Holden Commodore 2003 News

Last year, the Commodore retained its title of Australia’s best selling car for the 13th year in a row, albeit by a diminishing margin.

After being a smiling model on quiz shows The Price Is Right and Temptation, McGregor has landed a gig hosting the Foxtel reality show, Blood, Sweat & Gears."It was always the next step," McGregor says. "I meet people saying they love Temptation, but it's so hard to get your personality across when you're just smiling in the background."A graphic designer by trade, 26-year-old McGregor spent the past two-and-a-half years in Nine's Temptation family with Ed Phillips and Livinia Nixon.McGregor admits he's not "the craziest car fan," but didn't hesitate when it came to auditioning for BS&G."To be honest, I got a phone call from one of the guys at Foxtel asking me if I would like to audition for it," he says. "I never knock back an audition, even if I don't think I'm suited to it."He may not be a revhead, but the Aussies on the show certainly are."They're absolute nuts. It's like a religion to them. Since I have had the gig, I have had so many people come up to me and tell me a story about their cars," McGregor says.The show pits seven guys and their beloved cars against each other.The contestants are;Andrew: Japanese Import (Nissan 200SX)Andy: American Muscle(Chevy Corvette)Dave: Classic Australian(Holden LJ Torana)Dimitri: Classic Australian(Ford GT Falcon)Dominic: Performance Rotary (Mazda RX7)Jeremy: Australian Muscle (Holden Commodore VL HDT)Mohamed: High Performance European (Ferrari 350 Modena)Official judges are Ian Luff, a former race driver, and Nathan Luck, a motoring journalist. Each week, the revheads and the cars will be put through a series of tests. While the drivers will know who wins each stage, they never find out their placing on the leaderboard. McGregor says it adds to the tension."They don't know who is doing well and the challengers get a little angry and eaten up inside," he says."These guys think their car is the best. But they find out a few things about themselves as drivers - maybe they're not as good as they thought. I think it will get people into the show."While McGregor is enjoying his debut as TV host, he is unused to seeing himself as a presenter."You're always your own biggest critic and it is still kind of strange when I see myself. But I love hearing feedback, even when it's bad. It makes you better at what you do."

Strongly built and engineered for country roads as well as city streets, the King of the new car market; Holden Commodore, has an excellent reputation for being able to stand up to daily running on bush roads, as well as the equally tough city commuting.The current Commodore body began in August 1997 with the VT series. It received a minor facelift and mechanical changes to become the VT Series II in June 1999. The Commodore VX of August 2000 had more appearance changes and the VX Series II arrived just 12 months later. The real changes to the VX II were to the suspension, especially the rear, further improving stability and handling.Holden introduced the VY Commodore in October 2002 with substantial styling changes. The VY was facelifted to become the VY II in August 2003. Finally, the VZ arrived in September 2004.The big news with the introduction of the VZ was a new six-cylinder engine. A forerunner of the unit fitted to the current VE Commodore, it was an all-new twin-cam V6 of 3.6 litres. This powerplant is sold in two formats, one with variable valve and intake timing for a greater spread of torque and improved power, the other a more basic unit.As fitted to the VZ, this engine is not as smooth or quiet as it should be.Ride comfort is very good, even on rough roads, and this is a genuine five-seater car. Boot space is good in the sedan and excellent in the wagon.The model range is large: Commodore Executive, Acclaim and Berlina. The most expensive of the lot isn't called a Commodore, simply a Calais, and has almost invariably belonged to a private buyer, while there's a risk the cheaper variants may have been company cars.On the sporting side are the Commodore S and SS with firmer suspension, tauter steering and revamped seats and body kits. Not as hot as the HSV Commodores, these models do provide a lot of driving pleasure at a moderate price.Holden frequently does runs of special editions. The best value of them is arguably the oft-recurring Vacationer series.Under the bonnetMost Commodores prior to the VZ range have a pushrod V6 engine of 3.8 litres. There's also a supercharged 3.8-litre V6 with added torque, but it never found any real adherents and was discontinued in 2004. From the VZ range, all-new twin-cam V6s of 3.6 litres replaced the ageing 3.8-litre engine. It's a modern engine but not as smooth or quiet as many of its competitors.There were two V8s in the pre-VZ Commodores, one an old Australian design of 5.0 litres, the other a 5.7-litre Chevrolet unit adapted to Holden specifications. This Generation III Chev V8 is much better than the old Holden one, and resale values of the Holden 5.0-litre suffer in comparison.Gen III has recently been replaced by a Gen IV with 6.0 litres, but it is still too new to have had any effect on the used-car scene at this time.Almost all Commodores come with a four-speed automatic transmission; the five-speed manuals are on the crude side by today's standards, so they are rare. Manuals could be difficult to resell, so unless you do a lot of country running or really enjoy that extra bit of control, they are possibly best bypassed.These are easy cars to work on, with plenty of access to most mechanical components. Good amateur mechanics can do most of their own repairs, although it's best to leave safety-related items to professionals. There are numerous electronic components that also require specialist knowledge and/or diagnostic equipment.Spare parts are generally reasonably priced and we hear very few complaints about availability from Holden's widespread dealer network, as prevalent in the bush as in the 'burbs.Insurance is pretty cheap for a car of this size and performance, though there can be a significant extra slug for the sportier models, especially if they have supercharged or V8 engines.Danger SignsBe wary of a Commodore that has been a taxi. Look for where signs and meters have been removed and for paint respraying. Severe wear in the cabin and boot is another pointer to an ex-taxi or a hard-working commercial car.Check for brake fade by doing a succession of hard stops and feeling for a pedal that gradually has more and more travel.Look for oil leaks at the rear of the engine sump and check the dipstick level as some early units had high oil consumption problems.Automatic transmissions are generally OK, but one that is slow to go into gear and/or noisy and harsh in operation should be treated with caution.Rust is seldom a problem in later model Commodores. But look at the lower areas of the body — doors, tailgate and rear windscreen surround — to be sure. Rust is more likely to be caused by poor quality panel repairs than anything else.Check for previous body repairs by running your eye over the panels, looking for a slightly uneven finish. Watch for paint that doesn't match exactly from one panel to another. Another sign is minute spots of paint on areas normally unpainted.

It is safe and sure, this purple kilometre eater, as it sweeps past slower travellers. Now it settles back into a loafing run, swallowing up the lumps of highway. With the going down, out through Goondiwindi and down the Newell highway, onto the Oxley, into Dubbo for the night, there is the anticipation, the dreaming of The Great Race. It is some 1100km from the centre of Brisbane to the hallowed Mount Panorama at Bathurst, 210km west of Sydney. There are truck stops – with dining rooms for professional drivers and prints with campfire Indians dreaming of buffalo. There are wide open plains, stands of cypress pines and tidy country towns. There are the spring-green paddocks of Bathurst, dotted with sheep. And then there is the Mountain, home since 1963 to the greatest of Australian motor races and now the domain of Australia's V8 Supercars. It is the old argument, handed from father to son, Ford versus Holden. This is a solid 12-hour run from Brisbane without red flags and with a co-driver. It is a run through the heartland in a V8 Falcon and V8 Commodore, a run through places where these sedans can stretch out a bit. Out here a V8 tourer makes sense, for comfort, safety and fuel economy. The 5.4litre, Ford V8 returns 12.4litres per 100km going south. Holden's 5.7litre comes in at 11litres per 100km on the run back. The big V8s are strolling here, the Commodore running just over 1500rpm in sixth gear for 110km/h. The four-speed auto Ford is running closer to 2000rpm. Neither car is stressed, not even when the taps are opened to flow past slower-moving machinery. There is need to sweep past, with hard acceleration and some V8 authority, as a little Korean machine is tucked between an interstate trucker and caravaner struggling uphill at 90km/h, and all nose-to-tail. Maybe the Ford or the Holden, slip briefly into the illegal zone. This happens from time to time, for it is a far safer option than hanging out on the wrong side of the bitumen. Tell that to the judge. And tell it on the Mountain, this big lump of hill that rises out the central western plains of NSW. This is a sacred place and on October weekends an extra special place for rumbling and roaring V8 Holdens and Fords that share body shells and some other bits with these road-going SS and XR8 warriors. This year it was again Greg Murphy and Rick Kelly's KMart Commodore at the end of a long day, 161 turns up and over the mountain. Then the tribes disperse, back to all corners of the country. The return is a bit more of a drag, more traffic, more tired. The sandwich stops are quicker, less fun. Up and back the red SS Commodore attracts the most attention. This is the VZ with the fake air-intakes on the flanks. The XR8 is a more subtle purple and there is less detail work. It is bold in the bonnet, the power bulge standing tall and proud. That minimalist feel is carried through to the cabin. It's simple and workmanlike, yet comfortable and more spacious than the SS. The Holden cabin too works well. It is a bit busier and bolder in detail work, with shades of grey, silver and red instrument dials. The SS has more sporting ambience; the XR8 is more sombre in its approach. The Holden turns in a little sharper and the ride is a little edgier. Here with the six-speed manual there is the chance to run up and down the gearbox for maximum effect and best use of the 470Nm of torque for the best chance of getting away from trouble. It may be a little notchy but the six-speed manual is tops for touring. Drop back to fifth for the uphill climbs or a gentle pass, back to fourth for a quick and hard run around another convoy of trucks and trailers. Sixth helps with highway economy. The Ford XR8 is that bit smoother over this 1100km run to the top of the mountain. This is a more gentle tourer, the ride more compliant, the four-speed auto less work. Never be fooled, for when the lever is flicked to sport and revs lift, the 5.4 litre Ford rises to the occasion with a full-throated bellow. There's a little extra, and earlier, torque here over the Holden. And here the Ford recognises its connection to those Falcons running up Bathurst's mountain straight. Neither Ford nor Holden put a wheel wrong over the Brisbane-Bathurst haul. Both cabins are quiet and comfortable, packed with bits from six-stacker CD players to airconditioning and cup holders. Both run with good economy, stress free. Both these heroes can run hard to stay out of trouble on the wrong side of the road. These are fine road machines that pay homage to those mighty V8 Supercars and they still make sense on these long runs.