Holden Commodore News

AUDI has drawn level with Ferrari on the all-time winners' list with   its success in the Le Mans 24-hour sports car classic last weekend.  The German brand's ninth victory was a 1-2-3 sweep - led by the 'youngster' car driven by Timo Bernhard, Mike Rockenfeller and Romain Dumas - helped by engine failures which sidelined all four Peugeot 908 coupes capable of upsetting the latest diesel-powered R15. Porsche is still the all-time champion at Le Mans.DAVID Fellows and Bark Bergamin took full advantage the speed in their twin-turbo Toyota Jimco Buggy to win the Fink Desert Race last weekend. Brad Gallard and Scott Modistach, driving a Chevy Trophy Truck, were second ahead of Daniel Auricht and Garry Connelly in a V8 -  powered Jimco Buggy.MARCOS Ambrose finally got something good from in Nascar season with 15th place in the Sprint Cup race at Michigan last weekend. He had an early spin but recovered for a solid result, although he is still only 30th in the championship standings and looking for better in the upcoming road-course races.JAMIE Whincup has a brand-new VE Commodore to take into battle against the similar all-new Holdens of Garth Tander and Will Davison of the Holden Racing Team this weekend in Darwin. The only major changes to the TeamVodafone racer are a seat moved further inboard to improve driver protection and some weight reduction which allows the team to run more ballast.SEBASTIAN Ogier has been promoted to the frontline of Citroen's effort in the World Rally Championship following his victory in the New Zealand Rally. The French youngster has been promoted into the official team alongside seven-time champion Sebastian Loeb for the gravel rallies through the rest of the 2010 series, although Spaniard Dani Sordo - who has been dropped - will return to the squad for bitumen events.AUSTRALIAN officials will make the difference again in a new Formula One race in a deal between CAMS and the organisers of the upcoming Korean Grand Prix in October. CAMS has won a three-year deal - similar to ones previously for the Malaysian and Singapore GPs - to supply training, organisational and operation support for the Korean crew.

But as far as I'm concerned the hotter the better.  The hot temperature seems to suit me better than most drivers who suffer from heat exhaustion.  I think it's because I don't sweat a lot. Some drivers are like that.So I intend to put a little heat on my teammate (Jamie Whincup) and JC (James Courtney) and close the gap this weekend.  I'm excited about coming to Darwin after a five-week layoff.I've had some good results here in the past, plus it's a bit of a homecoming for me because I've got two aunties that live in Darwin.  We also return to the hard-compound control tyre this weekend after two rounds of exclusively qualifying and racing on the soft sprint tyre.That's something all the teams will have to get their heads around again for qualifying and racing on the Saturday.  But just to throw a spanner in the works and make things interesting we get one sprint tyre to run in the Sunday race.Balancing the cars for the two different sets of circumstances is going to be taxing on the race engineers, in particular.  A lot of people have pointed out that I've had better results than Jamie on the sprint tyre and wonder why one side of the garage can get it so right and why the other side can't.Apart from car balance and set-up, it probably also comes down to driver styles.  The sprint tyre gives me what I'm looking for which is front grip. That gives me confidence in the turns.The Falcon I raced over the past few years had more turn-in grip than the Commodore I'm in now which is where I struggle.  Jamie struggled early on with the sprint tyre, but he's started to get on top of the problem and was achieving some good performances in the last round in Winton.He's also got a new brand new car this weekend, so that should build his confidence and help him bounce back into the lead again.  It seems like an eternity since we last raced at Winton. The five-week break was because the Perth round was dropped.One of the things I've been doing to keep my mind and reflexes sharp over that time is clay target shooting.  My wife Nat is more the shooter than I am. For her it's an enjoyable pastime, but for me it's another angle I use to sharpen my hand-eye co-ordination.The clay target machine we've had for the past 12 months oscillates so you don't know which direction it will throw the target. You really have to have quick reflexes to hit the targets.The next stage for me will be to turn it into an Aussie version of the winter Olympic cross country skiing event where they ski, then stop and shoot at five targets, then ski on to the next stop. Only I'll include running instead of skiing. The idea is you have to develop aerobic fitness and steady your heart so you can hold the rifle still enough to hit the target.  Maybe we can develop that into a summer Olympic sport. Most fans would know I've had photos of my kids on the back of my racing helmet for a few years now.  But they grow up so quick. So at the start of the season I had photos taken of them to update my helmet.However, I'm still waiting.  The guy who is doing it rang me and said he has only just got the undercoat on.  He's a perfectionist and a real artist so you can't hurry him.  Hopefully I'll have it for the first of the enduro rounds at Phillip Island after our nine-week mid-season break.

Caltex has just committed to install E85 ethanol pumps at 100 service stations in a little over 12 months, becoming the first mainstream fuel company to make a move on E85.It will begin the roll-out with 30 metropolitan and regional stations in time for the arrival of the VEII, joining about 400 stations which currently sell E10 fuel. The E85 fuel - already used in V8 Supercar racing as part of a green push - is made to a world standard and 70-85 per cent ethanol.In contrast, E10 has only 10 per cent ethanol content. The difference with ethanol is that it is an alcohol fuel made from plant material and not a petroleum-based fossil fuel. But the arrival of E85 at Caltex pumps is not the end of the ethanol story, as GM Holden and Caltex are also part of a six-way consortium - with Veolia, Mitsui, Coskata and the Victorian government - which plans to begin making ethanol fuel in Australia from rubbish.Coskata announced plans to create ethanol-from-waste fuel in the USA more than 18 months ago and was quickly joined in a partnership by General Motors, which is the world's largest producer of flex-fuel vehicles capable of running on E85 fuels.The Australia deal is likely to see a plant built in Victoria to manufacture second-generation ethanol fuel, a move which overcomes the 'food for fuel' debate in the USA where corn stock is the base material for E85.

Australians Will Power and Ryan Briscoe had a tough time in the   classic Indianapolis 500 last weekend, although Power battled with eventual race winner Dario Franchitti in the early laps from second on   the starting grid and came home eighth. Briscoe, his Penske Racing team mate, crashed on cold tyres after a pitstop and was classified   24th after starting fourth.Garth Tander and Will Davison have all-new Holden Commodores for the next round of the V8 Supercar championship in Darwin. The new cars are   chassis numbers WR012 and WR013, replacing the Holden Racing Team Commodores which have run for more than three years, and Davison's is his first new car since coming into the championship.Sebastian Loeb is finally under threat in the World Rally Championship after being beaten by his Citroen junior protege Sebastian Ogier in the Portugal Rally last weekend. Ogier is the standout youngster in the championship and, after threatening to unseat Loeb in New Zealand last month, finally delivered a 7.9-second win in Portugal in an identical Citroen C4, with the third of the French factory cars in third with Dani Sordo driving.The deal for the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island has just been extended until 2016, with future options which could see the race at the Victorian track until 2026. The Australian GP Corporation confirmed the extension as it named truck company Iveco as naming rights sponsor for the MotoGP races in 2010 and 2011.Porsche driver David Wall dominated the third round of the Australian GT Championship last weekend at Eastern Creek, qualifying second and winning both mini-endurance events relatively easily. Mark Eddy had his best finish yet in his exotic Audi R8, finishing second ahead of Tony Quinn in a Mosler, after twin one-hour events at the Sydney track.FORMER V8 Supercar racer Darren Hossack was the big winner in the Sports Sedan feature event on the Shannons Nationals' program at Mallala in South Australia last weekend, driving from the rear of the field for one memorable win as he swept three starts in his V8 Audi.  Series leader Matt Kingsley was the winner in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge and Ben Barker emerged as a serious Formula 3 title contender after beating young New Zealand ace Mitch Evans.

Last month a record 89,218 new-vehicle sales were reported up a solid 18.3 per cent on the 74,441 of May last year. The previous best May was in 2008, before the global financial crisis, with 8,640.It means 422,446 new-vehicle sales this year nationally, a good 20 per cent growth (or 70,000 more sales) on the first five months of last year.  The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, which released its Vfacts figures yesterday, now projects total sales of more than 1 million this calendar year.David Buttner, sales and marketing boss for Toyota which remains most popular brand in Australia predicts 1 million sales now will be easily passed in the financial year about to end.  In the 11 months of this financial year, the tally reads 904,551 vehicles. The final four weeks of ‘end of financial year sales’ have begun, and in each of the past three June totals, 100,000 has been achieved.Mr Buttner pointed out one in five new vehicles sold in Australia was now a Toyota.  FCAI head, Andrew McKellar said the SUV segment with 29 per cent growth on May last year and passenger cars, up 19 per cent, were leaders."But all segments increased during the month, demonstrating a genuine recovery in the marketplace," he said.  He said private buyers were returning in large numbers, taking over the momentum provided by business buyers this year.  Holden achieved its fifth consecutive month of growth, 24 per cent up on May last year.The Commodore with 3899 sales last month regained its top place while Toyota's HiLux, the April leader, was back to second place on 3665. It means Commodore remains in front in sales so far this year in its fight to be Australia's favourite car again in 2010.Falcon has third place for May and Mazda3 outsold rival Toyota Corolla while Holden Cruze imported at present but to be built in Adelaide from next year is in sixth place.  Mitsubishi is celebrating after its Lancer doubled sales of May last year to leap into the top-cars list.  Vehicles selling more than 1500 last month (with year-to-date in brackets):1. Holden Commodore 3899 (18,428)2. Toyota HiLux 3665 (17,287)3. Ford Falcon 3258 (13,349)4. Mazda3 2901 (16,155)5. Toyota Corolla 2796 (14,933)6. Holden Cruze 2484 (11,416)'7. Hyundai i30 2385 (13,588)8. Mitsubishi Lancer 2368 (10,129)9. Nissan Navara 1972 (8731)10. Toyota Camry 1966 (9088)11. Hyundai Getz 1957 (9629)12, Subaru Impreza 1597 (5253)13. Toyota Prado 1575 (7488)14. Mitsubishi Triton 1552 (6524)

A Mustang is a wild brumby in the USA but also one of the all-time best muscle cars; the LandCruiser does just what the name says, even if the land is the worst of the Australian outback; and the Enzo is a tribute to the man who founded the world's best-know supercar company, Ferrari.But the name game can go badly wrong.  The Nissan Cedric was never going to be a hit in Australia with a name that creates a picture of an aging uncle Arthur in a cardigan, Taurus is tough in the USA but was always going to flop against the Falcon, and the Skoda Roomster has just been dumped after failing to find a home down under.Holden was careful to avoid the VD in its Commodore line, but why did it start with the VB and not the VA? And what about the Statesman, which went well as the WB but was never updated into the WC?  Just this week I was following a Citroen Jumpy delivery fan in Portugal, and wondering if the name was a reflection of the driver's behaviour or the way it runs on the road.The craziness goes on and on, like the Citroen Picasso people mover which is anything but an oil painting.  Today's showrooms also have cars whose names have more numbers and letters than a cryptic crossword, with just as much meaning. Who really knows the difference between an A7 and a C350?But head back in history and there are some absolute clangers.  Henry Ford named the 1950s Edsel after his son, but is now recorded as one of the biggest flops in blue-oval history.  Japan has given us everything from the Daihatsu Rocky and Rugger to the Honda Ascot and Acty Crawler and on through the Isuzu Big Horn to the Subaru Justy.Nissan created the Tiida name from nothing, even though it claims it has something to do with waves breaking on a beach, and Lexus is even a made-up brand name, in contrast to Mercedes which was named after an early Daimler customer's daughter.  Over in America, the AMC Gremlin was a flop, the Dodge Neon never went up in lights, Plymouth Reliant never lived up to its promise, and the Lincoln Town Car was so big it needed its own postcode.Even some of the names which have worked create more questions than answers about their creation.  The Kia Mentor is more likely to need one, the Honda Jazz is not much of a music machine and the Suzuki Cappucino was too frothy to sell in Australia.Some names also paint a picture because of their history.  Mention Celica and lots of people in Australia think hairdresser.  Ask about the Nissan GT-R and you'll hear about Godzilla.Camry is shorthand for fridge-on-wheels, Kingswood is classic sixties kitsch, and then there is the Goggomobil.  So, what's causing a Rukus today? The Toyota Rukus, for a start.We could also get the Nissan Cube, which is as boxy as its name, although Nissan Australia is also pushing for a return of the Pulsar badge which worked so well before the silly switch to Tiida.  Right now we have the Skoda Superb in Australian showrooms. If that's not a name which creates a serious expectation then we don't know our Falcodores.When Toyota was looking for a new name for a mid-sized car alongside the Camry it thought it had the ideal choice. It settled on Centaur - the mythical man-horse - because it sounded tough.  But no-one at Toyota Australia had taken into account a nasty incident in World War II during the battle for the Pacific.A hospital ship called the Centaur was sailing towards Brisbane when it was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine. The idea of a Toyota Centaur sunk even faster.  The Centaur badges were crushed, all the paperwork was changed and so was the advertising. The Centaur quickly became the Avalon for Australia.  How do we know? Carsguide made the call to Toyota to warn about the problem. Japanese cars have always led the way in the silly-names race.  How about the Mazda Bongy Brawny? No, not the name for an off-road tough SUV, it was the badge on the back of a city delivery van with a 1.3-litre engine.Everyone has heard the story about the Mitsubishi Starion, and whether the company's sales team actually meant to call the turbo coupe the Stallion.  And then there is the Pajero. It's called the Montero in Spain, because Pajero is the word for something usually done alone in private.

The Holden Restoration Parts by Rare Spares program is modelled on a similar scheme in America where owners of classic GM cars have for years been able to buy parts for their older classics through GM dealers and specialised outlets.Here, Holden has teamed up with restoration parts specialists Rare Spares to provide owners of classic Holdens with parts produced to the original factory specifications from original tooling or Holden drawings. "There's a lot of passion out there for Holden vehicles," said Holden after-sales director, John Scotton. "This program helps us assist those passionate Holden owners keep that passion alive."The fit between Holden and Rare Spares is a natural one. Rare Spares was established more than 30 years ago to satisfy the demand from owners of older Holdens for parts for restoration or just to keep their old cars going. It has grown into a nationally recognised brand with franchised outlets and stockists in every state as well as New Zealand.Under the deal Holden will hand over drawings or tooling once it has finished with them, and Rare Spares will handle the production and distribution of the parts. Distribution will be through Holden dealers who choose to sign up for the program or the Rare Spares national network of franchised outlets and stockists.Holden dealers who choose not to sign up for the program will still be able to refer customers to participating dealers or Rare Spares outlets. Under the arrangement owners of classic Holdens from the original 48-215 of 1948 to the VS Commodore of the 1990s will be able to source parts and accessories of the same quality as those originally fitted to their cars on the Holden assembly line. Rare Spares General Manager David Rayner said the program would improve both the availability and price of Holden parts and accessories."Making low volume parts at an affordable price can be difficult, so working with Holden will allow us to rapidly increase the number of products under the new brand, as well as enabling us to ensure quality and consistent supply of existing product," Rayner said.Rayner said that while demand has traditionally been for parts for older classics, such as the 1950's FJ or 1960's EH, and the Monaros and Toranas of the 1970s, demand was growing for parts for later models like the Commodores of the 1980s and '90s. Rayner said there was a lot of interest in the VB, VH, VK and VL model Commodores, as well as the later VR and VS Commodores, particularly the upmarket models like the Calais and SS. "I don't necessarily think the more modern models are going to reach the popularity of the HK Monaro or 48-215, for instance, but who knows?" he said.Whether or not they do ever reach that level of popularity their owners can be assured that parts will be available to keep them in pristine condition.

These are two recommendations University of Queensland researcher Bronwyn Griffin expects to flow from her study into the incidents which is to be handed to Parliament by July next year.  She was speaking yesterday (FRIDAY MAY 21) at a demonstration of vehicle rear blinds spots held on the forecourt of Suncorp Stadium as part of an awareness campaign for national Fatality Free Friday (FFF) next Friday."Nothing replaces parental vigilance," Griffin said pointing out that in Queensland 196 children were seriously injured in low-speed accidents and 18 killed in the past five years.  "Queensland has the highest death rate in the nation probably because we have a higher proportion of four-wheel drives," she said."However, technology such as rearview cameras can't be trusted completely. It's a great aid, but it doesn't eliminate the problem. Also, it's not affordable to all families."  However, FFF founder Russell White said it was wrong to pigeonhole all four-wheel drives as a problem and pointed out with his demonstration that a Commodore sedan with a boot-mounted spoiler has a blind spot 15m long compared with 3.6m for a Land Rover Discovery.The demonstration also included a Holden Barina with a 6m blind spot and a Toyota Tarago with 10.1m.  "I would have expected the 4WD to be the worst, but you can't pigeonhole them as all the same," he said."Some of our sedans are a bigger problem. It depends more on the design of the vehicle rather than the type.  "The Disco has a big window in the back with a low tailgate while the Commodore has a high boot and a spoiler."Rear architecture of the vehicle clearly plays a huge role in visibility and we need to ask manufacturers if they ever take this into account."  While 4WD vehicles were involved in 10 of the 18 fatalities, passenger cars accounted for most accidents causing major injuries and 84 per cent of vehicles involved in low-speed run-over incidents were passenger vehicles.Griffin said most of these accidents happened in home driveways.  "Unfortunately most often it's the mum or dad that is driving," she said.  "With the decreasing size of homes these days the driveaway is an attractive place for children to play, but it's not a safe place."She recommended parents walk around their car before getting in, supervise and remove children in the area and separate their driveway with a physical barrier form the rest of the yard.White also suggested drivers should learn to adjust their rearview mirrors for better vision.  "But even with the mirrors correctly adjusted every vehicle will have a blind spot and we need to be aware of the size of that even in a small sedan," he said.  Drivers who wish to take part in Fatality Free Friday can register their interest online at www.fatalityfreefriday.com

V8 Supercars has issued a statement saying that next year's event is subject to requested upgrades, while track lessee John Tetley said yesterday he had not yet received a list of upgrades.  Crowd figures of 37,926 over the three days of the event last weekend are the second lowest on record in the past 11 years.The track's future as a V8 Supercars event may also be subject to a Confederation of Australian Motorsport safety investigation after a Mini crashed into the crowd last Saturday.  CAMS communications and marketing manager Jonathan Cooper said the investigation was "still ongoing".  "It will take as long as needs to complete and decide any outcomes," he said.V8 Supercars operations manager Shane Howard said Queensland Raceway would have "12 months' breathing space to get the circuit up to meet all the (requested upgrades) and if that won't be achieved we won't be returning".  However, he said there was no question about the track's safety."It meets all the safety standards and it's licensed by CAMS; it's CAMS responsibility to control circuit safety," he said.  Tetley said he had received no feedback from V8 Supercars on the future of the event since last weekend and the main issues of disagreement had not been resolved.He said the main issue was that they needed a five-year agreement, rather than an annual arrangement before they could commit to major track upgrades.  "We are only a tennant and can't commit funding for upgrades to an event with an annual tenure," he said.However, he said the track would be re-surfaced later this year.  While Queensland Raceway management had organised previous V8 rounds, V8 Supercars Events took over the running of this year's event in a one-off deal.Tetley said V8 Supercars was much better to work with as a customer than as a supplier.  "Tony (V8 Chairman Tony Cochrane) probably won't like that one but honestly, they couldn't have been better," he said."We would be more than happy to work with them again, no question at all."  Tetley said another of the sticking points had been V8 Supercars accepting the cost of any damage to the circuit by the super-sticky soft tyres used during the round.  "But we had a look at it on Sunday after the race and there is no damage at all," he said.

GM Holden is focussing on E85 ethanol compatibility as the next step in its fuel economy push for its full-sized family fighter, expecting the decision to help drive stronger demand for the plant-made fuel. E85 is a global fuel and General Motors has made it a priority around the world, starting with the Saab brand which once helped lead its prestige push.  Saab was one of the first companies to go E85 in Australia, although supplies of the fuel are still relatively limited. The E85 engine upgrade comes as the Commodore gets its first significant cosmetic tweaking since the arrival of the all-new VE model in July, 2006.  The nose and tail get a re-work and the cabin is significantly different, with more equipment and a more luxurious look and feel. GM Holden refuses to comment on the car, even though it is less than six months from showrooms.  "We will be introducing an update to the Commodore range later in the year. We're not in a position to discuss what that entails at this stage, other than to say that we think the changes will make a great car, even better," says Holden spokesman, Jonathan Rose. But Holden insiders admit the car will not be called the VF, despite widespread rumours.  Holden has usually gone down the Series II path in the past and that will happen again in 2010, with VF reserved for more than just a mid-life facelift. The company also refuses to comment on the showroom timing but, with a plan for factory stoppages in August - most likely to update the production line in Adelaide for the VEII - the most-likely start of sales is early in October. This also gives Holden a chance to stock its dealers and would coincide nicely with the first running of the new-look Australian International Motor Show in Sydney from October 14-24.