Holden Commodore 2006 News

There has never been more diversity, or better value, in the business.And there are several very significant newcomers at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, from exotics with pricetags of up to $1 million to the all-new Toyota challenger to the Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore.New vehicle sales are predicted to run steady at 980,000 through 2006 after reaching a new high of 988,269 last year. It was the fourth straight year of growth, which has seen sales rise by more than 27 per cent since 2000.The four local carmakers - Mitsubishi, Ford, Holden and Toyota - face big challenges in an industry that is more open than ever before but all believe they are set for success.Mitsubishi introduced its all-new 380 in 2005 and increased its sales performance.Ford has the excellent Territory, the baby Fiesta and Focus are the best small cars in the company's history and it is working on an all-new successor to the BF Falcon for 2007.Holden, now in the run-up to its all-new VE Commodore later this year, will also have a full-size four-wheel drive for the first time. It is also pushing ahead strongly with value-priced small cars imported from Korea.Toyota will unveil its new local hero at the motor show and has a new Camry ready for action in the second half of the year as well as such new models for 2006 as the RAV4, Yaris sedan and a new Lexus LS flagship.GM Holden chairman Denny Mooney says: "We are all looking forward to what appears to be another great year to be in the car business."The market will continue to be very active with many new competitive entries launching, as well. In addition, the all-new Commodore will represent the most significant ground-up engineered vehicle we have ever done."Holden has been runner-up to Toyota in the sales race for the past three years but its Commodore has been Australia's favourite car for a straight decade despite the massive rise in fuel prices through 2005.Still, importers led by Mazda, Honda, Hyundai and Nissan have been huge winners in recent years with a wide range of new vehicles at competitive prices. It is a fragmentation which has made it tough to measure the business with traditional yardsticks.Mooney says each company will have a different view on this development.He adds: "In 2006 we're entering the year of the family car, which means new large cars, new SUVs (four-wheel-drives) and a few other surprises as well."The industry is responding in many different ways, which makes it exciting. Everyone is looking for that segment-buster or a twist on an old theme to gain ground."Holden and Ford were both worried by the decline in large-car sales through 2005 but both believe that new products will bring people back to traditional Aussie sixes."There are many factors driving the recent decline in large car sales," says Ford Australia chairman Tom Gorman."Nevertheless, we believe the large-car market in Australia still represents a significant market opportunity for the future."Territory is the perfect example of Ford being flexible enough to respond to changing market conditions. Our ability to read the market and create an all-new vehicle to react to changing trends has proven very successful for our brand."Toyota has done a great job with a hugely varied model line-up, but even it was forced to withdraw the Daihatsu brand from Australia in 2005 because its cars could not compete with Korean price leaders.Now it is aiming for large-car success and another year at No. 1.David Buttner, executive director of sales and marketing for Toyota Australia, says: "We see a market for 2006 between 980,000 and 990,000."He puts this down to 14 years of economic growth, record-low unemployment and a lack of pressure on interest rates."The outlook for 2006 is one of sustained demand in those areas which have remained strong . . . there is an expectation of recovery in markets which did diminish in response to new and different vehicle offerings."Mitsubishi says it had one of the biggest challenges of any firm in 2005 - launching the all-new Mitsubishi 380 at probably the toughest time in the last 20 years.Mitsubishi Motors Australia managing director Rob McEniry says: "This will be another extremely busy and challenging year with many new product offerings."He predicts all categories of car will stabilise in 2006 and that "the large-car segment will bounce back".Returning the market to "normality" will be the year's biggest challenge, he believes."Fuel prices, interest rates and global political instability will all be significant contributing factors to consumer confidence," McEniry says.

The all-new VE Commodore is being kept under wraps until it is ready for the road.GM Holden resisted the temptation to preview the car at the show, instead rolling its EFIJY concept car, the upcoming S3X four-wheel drive and the very last Monaro into the spotlights. The company also previewed a diesel-engined Astra and the T2X concept, a four-wheel drive coupe.It was a sharp contrast to Toyota, which did the best reveal of the show to introduce its upcoming Aurion V6, while Mitsubishi used the event to trumpet a Limited Edition 380 priced at $29,990. There was no big-six action at Ford, but it did rip the raps off its long-awaited Territory Turbo.GM Holden's chairman, Denny Mooney, said the company had considered a preview for the VE but eventually decided against it."We've still got several months of current product to sell," Mooney said."We talked about it at length. At one time we had potential plans to show it, but ...""I wish it was here today."GM Holden is still keeping as many VE secrets as possible, but Mooney revealed the company is considering a diesel engine for the car. "We have some diesel development work going on right now. But we do not have a production plan," he said."And diesels are more expensive. There is roughly 35 per cent more cost. So we either have to give them away or the consumer has to calculate the payback."Mooney admitted the demand for traditional Aussie sixes is as bad as it has been, but he believes the January results - where were poor for both the Commodore and Falcon - do not necessarily point to more pain through 2006."I'm optimistic. I feel good about the next four to six months," Mooney said."I believe when we have new product we will regenerate the excitement and support."The chief executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries believes new products will also revitalise the big-car class. "I think it will clearly be revived this year," Peter Sturrock said. "It's a rare coincidence that we have so much new product in one year. There is the VE, the new Camry and Aurion, and the Mitsubishi 380 is still new."They will clearly stimulate things. It will be the acid test for the Aussie six."

Bosch, the company that produces dynamic stability control systems for Holden and Ford, revealed its new smart airbags system at a CAPS (combined active and passive safety) forum in Melbourne last week.The Bosch CAPS system uses a car's existing stability-control sensors and computing hardware to predict when it is likely to crash.It then prepares the airbag for immediate deployment, saving precious milliseconds that could make all the difference in reducing the level of injury or avoiding injury altogether.The system is already being fitted, mainly to expensive European cars. But with the big guns from Holden, Ford, Toyota and Mitsubishi, including Holden chairman Denny Mooney, attending the Bosch forum, CAPS could be introduced as early as the next-generation Commodore and Falcon.Bosch chassis vice-president Patrick Ross says: "I think the fact we have all of the local manufacturers represented at this forum in fairly significant numbers shows they are definitely interested.`We are saying `here is the technology' and we are ready to support the local manufacturers with whatever they want."The system's main electronic control unit (ECU) is made by Bosch in Clayton, as is the electronic stability control (ESP) system already used on some Commodore, Falcon and Territory models.Bosch currently has next-generation VE Commodore test mules but won't confirm if these are testing the CAPS system.Holden spokesman Jason Laird says the company doesn't talk about future products, including the VE Commodore.Ford spokesman Andrew Ellis also refuses to confirm whether the CAPS system will appear on the next-model Falcon or Territory, but says the company is always looking at developing safety technologies.Bosch's CAPS is being developed using its uprated ESP Plus and ESP Premium modules to prepare for a rollover. This predicts when a car is going to flip, based on the car's sideways speed and rotation angle, and fires the side airbags three times faster than a car that doesn't have the system.Bosch revealed other safety technologies at the forum, such as infra-red cameras to help drivers see pedestrians at night, and ultrasonic detectors that differentiate between a person and a solid object, such as a garbage bin, to set off external airbags to protect pedestrians.

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.