Classic Cars

This month marks the 40 anniversary of the launch of the Holden VL Commodore in Australia.The fifth and final iteration of the original, German Opel Rekord E-derived (and ultimately HZ Kingswood-usurping) VB Commodore series released back in October 1978, it ranks alongside the most revered Holdens ever.Now a cultural phenomenon, it’s become, to Gen Xers and Millennials mainly, what the 1963 EH is to Baby Boomers. Peak Holden. Here's why.The most changed Commodore to dateThat 1970s-era VB changed little through its VC (1980), VH (1981) and VK (1984) facelifts, though the latter did adopt an extra side window, plastic bumpers and truly ugly square instruments to set it apart.Frankly, buyers became bored, rivals were trying harder and sales were in a worrying downward spiral.Stylistically, then, the VL’s strikingly low, sloping bonnet, featuring slimmer yet far-more effective headlights, seemed almost revolutionary compared to any previous Commodore.Inspired by the mid-sized JD Camira’s facelift of 1984, they also provided a welcome change after seven years of samey front-end design themes. The flagship Calais, meanwhile, added pop-up light covers for dramatic visual demarcation. How Eighties is that?And while the mid-body and cabin sections carried through from the preceding VK, save for a tacky rehash of the upper-dash architecture and refurbished seats in Calais, further back, a small kick-up at the trailing edge of the boot lid gave the sedans a distinctive duck-tail silhouette, for a five-per-cent aero improvement. The wagon, meanwhile, made do with a bumper that merely hung back there like a full nappy. Never mind.But the VL’s defining change lurked underneath the bonnet.Breaking with traditionWildly controversial leading up to the launch, to meet unleaded petrol requirements, the VL ditched Holden’s venerable 3.3-litre overhead-valve iron-block in-line six-cylinder (I6) Black petrol engine (in 86kW carburettor and 106kW fuel-injection guises), for Nissan’s more-advanced 114kW 3.0-litre overhead-cam RB30E, which also debuted soon after in the locally made R31 Skyline.Remember when they actually made Skylines in Australia?Dubbed Powertech 6Ei and imported from Japan, it was 33 per cent more powerful yet 15 per cent more economical than the previous 3.3 base, bringing with it a GM-H-first electronic four-speed auto.Fitting the Nissan I6 in “Australia’s Own” was seen as a betrayal amongst some loyalists, politicians and unionists (since the switch meant a Holden engine factory closed), though it quickly became the literal heart of the VL’s enduring appeal.Especially the cop-car-favourite 150kW RB30ET turbocharged option that followed from July, which even blitzed the 122kW 4.9-litre V8 (an unleaded revamp of the 1969-vintage original still stuck with a three-speed auto option) – as well as anything arch rival and market-leader Ford bothered to muster.Perhaps that’s why the contemporary XF Falcon generally commands a fraction of this-era Commodore’s resale values. Burn!Too little, too late, for GM-HYet, for all intents and purposes, the VL helped end General-Motors-Holden’s (GM-H) as we knew it.Firstly, the Commodore failed to reel in the high-flying Falcon, which was comfortably Australia’s most popular car at the time, owning some 15 per cent of the total vehicle market at its peak. Though more popular with private buyers, only once, in April 1986, did the VL hit the top spot, and only by three units. The end-of-year tally was nearly 55,000 versus over 66,000 registrations. The 1987 results were worse: 53,000 against nearly 70,000, in the XF’s favour.Fleet buyers preferred the visibly-wider (by nearly 140mm) Falcon over Commodore because of the former’s greater size, perceived higher-quality interior (Holden’s build quality was dreadful) and more-predictable road manners. No doubt Ford’s brilliant marketing helped, too.Secondly, the VL also suffered at the hands of an increasingly more-aggressive Mitsubishi, which burst back into the large-car segment in 1985, after a four-year absence following the end of the ancient Chrysler Valiant it inherited, with the innovative, wide-bodied Magna – the first of its kind among medium-sized cars anywhere in the world.A massive hit, the latter embarrassed the VL for interior space and set new local standards in refinement, and continued to challenge Holden and Falcon for the next 20 years.Thirdly, that Nissan engine was a financial disaster for GM-H, reportedly costing more than twice as much per unit than when the deal was struck years before, due to unfavourable currency fluctuations. Unable to make a profit with the VL, Holden couldn’t catch a break.That, along with mounting debt partly accrued due to the over-capitalisation and long-term sales underperformance of the also-Opel-based Camira project – a doomed endeavour given how close in size and price the two Holden family cars were – effectively bankrupted GM-H.On December 9, 1986, GM in Michigan bailed Holden out, and split the operations into the Holden Motor Company (manufacturing) and Holden Engine Company, the latter becoming a key export earner later on, allowing the brand to be less-encumbered with debt in the lead-up to the larger, second-generation Commodore’s release in August, 1988.The car behind the complicated legacyWhether the VL was a success or failure depends on your point of view. Commercially it under-performed, but critically… well, things were complicated.Available in government cheapo-spec SL, fleet-fodder Executive, private-buyer-baiting Berlina, luxury Calais and performance SS grades – with the latter trio being sedan-only bar one brief exception – it offered a broader choice than a very-complacent Ford.Actually, that’s a little harsh, as Ford was stretched developing the largely new-from-the-ground-up EA Falcon, along with the SA Capri convertible.What Holden desperately lacked were responses to the XF-based ute, panel van and long-wheelbase luxury car (Fairlane rival), as these were the provenance of the full-sized WB line-up that ceased in 1985. The VN-derived VG ute and VQ Statesman/Caprice twins wouldn’t surface until 1990.Contemporary reviews loved the Nissan I6’s BMW-levels of power delivery and straight-line performance, especially at the SL’s price point, and swooned over the turbo’s sensational speed and smoothness. But many also criticised the VL’s retrograde steering and suspension revisions that were meant to fix previous models’ sharp steering, but instead resulted in duller handling, excessive body movement and a lumpier ride. Fail.Holden was praised for solely offering a cheap V8, since Ford dropped theirs years before (and not rectified until 1991’s EB series), giving caravanning and boating-obsessed Australians an affordably torquey towing option, which nobody could match.To stoke VL sales, a Vacationer special arrived by mid 1987, while another – badged ‘200 Series’ in time for Australia’s Bicentennial – largely served as a spoiler for the EA Falcon the following March.HSV is bornThis was also the era of Holden’s very public breakup with racing hero Peter Brock over his infamous Polarizer engine-efficiency enhancer that GM-H wanted no part of. This led to the in-house Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) replacing Brock’s Holden Dealer Team, resulting in the HSV VL SV88 as the first in a long line of hot Commodores.An early standout was the HSV VL SS Group-A SV, unkindly branded the Plastic Pig or Batmobile despite boasting up to 231kW, developed to meet racing homologation regulations by Walkinshaw. But, with its outrageous body kit and pricing, sales stalled (it was released as VN came on stream), though now they’re a highly sought-after.VL afterlifeWith so much at stake, the VN arrived with huge fanfare in August 1988, and immediately addressed many of its predecessor’s perceived shortcomings, being equal-largest in class with Falcon, far-more modern inside and out and dynamically a better-behaved proposition.A more suitable family car for Australia, in other words.But the thing is, with the financially debilitating Nissan engine deal cancelled, the VN’s powertrain replacement – this time to a rough old Buick 3.8-litre V6 from North America – sealed the VL’s place in Holden folklore. Even with the very non-GM engine code name, RB30E is now considered one of the greats.If nothing else, the Commodore’s quick ascension to the top (a position it would continuously swap with the Falcon until the disastrous AU a decade later, but that’s another story) proves that Australians are basically size queens.Overall, 151,008 VLs were made over about 30 months, a record for any Commodore at the time, with 134,795 built for Australia, 4322 exported mostly to South East Asia and 12,720 in assembled from completely knocked-down components in New Zealand and Indonesia.The final first-gen Commodore may have lost the battle against the XF, but the big Holden eventually overtook – and outlived – the Falcon. The journey back began here.More importantly, it won the affection of Australian enthusiasts and loyalists like no other before or since – thanks ironically to that controversial Nissan heart within, saving the Commodore for 33 more years.Happy 40 birthday, VL.

Are you sitting on a future classic?

Nissan mulls resurrecting right-hand drive version of its Murano mid-size coupe SUV as it looks to soak up capacity from underutilised US manufacturing.

Hybrid technology is having its time in the sun as electric vehicle (EV) demand tapers off in certain markets.As reported by Automotive News, Nissan is in discussions with a number of carmakers to manufacture and supply a version of the X-Trail, known as the Rogue, for the North America market.These rebadged Nissan X-Trail’s will be powered by the company’s e-Power hybrid system which uses an electric motor to drive the wheels and a petrol engine as a generator to charge a small high-voltage battery.Ford and Stellantis are reportedly looking at partnering with Nissan for this rebadged X-Trail e-Power. With the latter company it’s expected to be for the Chrysler or Dodge brands.Nissan will reportedly manufacture these rebadged vehicles alongside the Rogue at its production facility in Smyrna, Tennessee.Nissan Vice President, Communications, US & Canada Brian Brockman told Automotive News its “exploring options” to localise vehicle and powertrain production to meet the growing hybrid demand in the US.“ remains open to dialogue that delivers strategic, complementary market opportunities to our core model development efforts,” said Brockman.“At this time, we have no agreements in place regarding production at our U.S. plants.”Neither Ford or Stellantis commented on the topic when asked by Automotive News.It’s reported the collaboration between these carmakers could also result in joint electric vehicle (EV) development.“It’s not a quid pro quo,” said a person to Automotive News, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, adding that a deal could happen even without an EV partnership.Ford could reportedly be looking to plug gaps in its line-up as it has delayed or canceled several EVs over the last year or so.The Bronco Sport and Maverick hybrid models made in Mexico are subject to tariffs in the US.With Stellantis, Jeep has the 4xe plug-in hybrid line-up, while Dodge and Chrysler don’t have many products as they’ve shifted focus to EVs.Nissan currently doesn’t offer any e-Power model in the US, however, it’ll introduce the third-generation version of the powertrain technology in the Rogue in late 2026.The third-generation e-Power hybrid technology is set to arrive in Australia in the first half of 2026 in the Qashqai small SUV. At this point the entire Qashqai line-up will become hybrid-only.Beyond Ford and Stellantis, Mitsubishi is reportedly also looking at introducing e-Power hybrid power to the related Outlander.Conversely, Nissan is also reportedly looking at adding a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version of the Rogue, which is expected to borrow its powertrain from the related Outlander PHEV.

China’s Leapmotor is reportedly set to reveal a new model at this year’s IAA Mobility show in Munich which runs from September 9-14, 2025.As reported by Autocar, this new Leapmotor model will be a Volkswagen Golf-sized electric hatchback called the B05.This will give the Chinese carmaker a rival to the likes of the Cupra Born and MG4.The Leapmotor B05 is reportedly based on the same 'Leap 3.5' platform as the B10 small SUV and the B01 small sedan.This means the B05 will likely be rear-wheel drive with electric powertrains and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery packs that operate on an 800V electrical architecture.It also wouldn’t be surprising if a range-extender (REEV) powertrain option becomes available for the B05 down the track as it was recently confirmed for the B10.The exterior design of the Leapmotor B05 will reportedly be inspired by the B10. It’ll have an aerodynamic silhouette, as well as full-width light bars front and rear.Inside, a 14.6-inch touchscreen multimedia system is expected, like the B10.At this stage pricing for the Leapmotor B10 hasn’t been confirmed, but Autocar indicates it could be under £30,000 (A$62,700) in the UK.For context, the most affordable Leapmotor in Australia currently is the C10 Style REEV at $43,888, before on-road costs.The smaller B10, which is due to launch locally later this year, will likely undercut this price.This forthcoming B05 electric hatch will reportedly spawn a lower-riding sibling called the A05, which would likely be a closer rival to the likes of the BYD Dolphin and GWM Ora.The B10 small SUV will also form as a base for the forthcoming entry-level crossover, dubbed the A10.No further details about the Leapmotor A05 and A10 have been confirmed yet.Leapmotor was founded in 2015 and it currently has seven vehicles in its line-up globally, ranging from tiny city cars to large seven-seat SUVs.Stellantis owns a 21 per cent share in Leapmotor and a 51 per cent slice in Leapmotor International that conducts all activity for the brand outside China.Distribution in Australia is currently through Stellantis’ Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Jeep dealer network.

The scent of a ute revolution is in the air.Carmakers far and wide are stepping back in time and embracing Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon car-based utes.Toyota is now the latest carmaker to be connected to an SUV-based ute, according to US-outlet Automotive News.It claimed sources said a Corolla-based ute would debut in 2027. This is after Toyota US’s Chief Operating Officer, Mark Templin, said: “We’re looking at it”, when quizzed about a small ute, according to The Japan Times."We could really do well in that segment, so we’re trying to do it,” Cooper Ericksen, a senior vice president in charge of planning and strategy at Toyota Motor North America, said in a separate interview with The Japan Times. "It’s a matter of timing,” he said.Ford has laid the blueprint for an SUV-based ute — rather than ladder-frame-based workhorses such as the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger — with its smash hit Maverick in the US. Hyundai has also found success with its little Santa Cruz ute in the US.Chinese brand Chery is also reportedly working on a SUV-based ute, which could land in Australia wearing a Jaecoo badge.There are several options for a Toyota ute, with it using either the Corolla’s TNGA-C or the RAV4’s TNGA-K underpinnings. The TNGA-K would make sense as it would line-up with the Maverick and Santa Cruz, which are both based on their mid-size SUV equivalents the Ford Escape and Hyundai Tucson.Hybrid power is almost a certainty and there is an opportunity for it to gain plug-in hybrid power borrowed from the recently revealed new RAV4, which is due on sale locally early next year.New plug-in hybrid versions of the 2026 RAV4 use a 2.5-litre petrol engine and an electric motor to make 201kW in the front-wheel drive versions and 227kW in all-wheel drive variants. A big 22.7kWh battery will provide an electric-only driving range of up to 100km according to Toyota.Conventional hybrid power is available in the new RAV4.It is available in two- and all-wheel-drive layouts and makes 143kW, which is 17kW and 20kW down on the current 2WD and AWD versions respectively. Toyota doesn’t provide total torque figures for its hybrid tech.Digital Artist Theottle on YouTube has given life to a RAV4-based ute in the  above images that show off what the new Toyota ute could look like.

My 1972 Ford Capri GT3000 It is fully restored and running? What would it be valued at?

Pop-up headlights: A great automotive idea or a fashion-driven waste of time? In truth, it’s probably a bit of both.Pop-up headlight have been around for many decades, but they really became popular in the late 1970s and, particularly, the 1980s. This could suggest that they’re a fashion item, but it’s worth remembering this was also a time when fuel economy and emissions became more important to carmakers than they had ever been.And that’s the point, because, in most cases, there was an aerodynamic consideration when cars were designed with pop-up headlights. And that’s probably their greatest advantage; they can make a car’s frontal area smaller and, therefore, potentially improve a car’s fuel efficiency. When they’re shut anyway.Other advantages include the fact that a headlight hidden by a metal or plastic shield is less likely to be damaged by a flying rock or piece of road debris. Oh, and on the right make and model, cars with flip-up headlights could look super-cool. Not all cars, however, as some just never pulled it off style-wise.Disadvantages? Plenty. For a start, a pop-up headlight assembly is inevitably heavier than the headlight unit on its own. And by the time you’ve added the mechanism that opens and closes the pop-up aspect, and the wiring to operate it, there’s definitely a mass penalty to pay.They’re expensive to engineer and make, too. Anything that moves requires something to move it and in the case of a pop-up headlight, that’s usually an electric motor and a range of linkages and connections to make both lights emerge at the same time.In some cases, the pop-up party trick is achieved with hydraulics or even vacuum from the engine. The list of things that could go wrong was a pretty long one. Other cars used hydraulics. Same same.So why else did pop-up headlights go away? A couple of reasons, but mostly because carmakers figured out ways of making cars just as slippery aerodynamically without resorting to hiding the headlights.As our understanding of aerodynamics improved, it turns out small frontal area is not the only concern, and an overall aerodynamic pure shape is far more important.The concept of covering a headlight with a sleek Perspex or glass cover – something carmakers like Ferrari and Jaguar were using in the 1960s – re-emerged.Also, as lighting technology started to embrace physically smaller LED light units, there was less physical headlight to hide in the first place.Put simply, modern cars with LED lights don’t need pop-ups. Throw in the weight and cost penalty, and you can see why modern cars often don’t bother with this tech.Back in the day, the US carmakers were obsessed with pop-up headlights, although they weren’t always pop-ups (even if a lot were, like the C3 Corvette, to name one well known model).Instead, cars like various Lincolns and Cadillacs (and the 1968/69 dodge Charger of Dukes of Hazzard fame) used covers over the headlights.These covers retracted or folded away to expose the light, so it wasn’t a true pop-up light. It was also mainly for show as the idea of aerodynamic efficiency in a Cadillac the size of a small house never really entered into things.Plenty of Japanese cars embraced pop-up lights, too. For a while there, heaps of JDM cars had them, and makers like Mazda and Toyota were very keen on the concept. Nissan was in on the act at the same time, too, with various SX coupe models, the Z21 300ZX and even the tiny little EXA all pop-up headlight cars.In Europe, the trend caught on to, with notable examples being the BMW 8-Series (and the earlier M1, of course).Ferrari had a few models with this tech and even Porsche got in on it with the 924, 944 and 968 sporting pop-ups as well as the weird combination of a pop-up headlight that didn’t live behind a cover of any sort in the 928.Instead the 928’s lights laid back in their cubby holes, staring at the sky, until the driver switched on the lights, at which point the headlights rolled up into position like a pair of frog’s eyes.Pop-up lights are, to this day, one of the most memorable things about this generation of Japanese cars, and the MX-5 or Miata pop-up headlights continue to define the design in a visual sense.That means you don’t need to buy something exotic to get this groovy feature. In fact, there are plenty of cheap cars with pop up headlights now, just make sure they work properly as part of the inspection of any second-hand car for sale.Remember, too, old cars with technology like this won’t be affordable cars if anything serious goes wrong.In Australia, we didn’t escape the trend, either. The 1990s Ford Capri, designed primarily as an export to the North American market, had pop-ups, and so did the Holden VL Calais, in an attempt to differentiate it from the less expensive Commodore and Berlina models.Even then, the Calais wasn’t a standard pop-up system and, instead, left the lower half of the headlight glass exposed while using a lifting eyebrow to expose the full lens when the lights were switched on.Our favourite pop-up headlight car? Let’s hear it for the Opel GT, built between 1968 and 1973 and sold mainly in Europe. This looked like a scaled-down C3 Corvette, so the covered headlights looked right.But instead of a motor or hydraulics or vacuum opening them, the GT had a simple, mechanical linkage with a lever next to the centre console.When the driver yanked on that, the headlights didn’t pop-up, but instead rolled over through 180 degrees to reveal their lenses to the world. Brilliant.

Imagine you’re living in another dimension where General Motors decided to keep the Holden brand alive in Australia and the Opel Insignia-based ZB Commodore is still in market.Now take a look at the pictures accompanying this story and that’s more than likely the car that would currently be gracing Holden showrooms across the country.That’s because, despite GM’s sale of Opel to PSA Group in 2017 and the German brand’s transition to Stellantis four years later (in the PSA - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles merger), the Insignia-based car lives on as the Buick Regal in China.And that inter-dimensional Commodore has just received what would surely have been the evergreen Holden’s final facelift.SAIC General Motors is enjoying ongoing success with the Buick brand in the Chinese domestic market with the Regal serving as “a mid-to-high-end car with super driving value”.A 2024 facelift introduced a new grille and bumper treatment to freshen up the car’s look, although its 2018 origins are still clear.But headline news is this month’s introduction of a GS ‘Gran Sport’ high-performance version of the four-door, five-seater.However, rather than the up to 7.5-litre (455ci) V8 engines powering Buick GS muscle cars of the 1960s and early ‘70s, the new Regal offers a 176kW/350Nm version of the ‘Ecotec’ 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine driving the front wheels through a nine-speed auto transmission.Externally the GS sports an ‘Obsidian Black’ grille with cells arranged “in a three-dimensional matrix” and a "fang blade” across its centre. There’s also a black “Tail Wing” spoiler across the boot lid and GS badging front and rear.Underneath the skin the Regal GS’s suspension has been given “European-style sports chassis tuning” and upgraded Brembo brakes are standard, but there are no changes to the interior.Interestingly, owners of 2024 and onwards model Regals will be able to retrofit their car with a GS upgrade kit.SAIC GM says it has sold more than 1.8 million Buick Regals in China over multiple generations and more than two decades on sale. But Holden devotees can only dream of the Holden Commodore GS that could have been.

Holden’s first big blunder, launched 60 years ago, was serious enough to reverberate right through to the very end in 2020. And beyond.