Holden Commodore 2005 News

Holden's Mark Porter and Ford's David Clark have both been taken to hospital after a heavy crash in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar series race.Ambulance crews and paramedics attended to both Porter and Clark at the track for over an hour, the NRMA Careflight helicopter departing the track a short time ago.Officials have yet to comment on the accident. New Zealand born Porter, 31, is based on the Gold Coast and is married with one child.He was scheduled to also contest the main Bathurst 1000 race for the sixth time this weekend in the Team BOC Falcon shared with Dale Brede.Western Australian born Clark, 26, lives in Adelaide and is married with three children.The accident occured on lap 12 of 14 of today's Fujitsu series race.Porter spun sideways near Reid park on the climb up the mountain, stalled and was left stranded in the middle of the track in an area blinded to oncoming traffic.Chris Alajajian put his car sideways and ripped the rear of both his and Porter's car.Then Clark, who also put his Falcon sideways in an attempt to escape collision, crashed directly into the driver's side door of Porter on his driver's side.Police closed the circuit immediately following the accident.Racing resumed after an hour delay with the Bathurst 1000 qualifying session.AAP

Holden young gun Rick Kelly fired the first salvo at Ford by flaunting the past seven Bathurst victories by the Commodore at Mount Panorama.

The silver car turning right across the other side of the intersection is obviously facing a red arrow — no danger there, you think.You're halfway through the intersection before you notice something's not right. You see a flash of silver out of the corner of your eye. Then comes a sickening crash and a wall of white.Maybe you were in the right and the other driver in the wrong. Maybe you've never made a mistake while driving and own the most nimble car with the best handling you can afford.But sometimes there's nothing you can do. Your only protection is how well the car protects you in a crash.Research proves airbags are a key part of that.This year the SRS (secondary restraint system) airbag celebrates its 25th birthday. In 1980 it was installed for the first time in a passenger car — a Mercedes-Benz S-Class.It had a controversial beginning. Doomsayers said they would kill more people than they save, but today airbags are as essential to road safety as the seat belt.Now, not a single car sold in Australia doesn't have at least one airbag. Many have six or seven.There can be only one reason for the success of the airbag: it works.In a real-world investigation, Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) took the results of 155 frontal crashes involving airbag-equipped and non-airbag-equipped Holden Commodores between 1988 and 1999 and compared them.The survey found the driver airbag reduced the severity of head injuries by 75 per cent, facial injuries by 51 per cent, neck injuries by 70 per cent and chest injuries by 47 per cent.Ross McArthur, manager of vehicle safety and chairman of the Australian New Car Accident Protection (ANCAP) steering committee, explains."I've been involved in road safety since 1980 and I would say airbags are one of the three best things I've seen. The other two are seat belts and, lately, stability control," he says."Statistics from actual crashes tell us airbags in the front reduce injury risk by 50 per cent. They also tell us side airbags can reduce injury by up to 40 per cent, so they are very effective indeed."McArthur is so convinced of the airbag's merits that he says it should be a major consideration when buying a car."It's at a stage now where people should steer away from any vehicle, new or used, that doesn't have a driver airbag," he says. "If I were buying a new vehicle, it would have head-protecting side airbags as well."The development of a safety cushion that could be deployed in a micro-second in a crash began in 1967. But the program nearly foundered when a tester died in an airbag-related accident.It wasn't the last time the safety of airbags came under scrutiny. In a minor collision, a child was decapitated by a front-passenger airbag."That did happen," Australian airbag pioneer and chief engineer at Holden Innovation Laurie Sparke says. "That particular accident happened in a parking lot at only 5km/h."Rule No.1 is children under about 12 should always be in a back seat and always wear an appropriate restraint. Children should not be in the path of an airbag."Airbags are an explosive device. When sensors detect a crash, they trigger a discharge that inflates the airbag within 50 milliseconds, half the time it takes to blink your eye.The airbag comes out at approximately 200km/h and needs 200mm to inflate, which is why small children or anyone without a seat belt is at risk.The reality, though, is even the worst airbag ever installed has not adversely affected passenger safety."The American systems were never as good because they were compromised by having to take into account people who did not wear seat belts," Sparke says."These days they're better because airbags have sensors to show if the person is wearing a seat belt."But airbags benefit those who wear seat belts anyway."Australia was a world leader in airbag technology, according to Sparke, who was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for his work in car safety.He says Holden has made the running on the technology, both locally and internationally, since 1995, and that Ford and Holden have worked together with safety supplier Autoliv."At the time we were developing the VR Commodore airbag they were fashionable but not very successful," he says."With MUARC, we came up with a formula called Harm (hospital costs, rehabilitation costs and monetary loss) to measure the injury costs of crashes and the effectiveness of airbags, and we used it in our development."After it was published, a United States Senate subcommittee on road safety got in touch with us wanting to know how we'd achieved that degree of improvement, especially for small occupants."As result of Australian input, the US Senate changed the airbag performance requirements."It's interesting that Australian technology drove American legislature." AIRBAG FACTS An airbag deploys in 50 milliseconds, half the time it takes to blink.Once an airbag has deployed, it and the control unit must be replaced.On A Holden Commodore Executive, front airbags cost about $500, side airbags $250 and the control unit (mounted under the seat) about $300. Holden's Laurie Sparke says airbags now cost about one 10th of those in the early '80s.About 50 per cent of crashes severe enough to deploy an airbag result in the car being written off.The cost of replacing airbags is usually insignificant compared with the cost of repairing damage to the vehicle.It's rapid acceleration or deceleration that sets off airbags, not the impact itself.Race cars are rarely fitted with airbags, partly because drivers wear helmets and full harnesses.They have been used by Mercedes-Benz in the DTM (German Touring Car Championship). V8 Supercar veteran John Bowe says they should be considered in Australia.The Lexus GS is Australia's airbag king with 14, including driver and passenger knee-protection bags.People who see an airbag deploy are often startled by a cloud of white dust. This is cornflour, which acts as a lubricant when the airbag deploys.

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.