Holden Commodore 2007 News

Greenies despise them, oil companies love them, and politicians make a lot of money from them. But it would seem that the days of thirsty Commodores are at an end.Unfortunately, the politicians will still make money (though not as much) and the greenies will never be satisfied until we have Flinstone-style foot pedals to power our cars. But the oil companies may be put out by the VE Commodore on today’s stand.The VE SportWagon concept was the launch pad for two green-tinged announcements; though their acceptance and installation on actual production Commodores is a long way from being realised.One of GM’s satellite companies, Saab, has been sharing the love with its larger Aussie sibling. The Ethanol-powered BioPower Saab range has only recently launched here after taking over in its home country of Sweden, and will hitch a ride with the Holden bandwagon to kick-start the homogeny of E85 alternative fuel.E85 stands for the fuel mix of 85 per cent Ethanol to 15 per cent petrol. The vehicle’s standard engine remains, but it is tuned to run on E85, or the 10 per cent ethanol mix (E10) which is more widely available. Of course, it will also run on petrol, but without the fuel savings.And Ethanol not only carries the enviro-tick of being a ‘replenishable’ fuel source (depending on how you look at it, it still uses a lot of energy in the refining process) but adds a 20 percent power improvement in the current E85 Saab 9-5 vehicle.Holden also announced today that it will run cylinder deactivation on a V8 in the near future. Called Active Fuel Management, the system disables up to four cylinders when at cruise or idle, essentially offering the economy of a four-cylinder during this time.Now, to the wagon itself.After leaked pictures revealed the big-booted backside several months ago, the public have been expecting a production version on the Sydney stand.The Sportwagon taking centre stage was as close as it gets in appearance, trim and overall design, but the true road-going production car will not be released until the first half of next year.The production-based concept features a massive rear opening hatch with a higher cargo floor and 60:40 rear seat folding. Stability and traction control will be standard across the range, and its spec and pricing is expected to match the new Ute and VE sedan range, from an Omega base car up to a Calais V luxury model.One thing is for sure – if it is released with a competitive price, and comparatively competitive fuel figure, it will be hard for families to look past it. Until the new Ford Falcon, of course… 

Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup showed nerves of steel in the final laps after a roller-coaster ride in the wet at Mt Panorama yesterday to make it successive Bathurst 1000 titles.The Lowndes-Whincup combination also made it a winning enduro double after success at the Sandown 500 three weeks ago.A mistake from Whincup when he misjudged his line into pit lane on the last driver change nearly cost the Ford Triple 8 Team Vodafone victory.“Craig brought the car home nicely,” Whincup said.“This was an amazing win ... a bit special. To have won Bathurst back-to-back and also win at Sandown, I can't put into words.”Team owner Roland Dane described Lowndes and Whincup's drive as “brilliant”.The win also saw Whincup take over at the top of the leaderboard on 461 points, followed by Lowndes (445) with four rounds remaining before the grand finale at Phillip Island in December.James Courtney (Stone Brothers Racing) was second yesterday and Steve Johnson (Jim Beam) third to make it a Ford trifecta, the first since 1988.Greg Murphy (Tasman Motorsport) was the highest-placed Holden driver, in fourth.Yesterday's race turned in a fraction of a second on lap 150, 11 from the end.Jason Bright (Britek Motorsport), Mark Skaife (HRT) and Russell Ingall (Stone Brothers) were caught out by the change in weather as rain turned the circuit into a skating rink.Bright was leading when he gambled on a late pit stop, to drive the final kilometres on cold slicks as the weather closed in from the southwest.The ploy badly misfired. Across the top of the mountain, at McPhillamy Park, he ended in the sand pit as did Skaife after a close shave with the concrete wall.Ingall also hobbled into the pits on three tyres and no brakes.But the heart-breaking story of the day belonged to Rick Kelly and Garth Tander in the No1 Toll HSV Commodore, after the car was retired on lap 132 of the scheduled 161.Kelly started the day as series leader on 443 points, nine in front of Tander, with Whincup and Lowndes on their rear bumper.“We worked pretty hard and believed we had a package to be up the front, but it just wasn't our day,” Kelly said, knowing he had lost his championship lead.Kelly and Tander ran without luck all day. Mechanical problems plagued the car as early as lap 10.With Kelly and Tander out of the frame in the points, it was left to Skaife and Kelly's brother, Todd, in the No2 HRT Commodore, to take the race to the Falcons of Whincup, Lowndes, and early pacesetters Mark Winterbottom and Steven Richards in a FPR Ford.Richards won the start after Winterbottom had put the car on pole by beating off Holden top guns Skaife and Kelly into the first corner and up Mountain Straight.Kelly had no luck, nearly coming to grief on lap 25 as he diced with Lowndes.He shredded the left rear tyre at the end of Conrod Straight at almost 290km/h.The car went into a violent backward skid across the track as Lowndes dived inside, narrowly avoiding being T-boned.The young driver from Mildura nursed the stricken Commodore into the pits for the mechanics to make some hurried temporary repairs, add new rubber, take on a full tank of fuel and swap seats with co-driver Tander at the start of the second hour of racing.When Tander entered the fray for the first time, the Toll Holden entry had dropped to 26th.In the pre-race warm-up, John Bowe's co-driver Jonathon Webb, at the wheel of the No111 Glenford PCR Falcon, sustained mechanical failure halfway up Mountain Straight and hit a concrete barrier.That left pit-crew chief Hayden Morris and his mechanics less than two hours to replace the damaged front-end panels.Another hard-luck story came from Cameron McConville in the No50 Supercheap Auto Commodore. McConville was to have been 16th on the grid, but never got to the start line after the engine on his car blew up on the warm-up lap.“This is hard to believe,” McConville said. “We had some sort of a misfire, but I just couldn't get time to roll the thing back into the pits before the race start. I think we may have dropped a valve or something.”The McConville incident led to the first of seven occasions when the safety car had to be called out.Andrew Jones in the BOC Ford came to an end on lap 53 after fire broke out under the bonnet.

That sounds like a warning to the rest of the field.Murphy has won four times, but the ace Kiwi never previously expressed too much confidence in his chances before the event.Those wins were with Craig Lowndes in 1996, Steve Richards in 1999 and back-to-back triumphs with Rick Kelly in 2003 and 2004.After a solid drive into the Top 10 for today's Bathurst 1000, New Zealand's best known motor racer has come out firing.“The car hasn't been doing what I wanted most of the year, but with changes now it is,” Murphy said.“I am starting to become more comfortable and regain my confidence. It's nice to be able to push the car to the limit again.”Murphy will drive with another Kiwi, Jason Richards, for Tasman Racing. They are being kept safe by bookies, who are offering the pair as sixth favourite at $13.But most fans see the event as a race in four, including the experienced Steven Richards in his campaign with Ford star, Mark Winterbottom.Winterbottom put their car on top of qualifying on Friday and said there were faster times ahead.Richards says the FPR Falcon is the best car he has driven at Mt Panorama, no trite statement seeing he has won twice at the mountain. “We couldn't be in a better position,” he said.Holden drivers Rick Kelly and Garth Tander have assumed race favouritism after Ford stars Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup were slightly off the pace in early qualifying.Tander said yesterday he and Kelly would not try to gap the field, even though many consider they have a speed edge on everyone else.“We will try for a consistent pace,” he said, an acknowledgement the expected safety car periods tend to counteract any substantial leads built during the first few hours.Ford fans will not read too much into Lowndes' early qualifying position. He has made a habit of starting slowly this season, but in recent rounds he has produced the goods when it mattered.“We have the form coming out of the Sandown win,” Lowndes said. “We have a brand new car and we are as confident as it is wise to be at Mount Panorama.”The other prominent combination for today's race is Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly, the 2005 winners.Kelly was second last year with his brother, Rick, but Skaife was mangled on the first lap.Skaife's team is acknowledged as having the best backed car in the field, with the support of the Holden empire. The young blokes might like to lead from the front, but drivers with Skaife's experience realise this race is won in the last hour not in qualifying.

Previous Bathurst 1000 Winners 1963 Harry Firth/Bob Jane Ford Cortina GT 1964 Bob Jane/George Reynolds Ford Cortina GT 1965 Bo Seton/Midge Bosworth Ford Cortina GT500 1966 Rauno Aaltonen/Bob Holden Morris Mini Cooper S 1967 Harry Firth/Fred Gibson Ford Falcon XRGT 1968 Bruce McPhee/Barry Mulholland Holden Monaro GTS

It's just what the fans ordered; the long-enduring Ford v Holden rivalry at the spiritual home of Australian motorsport - Bathurst.The Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 is THE race on every Australian motorsport fan's calendar, and with a few extra incentives, 2007 should be a ripper.Championship-leading team-mates Rick Kelly and Garth Tander will share the drive in the Toll HSV Dealer team Commodore, after good showings in the last round at Sandown.While the Fords dominated, Kelly finished second with Paul Radisich as co-driver, and Tander was fourth with Craig Baird.Reigning Bathurst champs Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup (Team Vodafone Ford) took the honours in Melbourne and will be going all out to make it a Sandown 500-Bathurst 1000 double.Lowndes has done it before, like his former mentor, the late great Peter Brock, after whom the Bathurst trophy has been named.The competition is tight with Rick Kelly leading on 443 points, followed by Tander (434), Whincup (389), Lowndes (373) and Todd Kelly on 324. But Bathurst is more about the race itself as opposed to championship points, and thus the pairings chosen by the respective teams.Bathurst is the big one and the Commodores and Falcons are the main players.The rev-heads will be out in force, though revelry has been contained to some extent in recent years, and the mountain will be packed.Mt Panorama has been the scene of some incredible racing and dramas down the years, with Brock's and Dick Johnson's thrills and spills etched in the minds of Queensland fans.Now, after a changing of the guard, it's the young guns who dominate. Though there are plenty still capable of lifting the Peter Brock Trophy high on the mountain, including former champ Mark Skaife, currently sixth (273 points), the most likely combatants for the big one will be KellyTander (Ford) and LowndesWhincup (Holden).Which ever way it goes it will be another huge weekend of racing at Bathurst, with plenty of fast-paced action, bumps and grinds, plus the roar of the big V8s.

Speaking at its launch last week in Melbourne, Holden chairman Chris Gubbey confirmed two examples of the ute that are being tested in North America.It is a clear indication of GM intentions to sell the ute in the US as a Chevrolet El Camino.GM powerbroker Bob Lutz makes no secret of the fact he'd like to see the car in the US market, but Gubbey isn't so forthcoming.“It's definitely not a done deal. We have prototypes over there. They are reviewing the vehicle. Holden is now the centre for rear-wheel-drive for General Motors. We're looking at any opportunity we can to export any product we come out with,” he says.Gubbey says the car has received a positive reception from GM officials, but says a deal hasn't been worked out.“The guys who have seen it in the US are really excited about the design. They just have to balance whether that fits the demographics and segmentation of their own markets,” Gubbey says.Holden design director Tony Stolfo says it is now a requirement, given the local car market and global climate, that the company share resources.Stolfo also says he has drafted a concept for an El Camino version of the ute, but Gubbey insists the US arm has not had a hand in the ute's styling.“You can't design and build a car specifically for Australia. You have to find a dance partner,” Stolfo says.But though the export deal seems only a matter of time, getting a diesel engine in Holden's Ute is far less likely.Gubbey confirms the company is investigating a diesel engine, but says a diesel ute won't fit the market demand.“We're looking at all the alternative types of propulsion. But again, you have to look at the car's size and type, and the type of customer who's looking for the car.“You're more liable to see some of the alternatives coming in the smaller variants. This is a weekday workhorse and a weekend warrior, a practical car during the week and a sportscar at the weekend.“The aspirational buyer who wants to buy a ute has a pretty fixed idea what he wants to see under the bonnet.”Holden engineering executive director Tony Hyde is more blunt in his diesel views: “We'd love to have one. We're waiting to see what happens with the VM Motori deal. I don't mind venting my frustration. We are definitely interested.” 

The shipment of Commodores, rebadged as Chevrolet Omega, also marks the 10th year of Holden exports to Brazil.Brazil joins the US, Middle East, South Africa and New Zealand as markets for the VE Commodore and WM Statesman.China, where the previous long-wheelbase Statesman was sold as the Buick Royaum, is expected to be next on the list.Holden has actively positioned itself as a global manufacturer to help underpin the continuing viability of its local operations.Holden and Toyota are the only local carmakers with an active export program, though Ford has export plans for next-generation Focus, which will be built here from 2011. It expects to ship 15,000 cars a year overseas.Mitsubishi had hoped to enter an export program with Proton for its 380 sedan, but that deal fell through.From next year, cars built by Holden will be sold around the world by five brands.GM-Holden chairman and managing director Chris Gubbey says the company was able to get the investment needed for the VE program because of its export opportunities.Apart from Brazil, VEs rebadged as Pontiac G8s are soon to be sold in the US.Gubbey says VE and WM Statesman and Caprice were specifically developed with design hardware and suspensions that can be easily adapted for different markets.“VE and WM are generating a great response from our global GM partners, so much so that we expect to export 50 per cent of the vehicles we make by the end of next year,” he says.Brazil's media has already praised the Omega after a preview last month.GM Holden export manager Kristian Aquilina says the ethanol E24-capable Omega is sold as Chevrolet's flagship model in Brazil.“The Omega's position as the top model in Chevrolet's line-up confirms Holden's ability to produce a world-class product,” he says.Holden has exported more than 9000 vehicles there since 1998.The Holden export program started in 1954 with a small shipment of FJ Holdens to New Zealand. Last year 46,074 Holdens were shipped, taking the tally to more than 700,000. 

GM Holden unveiled its first new Ute range in seven years in Melbourne yesterday, the result of a $105m investment by the company.Launching the new range at Docklands in Melbourne, GM Holden boss, Chris Gubbey said almost 60 years of history had established the Holden Ute as a true Australian icon.“The Ute’s development tells the story of Australia. Today’s Ute is about working hard, playing hard and enjoying an active lifestyle. The new VE Ute is the benchmark of two door performance and attitude.” Mr Gubbey said.Development of the Ute cost $105 million, and this was on top of Holden’s $1 billion VE Commodore sedan program. Holden has also conducted around 650,000 km of validation testing for the new model.For the first time the Ute features Holden’s Electronic Stability Control Program crash avoidance safety technology as standard, and the new interior will provide increased cabin comfort and greater storage space. The tray is more functional and versatile has a new cargo liner fitted as standard.The new SS V high performance model packs a punch with a thumping 270kW V8 engine as well as a plethora of features and accessories including Bluetooth connectivity, alloy pedals, six-disc CD player, hard tonneau cover, ladder and roof rack, quad exhaust and a premium audio system.Wider wheel and tyre combinations are available across all models.Holden’s VE Ute is the first all-new Holden Ute since 2000. The complete range includes the entry level Omega V6, the SV6, the SS and the premium sport model, the SS V.

Ford is the latest manufacturer to join the rush to space-saver spare tyres. From October the Falcon range will come with a temporary space-saver spare tyre as standard despite the company's insistence last year that there were no plans to follow Holden's lead.“There was criticism of Holden when the VE was launched without a full-size spare and some of it was from us,” Ford Australia President Tom Gorman conceded in announcing the Blue Oval's move.Holden launched its VE range with a standard space-saver spare, an industry first for the Australian-made family-car market.“Since then we have been watching the market and this is where the market is moving. Consumers are telling us by what they are buying that a temporary spare tyre is not a major issue.”Gorman says a full-size spare will be available as an option in line with Holden's marketing, and the price of a full-size alloy has been cut from $400 to $150, while a 16 inch steel spare is $100.“It has become obvious that the full-size spare gave us no commercial advantage in the market,” Gorman says. While the move will trim 5kg from the Falcon's overall weight, Gorman says it will not provide any significant savings for the company in production costs nor shift the Falcon's fuel-economy rating.“There are some small savings but nothing that is going to make any real impact,” he says.While the last of current Falcons will be made with a spare tyre well capable of holding the optional full-size wheel, that will not be the case when the new Orion range arrives early next year.Gorman says the market's acceptance of space-savers spares will provide extra flexibility for the Orion cars with the possibility of two boot configurations, one for customers who are satisfied with a space-saver and want extra storage space and another for those who specify a full-size spare.Ford has also deleted the Barra 220 and Barra 230 V8s from its engine range.The decision to no longer offer the 5.4-litre 24-valve engine was driven by the Ford North American's decision to close the Essex plant in Windsor, Ontario, where the engine is made.“In reality it is not that big a decision,” he says. “We were only selling around 10 of those engines a month. We are not talking big numbers.”The affected models are the Fairmont Ghia, the Fairlane G220 and G8 and the LTD. The XR performance cars will not be affected as they use the 32-valve V8 which is still freely available.Gorman says Ford Australia has stockpiled enough of the three-valve engines to meet model demand until the arrival of the Orion. While Ford struggles to bolster its Falcon sales in the run-up to the arrival of the all-new model early next year, Gorman says he still has faith that the new car market will tip one million sales this year.“There are a couple of factors that could impact in the latter half of the year,” Gorman says. “Interest rates (rising) will have an effect. The federal election is another factor out of our control, but in any event the market will be one million and that will be a record.” 

The next-generation Ford Falcon will go better and use less fuel than the current BA model.The Orion-series Falcon will be on the road in March and take Ford's elderly in-line six into its final years before it is replaced by an imported V6 in 2010.But Ford Australia has not given up on the engine, company vice-president of product development Trevor Worthington promises CARSguide some significant improvements for next year, when it appears in the Orion.“The engine has a lot more opportunity in it and we are going to wring its neck for all of that opportunity,” Worthington says.“I'm not going to sit here and say what we are doing, but every time we have improved the engine since BA, (including) performance, fuel economy and refinement and you can be guaranteed we are going to continue down that path.”The Falcon's in-line six was substantially upgraded for the introduction of the BA Falcon model range in 2002 with a package that included twin-overhead camshafts with variable valve timing, as well as the turbo for the XR6.The engine was further improved for the introduction of the 2005 BF Falcon, when camshaft revisions increased power to 190kW and torque to 383Nm.Significantly, fuel consumption was reduced and the six-speed ZF automatic transmission added.That gave the six-speed BF Falcon an official fuel economy figure of 10.2 litres for 100km - 0.7 litres less than the leanest model in the VE Commodore range, though still 0.3 litres more than Toyota's locally developed Aurion V6.GM Holden's $1 billion VE Commodore did not deliver a significant improvement in fuel economy last year and some models actually used slightly more fuel because of extra weight, than the models they replaced.Worthington does not name the VE, but hints at Holden's competitor to the Falcon when he says it is imperative that any new Ford model should deliver fuel savings over the last.“That is what the customers want. If you are not moving forwards, you are going backwards,” he says.“You can't introduce a new car and (have) worse fuel economy. Some of our rivals have done that, but if you were a customer, what would you say?”He says other elements of the car must be as good or better than those of the previous models and it is the same with the engine.“If I get into a car and I have worse ergonomics or worse brakes . . . if you are trading in the old one, you expect everything to get better, and the powertrain is a really big part of it.”Though some improvements will be introduced for the Orion Falcon, others include design changes that would have seen the in-line six upgraded to satisfy Euro4 emission requirements, which were frozen when Ford Australia decided to switch to a US-sourced V6 from 2010.