Holden Barina 2009 News

The Holden’s new generation Barina sedan - an extended version of the hatch - has just landed in showrooms with a starting price of $16,490. However the sedan has more cargo space than its sibling storing 502 litres compared to the 290 litres the hatch offers with the seats up. The Barina sedan comes equipped with standard features including Bluetooth phone and audio streaming, USB input and iPod connectivity, steering wheel controls, cruise control and ‘follow me home’ headlights, as well as interior storage options. Like the hatch the 4-door sedan is powered by a 1.6 litre, 4-cylinder petrol engine equipped with standard 5-speed manual or 6-speed automatic and shares a five-star ANCAP safety rating. The hatch has sold 1,318 units since its release last November and Holden spokesman John Elsworth says the sedan will be “an excellent addition to the range”. “The addition of the sedan variant adds a new dimension of practicality and flexibility to the Barina range,” he says.

A staggering 225 out of the 243 private-plated cars chosen by MPs and Senators have six or eight-cylinder engines, in contrast to the national trend towards smaller, more fuel efficient models. Only a handful of MPs drive low-emission hybrids.The list, published today on The Punch, shows the most popular car among federal politicians is the Ford Territory, Australia’s answer to the SUV and possibly the heaviest Aussie-built passenger car ever made. It was chosen by 81 MPs, including many who live in suburban electorates. The Federal Government’s own Green Vehicle Guide gives the Territory a woeful 2.5 stars out of five.The details, released under Freedom of Information laws and current as of March 1 this year, show only 10 MPs drive low-emission hybrids. All MPs and Senators are entitled to at least one private-plated vehicle for personal use as part of their salary package. They can choose from a list of 35 cars valued at up to $48,990 or with approval from the Special Minister of State, select a “non-standard vehicle”.Apart from the Territory, other popular vehicles include the Holden Berlina and Calais vehicles or the Toyota Aurion V6. Some of the Toyota Landcrusiers, preferred among some country-based MPs, are diesel or in the case of one or two six cylinder cars, dual fuel LPG operated. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was embarrassed into swapping his private-plate Territory for a hybrid Toyota Prius in 2007 when, as Opposition Leader, it was revealed he was calling for action on greenhouse while driving a Territory.Special Minister of State Joe Ludwig, a Territory driver, said the government was examining “cleaning up” the parliamentary entitlements framework, including the private-plated vehicle scheme. An independent committee would report to him next year with some recommendations intended to “reduce cost and increase transparency”.A more in-depth report and the full list is available at The Punch            

The Spark, still to be confirmed but most likely to become a price-leading Barina in Australia next year, only manages a four-star score in the Euro NCAP tests.  It's not a bad result, but the NCAP benchmark now  — in Australia, Europe and Japan — is a five-star score.The Spark only misses five stars because ESP is not fitted as standard in Europe, although that is unlikely to be a problem in Australia as Victoria forces all makers to fit stability control on vehicles sold in the state from next year.The list of five-star NCAP successes grows through the latest testing to include the Mazda3 and Mercedes-Benz E Class already on sale as well as the BMW X1, Citroen DS3 and Peugeot 5008 expected here next year.The Holden Cruze, which already has a five-star tick thanks to ANCAP testing locally, is confirmed with five stars after crashes with a Chevrolet-badged left-hand drive model. And GM was praised by Euro NCAP for its overall safety work.  "The company has bounced back with two cars that have a commendable level of safety performance," says Euro NCAP chief, Dr Michiel van Ratingen, commenting on the Cruze and the latest baby Astra.Cars not sold in Australia to make the five-star hit list are the Infiniti FX, Mercedes-Benz GLK, Opel Astra and Volkswagen Scirocco while the Toyota Urban Cruiser, a Europe-only model, trailed the pack with a lacklustre three-star result. "The result from Toyota is disappointing, but in 2010, we predict further results like these as Euro NCAP’s next stage of the rating scheme kicks in and requirements become even tougher," says van Ratingen.Euro NCAP is pushing hard with testing, rating both seats and head restrains for whiplast protection as well as including a score for safety assistance systems. "The Citroën DS3, Infiniti FX, Peugeot 5008 and the Mercedes GLK have driver controlled speed limitation systems fitted as standard or soon to be introduced as standard. These systems greatly assist the driver in maintaining the safest speed according to the driving environment," says van Ratingen.

An accelerating Korean auto industry is now within a car's length of equalling sales of our home-grown models.  According to the official car sales figures for October released last week Korean vehicle sales in Australia were up 80 per cent compared to October 2008 and up 23 per cent for the year so far compared to the same period in 2008.Sales of Korean-made cars (12,324) nearly equalled the total sales of all Australian manufacturers (12,822) for the month.  Nearly 20,000 more Korean-made cars have been sold in Australia this year than in the same time last year.  By comparison, locally-built cars are down by 24,594 units, a drop of 17 per cent.Hyundai is leading the way, recording its best-ever October result in Australia, up by 106 per cent over October 2008, and is our fourth biggest-selling carmaker behind Toyota, Holden and Ford.  It's not only Hyundai and Kia that are raising the profile of Korea.The Holden-badged models of Captiva, Cruze, Barina, Viva and Epica are made by GM-Daewoo in Korea. The Renault Koleos is made by Samsung in Korea and Ssangyong SUVs are from a Korean plant.  About 39 per cent of light cars sold in Australia, 27 per cent of small cars and 26 per cent of medium-sized SUVs - including Australia's most popular SUV, the Holden Captiva - are built in Korea.A Hyundai spokesman said: "We are now on the shopping list. There was a time when we weren't but we have won awards - such as the Carsguide Car of the Year in 2007 - which has made people really notice us.  We didn't take our foot off the accelerator when the recession started late last year.  We didn't reduce production and we didn't spend less on marketing. That worked in our favour because people saw us as being constant."Overall car sales in Australia were up in October for the first time in 16 months.  Improvements were across the board covering private, business and rental buyers.  Sales of vans and Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) were particularly strong.And the situation is set to improve when import tariffs drop 5 per cent from January 1.  Some importers, including Mazda and Subaru, have already passed on savings.

The Chevrolet Aveo sedan - the North American version of Holden's light car - has ranked poorly in the latest US roof crush test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.The Smart ForTwo earned the highest rating of good compared with acceptable for the Honda Jazz, Hyundai Accent, Mini Cooper, and Toyota Yaris. The Aveo was marginal. It is the second time the safety spotlight has shone on the small Holden.In the first round of ANCAP testing it rated two stars. But the latest model is a four-star car, getting a stronger body and B-pillars and standard side airbags. It uses more high-strength steel to boost impact protection.Under the IIHS roof crush test, vehicles’ roofs must be twice as strong as the current minimum US federal safety standard to receive a good rating. The ratings are part of new roof strength testing program, adding to consumer information already gathered for front, side, and rear crashworthiness.The institute's front and side crash test protocols are similar to the European New Car Assessment Program. Institute president, Adrian Lund, expects the roof crush test to drive improved rollover crash protection. "In the same way our frontal offest and side test have led to better occupant protection in these kinds of crashes," he says.There has been a big improvement in roof structures over the past few years as carmakers make stronger bodies to earn better IIHS and EuroNCAP crash ratings. Strong A and B pillars help prevent intrusion and also strengthen the roof."Small cars should have an easier time with the roof strength test," Lund says. "Their light weight means their roofs don't have to work as hard to keep the structure around the occupants intact in a rollover."In the US test, a metal plate is pushed against one side of a roof at a constant speed. To earn a good rating, a roof must withstand a force of four times the car's weight before reaching a depth of 125mm. The Smart withstood a force of 5.4 times its weight. The Barina withstood a force of just over three times its weight. 

A dying Sydney newspaper this week rather cleverly headlined their coverage of the GM humiliation as “Government Motors Holden”.Not bad that. A flash of the old cleverness.Except, of course, taxpayers forking out to subsidise the building of cars they themselves don’t want is not exactly news in this country.Yeah, yeah, yeah - everyone’s cock-a-hoop that Holden’s remaining 6500 workers, its dealer network, and the thousands whose livelihoods are contingent on this brand, are not going to be out of work. For now at least …The manufacture of cars badged Holden – whether it’s an essentially 20th century six cylinder sedan bought mainly by fleets or a re-badged Daewoo – means the marque remains as firmly clamped to the breast of subsidy as a newborn to its mummy.The federal Government has committed $6.2 billion of your and my money to succouring local car makers. It’s paying Holden to build the globally-engineered, four-cylinder car (and already endlessly spruiked) Cruze here from next year.So it had better be bloody good.It had, in fact – given that Holden has lost $300 million in recent years – be better than the Mazda3.That’s the benchmark for sub-$30K car quality. As the May sales figures showed yet again, it’s the car on which Australians spend their own moneyYes, the ever declining Commodore sold 3683 to the 3’s 3038 – but not one of the Mazda’s sales was to fleets, without which Holden’s scarcely overtaxed production lines would be barely ticking over. Nor can Holden continue to rely on the approximately 75 per cent of bung ’em at out a bargain price fleet orders - not given the haste with which they shed value.So the only question is if Holden is to justify the continued injection of funds from people who really don’t want to buy them, is this: will the Cruze be good enough to trouble the Mazda3?Because if it’s just another anodyne re-badge job – if it’s just another Barina, Viva or Epica – you can officially remove that “i” from icon.