the new one would be based on GM’s new E2XX front-/all-wheel-drive large-car architecture to be shared with the imported next-generation Commodore and its Opel and Buick siblings.

These models would also share a common design language and technology drawn from the plug-in hybrid Opel Monza concept car shown at the 2013 Frankfurt motor show.

Up to four related vehicles are expected to make up this large-car range, kicking off with the sedan and station wagon. An SUV has also been confirmed by Opel, and – if our Monza speculation is correct – a coupe will follow.

And if there is a coupe, a cabriolet might also be on the cards. All these vehicles could be expected to go on sale in Australia as Holden switches to en masse Opel sourcing, bring at least a third of its line-up from Europe.

While Holden’s next large car will be imported, the company has already confirmed it plans to carry over the Commodore name when the locally produced rear-drive large sedan is replaced towards the end of 2017.

This means the Monza name is likely to apply to something else, probably a two-door sports machine

 

[VXR]

First I've heard of Opel making a car above the Insignia. I thought those days were long gone.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Because GM must yet again implement solutions that won't make their customers happy, nor raise their profits.

...It is a good solution when many areas like Australia are now looking toward smaller sized cars, the car crowd that would have gone out to buy such expensive big cars no longer does because gas is expensive and what not. The solution is simple cut out instead of building and manufacturing where there is no return. The reason we see this in the U.S. now is because there is an actual market (quite large) that can buy such cars. It may not make people happy, but at the end of the day it's only making a small group unhappy and as a business I'm sure they weighed the loss and gains of doing such a thing.

 

[YSSMAN]

First I've heard of Opel making a car above the Insignia. I thought those days were long gone.

It makes relative sense, although, the likelihood of that large car coming to Europe would seem a bit small, right?

But, a large number of spinoffs on the E2XX (Epsilon II) makes a ton of sense, and I'm actually surprised its taking them this long to crank it out. The CUV is long overdue, and a personal luxury coupe would be a great idea, even if it'll probably be a four-door.

 

[dsgerbc]

So, I bought one. Am I crazy or what?

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

-> I've driven a black '15 with the Magnetic Ride but with A/T.

-> I f:censored:n LOVED IT!!! The SS has the right luxury and sport that I need, plus roomy to boot! The power is so linear, the driving position is comfy, and I'm unable to pin-point any short-comings. The initial feel reminds me of driving another 'analog' sedan, the E39 M5.

-> It makes me want the car sooo much! So much in fact that my desire of having an S2000 again has been pushed back.

-> The SS would make my Yin to my E46's Yang!

 

[05XR8]

AS the clock winds down on the Australia-made rear-wheel-drive V8 sedan, Holden’ s performance car offshoot, Holden Special Vehicles (HSV), is marking the service of its longest-running model, the ClubSport, with a run of limited edition cars.

The company will produce 108 25th Anniversary ClubSport R8 specials –100 for Australia and eight for New Zealand – to mark the venerable model’s quarter of a century on the HSV roster.

For the same $73,299 list price as the standard ClubSport R8, the special edition offers 20-inch SV Rapier wheels – as fitted to the SV Senator, but finished in black – along with a new spoiler and black accents.

The quad exhaust tips are finished in dark chrome, while commemorative 25th Anniversary badging adorns the boot, door sills and centre console.

Inside, the limited-edition Clubby scores black leather trim, a tweaked centre screen and the multi-mode Driver Preference Dial that changes the exhaust note on the dual-mode exhaust system, as well as tweaking the throttle and transmission maps.

The ClubSport moniker was first affixed to a VN-sourced HSV in 1990. Created to lower the entry point into the Holden Special Vehicles brand, the ClubSport was powered by a Chevrolet-sourced 5.0-litre V8 making 180kW and 400Nm. It sold for $33,130 in 1990, which, allowing for inflation, equates, to $57,800 today.

HSV marketing and planning general manager Damon Paull told GoAuto that the ClubSport, along with the GTS, had been the mainstay of the range.

“We’ve built and sold just in excess of 30,000 ClubSports over the journey, which is a fair mark. So I think you have to pay homage to the role it’s played within our range. ”

On average, HSV sells 3000 vehicles a year, according to Mr Paull. He also noted that sales of the Gen F range haven’t fluctuated in either direction, despite the looming end-of-production deadline.

“We haven’t seen any shift in momentum,” he said. “Since the launch of the Gen F range, our momentum has been pretty much unchanged.”

Mr Paull would not be drawn on press reports that the ClubSport is in line to score a detuned version of the GTS’s supercharged V8 powerplant by year’s end.

“We don’t comment on speculation or on any future production plans,” he said. “We try and stay in the present. That’s consistent with the approach HSV has taken for a long time.”

At $73,290, recommended retail pricing for the limited-edition 25th Anniversary ClubSport R8 remains unchanged from that of the ClubSport R8.

It will be offered in four exterior colours: Heron (white), Phantom (black), Sting (red) and Nitrate (blue). Production starts late in July.

 

[huehue]

First Clubby powered by a Chev sourced 5.0? Not at all.

 

[catamount39]

Man I wish we had these in America.

 

[05XR8]

Man I wish we had these in America.

The USA just might. Look at the G8 nose. Holden fitted those to Commodores as they had them laying around. Maybe the USA get a special HSV front clip at end of production.

 

[Grandea GTR]

The USA just might. Look at the G8 nose. Holden fitted those to Commodores as they had them laying around. Maybe the USA get a special HSV front clip at end of production.

Or maybe we get something called the SS... SS.

 

[05XR8]

I dont know why Chevy named it SS. Should have made a name change to the Impala and badge the fwd Impala into the Caprice.

 

[Grandea GTR]

I dont know why Chevy named it SS. Should have made a name change to the Impala and badge the fwd Impala into the Caprice.

Or maybe just Commodore.

 

[05XR8]

Or maybe just Commodore.

Too logical.

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

-> I almost test drove a white no-moonroof M/T SS today, but it was sold and missed it by 4 days.

-> As far as what I'm hearing, the '15 SS has been flying off the shelves here in Vegas! But most buyers were from out of state!!!

-> GM has to step up to keep up demand a bit, just a bit. And I would be very happy if GM would squeeze an LT1 (even if it was detuned) on its engine bay as the last hurrah, unless GM changes its mind to extend the VF platform exclusively for overseas consumption after 2016. Fingers crossed on that one!

 

[Paulie]

I like the rear spoiler, much better than regular models.👍