Holden Commodore News

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.

 Organisers of the Super Cheap Auto Bathurst 1000 are predicting the massive crowd generated last year by the death of Peter Brock will be overtaken tomorrow week.More than 193,000 spectators, a rise of almost 30,000 on 2005, turned up over four days at Mt Panorama in 2006 as the tide of emotion following nine-time winner Brock's untimely death a month earlier descended on Australia's most hallowed motor-racing venue.“We are on track for the biggest Bathurst 1000 ever,” V8 Supercars Australia chairman Tony Cochrane said.“Many people thought with the death of Peter Brock last year those crowds would never be repeated.“More than 80,000 advance Bathurst ticket sales had been made before the Sandown 500 last month.“We are further ahead with grandstand sales than we were last year.”Special celebrations have been organised for the 45th running of Bathurst that will include a parade of some former champions and their cars.The legendary Harry Firth and tyre king Bob Jane wrote the first chapter in the Bathurst story when they shared a Ford Cortina GT and won what was called the Armstrong 500 Mile race in 1963.Firth and Jane's Cortina will be one of several former winning machines which will be honoured in a special parade of champions before the 161-lap marathon next Sunday.The traditional race start of 10am will be pushed back to 10.30am to make way for extended pre-race hoopla.Series broadcaster Channel 7 will showcase each of the 31 cars in the race, showing them on individual laps immediately before they grid-up and informing viewers of their progress since rolling out for the opening practice sessions on Thursday.The Bathurst bangers will go off on presentation laps at about 40-second intervals which will add about 20 minutes to the pre-race hype.Channel 7 has committed an unprecedented 21 hours of live coverage over three days from next Friday to Sunday.Even if bad weather and safety cars conspire to slow the race, Seven has given an assurance that it will bump its 6pm news back if necessary to show the race in its entirety.The later start gives organisers some breathing space to help spectators filter into Mt Panorama and there is now time for two support races prior to the Bathurst 1000 starting.“The later start helps from a point of view of filtering traffic into the circuit precinct, easing the pressure on day-trippers from Sydney and has made way for two support events (Carrera Cup and Touring Car Masters),” V8 Supercars general manager of special events, Shane Howard, said.There are modifications to the movement and consumption of alcohol in response to a tightening of NSW liquor laws at major events this year.An insignificant number of punters have requested refunds in light of the changes.“Let's deal with the truth . . . we are approaching over 80,000-odd advance ticket sales,” Cochrane said.“We've had 20 — two-zero — requests for refunds.”Alcohol can still be brought into and consumed in the camping areas but it is prohibited to take alcohol into or out of the licensed areas, defined this year at the bottom of the circuit.The bottom of the mountain from the Chase through to Pit Straight and Harris Park and up Mountain Straight will be fully licensed.“We don't have any choice in that these are the terms and conditions of operating a major event in NSW,” Howard said.“What we can do is negotiate with our caterer to ensure that alcohol prices in the venue are as low as the caterers can operate to.”More than $750,000 is being spent on beefed-up police and security.There will be 160 police at the circuit, double that of last year and there will be tougher searches at the entry points for fireworks and other contraband.Great Race highlights1963 Legendary Harry Firth and Bob Jane claim the first Bathurst enduro, the Armstrong 500, in a Ford Cortina GT.1966 It was the year the mighty Morris Mini Cooper S conquered Mt Panorama with Rauno Aaltonen and Bob Holden sharing the wheel.1967 Firth claims his second Bathurst win with Fred Gibson in a Ford Falcon XR GT.1972 A youthful Peter Brock won the first of his nine victories at the mountain with a brilliant solo drive in a Holden Torana LJ XU1.1981 A star was born when Dick Johnson and his co-driver, Brisbane car dealer John French, steered a Ford Falcon XD to victory a year after the well-chronicled “rock” incident.1995 After suffering a puncture on the opening lap, Larry Perkins and Russell Ingall came from a lap down to win.2002 The decorated Jim Richards claims a seventh title as co-driver to Mark Skaife in the lead Holden Racing Team Commodore.2006 Peter Brock's understudy Craig Lowndes takes an emotional win with Jamie Whincup a month after the legendary racer was killed in a tarmac rally in Perth.

llegal street races are still a regular event in Brisbane five years after the introduction of anti-hooning legislation designed to stop them.

A picture copied from a big screen presentation, however, suggests that a wagon may be on its way.

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.”