TeamWidetrack 5pts All people in suits in the industry are the same. Because of it, they want the cars to be all the same. GM may not have a monopoly on horrible leadership and brand management but why make the people who stayed loyal to you pay for your mistakes?
Alex daOriginal 5pts why shift production? the Zeta is getting old... let Zeta die, the future is Alpha! the CTS is about the right size so why not use it's platform to create an SS replacement "Chevelle plz" a new Commadore and maybe a new Ute and Wagon! though I see Colorado/Ranger have done to the Ute what the S-10/Ranger did to the El Camino...
francyfimiani 5pts Hopefully they keep the Commodore/SS/Ute in production somewhere else, they look so awesome!!!
TJ World of Cars 5pts And this is why you don't trust GM to help you run your business, for they'll use you for profit, and then when you start losing money (through your fault or theirs), they'll drop you like a hot potato. Just ask Saab, Pontiac, Saturn, and others. If Holden had the capital, they should have found a way to split with GM, for there are still plenty of markets that want big RWD cars (the Middle East, China, etc.). And just like that, the GM graveyard of brands grows one name larger.
Dwayne Washington 5pts Would be great to have the Ute here, was suppose to be a reality til the big market fall and we lost Pontiac.
renoboy74 5pts who is to say that they couldn't shift production of the commodore, caprice and ute to north america, making them available for both left hand drive markets here and right hand drive markets such as australia , the UK and so on. ford screwed up by killing the falcon.. they should have modified the new mustang's platform which is already engineered for both markets and build the falcon/ute off that platform, again making it available to both markets.. making the falcon a specialty car like the SS.
-Dequindre- moderator 5pts It's a sad day for Australia. They've lost manufacturing for two of their most historic automotive brands (Holden and Ford Australia). However, this could potentially be a gain for North America. Ford and GM still invest heavily in Mexico, Canada, and especially the U.S.
pennrck22 5pts While this is hardly new news..def a sad day indeed now that its official..as stated in the article, Holden will continue production of the SS and CAPRICE police vehicle..i wonder about the cars NEXT GEN models???GM was rumored to be shifting production of these RWD vehicles to the US..heres to hoping the newly introduced SS isn't a one hit wonder like the poor GTO or G8..id like to think with the AWESOME underpinnings of the new CTS, GM wont limit that chassis to just Caddy..GM has the best RWD cars to date with the ATS and CTS, lets keep the momentum going!!RIP commodore, caprice and ute..man I wish the ute would have made it stateside!!
FordCosworth 5pts How about shutting down the ultimate money loser Opel.?13 straight years of losses is quite pathetic and unacceptable.
92Vectra1.6i 5pts @FordCosworth EVERY decent front drive GM car introduced in the past decade has Opel roots or is / was simply a rebadged Opel. The "new" GM wouldn't be viable without Opel design and engineering.
FordCosworth 5pts @92Vectra1.6i @FordCosworth I agree with your comment. But that does not justify holding onto the money loser. Opel has been a money-losing venture for more than the last decade — to the extent of $11 billion during the time period. Through countless cases of mismanagement, market share that has halved since 1999 and overall subpar governance, the unit has limped along — subsidized by its parent company.
jamie hayungs 5pts That's a shame....I feel for the Australian auto workers. But GM made a huge mistake in not bring the Holden line over here. Instead we get a warmed over GTO, and the sad SS, which I doubt will be sold more than 2 years. All we got was the mighty G8 GXP.......Such a waste of a great car manufacturer.
92Vectra1.6i 5pts @jamie hayungs The SS and G8 GXP are the same car under the skin with the SS (other than the SS being automatic only and having slightly revised suspension components) having a higher quality, better laid out interior combined with a less attractive exterior.
Oz65 5pts The closure in 2016 is the scheduled end of the current Commodore (SS) so it shouldn't affect supply to the US but will make the model an orphan with no obvious successor.The closure will mean the end of Australian RWD cars. Ford are keeping their R&D centre and proving ground at the You Yangs near Melbourne so it can develop models for Asian and South American markets such as Ranger. Unfortunately Holden is not keeping its excellent engineering skills based in Melbourne and its engineering centre and Lang Lang proving ground will close forever.It is a sad day down here but the volumes are too low to be competitive and the cost structures way too high. The behaviour of the unions has made it worse. The unions held out for ridiculous conditions and have ended up with their members out of a job.Ford and Holden (and Toyota) didn't help themselves responding too slowly to the market changes in Australia. SUVs are the fastest growing sector in Australia but there is only one SUV made here, the Territory. Likewise. despite the growth of diesels in the Australian market, there is only one model sold with a diesel engine, the Territory, and that engine is imported.
renoboy74 5pts @Oz65 sounds like they really screwed themselves over down there.. the UAW up here did a good job of keeping holden sourced products off american roads for a while, there was talk about the commodore coming stateside back in 1997 (we already had an Opel version sold here as the Cadillac Catera) to replace the then discontinued RWD Chevy Impala SS but UAW really screwed that up.. we got the monaro as the GTO and that lasted 3 years, then we got the G-8 in '09 and before we could really get used to it, GM killed pontiac off... now the commodore is making its presence here as the SS and its a great looking car , if GM is smart they will shift zeta development here instead of killing it off and bring the brains behind its development stateside.. the sad thing with ford and holden doing this, is its gonna ruin the V-8 supercar series the same way nascar was ruined when they QUIT using real cars on the circuit in the late 70s...
mopar_srt 5pts Wow! So much for the SS creating buzz for Chevy. But for Australia, this is akin to Ford ceasing production here in the States. Sorry to see them go.
