Holden Commodore News

A Monash University Accident Research Centre study, commissioned by 13 state and federal road agencies and automobile clubs, has confirmed stability control's effectiveness in local conditions.It found a reduction in the risk of single-vehicle crashes of 25 per cent for ESC-equipped cars, 51 per cent in sports utility vehicles and 28 per cent across all vehicle types.In single-vehicle crashes where the driver was injured, there were even bigger reductions; 28 per cent for cars, 66 per cent in SUVs and 30 per cent across all vehicles.The RACQ has urged consumers to insist that ESC is fitted to any new vehicle they purchase, particularly four-wheel-drives.RACQ executive manager of vehicle technologies Steve Spalding said ESC currently was being fitted to only 40 per cent of new vehicles in Australia.Often it is an extra-cost option, but some new releases, such as the new Holden Ute and Toyota Camry range, have it fitted as standard across the range.“This is life-saving technology and the safety specifications set for vehicles today will affect crash risk and injury outcomes for the next 20 years because that is how long these vehicles are likely to remain on the road,” Spalding said.The study analysed crash patterns of 7700 ESC-equipped vehicles manufactured from 1997 to 2005 that were involved in crashes across Australia and New Zealand between 2001 and 2005.These were compared with the crash patterns of about 203,000 vehicles without ESC during the same period.Previous international studies have shown ESC effective in preventing single-vehicle crashes.In Queensland, single-vehicle crashes accounted for 49.5 per cent of driver fatalities in 2006.The US has made ESC mandatory for the 2012 model year, while the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has labelled stability control the most significant development since the seat belt.Commonly referred to as ESC, but also with a number of different trade names, electronic stability control works to avoid the loss of control in an emergency.It anticipates a skid with a set of sensors, which then engages the brakes at one or more wheels individually and employs the anti-lock system to restore stability.In 2006, 43 per cent of all newly registered cars in Europe were fitted with stability control.Bosch, a maker of ESC systems, said stability control was largely standard equipment among mid-size and luxury vehicles from Europe. 

BMW's X5 3.0-litre diesel, the all new Mercedes-Benz C280 and Holden's latest rendition of the tradie's sportscar, the VE Ute SV6, today join the previously announced contenders in the run to the winn

When the Ute was reluctantly returned after a few laps for the next driver, the smiles on the dials almost split their helmets.

This year has seen the market share of Commodore, Falcon and the Mitsubishi 380 fall to 19 per cent of new passenger vehicles, with only Toyota's Camry more or less immune.And while it was the biggest sales October ever, the share enjoyed by big Australian cars was reduced to 17.2 per cent. The lighter fare from Thailand achieved a best-ever 15.4 per cent. The Vfacts monthly bulletin, released this week by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, recorded that 89,289 motor vehicles were sold in October; an increase of 9359 on the same month last year.It beats the previous record for October, set in 2004, by more than 8000 sales. Year-to-date the market is up by 70,000 vehicles as it continues its charge towards breaking the one million mark for the first time.Yet against this bumper backdrop, 15,382 Australian-made units were shifted last month, mostly to fleets.Japanese-made cars continued their dominance but Thailand is where Honda's CR-V, Civic and Accord sedans are made. These and others, including Ford's Courier, which accounted for 13,825 sales in October.In sharp contrast to ever-diminishing local sales, that Thai-built percentage has increased by almost 50 per cent so far in 2007.Petrol prices are blamed for the decline of the great Australian six-cylinder. But the fact four medium-sized SUVs sold more than 1000 units each last month gives the lie to that.Yes, light cars, spearheaded by 1193 sales of the new Mazda2, experienced a sales surge, but the truth for the big Aussies is grimmer than the rising cost of the stuff that makes them go. The fact is that given wealth of choice, fewer and fewer Australians want the types of cars made in Australia.FCAI chief executive Andrew McKellar says the locals have never had it tougher.“The intensely competitive situation in the motor-vehicle market is being driven to a significant degree by the ongoing strength of the Australian dollar,” he says. McKellar says 4400 Commodores (excluding utes) were moved last month, so with about 300 more sales than the Corolla, it is the nation's number-one seller.Toyota's eggs are in more than one basket with the ever-competitive Yaris, Camry, RAV4 and Prado prominent among its 20,212 October sales. Holden managed 11,415 and Ford 8206. It was the first time that Toyota had outsold the combined total of Holden and Ford in any single month.Year-to-date Toyota leads Holden by 71,360 with the launch of the new LandCruiser this month.If Toyota's lead is unassailable, surely the success story is Mazda.At number four, the leading full-imported marque sells not a single car to fleets or rental companies. They all go to private buyers.October's best-ever 7271 sales represented Mazda's 10th record month in a row. Mazda's year-to-date total of 64,929 already surpasses its 2006 full-year sales result of 63,664.  Snapshot   Country of originJapan 31,838Australia 15,382Thailand 13,825Korea 9830Germany 3901South Africa 2434Belgium 1525US 1448Spain 1422France 1206 The biggest sellers1 Holden Commodore (Australia) 44402 Toyota Corolla (Japan) 41233 Mazda3 (Japan) 31254 Ford Falcon (Australia) 24395 Toyota Camry (Australia) 19946 Hyundai Getz (Korea) 18967 Toyota Aurion (Australia) 18318 Mitsubishi Lancer (Japan) 14469 Honda Civic (Thailand) 140910 Honda CR-V (Thailand) 129111 Toyota RAV4 (Japan) 129312 Toyota Prado (Japan) 127313 Suzuki Swift (Japan) 119714 Mazda2 (Japan) 119315 Ford Territory (Australia) 119016 Toyota Kluger and Subaru Forester (both Japan) 117317 Holden Astra (Belgium) 111818 Mitsubishi 380 (Australia) 110019 Holden Captiva (Korea) 109320 Nissan Tiida (Thailand) 1087 

A new three year, multimillion-dollar export program will deliver a left-hand-drive Chevrolet-badged version of the 307kW/550Nm, six-litre HSV ClubSport R8; to be known as the Chevrolet Special Vehicles CR8.The company has shipped 150 cars to the region and expects at least that many to be delivered in each of the following two years.They will sell for about $49,000; about $12,000 cheaper than in Australia.The Middle East has been Holden's biggest export market, having sold more than 200,000 vehicles in the region since 1998.The VE Commodore and WM Statesman/Caprice ranges are sold in the region as Chevrolet Lumina and as Caprice.GM Holden executive director sales and marketing Alan Batey said the expanding product range in the region illustrated the growing maturity of the Middle East market.“Holden has been able to partner its expertise in tailoring vehicles for the Middle East with the high-performance expertise of HSV to deliver a vehicle that will make a great driving experience,” he said.Holden's export sales for last year totalled 46,074, with more than 31,000 going to the Middle East; a record export year to the region for the company.New HSV managing director Scott Grant said the announcement added another HSV export market to the Vauxhall program in Britain.“HSV is already a well-known brand among car enthusiasts in the Middle East, many of whom are fans of the Aussie high-performance cars and our racing activities,” he said.“The initial response from dealers has been exceptional,” he said.The launch of the new export program is timed to coincide with the Desert 400 V8 Supercar round in Bahrain. 

GM and its Australian arm, GM Holden, however, have given technological and financial support to challenge entrants as part of the car maker's interest in potential future fuel needs and energy efficiencies, which mean lower carbon dioxide emissions.The Panasonic World Solar Challenge begins in Darwin on Sunday on its 3021km-run south across the Outback to Adelaide.The GM-backed entrants include a petrol-electric hybrid car, sun-powered solar cars and a production car running on fuel that is 85 per cent ethanol; a renewable energy resource.GM Holden director of innovation engineering Richard Marshall said although the company was committed to alternative propulsion break throughs, diesel fuel now was the best solution for typical Australian driving needs.“We think drivers will begin to understand and choose the alternative powertrain solution that suits their transport needs,” he said. “Where drivers spend most of their time in heavily-congested traffic, petrol hybrids may offer the appropriate level of performance with low fuel consumption."“For people whose driving habits typically include a mix of inner city, suburban and country driving, diesel vehicles may be more likely to deliver powerful performance and better fuel economy."“In Australia, most driving falls into this latter category where relatively low-density residential suburbs, rapidly-spreading coastal fringes and long distances between rural population centres are generally more suitable for diesel power trains.” Mr Marshall's assessment is all the more interesting because no hybrid or diesel car is made in Australia.GM Holden is experimenting with a diesel Commodore but says at $50 million to develop, plus tooling costs, it is too costly to put into production yet. A hybrid Commodore would be priced too high to attract buyers; unless government incentives and subsidies were given.GM Holden spokesman John Lindsay said the company offered diesel engines in imported models, the Atra small car, Captiva SUV and Rodeo ute.The government's green vehicle guide website rates the Astra diesel fuel use at just 5.9 litres/100km, which is 20 per cent more frugal than the petrol Astra's 7.4 litres/100km.The diesel Captiva is rated at 8.6l/100km, or 25 per cent more economic than the petrol Captiva's 11.5l/100km.

They won only 17 per cent of a record October sales total, losing ground as family-focused four-wheel drives pushed back after a slight slump in September.The Holden Commodore was still Australia's favourite car, but light and small cars continued to drive the action in a year, which is set for an all-time result that could go as high as 1.1 million sales.The showroom total for October was 89,289 vehicles, up 9359 and 11.7 per cent on October 2006.Overall sales are now up 8.6 per cent, or almost 70,000, on the first 10 months last year.But the strength of the Australian dollar, which has contributed to massive competition among import brands and the renewed strength of four-wheel drives, took the edge off the results for Toyota, GM Holden, Ford and Mitsubishi.All four now report the difficulties of making money, with Toyota and Holden's booming export business also being hurt by the strong dollar.But the head of the motor industry's peak body; Andrew McKellar, chief executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries; denies they are making the wrong cars for Australia in 2007.“The fact is the market continues to get more competitive,” he said.But he conceded that, apart from some exceptional results in individual months, the locals' share of the market was as bad as it has been.“In part it's a reflection of the competitive position they are facing. Beyond that, I don't think it's easy to discern why the Commodore had a flat month, although the Falcon result is related to the model cycle,” Mr McKellar said.“It's the product and the mix of competitive price. The reality is, for the local manufacturers the fundamentals are making the competitive situation that much more difficult.”Mr McKellar said record new-car sales should not be a potential trigger for a rise in interest rates.Competition is toughest in the compact classes, with sales of light cars up 1150 and 11.5 per cent in October and small-car demand up 1472 and 8.3 per cent.The overall result for the month was more than 8000 sales ahead of the old record, set in October 2004.Toyota continued its run on top of the sales table, with a total of 20,212, which beat the combined results of GM Holden and Ford. 

Rapper 50 Cent calls it his 'pimped out' Pontiac G8. But Australians will recognise the locally-built car that stole the limelight at a Las Vegas car show this week as a cousin to the Holden Commodore

The trend comes because smoking while driving is now considered not only a health issue, but also a dangerous driver distraction in some countries where bans are now in place.Many car manufacturers have already converted cigarette lighters to power outlets for satellite navigation systems and mobile phone chargers, leaving smoking motorists to pay for a lighter as an optional extra.Ashtrays are also on the way out, often appearing as cup-sized receptacles that can be removed, leaving a bottle holder in its place.Even the new workman's ute from Holden is a smoke-free environment with neither a cigarette lighter nor ashtray.The phasing out of cigarette lighters and ashtrays is expected to pick up pace as rules tighten around the world on smoking while driving.Since the introduction of Queensland's smokefree workplaces in 2002, there has been a ban on smoking in work vehicles when more than one person is present.In July, Health Minister Stephen Robertson foreshadowed a prohibition on smoking in cars carrying children during the review of tobacco legislation expected to start soon.But Queensland is not alone in a clamp down on smoke-driving.Earlier this month, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill to come into effect in January banning anyone smoking in a car with a person under the age of 18 present. The fine is $US200.Cyprus and three other US states have similar bans, while several countries including Ireland and South Africa plan to introduce the smokefree cars with children reform.South Australia implemented a ban on smoke-driving while children are present in May and since then, police have issued 29 on-the-spot fines and 11 cautions.Tasmania will introduce the ban in January and NSW has flagged smokefree cars carrying children as the next area of reform. But the issue is not just a matter of health.Last month, the new UK Highway Code declared offenders could be charged with driving without due care and attention and New Delhi has a total ban on smoking while driving as a road safety driver-distraction issue.The latest UK crackdown has been reflected in a recent survey which revealed that 75 per cent of people would now buy a car without an ashtray.The RACQ supports a ban on smoking when there are children in a car, but does not yet support a total ban while driving as a road safety issue as in the UK and New Delhi.“The passive smoking issue is a valid concern,” said spokesman Jim Kershaw. “It would be a different matter to make a case on driver distraction. It's probably no more distracting than fiddling with the radio or other actions that are legal.“Using hands-free mobiles while driving would probably be more distracting than lighting a cigarette.“I think we would not single out smoking while driving as a safety issue at this stage unless we see evidence to the contrary.”A UK insurance company survey found more than 3 million motorists have had accidents, near misses or lapses in concentration as a result of in-car smoking distractions.It also found 80 per cent took their hands off the wheel to light up, 46 per cent had dropped a cigarette in the car and 26 per cent had taken their eyes off the road to retrieve it.Do you agree with the phasing out of cigarette lighters in new cars? 

There has been a rash of locally developed high-performance off-roaders such as the Ford Territory FPV F6 and Toyota's HiLux TRD. Now Holden Special Vehicles is looking to get in on the act.