What's going to happen to Holden?

**Indiana_Jones** · 2nd June 2009, 12:06

All this GM stuff kinda sounds like a re run of Norton Villiers Triumph....

-Indy

**Mikkel** · 2nd June 2009, 12:16

Originally Posted by Indiana_Jones

All this GM stuff kinda sounds like a re run of Norton Villiers Triumph....

-Indy

I loved Clarksons comment on British Leyland:

"Never in the field of human endeavour has so much been done, so badly, by so many."

**Swoop** · 2nd June 2009, 12:24

Originally Posted by NZsarge

...which is more than I can most cars including the later model Falcons which are quite bad...

Well, fords are designed for the more "portly" sized motorist.

**NZsarge** · 2nd June 2009, 12:43

Originally Posted by Swoop

Well, fords are designed for the more "portly" sized motorist.

I had a BA XR6 Turbo which has to be said was a pretty nice car, went well, bit too soft in the suspension for my liking but for normal road driving it was fine really, brake were shite in more ways than one.. But getting in and out of it is what pissed me of the most on a day to day basis, the seat is way to high both ergonomically and in relation to the roofline access wise, had to bend myself up like a bendy thing to get in and out of it and once the seat was set for a reasonable leg reach the steering wheel was miles away. In a VE Commodore I can set the wheel and seat to an excellent driving position and then get in and out of the car easily. Tried the FG Falcon and that was maybe even worse than the BA for getting in and out but better for comfort and driving position but still not a patch on the Commodore.

**geestring** · 2nd June 2009, 13:00

Originally Posted by Conquiztador

Nah. They finally come to their senses. The V6 will be cut in half and fitted to two of the wheels. They call it Bushpig, Crock or Jackaroo and Mad Max will ride them in to the sunset!

yeh bring back mad max styles. lets start our own, why wait for everyone else to do it. after all they never make one car to do what we want to do in this country. MAD MAX IT.....

**geestring** · 2nd June 2009, 13:08

Originally Posted by NZsarge

I had a BA XR6 Turbo which has to be said was a pretty nice car, went well, bit too soft in the suspension for my liking but for normal road driving it was fine really, brake were shite in more ways than one.. But getting in and out of it is what pissed me of the most on a day to day basis, the seat is way to high both ergonomically and in relation to the roofline access wise, had to bend myself up like a bendy thing to get in and out of it and once the seat was set for a reasonable leg reach the steering wheel was miles away. In a VE Commodore I can set the wheel and seat to an excellent driving position and then get in and out of the car easily. Tried the FG Falcon and that was maybe even worse than the BA for getting in and out but better for comfort and driving position but still not a patch on the Commodore.

TOATLY AGREE. my work car was a XR8 manual 6 speed ute with all the extras. frankly yup piece of shit. sorry, except one thing was good for doing burnouts.

**NZsarge** · 2nd June 2009, 13:20

Originally Posted by geestring

TOATLY AGREE. my work car was a XR8 manual 6 speed ute with all the extras. frankly yup piece of shit. sorry, except one thing was good for doing burnouts.

I've heard some horror stories from both sides of the fence to be fair and my XR was'nt a crook car really but it was let down by some shitty design details and the thing the gets up my nose id they did'nt fix them in the new FG series. Neither of the Falcon/Holden are perfect by any stretch but for me at this point the Holden definitely gets the nod.
I reckon the Holden ute (particularly the blue SSV) is one of the nicest vehicles looks wise to come out of Ozzy yet..

**White trash** · 2nd June 2009, 13:56

To answer the question if no one else has, see here.

http://www.v8.co.nz/news/3900/genera...den-unaffected

Nothing is the answer.

**ManDownUnder** · 2nd June 2009, 14:14

Originally Posted by White trash

To answer the question if no one else has, see here.

http://www.v8.co.nz/news/3900/genera...den-unaffected

Nothing is the answer.

The most relevant poart fo that (for me) is

"The process being used in the US is unlike Australian and New Zealand law. It is a fast, court supervised process that permits the sale of selected assets to a new entity,” Mr Reuss said. “Unlike court-controlled processes in many other countries, US chapter 11 allows GM to deal with the financial issues that have built up over many years and for New GM to emerge as a healthier business, better able to deal with the challenges of today and tomorrow. “It does not mean ceasing to trade.” Pending approvals, the New GM is expected to launch in about 60 to 90 days as a separate and independent company from the current GM, with two distinct advantages: it will be built from only GM’s best brands and operations, and it will be supported by a stronger balance sheet due to a significantly lower debt burden and operating cost structure than before."

GM ain't dead... Chapter 11 is the court saying "bad debt ain't ever going to be repaid, and all things considered we think the best course of action is to write off debt that can not be serviced while paying back those we can, and trade our way out of it"

Of course if the NEW GM fails - that's a different story...

**Blackbird** · 2nd June 2009, 14:46

Originally Posted by Pixie

Everybody wins,then.

Aussie cars are crap anyway

I haven't got any axe to grind not having owned an Aussie-assembled car but my neighbour has just bought a Clubsport 5.7 and let me take it out for a strop. Leaving the engine power out of the equation, I was seriously impressed with how quiet it is, how well it handled and the attention to detail. Certainly on par with other makes. For me, the brakes were the feature which impressed me most. Unbelievably powerful but with no drama at all.

It would be a shame if Holden did become a casualty because they do make a good product, at least with the Clubsport.

**davereid** · 2nd June 2009, 15:36

Sadly its mostly spin.

While its entirely true that GM US won't (and can't) close the doors at Fishermens Bend, they wont be ordering too much stock there either.

The VE commodore is a very very good car, there is no doubt that it is as good a vehicle as GM have ever made, anywhere.

But it is not selling - through no fault of its own, fewer people are buying cars, and the 6 cyl segmant of the market is declining.

This would be less of a problem if Holden could export cars and engines, but as I commented before, the door is already closing.

One of the brands GM US are dumping is Pontiac, which had a lot of Aussie input.

The Holden Cruze is a Daewoo, destined for aussie assembly. With generous government assistance, it will be possible for lots of aussie parts to go in, so the aussie manufacturing may survive.

Holden WILL survive. But only an amazing optimist would say its going to be buisness as usual for either GM or Ford.