Holden Commodore News

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. 

JAMIE Whincup missed the 2007 V8 Supercar Championship by a hair's-breadth two points but last night he got the best consolation a driver could want - being presented with the Barry Sheene Medal.Whincup was runner-up to new champ Garth Tander - 623 points to 625 - in the nail-biting finish on Sunday to a season of 14 rounds that started at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide back in March. At the V8 Supercars Australia annual awards at a gala dinner in Melbourne, Whincup gratefully accepted the Barry Sheene Medal.In honour of the late Sheene, a former British world champion motorcycle racer who emigrated to Australia and came to love the V8 Supercar concept, the medal recognises the driver who best represents the sport on track and off track through the year.Whincup, 24, winner of last year's Clipsal 500 in Adelaide, races for the Triple Eight outfit in the Vodafone Falcon as a team-mate to Craig Lowndes, who won this award last year. Whincup, from Melbourne but now living on the Gold Coast to be near the team headquarters, has driven with Lowndes to win the Bathurst 1000 races last year and this year, as well as this year's Sandown 500.Had he not been beaten by .8sec on Sunday in the final race of the final round at Phillip Island he would have taken the V8 Supercar Championship from Tander (Toll-HSV, Commodore).“Jamie has shown character this year in bouncing back with real guts and determination,” chairman of V8 Supercars Australia, Tony Cochrane, said last night.The Mike Kable Young Gun award went to another 24-year-old, Dale Wood, who races a Holden Commodore VZ run by Greg Murphy Racing in the Fujitsu Series.Harry Firth, former Holden team manager and the first winner of the Bathurst 1000 race - with Bob Jane in a Ford Cortina in 1963 - was inducted into the sport's Hall of Fame.The Clipsal 500 race already is in the Hall of Fame for best event, allowing the 2007 best event award to go to the Bahrain round.The Clipsal 500 was named as having the best volunteers.Mark Winterbottom (FPR, Orrcon Falcon) won the award for most pole positions and Jim Beam Racing (Dick Johnson's outfit) the prize for best-presented team. Holden is manufacturer of the year.Meanwhile, Tander has denied that he has signed to drive for the Holden Racing Team next year.But he hasn't ruled out such a deal.“I certainly haven't had any discussions in the lead-up to Phillip Island, we were very focused on that,” Tander said yesterday. “This week we'll celebrate our championship victory and the year. If there is a discussion I guess it will happen some time after that.”

The NRMA Insurance reversing visibility index shows 12 vehicles, including the Toyota Corolla and Holden Commodore, fail to receive any stars in testing.The test, established because of the deaths of 17 children killed by reversing cars in driveways, measures how well a driver can see out of the back of the vehicle.Of the 12 vehicles with a zero rating, five fit into the small-to-medium segment.The result has prompted the NRMA to call on manufacturers to consider installing reversing camera technology in all cars, not just bigger vehicles.“Without a camera, blind space can range from 3m to 15m,” NRMA Insurance road safety manager Pam Leicester said.“That's a large range for children to be hidden from a driver's view.” With an average of one child run over in their own driveway every week, Ms Leicester said it was time to start focusing on improving visibility in all models.“There has been a focus on four-wheel-drives and reversing but as our results show, that's an issue for all types of vehicles right down to small cars,” Ms Leicester said.“This is a real concern because many of these vehicles have hazardous reversing blind areas, usually caused by high rear window lines and boots.”Vehicles that received a zero rating included the Holden Commodore (Epica and Viva), the Hyundai i30, Mitsubishi's Lancer and 380, Toyota's Corolla, Prado and RAV4, the Honda Civic and the Odyssey, as well as the Hummer H3.Overall, however, the results have improved from last year with more manufacturers adopting reversing cameras.This is especially the case in the four-wheel-drive and luxury segments. Only five vehicles offered reversing cameras either standard or as an option last year.The technology was available on 15 vehicles this year. They gained either a 4 1/2 or 5-star rating.Ms Leicester said they were particularly impressed with the new Toyota Kluger, which has a reversing camera as standard on all models.The top performers given a five-star rating were the BMW X5, Ford Territory, Honda Legend, Lexus GS430, IS250 and LS460, and the Toyota Kluger; all offering a camera as standard or as an option.“We encourage all manufacturers to start thinking about putting reverse cameras in their vehicles,” Ms Leicester said.“At the time of manufacture, it's a very small cost.”Ms Leicester said after-market reversing cameras also could improve visibility and were available for between $200 and $300. How they rated NRMA insurance reversing visibility indexBest: BMW x5, Ford Territory, Honda, Legend, Lexus GS430, Lexus IS250, Lexus LS460, Toyota KlugerWorst: Holden Commodore, Honda Civic, Honda Odyssey, Hyundai i30, Mitsubishi Lancer, Toyota Prado, Toyota Corolla 

January 1, stamp duty on cars in Queensland will leap from 2 per cent of the price to 3 per cent for four-cylinder cars, 3.5 per cent for six cylinders and 4 per cent for eight or more cylinders.Only hybrid vehicles, with petrol-electric power plants, will stay at 2 per cent.The higher tax will range from $100 more for the buyer of a $10,000 second-hand four-cylinder car up to thousands of dollars for big-engine, top-dollar cars.The increase will add $220 to the price of a $22,000 four-cylinder car like a Toyota Corolla, $600 to a $40,000 six-cylinder car like a Holden Commodore, and $800 to a V8 Commodore.Mercedes-Benz dealers say an E280 Elegance sedan, currently costing $107,344 on the road, will be $108,864 from January 1.On a $200,000 V8-powered car, the duty will increase from the present $4000 to $8000.It will end Queensland's reign as the low-tax state for car buyers, which has attracted many buyers from interstate, especially Western Australia.Dealerships are starting 'beat the taxman' sales to encourage customers to buy cars sooner rather than later.Most upmarket brands have arranged extra stock to meet the last-minute buying rush.Brisbane executive Andre Faiva had planned to get a new car next year, but took delivery of his $50,000-plus BMW 320i sedan last week. Mr Faiva, a property recruitment consultant living in Brisbane, says he saved about $2500 due to the lower duty and other deals.“I'd heard about the duty change, but sort of forgot about it until I went in to have a look at cars,” he said.“Then I started to talk more seriously. It was well worth bringing things forward to save that sort of money.”The State Government announced the change in May, estimating it would bring in an extra $200 million.The RACQ, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and the Motor Trades Association of Queensland have criticised the move.The FCAI, representing carmakers and importers, said; “This is a clear and patent grab for a bit of extra tax revenue by the Queensland Government.”Brisbane BMW dealer principal Martin Roller said; “The amount to be saved on stamp duty at the moment is definitely a buying motivation for a lot of people.“We've just had our strongest six-week period ever."“We're telling people that if they want to do something about getting a car, they probably want to do it now."“It's going to bring forward to December a lot of cars that otherwise would have been bought in January.” 

Holden Assist Ultra, which will be available as a $1990 option, provides owners with round-the-clock assistance covering the inconvenience of lost keys to checking on the safety of occupants, or deploying emergency services if your vehicle's airbags or seatbelt pretensioners are activated.Holden has about 5000 Assist Ultra customers and in the past 12 months has unlocked more than 360 cars remotely, detected 17 crashes and tracked 14 stolen vehicles. It has also provided SOS support in more than 600 cases.Previously only available as a factory-fitted option, the system uses integrated in-vehicle GSM mobile phone network and global positioning satellite technology to provide full-time assistance.In an emergency, an SOS button on the rear vision mirror will immediately connect the driver to Holden Assist Ultra, who can contact emergency services.If your car is stolen, Holden Assist Ultra can track the vehicle's movements and safely disable the engine on instructions from the police. Or if your vehicle's alarm is triggered, Holden Assist will contact you and dispatch the police if required.A new Holden Assist Ultra feature also allows owners to send text messages from Holden Assist's web portal to the vehicle's console screen.GM Holden director of marketing Philip Brook said existing VE Commodore owners could fit Holden Assist Ultra as an accessory."Our customers appreciate the extra level of protection from Holden Assist Ultra, especially when considering their family's safety," he said."It's easy to use, integrates seamlessly into Commodore's controls and the 24/7 contact with Holden Assist operators gives customers extra peace of mind."Holden Assist Ultra can be fitted to all VE Commodore sedan and Ute models and WM Statesman and Caprice. 

Holden's operation at Elizabeth in South Australia has been given a good report card by General Motors' global manufacturing vice president Gary Cowger.Mr Cowger toured the newly revamped plant for the first time yesterday and was impressed with the factory and its products.Mr Cowger said the Adelaide-built Pontiac G8 for the US market was being well received and hinted at a bright export future for other models, including the Ute and the Sportwagon.“There's certainly lots of interest in it, nothing beyond the G8 has been approved but there's lots of interest,” he said.“We'll continue to look at the viability of it as long as you can make a good solid business case out of it because they're terrific products. There's a lot of excitement about those products in a lot of different markets.”But the Elizabeth plant was unlikely in the short-term to be producing alternative-fuel Commodores.Holden manufacturing executive director Rod Keane said Holden would have access to GM-developed alternative drivetrains; including diesel, hybrid, bio-fuel and fuel cells.“We have a global architecture and we have access to all of those technologies. We continue to look at which ones we'll use in the future but we're not in a position to talk about that at this point,” Mr Keane said.“We continue to look at diesel as one of the alternative technologies on offer globally ... is it yet a compelling case for the Commodore?”“We're still studying the impact of diesels in the other products, trying to come to that decision.”The GM vice-president wouldn't comment on the recent election result, but Mr Keane said the company was working pro-actively with unions. 

My friends can't believe it - I've fallen for a ute. They might have understood if this was a meaningless one-night stand with a HSV Maloo R8, born of short-term lust for the outrageous form of that beast, but they're assuming it's a case of 'beer goggles' because I've fallen for a bare-bones, steel wheeled, working Commodore VE ute.  Nobody was more surprised than me, but the moment I hopped in the VE, it began to impress.The high-output version of Holden's V6 is great, significantly perkier than the base V6, yet more pliable and controllable on wet Sydney streets than the V8. Enough of the right sort of noise to be sure you're not driving a diesel, and any quicker from the lights and you'd be leaving the contents of your tray on the car behind you. The six-speed box pulls away acceptably in second without a load, though with a load on and from an uphill start, you'll need first. On the highway, fifth and sixth cruise comfortably and quietly.The cabin had more storage than I expected and a higher trim level than I expected, especially the wheel, gear shift, electric seat and reach-adjustable wheel. In fact, I was surprised how much of the interior I recognised from the Commodore SS-V I'd been driving a few weeks before. Sure, the bright orange leather trim was missing (not at all sorry about that) but the lower-spec audio system was more than adequate, and having no trip computer on the central electronic gauge meant I was no longer wincing at my mileage after heading out in a hurry.The load bay has literally loads of room - not the biggest available, but adequate for anything other than a 2m spirit level or a big ladder. Trade that space off against dynamics and I'll take the dynamics any day. While the VE ute was a little light and springy in the rear when I'd offloaded my 2m of mulch, it was nowhere near as bouncy as a heavier-sprung Hilux, and the traction control nicely managed the standard tires on wet, greasy sydney roads.I found it easy to sweep out the dog hair and mulchy bits from the rear when I'd finished my errands, and the gate took a pounding without complaint from two 20kg six-year-olds determined to use the ute's tray as a temporary driveway playhouse.You'd never pick it from a line-up of glamour-pusses, but the VE ute could find a place in my garage.

JIMMY Barnes is said to have the hardest-working set of vocal cords in Australian rock. And he once lived an even harder lifestyle.  The former Cold Chisel lead singer and 51-year-old father of five had a brush with death earlier this year when he had surgery to correct the bicuspid aortic valve in his heart.While recovering, Barnes wrote Out in the Blue, his 13th studio album, on sale tomorrow.What was your first car?A Morris Oxford. I paid $25 for it and it had six months' rego and a full tank of petrol. I was 16 and living in Adelaide.What do you drive now?A Holden Commodore. I can take my dogs in it. I like Holdens, they're good cars. When I'm on the road, I hire them. I sang at Bathurst recently, which was great. I watched the race start from the pits. I had a bit of a word to Skaifey before he started. I've done Bathurst a few times. I've met Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife a few times. They're pretty intense, serious guys. They're both incredible drivers. I think the whole V8 Supercars thing is great.Do you have a favourite drive and who would you take?I'd take my wife Jane anywhere, but we enjoy driving along the north coast of NSW.How far would you drive in an average year?Jesus! That's hard to say. I'm on the road all the time. I did 600km at the weekend.Your favourite motoring memory?We have a car in Thailand, a Chevy van that belonged to Jane's father. He gave it to us and it's like a boat. It has karaoke in it and big luxury seats. My friends call it the pimpmobile because it's done up with mirrors and light shows. We love getting all the family in there, driving along, watching movies, driving to the beach in Thailand.What would you buy if money were no object?I like my Holden, but if money were no object, I'd buy an electric car.What music is playing in your car?At the moment, The Hives' new album, The Black & White Album.How much is too much for a new car?More than you can afford!What should be done to make driving safer?I think we could bring down the speed limits . . . Trucks should have their own lanes and be made to stay in them.Are you sponsored by a car company?No!