Muscle News

Ford can’t make enough new R-Spec Mustangs but Holden can’t sell enough Commodores... Chrysler’s Australian importer has second thoughts on bringing in the Charger and Challenger

Holden, the brand that was integral to the creation of the uniquely Aussie muscle cars we all love, no longer sells traditional passenger vehicles. Instead, with the axing of the ZB Commodore and the BK Astra along with it, Holden offers only SUVs and a ute (for more on the death of the Commodore name and model, see our Commodore feature piece on page 44).

The only place where you’ll still see new Commodores is on racetracks, where the Supercars version of the ZB will continue until the end of the 2021 season.

There’s something very appropriate about the fact that the only ZB to survive the executioner’s axe is the racing version… the rear-wheel drive V8.

Appropriate because it at least captures the drivetrain essence of the locally-built cars which built the Commodore name – something the fullyimported ZB abandoned.

Sure, there have been plenty of forgettable Holden-badged vehicles through the years. But for all the Barinas, Apollos, Epicas and fourcylinder Commodores, for that matter, the locallybuilt performance models gave the brand a lustre it wore proudly.

But no longer. If you want a road-going Holden V8 you’re out of luck, and have been since the VF II died in October 2017.

The closest you can get these days is the Chevrolet Camaro. Holden’s parent General Motors rejected the business case for an exfactory right-hand drive version of the iconic coupe, leaving it to Walkinshaw Group to do the job locally and market it under the HSV brand.

You’ll pay $85,990 (plus on-roads) to get into a Camaro, tens of thousands more than the late lamented VF II Commodore SS-V Redline.

Wait till next year and Holden will inject some mojo with the new C8 Corvette ex-factory right-hand drive. But the exciting mid-engined coupe will be an even more exclusive $150,000 proposition and it won’t be a Holden.

All that makes Ford look like utter geniuses for introducing the Mustang to Australia before the death of Falcon and doing it a relatively affordable price. There are now thousands of them rumbling along Aussie roads.

So if you’re a car fan, let alone a muscle car fan, Holden showrooms are bare.

Instead, what’s left is a selection of vehicles sourced from various corners of the GM world. The Trax is a Chevrolet from Korea, the Equinox a Chev built in Mexico, the Acadia is a GMC from the USA and the Trailblazer and Colorado are Chevs built in Thailand.

That line-up in a SUV and ute dominated market is understandable. But none of them are class-leaders and only the Colorado can really hold its head up in sales terms.

Holden desperately needs an in ux of impressive and affordable new vehicles but it’s unclear where they are coming from.

A huge issue is Holden sells in a right-hand drive market, while GM has its primary focus on the biggest left-hand drive pro t centres North America and China.

GM even pulled out of Europe, selling off Opel to PSA (Peugeot-Citroen). The German company sold its cars as Vauxhalls in the UK and that substantial right-hand drive market provided a decent supply of new metal for Holden.

Ford look like utter geniuses for introducing the Mustang to Australia before the death of Falcon and doing it a relatively affordable price

The Commodore and the Astra were the last vestiges of that deal. Of course, GM still has substantial manufacturing global bases for Holden to tap into, but coming up with a business case for a few thousand right-hand drive vehicles is not easy.

Along with Camaro, Holden has for years lusted after big SUVs and pick-ups built by GM brands like Chevrolet and GMC in the USA only to be foiled by the hundreds of millions of dollars it would cost to switch the steering wheel to the other side.

Instead, independent importers such as the Walkinshaw Group have jumped into the gap. The new Chevrolet Silverado 1500 pick-up and Suburban SUV will soon be rolling out of its Clayton plant.

It all leaves Holden and its new interim managing director Kristian Aquilina – an enthusiast, a Holden believer and motorsport fan – in a deeply challenging position. A brand with a rich heritage has slumped into a traumatic present and a deeply uncertain future.

Considering all that, you can understand why debate and discussion over the end of Commodore has pretty quickly turned in the media to the future of Holden. There have been plenty of doomsayers.

“I think at best Holden will end up a Chevrolet brand,” said respected Australia auto industry veteran Michael Bartsch in an interview with carsales.com.au. “I just can’t see that they’ll sustain what they’re doing.”

Former Holden design chief Leo Pruneau (above) told the Daily Mail: “I would say in 10 years we won’t see a Holden badge. It’s a really sad thing to say. There’s a good chance the Holden name could disappear altogether.”

That’s not only sad. Just a few years ago it was unthinkable.