2007 Holden Combo Reviews

The final-ever car to be designed, engineered and built in Australia was released 20 years ago this week, on July 16, 2006 – just three days after production commenced in Elizabeth, South Australia.A perfect excuse to see the Holden VE Commodore with a fresh perspective.Not as an infamous failure with timing chain issues, an eternal engine light on and broken heater controls, but as one of the world’s last affordable family cars with a body builder presence, great chassis, loping performance and rock-solid safety.Find a good one today and the VE’s muscular, dynamic strength can still disarm. In a world of same-same SUVs, don’t you miss hunky world-class Australian cars made for our environment?Understanding why the final Commodore was what it became may make some people reassess this model’s incredibly complicated story, because one day, future generations will be clambering for a slice of bygone automotive history.Here are 10 reasons why Australia’s last car deserves more respect. The VE revival starts right here.The 1948 formula on repeatEvery Holden family sedan from 1948’s first 48-215 to the final VF II of 2017 followed the same template. To a tee. A large three-box four-door rear-wheel-drive family car with at least five seats and six cylinders.At the start, the formula was an obscene money-spinner. General Motors-Holden’s (GMH) became so profitable with 50 per cent market share within its first decade that people actually called for the government to rein it in.That didn’t last. Rivals led by Ford’s thematically identical Falcon swooped in, the market fragmented as the population diversified driven by Japanese cars, then fuel prices soared, GMH went bankrupt (but was bailed out by Detroit in 1987) and Holden had to be content with half its late 1950s market share (or less).The writing should have been on the wall by the late 1990s, as a new kind of family car, defined by the pioneering Toyota RAV4, steamrolled across the globe.The VT Commodore illusionIsn’t it funny that, in 2026, while the VT Commodore is admired, the AU Falcon that embarrassingly flopped against it is what’s revered as the era’s ultimate Australian family car.This Commodore’s phenomenal sales emphatically put Holden on top again after years of to-ing and fro-ing with the EF and EL Falcon series.It was such as success not because of any enduring loyalty to the brand, but because people hated the then-new AU’s styling. And, at the time, Holden was GM’s most profitable division on the planet – the darling of Detroit.These are important distinctions to make in understanding Holden’s desire to go all-in with the next-gen model, because by 1999, following a bumper volume year that saw a record-breaking 94,642 Commodore registrations, GM thought sedans would prevail against SUV imports.Project 2686, that became the VE, was headed by engineering veteran, Tony Hyde, and was Holden’s biggest investment in an Australian vehicle since the 1971 HQ (one of Hyde’s earlier jobs), and the first all-new, non-German Opel-based big Holden since then too.In 2001, that 1948 formula was yet-again set in stone more-or-less, while the fail-proof Commodore was still riding high on top of the pops.“VE Commodore is the car we always wanted to build,” Hyde said.But even back then, SUVs were already decimating sedan demand across the world, including here. Clearly, Holden didn’t want to believe it – and there was still five years of VE development that lay ahead. The 2005 oil crisisJust as today’s soaring fuel prices have kicked the door wide open for electric vehicles, the world’s third biggest oil crisis after 1973 and 1979 then went on to pull the rug from under the VZ Commodore, BF Falcon and its Territory SUV offshoot.None really ever recovered. By the eve of the VE launch on July 16, 2006, tensions must have been unbearable down at Holden’s Fishermans Bend headquarters.  The gala launch eventAfter five years of anticipation, on an overcast Sunday morning, a VE SS V and its WM Caprice long-wheelbase luxury sedan sibling stormed a Melbourne stage before the media, to the incongruous tune of UK indie band Republica’s Ready to Go – a 10-year-old hit by then.This was meant to signal the 14 model Commodore’s retention as the number-one selling model in Australia, following strong competition from the surging Mazda 3 and Toyota Corolla small cars. One. Billion. Dollars!The VE was proudly proclaimed Holden’s “Billion Dollar Baby” (totalling nearly $A1.7 billion today), which is a colossal amount in anybody’s language for what were two similar large rear-drive sedans in a sub-million-annual-unit market that would barely take in 100,000 vehicles annually.No, the fourth-generation Commodore wasn’t just for Australian mums and dads this time.But what was meant to be Holden’s victorious return to prominence was instead undermined by the media’s insistent questioning surrounding the VE’s higher-than-expected fuel consumption compared to the much-lighter VZ it replaced.That became the main focus of the headlines that followed. And it’s all people talked about, souring the new Holden for many consumers seeking something more economical.VE product fun factsOver 1000 engineers and technicians worked on Project VE over a five-year period leading up to its launch.The VE sedan’s final design by Peter Hughes was frozen by mid 2002, and evolved from a basic sketch by styling boss Mike Simcoe in 1998.VE sedan was 18mm longer, 57mm wider and 20mm taller than the VZ equivalent.Over the VZ, the VE sedan’s wheelbase increased by 126mm, to 2915mm.The VE ute’s longer 3009mm wheelbase was shared with the WM Statesman/Caprice models.Holden estimated that the VE was tested over 3.42 million kilometres, with the electricals undergoing over 41,000 hours of testing. Surely that Alloytec V6 engine light would have driven them nuts by then!The VE’s body-in-white was by far the stiffest and strongest Holden ever built. Still on safety, the Commodore was the first to standardise electronic stability control (ESC) across the range.Technically, the VE was a front mid-engine sedan, with the engine mounted behind the front axle and steering mounted forward of the front axle centre line. Pushing the front wheels to the leading extremities helped achieve this.Suspension is independent multi-link all-round.Holden secured Ford BA Falcon/SX Territory colour and trim (and more) designer Sharon Gauci’s services for the VE; she retired earlier this year after 22 years with GM, lately as Executive Director of Global Design for Buick and GMC.In VE Series 1 cars, Australians could buy engines mated to four-speed, five-speed or six-speed automatic transmissions.The VE’s aggressively flared wheel arches were not aerodynamically inefficient as many are led to believe, though they were toned down for the VF.The Zeta platform project was officially sanctioned on April 12, 2002; GM had wanted Holden to switch to a far-more complex Cadillac architecture known as Sigma for VE, but it was too expensive and narrow in key packaging areas.The dashboard’s symmetry was deliberate to aid left-hand-drive productionAt launch engine choices were a Holden-built 3.6-litre HFV6 V6 in either 180kW/330Nm LE0 or 195kW/340Nm LY7 guises, while a Corvette-derived L98 6.0-litre Gen-IV V8 delivered 270kW/530Nm.Front and rear track increased 33mm up front and 41mm in the rear.Weight distribution was close to 50/50.Around 1500 Holden SSs received the Pontiac G8’s nose cone to clear stock as a result of the latter brand’s dissolution in 2009. An entire family of VE SUVs, coupes, crossoversOf course, a VE utility (out in 2007) and wagon (from 2008) followed, but these would only account for part of that billion-dollar VE outlay.We didn’t learn until years later that Project VE was initially conceived in the early 2000s with far, far grander scope and scale.It took in an SUV (Holden’s Territory no less, badged Nullarbor), another Adventra crossover wagon, a VE Monaro (eventually revealed by the Coupe 60 concept of 2008), a Crewman dual-cab ute and even a mid-sized sports sedan called TT36 Torana, to take on the BMW 3 Series. Car enthusiast Bob Lutz headed GM’s global product strategy and he championed Holden’s engineering knowhow. GM’s head of global large carsThese vehicles would variously also serve GM’s international brands across North America, South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.Using the VE’s Zeta rear-drive architecture, the so-called VE Flex Enablers strategy would see these and other Commodore spinoffs sold as Chevrolets, Pontiacs, Buicks, Opels, Vauxhalls, Saabs and Daewoos, and possibly even as Fiats, Lancias and Alfa Romeos had GM’s investment in the Italian conglomerate not sour spectacularly.It’s difficult to pinpoint precisely when the VE Flex Enabler strategy untangled, but it adversely affected Holden profoundly, as each individual project was cancelled.After the boom years of the early 2000s, GM was haemorrhaging money by mid-decade, forcing further cuts to VE, and the looming global financial crisis just made things worse.It was a perfect storm for the Commodore to be born into.Holden VE-based 2010 CamaroA survivor was the reborn Chevrolet Camaro, that was designed in the United States but engineered in Melbourne using the Zeta platform. For years before its 2009 production debut, prototypes made regular appearances on Australian roads.It is likely that the Monaro 60 Concept died so the Camaro could live. Pontiac G8The VE export program was also dramatically diminished.While there were Commodore SS-based Pontiac G8 and G8 ST ute versions announced for America, only the sedan made it across the Pacific, before GM’s May, 2009 bankruptcy and subsequent closure of the famous brand also killed that project too.VE Sportwagon’s Alfa connectionAs an interesting side note, the VE-based Nullarbor SUV and Adventra crossover wagon gave licence to create the VE Sportwagon as a ‘shooting brake’ model, instead of a boxy carryall.The handiwork of senior designer, Tony Stolfo, it was the first big Holden wagon since the demise of the HG in 1971 that shared the sedan’s shorter wheelbase.Holden design chief, Richard Ferlazzo, pointed to the tailgate opening that ate into the rear roof portion as a direct rip-off from the Alfa 156 wagon.Finally, no VE sedan ever came with a split/fold rear seat, even though the Falcon had done so since the release of the EA in 1988. The official story at the time was that the solid bulkhead that remained in place enhanced the Commodore’s handling and refinement, giving it a decisive dynamic edge.However, a senior Holden exec later admitted that the decision was made to lure people wanting extended-cargo versatility into the Sportwagon instead, since that was an untested concept.AftermathA raft of updates occurred in August 2009, headed by the introduction of a smaller-capacity, 3.0-litre V6 engine prioritising fuel economy, as well as upgraded 3.6-litre V6 units and improved transmissions.In 2010, the VE Series II brought styling, engineering and interior changes as well.Over 520,000 VEs were built between July 13, 2006 and May 17, 2013, representing the longest-ever single-model run of any Holden model, as well as the most produced.More than 350,000 were sold in Australia during that time, with the series holding on to the top-selling spot up until 2010.Happy 20 birthday, Holden VE.

We are living in an unprecedented era of automotive innovation and change that is constantly reshaping what and how we drive.For that we should be grateful, since the ongoing electrification of everyday cars, SUVs and utes means we have cleaner air, quieter streets, safer vehicles that are cheaper to run and less reliance on petrol stations.But in Australia, we’ve also lost as well as gained due to this relentless march of progress.For proof, look at any new-car guide from 10 years ago. What’s gone is shocking.Here are seven reasons why motoring in 2016 was better than it is today.In 2016, Australians could buy a handful of new small cars costing under $20,000 when converted to today’s money.Sure, we’d steer clear of the Mitsubishi Mirage from $11,990 and Holden Barina Spark from $12,890, but the Suzuki Celerio from $12,990, Nissan Micra from $13,490 and Honda Jazz VTi, Hyundai Accent Active, Mazda 2 Neo and Toyota Yaris Ascent from $14,990 apiece back then all offered comfortable, capable and reliable transport for not much money.But the only new car under $20,000 in 2026 is the Kia Picanto Sport manual from $19,190 (all prices are before on-road costs unless otherwise stated), though the MG 3 Vibe from $21,990 drive-away is actually marginally cheaper in some states after taxes.Plus, all the old entry-level small cars have vanished from Australia except for the Mazda2 (which is essentially exactly the same car) and Yaris (one generation newer), coming in at a rude $27,290 and $29,190 respectively today.It’s worth noting that a number of light SUVs do cost less than the cheapest back in 2016 (Mazda CX-3 Neo manual from $19,990, or nearly $28K today), including the Chery Tiggo 4, MG ZS, Hyundai Venue, Mahindra XUV 3XO, GAC Emzoom, Jaecoo J5 and Haval Jolion, but still cost more than the aforementioned small cars did a decade ago.At the start of 2016, there were 36 small cars of Toyota Corolla size available in Australia; that number has halved today. And they’re hanging around a lot longer than before.Toyota recently announced that it was extending the lifespan of most models from seven to nine years.We’d already noticed. The current Corolla launched in 2018 and is still going. The previous one was done in six years, while four years was common before that.Meanwhile, the Mazda 2, CX-3 and Mazda 3 arrived in 2014, 2015 and 2019 respectively and are still on-going. The Hyundai i30 hatch surfaced in 2017. As did the existing Volkswagen Polo. And even today’s VW Golf 8.5 is a reskin of the 2012 Mk7.What’s happened? Buyers have abandoned passenger cars for SUVs, so carmakers have been forced to keep their models in production longer for a better return on investment. Or, as in Ford’s case with the Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo, they drop them altogether, relying on utes and SUVs instead.In 2016, buyers could purchase a new large, rear-wheel-drive family car designed, developed and built in Australia, like the Ford Falcon or Holden Commodore from under $50,000 in today’s money, or the slightly-smaller, front-drive Toyota Camry-based Aurion as a locally-made alternative.Along with the Skoda Superb that is the only one left standing in 2026, all were defined by their size, space and power.Too large for you? There were another 16 mid-sized sedans that offered almost as much, for a little less. Camry, Honda Accord and Hyundai Sonata are the only names that are hanging on today.Chrysler, meanwhile, imported the 300 series, while in the upper-large segment, the Holden Caprice faced the Hyundai Genesis and, from the following year, the woefully underrated Kia Stinger. Such sedans are now history.Likewise, consumers can no-longer buy a monocoque-bodied workhorse/weekend-plaything ute as defined by the Holden and Ford Falcon utes, though the KGM Musso EV is the start of something new.And there’s more. Where have all the coupes gone since 2016? There were nearly 30 under $100,000. Why are there only four convertibles left under $100K? And from a dozen people movers under $60,000, that number has also plummeted to four, losing icons like Tarago, Odyssey and Stavic along the way.All have been replaced by dozens of EVs in hatchback, liftback/sedan or SUVs of differing sizes, with sleek, homogenised silhouettes, screen-heavy dashboards featuring minimised buttons, silent electric powertrains and every shade of white through black, or silvery blues, greens and browns.Just remember: 20 years ago, your Commodore could be had as a sedan, wagon, Monaro coupe, Adventra crossover wagon, ute, cab-chassis, Crewman dual-cab ute and long-wheelbase Statesman or Caprice, in regular or HSV performance upgrade guises, some with all-wheel drive and all with V8 options to the standard V6, with the latter also offering a liquid petroleum gas alternative. Today Holden is history.Besides the locally-designed and developed Falcon and Commodore, we also had the Falcon-derived Ford Territory to call Australia’s Own (and only-ever) SUV.These vehicles, along with the T6 ute-based Ford Ranger, Ford Everest and Mazda BT-50 made in Thailand and elsewhere, were created and engineered across this country, and were thus better-suited to our environment than their imported alternatives.And many supported Australian suppliers as a result. Most of all that has now since also gone.This one’s heartbreaking for car enthusiasts – or those who want to feel more connected with their vehicle.In 2016, we counted over 170 different makes and models available with a manual gearbox. Today that number is down to around 30 and falling.Both tallies include everything from Morgans to Mahindra Pik-Ups.Earlier we said the least expensive Toyota today – the Yaris – started from nearly twice as much as the 2016 Ascent manual’s $14,990. At least it’s a much better model than back then. And hybrid to boot.But that’s nothing compared to how much the least-expensive new Ford costs today.The 2016 Fiesta Ambiente kicked off from $15,825 (about $21,300 in 2026), while its cheapest passenger vehicle equivalent today is the Everest Active 4WD SUV from $58,990.And if it’s a non-commercial vehicle-based Blue Oval product you desire, that would be the Mustang Mach-E Select from $65,990.The proliferation of touchscreens, with their distracting sub-menus and absorption of buttons that would previously have controlled the climate system, drive modes, side mirrors or even the glove box, has been so widespread – and we have Tesla to thank for starting this craze – that independent safety organisations like EuroNCAP now penalise new vehicles it tests that do not offer clear and unimpeded access to important functions.You wouldn’t read a book whilst driving along a highway. Staring at a screen instead of the road is much the same thing.The 2026 Toyota RAV4, meanwhile, scores highly for its user interface but then drops the ball with an infuriating trigger-happy and never-ending driver-distraction warning. No thanks.Countless other new vehicles suffer from advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) interference technologies. Designed to help, they also serve to harass and annoy the driver, leading to greater fatigue and further risk of distraction.Stupid electronic door handles that just do not work intuitively are another sore point, as is the deletion of a spare wheel because the electrification technology takes precedence over personal security when stranded with a blowout far away from home.Thoughtless excuses to help carmakers save money, this is not progress but the devolution of the car we never saw coming back in 2016.

CarsGuide’s mission is to provide in-market car buyers with the independent information they need to make an informed purchase decision.Keeping enthusiasts up to date with the latest new model and industry news is also a key focus, as is providing advice across everything from technical and mechanical issues to legal questions and maintenance tips.  And after providing all that info, we have cars listed for sale on the site. Getting up towards 100,000 of them, each appearing on carsguide.com.au, as well as Gumtree and Autotrader.Every conceivable configuration across a million different brands. New vehicles as well as used cars, the latter category often including ‘pre-loved’ classics.And if you’ve ever thought about getting into the collector car hobby there’s a smorgasbord of interesting options in there.You can go all out and spend eye-watering sums on a special vehicle but there’s plenty of fun to be had on a relatively modest budget.Here are our top five classic collector car options currently available across our three-site portfolio for less than $50K.The original owner of this imposing sedan strolled into H.R. Owen’s South Kensington dealership in West London and drove away in a 6.75-litre V8-powered gentleman’s club on wheels. Lustrous Brooklands Green finish, tan Connolly hide and “flawless” burr walnut veneer trim. Maybe best not to think about maintenance and potential repair costs.More infoAt just over 5.2 metres long Ford’s fourth-gen Thunderbird is a big beastie, but the standard 6.4-litre (390ci) V8 keeps it flying at a decent clip. This left-hand drive US import arrived here in 2020 and its Tropical Turquoise finish with two-tone green trim makes for a sure-fire stand-out. Those vast tail-lights are peak 1960s US automotive styling decoration.More infoAs its name implies this BF Falcon-based MK II Boss 290 GT is powered by a quad-cam, naturally aspirated 5.4-litre V8 producing 290kW/520Nm. Number 244 of close to 1800 BF GTs produced, it features the ZF six-speed auto transmission rather than the Tremec T56 manual gearbox. A lot of modern muscle car for the money.   More infoThe V2 Series 3 Monaro is propelled by the 5.7-litre Gen III LS1 V8 originally delivering 245kW/465Nm to the rear wheels, in this case via the four-speed auto option. The black (full) leather trim looks to be in good shape with the car in standard condition (which isn’t always the case) including the stock 18-inch five-spoke alloy rims. More infoNeed a bit of V12-powered Japanese limousine luxury in your life? How about an impeccable Toyota Century for less than $40K? This second-gen (GZG50) example is fit to ferry an Emperor with rear seat heating, recline and massage functions as well as soft-close doors and hectares of ultra-soft leather trim. So much indulgent bang for the buck!More info

Fifty years ago, on July 1, 1976, the worst new Holden up to that point was released, the HX series. And everything changed.Not coincidentally, it was also the date that all new internal combustion engine vehicles except those under 850cc in capacity or with liquid petroleum gas had to comply with stricter emissions standards known as Australian Design Rule 27A (ADR27A).This law proved to be a nightmare for parent company General Motors-Holden’s (GMH) Ltd.With fuel consumption up, power down and prices jumping to cover the extra technology necessary to meet the new regulations over the preceding HJ series, Holden’s engineers struggled to make its 1960s-era engines cope with the required updates in what was the country’s best-selling car line since the early 1950s.Critics and road testers alike savaged the HX as a result, accusing Holden of being cynical and out of touch, though it managed to hang on to the top spot for 1976.“Perhaps we would be better off with dirty engines and improved driveability,” quipped Wheels magazine editor Peter Robinson.Unfortunately for GMH, three unexpected things also happened right around that time that led to fundamental shifts in consumer tastes.Firstly, Japan was ready to launch its next phase of world-beating passenger cars that could easily meet ADR27A, headed by the original Honda Accord that almost single-handedly elevated that country’s entire industry overnight.Others followed in its footsteps, including the Mazda 323 and Datsun Skyline.Yet it was the shock success of the Chrysler Sigma, supplied by Mitsubishi, that became GMH's second big setback, shooting up the charts to a podium finish soon after its 1977 launch, and stayed there for half a decade.The Sigma lured many former and would-be Holden owners away in droves, particularly from the brand's waning Torana and Sunbird models it competed directly against, and even cannibalised Chrysler’s own Valiant in the process. Sigma was an automotive phenomenon that led directly to the iconic Australian-developed Magna later on.And last but not least, arch-rival Ford, which had been nipping at the Holden’s heels with the Falcon since the XB Falcon snatched number one for just one month in late 1973, had pulled out all stops in making the succeeding XC series demonstrably superior. GMH certainly wasn't expecting that.While the change from HJ to HX was little more than a fussier grille, revised instrumentation and several other, mostly minor, alterations, Ford expensively reengineered its engines to make them better than before, not worse. And it also redesigned the Falcon's nose, tail, back doors and dashboard, for a far-fresher look and feel.Plus, the XC launched the Fairmont GXL sports/luxury flagship. In the spirit of the legendary Falcon GTs, contemporary reviewers declared it as one of the greatest Australian-made family cars to date.In stark contrast to the basting the HX endured, XC sales flourished, with the Falcon becoming Australia’s best-selling car in 1977, period – an achievement it managed again from 1981 through to 1989, signalling the start of Ford Australia’s halcyon days.Half a century after the HX’s painful birth, perspective shows us a company grappling to deal fast enough with rapid change – something that Holden would pay the ultimate price for by 2020.Yet, to GMH’s credit, the more-comprehensively changed HZ series that followed in October, 1977, addressed most of the HX’s issues, whilst leap-frogging the Falcon in both sales as well as a driver’s car, thanks to chassis tweaks marketed to great effect using a tagline borrowed from Pontiac in the US called Radial Tuned Suspension.A stunning turnaround, it restored the Holden to the top spot for 1978, in time for the smaller, Opel-based VB Commodore to turn the market on its ear leading into the 1980s.A brief hiccup then largely due to ADR27A, a total of 110,669 HXs were built. And though the series has long lived in the shadow of the massively popular HQ/HJ models before it and the beloved HZ afterwards, 50 years later, its appeal is palpable. Who wouldn't have one?As a colourful piece of Australian motoring history, recognition is deserved. If nothing else, the garish Monaro LE two-door coupe runout edition remains one of the most 1970s things ever to happen in local motoring folklore!And it was the first Holden that actively attempted to minimise its emissions impact. That’s got to be worth celebrating. Happy 50 birthday, Holden HX!

Australia’s Prime Minister has backed the return of Australian car manufacturing.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said there’s “no reason why we can’t make [electric] vehicles”, according to the Herald Sun.“At the very least, we can make parts and components, including batteries here,” he said.“Indeed there are companies looking at doing just that.”Ford, Holden and Toyota all ceased building cars in Australia in the last decade, with the then Liberal government axing generous government subsides that helped keep the factories open.Mr Albanese bemoaned the loss of great Aussie brands, including Holden.“And it’s a pity we don’t have Holden cars anymore,” he said.There are still remnants of Australia’s car industry still working.Walkinshaw, which used to make fast Holdens, is bigger than ever despite Holden’s closure.The company now remanufactures large US pick-up trucks, including the Ram 1500, Toyota Tundra and Chevrolet Silverado, in south-east Melbourne.The remanufacturing process is a complicated procedure to convert the vehicle from left- to right-hand drive.Walkinshaw opened a new 100,000 square-metre facility last year that it said at the time will house up to 1500 employees and can manufacture more than 20,000 vehicles.“It’s one of the top-five largest manufacturing facilities in all of Australia, home to the most advanced engineering centre in the country, six-plus production lines and our Supercars championship racing team Walkinshaw Andretti United," said Ryan Walkinshaw, boss of the Walkinshaw Group.Nissan still has a casting plant in Victoria, which has been operating for 44 years.The South Dandenong plant produces 1.2 million die-case aluminium parts and towbars annually for local and export markets.It also makes components for the company’s e-Power hybrid vehicles and its electric vehicles.Nissan Oceania Managing Director Steve Milette said: “Innovation doesn’t just happen overseas — the Nissan Casting Australia Plant demonstrates the depth of manufacturing expertise, skill and capability we have right here in Australia.”It is unlikely Australia will ever be a major manufacturer of vehicles again, as labour costs, vast distances needed to transport vehicles and the high cost of importing necessary supplies would currently make it unviable.

The car landscape has dramatically changed in the past 10 years, with new brands entering the fray and dynamic market conditions shifting buyer wants.Data from 2016 shows how different the cars were captivating the attention of Aussies only a decade ago.The Toyota HiLux led the way, and the Ford Ranger was not far behind, but there was a theme of hatchbacks dominating the other top places. The Toyota Corolla took out second place, while the Hyundai i30 was in third and the Mazda3 sat in fifth. Toyota continued to feature down the list with the Camry sedan, followed by the Australian built Holden Commodore. Further down list, the SUV revolution can be seen to take shape in Australia, starting with the Mazda CX-5. After the Mitsubishi Triton ute in ninth place, there were three SUVs in the Hyundai Tucson, Toyota RAV4 and Mazda CX-3.The best-selling brands in 2016 has changed a lot compared to today. Toyota is still parked up at the top of the charts, but several big names have now been replaced by Chinese carmakers.Mazda and Hyundai occupied second and third, while Holden secured fourth. The Japanese duo of Mitsubishi and Nissan followed next, with Volkswagen being the only European brand in the top 10 after that. Subaru came ninth in the standings, with Kia finishing in 10th, highlighting the brand’s rapid development in Australia. Top selling cars 2016 Top selling brands 2016 In 2021, there were clear changes to the market, but also some consistent themes.The HiLux and Ranger duopoly was in full swing at the top of the standings, with Toyota’s ute still edging Ford’s.Third position showed SUVs were taking over as the RAV4 picked up a huge chunk of sales.There were still examples of a past market, with the i30 and the Toyota Corolla hatches sandwiching the D-Max ute.Further down, SUVs increase their presence further, with the Mazda CX-5, Toyota Prado and MG ZS all making up the top 10, along with the Triton ute. Pure internal combustion power remained a dominant player, with best-sellers such as the RAV4 and Corolla still yet to make its full hybrid transition. Top selling cars 2021 Toyota was still on top as a brand in Australia, while Mazda and Hyundai continued their holding in the top three. Ford was hot on the heels of Hyundai, followed by Kia which had surged up the sales charts in five years to claim a spot in the top five. Mitsubishi and Nissan still occupied high places in the standings as did Volkswagen. The big shift was the appearance of the only Chinese brand in the top 10, in MG. This foreshadowed what we see today where BYD is fast approaching a potential top-two finish in Australia.Subaru picked up a 10th place finish. Top selling brands 2021 Fast forward to 2026, and only three top 10 sellers from 2016 remain. The Ranger and HiLux continue their battle at the top of the standings, but they are in decline.Some unfamiliar names a few years ago are emerging as top choices for Aussie motorists.The Chery Tiggo 4 small SUV has emerged as the best-selling SUV in 2026 to date.Hyundai's Kona is next on the list followed by the D-Max Ute.Mitsubishi's Outlander large SUV is sitting sixth, while the long-awaited launch of the new Toyota RAV4 has resulted in a burst of sales for the popular family car.The Mazda CX-5 remains a regular feature at the top of the sales charts, with GWM's Haval Jolion sitting in ninth currently.Rounding out the top 10 is Ford Everest.This data only represents the first four months of the year, but it does show the general trends of where the market is headed.Top selling cars 2026 (up to April)Top selling brands 2026 (up to April)There are no surprises in the top four best-selling brands so far, with Toyota out in front, followed by Mazda, Kia and Ford.A monster month from BYD has pushed the Chinese giant brand into fifth, overtaking Hyundai. This is despite the brand not having a single car in the top 10 best sellers.The final four highlight the success of Chinese brands in Australia as GWM, Chery and MG are all present, along with Mitsubishi.Former mainstays Nissan, Subaru and Volkswagen are gone, and Holden has closed up shop completely.

Sometimes car companies just get it wrong.Despite all the market research, focus groups, design studies and marketing programs, some cars just don’t sell. Sometimes it’s a case of being the right car at the wrong time, arriving ahead of the curve or after the boom. We looked at that recently with the Holden Volt, a plug-in hybrid that arrived too soon (and for too much money) to be successful, even if the concept was right.But then there are some cars that are just a complete miss, arriving as an undesirable product. They are, to be blunt, the wrong car at the wrong time.Here are some examples of what happens when carmakers get it wrong.The decision to end local manufacturing for Holden cannot have been an easy one for General Motors management, but it was probably an inevitable one. The decision they did not have to make was to destroy the brand equity, not to mention the national pride and love, in the Commodore badge.While most of the cars on this list are obviously bad choices with the benefit of hindsight, the ZB Commodore was an obviously bad choice at the time. It was meant to soften the blow of the departure of the brilliant and beloved VF Commodore, but it only served to rub salt into the wounds.To the nice folks at Opel, GM’s German division, who developed the car (which was known as the Insignia in Europe) this was like having your glass of beer taken away and replaced with water from a muddy puddle with ‘beer’ written on the glass.It wasn’t a ‘Commodore’ in any way, shape or form, despite what Holden PR tried to spin at the time. Holden and GM should have followed the example Ford set with the Falcon and retired the name with dignity rather than slapping it on a sub-par import.Sometimes in life you’re faced with a 50-50 decision to make and the difference it makes in the long run can be enormous, or even catastrophic. That’s the case with Ford Australia and the Territory Turbo.The Territory was an inspired decision, a great example of delivering the right car at the right time. Ford managed to get in on the SUV craze just as it started to rise in the early 2000s, offering buyers who were starting to look for something taller than a Falcon an in-house alternative.The problem was, in 2006 they decided to expand the line-up and made the wrong call on that 50-50 decision. Legend has it that Ford Australia only had the funds to develop a Territory Turbo OR a Territory diesel, but not both at the same time.In the words of the Knight at the end of that Indiana Jones movie: “They chose poorly.”Thankfully they didn’t shrivel up and die in an instant, like the Indiana Jones’ nemesis, but it was a decision that didn’t help the future of Ford’s local models.By the time the Territory diesel did arrive in 2011, along with a facelift, Ford had lost too much ground to imported rivals and by the end of 2016, the Territory was done. While Ford’s decision to add the turbocharged ‘Barra’ engine to the Territory seemed logical, given the high demand for that engine in the Falcon XR6 Turbo, it highlighted the difference between the Falcon and Territory buyer.In the same way a diesel Falcon would have been a terrible idea in 2006, so too did the Territory Turbo prove a costly mistake.The Evoque was a brilliant addition to Range Rovers’ line-up, another demonstration of reading the market to perfection and adding a smaller model when that’s what luxury SUV customers were looking for.Unfortunately, the Evoque Convertible was as bad an idea as the Evoque was a good one. And this was one of those ideas that you really could tell wasn’t brilliant at the time.Sure, the SUV market was rapidly changing at that point and there were some unlikely sales hits, namely Audi’s turbo-diesel SQ5. If a diesel SUV can be a popular performance car, surely a convertible would be appealing, right?Wrong. Very, very wrong.Introduced in mid-2016, the final Evoque drop-top rolled off the production line in 2018. A footnote in the history of Range Rover, and one they’d probably like to forget.As Mazda prepares to launch its second and third EVs, the sharply-priced 6e and CX-6e, it can be easy to forget its first attempt. And they might prefer you did.The MX-30 was a bolder-than-average design, with ‘suicide doors’ that were actually more like ‘choke the front seat occupants if you opened the rear doors’, but it fit nicely into the popular Mazda line-up.The problem was what was powering the MX-30. For starters, Mazda hedged its bets, offering its much-hyped EV with a mild-hybrid powertrain option, just to confuse the issue. Which was needed because the EV only had a small battery and a theoretical driving range of only 200km, but a big price tag of over $66k.While EV sales were starting to increase at this point, so seemingly the time was right, Mazda was behind the times in terms of both capability and cost. It was destined to fail and that’s what it did, quietly pulled from sale after only three years.The American brand’s attempt to crack the lucrative ute (or ‘truck’ if you’re American) market was over before it began. On the one hand you have to give credit to Tesla for not trying to take on Ford, Chevrolet and Ram head on. But, on the other hand, what the heck were they thinking?The Cybertruck was always going to be a niche offering, with Tesla frontman Elon Musk's 250,000 annual sales claim being wildly optimistic (to put it very delicately). As the flop of the F-150 Lightning demonstrated, there is simply not a market for electric utes, whether they look like a traditional ute or something created by the work experience kid after a lot of caffeine.Where Musk and the rest of Tesla management thought they’d find 250,000 people who wanted to look like they just drove out of a 1990s computer game remains a mystery to equal the lost city of Atlantis.Electric utes may seem like a good idea, but their time has simply not come year, but certainly the Cybertruck is not what people want.

Plug-in hybrids are all the rage at the moment. Sales of vehicles fitted with the fuel-saving technology spiked more than 130 per cent in 2025 and sales were already up more than 60 per cent in the first two months of 2026, before fuel prices started to soar.One company was well ahead of the curve on the plug-in hybrid hype, but unfortunately so far ahead its ground-breaking fizzled before it could take off.That brand? Holden.In 2012 it arrived with a lot of fanfare and hope of appealing to those who still loved a sedan but wanted something more fuel-efficient than the VE Commodore of the day. The Volt promised that, with its 1.4-litre petrol engine used exclusively to charge the batteries, never actually drive the wheels directly.At the time, Holden claimed up to 80km of driving on the batteries before the motor would kick-in, which was also ahead of the curve. There were even reports from the US, where it was developed and sold as the Chevrolet Volt, that owners who recharged regularly wouldn’t even use a full tank of petrol in a year.In theory then, it should have been a popular choice for Australian customers, as petrol prices had started to creep up and customers were looking for more efficient vehicles. As we wrote last week, Holden was pushing to make E85 and LPG a more popular option in the Commodore, but ultimately that fell flat too.The problem for the Volt was it cost $59,990, more than double what the similar-sized Holden Cruze would set you back. The argument at the time was that this cost would be absorbed by the so-called early adopters, the kind of people that spent $10,000 on the early flat-screen televisions (yes, young people, TVs used to not be flat). Whether there simply weren’t enough early adopters or because people were just too reluctant to spend $60k on a car with a Holden badge, sales of the Volt were slow before almost trickling to a halt.At the time, electric vehicles (EVs) were only just arriving and sold in incredibly small numbers. In 2012 just 253 EVs were sold in Australia, so Holden was facing a major challenge in convincing buyers to try this in-between technology no-one else was really selling.But in hindsight, if Australians had embraced PHEVs back in the 2010s, what might the new car market look like today? PHEVs had a few false starts after the Volt was pulled from sale in 2015, but in the last three years it has surged back into relevancy and looks set to continue to grow in the coming years as the government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard incentivises car makers to promote PHEVs and EVs. As 2026 plays out, the growth of PHEVs will be worth watching to see if they continue to grow in popularity even if fuel prices decline to pre-Middle East conflict levels. The pre-’26 growth suggests Australians are ready and willing to make the switch to this technology, a decade after Holden gave up on it.Holden failed in Australia because it didn’t provide the cars we wanted. Or at least that’s what we’ve been telling ourselves. Sure, the Commodore declined as the family car of choice, but Holden tried everything it could to adapt to the changing demands of the local market, only to find itself with the right car at the wrong time.

Somewhere there is a former Holden engineer or executive saying ‘I told you so…’As Australians scramble amid a surge in fuel prices brought on by war in the Middle East, it has highlighted some key decisions the country has made in the past 15 years that have left us in this current predicament.A large part of the mild-panic over potential fuel rationing and sky-high prices is because Australia decided about 15 years ago it didn’t want to actually make things and simply import everything we need. That has left us largely dependent on outside suppliers for our fuel, as well as every car we drive.But it didn’t have to be this way. Holden (and Ford, to a slightly lesser degree) both tried to appeal to the unique Australian audience and reduced our dependence on foreign oil. I’m talking about the VE Commodore, which was offered with both LPG (liquified petroleum gas) and E85.For those unfamiliar with those fuel types, let me quickly bring you up to speed. LPG is one of Australia’s biggest natural resources. It’s still widely available at service stations though and typically costs around half of what petrol costs.E85 is a more sustainable fuel, a blend of 85 per cent ethanol and 15 per cent petrol. Australia is able to produce high volumes of ethanol as it can be made from the byproduct of sugar cane production and other sustainable sources.The introduction of both the LPG and E85 to the Commodore range was meant to make the large car more fuel efficient, as Holden was still hoping the SUV trend was a fad (spoiler: it wasn’t), while also taking advantage of the very Australian-specific resources available. It was, in effect, meant to be a closed-loop solution - starting and finishing within Australian shores.At the time, Holden called E85 “the first major step forward in our efforts to move renewable fuels like bio-ethanol from a niche product into the mainstream.” (Spoiler: it wasn’t).In the context of 2026, if you had a car with either LPG or E85 you wouldn’t be stressing about the sudden surge in petrol prices so much, because there would be far less volatility in the price as neither would be directly impacted by the Middle East conflict.This is why manufacturing things in Australia is important and it’s why brands like Holden and Ford (which produced an LPG version of the FG Falcon) tried to retain local production, while also embracing broader industries.Unfortunately, there are numerous reasons why that was not possible and instead we find ourselves in the present situation, reliant on both oil and refined petrol to be imported from foreign companies that are at the mercy of the global supply chain.To be fair, E85 didn’t even last until the VF Commodore, with the fuel never really gaining enough traction with either motorists or service stations. So it became a vicious cycle of supply and demand killing off the E85-capable Commodore less than five years after it launched.The problem Australia now faces is we are reliant on foreign oil and that impacts our fuel security, as many people (including politicians) are seemingly learning in real time. And you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube. Holden is gone, LPG is just for the select few and E85 is more common on racetracks than roads.But perhaps there is hope for the future of Australian energy independence, while at the same time helping to make us greener too. HIF Global, with the high-profile support of Porsche, is continuing development of a planned e-Fuels facility in Tasmania.First announced back in 2022, the facility would produce e-Methanol, a carbon neutral liquid fuel that can effectively replace petrol in existing cars. While it still produces tailpipe emissions, the process of producing the fuel removes harmful carbon emissions from the air, thus making it carbon neutral.Porsche has been a major advocate for these e-Fuels, investing in HIF Global to develop the first pilot plant in Chile before expanding into Australia and the USA to increase global e-Fuel supply. The original plan called for the Tasmanian facility to be operational by the end of this year, which would seemingly have been ideal timing, but that date has drifted back.Will it be a case of ‘second time lucky’ for Australia embracing more environmentally-friendly, locally-produced fuel that can reduce our dependency on foreign oil? Only time will tell if Porsche can succeed where Holden failed.

At the end of 2020, after 160 years in existence, owner General Motors made the decision to retire the Holden brand following the US automotive giant’s move to discontinue supply to right-hand drive markets.Due in no small part to the then Australian Government’s call in 2013 to end ‘co-investment’ with local car manufacturers and the brand’s consistently shrinking market share, after close to 69 years and nearly 7.7 million cars built, local Holden production had finished in 2017.With former GM brands Opel and Vauxhall having already been acquired by PSA Group earlier in 2017, long-term ‘in-house’ access to a RHD imported (ZB) Commodore donor, via the Opel Insignia, was also to become a dead end, while potential alternatives from Buick and Chevrolet were deemed cost prohibitive.General Motors was digging itself out of a financial hole around this time, and with Holden sales struggling across its now pure-import range, on February 17, 2020 the official announcement was made that Holden would be no more from October that year.So, who were the key players within Holden at that tumultuous and emotional time when the ‘Football, meat pies, kangaroos and Holden cars’ music stopped and where are they now?David ButtnerDavid Buttner AM, raised eyebrows across the Aussie automotive industry when, after more than 30 years with Toyota Australia (the last three and half as President), he came out of retirement to take on the role of Holden’s Chairman and Managing Director in August 2018.At the time Buttner was bullish about Holden’s prospects as a pure-importer, telling CarsGuide in late 2018, “The facts are we can draw on a fantastic stable of SUVs and trucks.”But just over a year later he had pulled the pin on his time at Holden, according to a GM statement for “personal reasons”. But a 30 per cent year-on-year slump in sales (Holden had dropped out of the top 10 sellers list) may well have played a part.And surely by the end of 2019 Buttner had a clear take on what was to come down the pipe from Detroit only a couple of months later.Today he’s a freelance mentor and coach, positioning his work under the banner ‘Coaching from Experience’, leaning into his strategic ability and appetite for innovation.Kristian AquilinaKristian Aquilina was Holden Australia’s final Executive Director of Marketing, taking over the role in April 2018. Following David Buttner’s departure (see above) and the announcement that General Motors was axing the Holden brand, Aquilina served as interim Managing Director, overseeing the transition to closure, leaving the position on November 1, 2020.At the time he said, “The brand will work towards a dignified wind down of operations”, which is arguably what happened.After stints as Managing Director of Cadillac International Operations and Cadillac Middle East, Aquilina joined GM Canada in early 2024, serving as President until his appointment as Global Vice President of Cadillac late last year. Based in Detroit, it’s the position he holds currently.Richard FerlazzoA key player in Holden’s design team for more than three decades, Richard Ferlazzo was the brand’s Design Director for seven years from late 2013 to closure.Ferlazzo is best known to many as the father of Holden’s dramatic Efijy concept car that dropped jaws around the world in 2005. But his work on global design projects and GM advanced concepts was even more significant.Having had input into the Commodore line-up from VN in the late 1980s, his time as Chief Designer included a lead position on exterior design for the breakthrough VE Commodore, as well as fine-tuning the next-generation VF, which proved to be the best and last locally made Holden.Today, Richard Ferlazzo Design Consulting works across multiple disciplines including transport (which takes in military vehicles), architectural concepts and product design.Peter KeleyAt the time of the closure announcement Holden had 185 dealers in Australia, 31 in New Zealand and Peter Keley (former MD of Holden NZ) was the brand’s Executive Director of Sales.Of course, unpicking that historical retail knitting would have been traumatic and potentially a legal minefield.With around 1.6 million Holdens still on the road, shell-shocked dealers were offered the option of becoming an authorised service and parts outlet and over 90 per cent of them had finalised compensation and separation packages by mid-2020.Today, Keeley is still in the motorised four-wheeler business as Victoria General Manager for Melbourne Tractors, retailing New Holland and other brands through multiple outlets across the state, with a focus on construction and agricultural equipment. Rob TrubianiRob Trubiani was Lead Vehicle Dynamics Engineer at GM Holden, and famously the guy who punted a VF SS-V Redline Ute around the Nurburgring in mid-2013, setting a new commercial vehicle record for the iconic German circuit at an indecently rapid 08:19.47. Over a 15-year career at Holden he achieved guru status, tuning the final-generation VE/VF Commodore’s Zeta platform to such a fine point that it could hold its head confidently high globally.Continuing his focus on brake, chassis, vehicle dynamics and technical integration he worked through the import-only era, tweaking the Opel Insignia-based ZB Commodore and other models before departing as waves of staff redundancies began in early 2020.After a stint as Senior Mechanical Engineer at global automotive engineering specialist Segula Technologies, Trubiani joined GWM Australia in early 2025 as, you guessed it… Product Engineering Manager.George SvigosWith the benefit of 20/20 hindsight it was probably telling that when Holden’s Director of Communications, Anna Betts resigned in late 2018, it was George Svigos, then GM International’s Director of Communications for Asia-Pacific, took on the accountability.From that point the Holden comms team in Melbourne reported to Svigos who operated out of GM’s regional office in Bangkok, Thailand.But almost in parallel with the closure announcement in early 2020, Anna Betts’ predecessor as Holden Director of Communications and then Director of Marketing, Communications & Customer Experience, GM Southeast Asia, Sean Poppitt stepped in to take on the tricky role of managing corporate comms as the company moved towards shutdown. For the record, Anna Betts (now Anna Tassone) is Associate Director, Communications - Operations at RMIT University, Sean Poppitt is Executive Director - Global Buick & GMC and GM Global Design Communications in Detroit and George Svigos is Executive Director Communications, Global Markets General Motors, also based in Detroit.Lang Lang Proving GroundOpened in 1957, the 877-hectare Lang Lang Proving Ground, located roughly 85km south-east of Melbourne, was part of GM’s global research and development network for over 60 years.Retained by GM beyond the end of local Holden manufacturing in 2017 it was ultimately sold to Vietnamese EV manufacturing specialist Vinfast in late 2020.The iconic circular track, ride & handling loop, as well as various specialist off-road trails and test labs remain intact with Chinese giant GWM securing ‘permanent resident’ status in a long-term agreement finalised in July, 2025.Which of course means Rob Trubiani (see above) will once again be drifting around the skid pan and generally making best use of the facility to adapt the dynamic performance of Havals, Tanks, Cannons and Oras for local conditions.