Holden Commodore 2007 News

Cancer as a boy left him blind in one eye, but it hasn't slowed him down. The 51-year-old Gold Coast businessman has owned a host of performance cars from a Mini Cooper S to his current 400 horsepower Trans-Am Mustang and has raced since he was 40. Except for the years 1998-2001 when CAMS took away his race licence because of his sight.Rigon loves a good stoush, so he took CAMS to court and won and is now the only one-eyed driver licensed to race in national events. His first car was a 1968 Mini Cooper S former NSW police pursuit vehicle."The police had GTHOs, Chargers and Mini Cooper Ss back then," he explains. "It had great handling and was very quick, but I eventually blew the engine up driving it too hard."He then moved to a Mazda RX4 Coupe "rocketship", followed by several company cars, a GTV6 Alfa Romeo in 1989 and a Porsche 911 Carrera. "The Alfa stayed with me for some time and was picked up by a collector in Western Australia, an 81-year-old lady who had it fully restored it," he said. "Being Italian it never stayed together and spent more time in the repair shop than it was on the road, but it was a great car to own."His current everyday cars are a 2007 V8 SS Commodore and an ex-police Ford Typhoon F6: "I like to buy ex-police cars because they are looked after and have a few trick bits."Rigon was a late starter to racing at the age of 40 competing in the WA Formula Ford series against eventual winner Garth Tander. He's made up for it since with a host of race cars, including two Subaru WRX STIs. But the Trans-Am Mustang he bought early last year is his favourite."It's the most pleasurable car to drive because it is not as technical as a modern race cars which are very forgiving," he says. "Modern race cars take a lot of technology to make them run quick but there is a lot more driver skill required in old cars. They tend to go sideways quite a bit.""It's something about our age group. It was the car that always appealed to me. "I was heavily inspired by Steve McQueen in Bullitt and always loved American Trans-Am (1964 to '74 American V8-powered cars) racing series as well as the Australian equivalent with Bob Jane, Allan Moffat driving around in Mustangs and Comaros. That was the style of racing I could really identify with."He's now the treasurer of the fledgling Australian Trans-Am Series which, not surprisingly, doesn't operate under CAMS licensing. "The average age of the racers is 45 to 60 and those drivers wouldn't necessarily get a CAMS licence which can take a year to get a full licence," he says.The series has 24 members with about 12-14 cars lining up on the grid. "We believe that will grow to a full field of 24 in about six months and about 34 in 12 months at any race meeting making it the largest Trans-Am series outside the US."Needless to say, his dream machine is a race car. "One of those limited edition GT3 Porsches," he is quick to answer. "I have always had a love for Ferraris but Porsches can take a pounding. They are a bullet proof car. For my driving style - while I love Italian cars - they just don't stay together." 

The overwhelming response to the Victorian Chamber of Automotive Industries' future car competition, is prompting the chamber to take it national. About 100 school and university students entered this year's "Target 2020" competition to design the car of the future. Now in its fourth year, the competition has some significant design muscle behind it from the car industry. The man behind the VE Commodore wagon and spectacular Efigy concept hotrod, GM-Holden chief designer Richard Ferlazzo is on board as one of the chief judges. "This year's entrants are of an incredibly high standard," he says. "It's also a great initiative." Ferlazzo also singled out the quality of the entries from secondary school students. "They are particularly good," he says. The VACC's generation manager, communications and marketing, Tim O'Brien, says the award is gaining widespread credibility among young designers. "It is now becoming a valid stepping stone," he says. The entries were received across three disciplines, three-dimensional models, designs or essays. O'Brien says some of detailing and the thought processes of the candidates were exceptionally good. He says the students have not shied away from the economic, environmental and energy challenges facing all manufacturers. "There is a green theme through a lot of them and that's inspiring to see," he says. Secondary and tertiary entrants had a choice of three categories in Target 2020, model making, drawing/design or an essay. Ferlazzo says the winner of the model making category, Kevin Lee from Monash University, answered the critical questions of mobility in the future. Lee's space-saving Pendulous pod uses two gyroscopic wheels for movement and when stationary, can be mounted in a special space-saving pod when parked. "He has really thought out the whole process of how we move around in 2020," Ferlazzo says. Ferlazzo also applauded the Cub entry from Nishant Mathur of the Melbourne High School. Mathur's entry won the secondary school drawing/design category. "Great presentation and execution," Ferlazzo says. Ferlazzo applauds the VACC for getting behind young designers. "Competitions like this are a big help," he says. "When they come through as graduates they tend to have a real feel for the car brands." Last year, as with the previous year, the winning tertiary students found employment with Holden and Ford. Winners for the model making and drawing/design categories receive $3000, while the essay winner receives $500. Each winning entrant's school, TAFE or university also receives a similar amount. Visitors to the Melbourne Motor Show will be able to check out the winners and the finalists. The 11-day show starts on February 27.   The Winners Secondary Design Category   Car: Cub Nishant Mathur Melbourne High School Secondary Model Making Category   Car: Aero Cameron Newnhan Scotch College Tertiary Design Category   Car: Velos Matt Blythman Swinburne University Tertiary Model Making Category   Car: Pendulous Kevin Lee Monash University

Its VE Commodore has qualified for the benchmark five-star safety rating awarded by the Australian New Car Assessment Program after a series of upgrades that bring it into line with the Falcon, which got the first five-star tick for a locally-made car earlier this year. The problem, for the moment, is only the Omega sedan model in the Commodore range is rated as a five-star car. The missing link for the rest of the Commodore family is a reminder light for the front passenger's seatbelt, something which will be added from January production at the GM Holden factory in Adelaide. "We have made the commitment that the passenger seatbelt reminder will be standard across the range," Holden spokesperson, Kate Lonsdale, said. Holden has made a series of safety upgrades to the VE range this year, adding extra side and side-curtain airbags. There is also an energy absorbing panel on the steering column shroud, and the seatbelt reminder on the $37,290 Omega. "Of course it is disappointing that this five-star result does not apply to all Commodore sedan models, but we are confident Holden will address this next year,” said Michael Case, chief engineer with the RACV, one of the ANCAP partners. “There was an issue with the lack of a front passenger seat belt reminder on the Commodore, but Holden has undertaken to incorporate these reminders into their production processes through 2009 to ensure other Commodore variants offer the same levels of protection." While the Commodore has done well, the latest ANCAP crash-test results are not as good for some other makes and models. The Ford Falcon ute and Honda's compact Jazz both got a four-star rating but the baby Nissan Micra only got a three-star score, no better than the company's four-wheel drive Navara and Isuzu's D-Max ute. The Jazz missed a five-star tick because the top models with six airbags are not fitted with ESP stability control, which is essential for the top ranking in 2009, while Ford did not submit the ute for the pole-impact test necessary for the top mark. “ANCAP is still waiting for the breakthrough of a five-star commercial vehicle so that tradespeople, couriers and other such vehicle users can have the same level of safety as company executives,” Case said. And, once again, the pedestrian safety ratings — a new focus for ANCAP — were below the crash-test score in every case. The Jazz rated three stars from four for pedestrian protection, the Falcon ute and Micra got two, but the Commodore, Navara and D-Max only got one each. "These results are clearly disappointing," Case said.   ANCAP SAFETY SCORES December 2008 5 stars: Holden Commodore Omega 4 stars: Ford Falcon ute Honda Jazz 3 stars: Nissan Micra Nissan Navara D22 4wd Isuzu D-Max utility  

The Holden VE Ute, voted the best car by carsguide readers, is among 122 products shortlisted for this year's Australian International Design Awards.Other shortlisted products include the Saab 9-3 BioPower with a choice of ethanol, economical diesel or petrol powered engines.The new Volkswagen Eos CSC is on the list for its world-first, five-section hard top with an integrated sliding/tilting glass roof.The Freighter EziLiner trailer is listed for its semi-automatic system for vertically tensioning the side curtains.There are also listings for Volvo's C30 and the Renault Scenic and Grand Scenic family vehicles.A panel of industry professionals will spend a week judging each of them for their originality, design, safety and commercial viability.This year's judging panel includes design experts from Motorola, Frog Design and Smart Design in the US and top Australian designers.The winners of the 50th annual awards will be announced on 30, May 2008.This year the Australian Design Awards become the Australian International Design Awards as local products compete on the world stage.Awards manager Stephanie Watson said a win this year against global competition would mean even more for local designers.Entries cover a range of industry sectors other than automotive, including consumer, business and technology, medical and scientific, sport and leisure, housing and building, agriculture and heavy machinery and furniture and lighting.

Holden has just recorded record sales of V8s, while NRMA Insurance claims more than 40 per cent of southeast Queensland drivers are deliberately downsizing to a more fuel-efficient car.Meanwhile, the VFACTS industry figures show Queenslanders bought fewer light cars than the national average, but more medium and large cars and more large and luxury SUVs.Holden claims strong sales of its top-end VE Commodore models, such as SS, SS V and Calais V, pushed V8 Commodore numbers past the 2003 record of 10,982 by almost 500.Sales of V6 and V8 Commodores to private buyers were also up 35 per cent on 2006.However, NRMA Insurance Queensland manager Brett Robinson said drivers aged 45 and over were the most likely in southeast Queensland to have bought a greener model.The company released a study conducted by Woolcott Research in August-September of 400 southeast Queensland households, which showed only 28 per cent of people aged 25-34 would buy a more fuel-efficient car.That figures rose to 38 per cent in the 35-44 years category and 46 per cent over 44.The southeast Queensland region with the highest percentage of fuel-efficient car ownership was the Sunshine Coast with 52 per cent, followed by Gold Coast with 47 per cent, Brisbane on 31 per cent, compared with southeast Queensland's average of 40 per cent.Those figures include used cars, not just new cars.If you look at the VFACTS figures for 2007 new vehicle sales, it shows that Queenslanders love a big SUV and a commercial vehicle, reflecting the business growth of the state.While the national rise in light car sales was 10.2 per cent, they rose only 8.4 in Queensland.Small cars grew at the same 5.9 per cent rate as nationally, but medium cars grew 9.3 per cent in Queensland compared with 5.6 and large cars were slightly more enticing here with a 2.9 per cent increase compared with 2.3 nationally.While large SUV sales were down across the nation by 13.6 per cent, they dropped only 5 per cent in Queensland and luxury SUV sales grew at twice the rate of the 9 per cent national growth rate.Tradies' rides, such as two-wheel-drive utes and light commercial vehicles, grew 6.5 per cent in Queensland against a national rate of 15 per cent, while 4WD versions were only slightly up at 23.3 per cent compared with 22.3 nationally. 

On the day it was named as Australia's top selling car in 2007, Holden has recalled 86,000 current model V6 Commodores and Statesmans because of the risk of an engine bay fuel leak that could cause a fire.The recall affects all V6 VE Commodores and WM Statesman and Caprice long-wheelbase models built by the company since the new generation model was launched in mid-2006, following a $1 billion development program.Holden spokesman John Lindsay said the recall was a precaution to prevent a potential fuel leak under the bonnet."We've got a condition where one of the fuel lines in the engine compartment has the potential to rub against a clip on an adjacent hose, so over a period of time this could potentially - and I emphasise potentially - result in a leak in the hose and a fuel smell may become evident," Mr Lindsay said."The chances of this happening are very low but obviously we are erring on the side of caution and we are administering a recall of all (V6) VE and WM Commodores since the start of production..."The fuel leak problem had affected about 20 of the 86,000 cars affected by the recall, Mr Lindsay said.The recall includes about 53,000 Commodores and Statesmans sold in Australia, about 5000 in New Zealand, 27,000 sold in the Middle East and 784 in Brazil.But the lucrative export of its Pontiac G8 version of the car has not been affected because the US models use a different layout under the bonnet.Holden will launch a national advertising campaign to advise owners of the recall. The company will also write to owners individually.They will be asked to contact their Holden dealer's service or Holden's recall advice line - 1800 632 826 - to arrange for a simple repair to re-route the affected fuel line.A similar recall of 1850 V8 models of the same car was announced in October 2006, because of a fuel line in the engine bay that was supplied to Holden by an outside company that could, under certain circumstances, be torn.Then, a month later about 13,000 cars were recalled because of a minor fault in the rear seatbelt buckles on some cars.The recall comes as the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries officially announced the Holden Commodore was Australia's top-selling car last year.Last year was a bumper year for car sales, with more than one million cars sold in Australia in a single year for the first time. 

Specialist car builder and former racer Erich Bitter has been using General Motors cars for some time and from this month is making a performance Bitter Vero model from a Statesman donor.Holden exports variants of the VE and WM sedan ranges around the world, mainly as Chevrolets and Pontiacs.However, GM Holden media relations national manager John Lindsay said Bitter bought the cars directly from them."I believe he was a friend of (former Holden boss and now GM Europe's product planning head) Peter Hannenberger which is how the relationship was established," he said."We just sell him the cars and he then customises them and resells. We don't get involved in the tech or design side."At the 2003 Geneva Motor Show, Bitter displayed a Holden Monaro/Pontiac GTO based coupe, called the CD II.However, the prototype, which was rumoured to have a V12 engine, never went into production.Bitter this year took the wraps off his Statesman-based Bitter Vero in his former hometown of Schwelm. The company also unveiled a new philosophy, 'Bitter Horsepower.'Under the sculpted hood sits GM's six-litre V8 engine, which produces 270kW of power.The all-aluminium power plant is mated to a four-speed automatic and from May 2008 a six speed automatic will be an option.The biggest visible modification is the new nose with a large, low-mounted grille and massive Bitter logo.Bitter has also modified the suspension, brakes and interior.The Vero can only be ordered directly from Bitter in Germany where it will cost almost as much as a Maserati Quattroporte. 

Sales of V8 Commodores will reach a record at the end of the month, as Holden's family car celebrates its 12th straight year as Australia's favourite.Sports utes have also boosted demand for V8 engines, with the SS and SS-V models in the latest VE family accounting for 70 per cent of deliveries this year.But GM Holden admits growing demand has sharpened its focus on technologies to improve the V8's all-round efficiency.“With such a strong demand for our V8s it would be no surprise that we are now seriously and actively looking at introducing active fuel management here in Australia,” GM Holden chairman Chris Gubbey says.GM has used cylinder deactivation for more than 10 years, with systems that cut back V8s to six or four-cylinder operation during idling or freeway cruising.Hi-tech systems are doing a similar job to cut emissions at idle and GM Holden is moving quickly to get a new computer controller system for its Commodore V8.“It is called displacement on demand. When you don't have any demand it drops to four cylinders,” Mr Gubbey says. He has not given a timetable but the V8 update will probably be part of the mid-cycle VE update, which should come at the end of next year.GM Holden is also working on biofuel operation for its local powerplants, flagged at the unveiling in September of its VE Sportwagon at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney. “We are looking across our whole range, what we need to do on going green and fuel economy,” Mr Gubbey says.The growing popularity of V8 VEs comes as Holden celebrates a richer model mix, which is boosting its bottom line for the same number of cars sold.“Commodore is on track for its 12th successive year as Australia's No. 1 seller, currently about 10,000 units ahead of its nearest rival,” Mr Gubbey says.“There are some interesting facts on how this is going because private sales are increasing. We are about 40 per cent up on the same period last year, proving how popular it still is with Aussie families.”And the V8 is doing best of all. “V8 sales are significantly up,” he says.“Almost double in real terms. We're actually on track to have a record sale of V8s this year, even surpassing the golden years of 2001 to 2003."“It has gone from about 10 per cent of our mix to almost 20 per cent this year.” 

Dale Earnhardt Jr is the most popular driver in the US and reportedly earns more than $50 million per year.He is in Australia on holidays and arranged for the test drive at the Ipswich track in a Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore two weeks ago when he was at Phillip Island for the V8 Supercar season finale.No details or times were released by the team.The 33-year-old has been voted the most popular driver in NASCAR for the past five years.While Earnhardt Jr was having fun, team owner Paul Morris and his new driver Russell Ingall were getting down to business for next season.Ingall had his first run in his new Commodore since returning to Holden from Ford and Morris has secured a three-year sponsorship from retail chain Supercheap Auto.The deal replaces Sirromet wines as the team's primary sponsor. Sirromet is owned by Morris's father Terry."For the past six to seven years we have been building our team to the point where we could sign a driver of Russell's calibre, and we've now reached that point," Morris said yesterday.New Zealand's Fabian Coulthard has been signed by Paul Cruickshank Racing for next year.He replaces the retired John Bowe in the team's Ford Falcon.

Every car on the BMW stand at the Frankfurt Motor Show this year was white and the Vatican has joined trendsetters by ordering the new Mercedes-Benz G500 cabrio Popemobile in “Vatican mystic white."The Pope joins millions of car buyers whose colour of choice is white or pearl, according to the latest global colour survey by North American paint maker DuPont.White has displaced silver as a preferred colour for the first time in seven years, according to the DuPont survey.However, despite its global findings, silver still ranks as one of the more popular colours in Australia at Holden, Mitsubishi and Toyota.But 50 per cent of Ford buyers overwhelmingly choose white, in part because many are fleet sales. Silver, in its various shades, accounts for 30 per cent of colour choices.Silver ranks top with Holden at 25 per cent, closely followed by black, then white, spokesman John Lindsay says. Buyers of Holden's sports models the SS and SV8 are more likely to choose black, followed by silver.At Mitsubishi, silver edges out white as the most popular colour.DuPont says that after seven years as the world's top colour choice, silver was edged out by white/pearl in one key region and two countries.In North America, white/pearl, silver and black/black-effect are just behind white/pearl.The return to white is being seen in many show and concept cars at international car shows, particularly the Frankfurt Motor Show.In Japan, white overcame silver as the leader by a slim margin; 24 per cent versus 22 per cent. In Mexico, white outpolled grey by a huge margin, 32 per cent of Mexican buyers choosing white.DuPont has tracked colour statistics for more than 55 years and this year marks the first time white or pearl has become a trend-setter.However, the company expects new black metallic and other colour effects to gain popularity.Red continues to gain ground with people wishing to exercise their individuality.“Our customers are looking at niche colours and effects such as matte finishes and warm neutrals with effect,” DuPont colour marketing and technology manager Karen Surcina says.