They were a pretty good thing. The old 2.8 and 3.3 litre sixes were gradually updated until a new Nissan sourced six bobbed up in 1986 and the V8 versions were frigging awesome. They were just a bit too skinny and Ford's bigger Falcon cleaned up. Holden fought back with a wider Commodore dubbed the VN in 1998. The VB to VL Commodores had more refinement, much more. The VN was rough, noisy and badly finished with a bus size steering wheel. Hey thanks for giving our Aussie cars a mention mate. Have a dig and you will find lots more. At one stage we had five car manufactures. Cheers.
Important point made at 2:02 about the modifications needed to the Opel starting point of the General Motors Holden Commodore. The problems of the Opel engineering really held the cars back. So much so that GMH lost its top selling make soon after to Ford with the Falcon. Something unheard of since the thirties. Holden was so dominant in Australia for so long that the Government was considering legislation to break the near monopoly on Australian vehicle sales. Holden in this period had the best rate of return on investment of any GM division. Soon after the early Commodores not selling as well as expected Holden were looking at an unheard of loss after so many years of high profits. Interesting fact was that more Pontiac GTO versions were made in Australia than the equivalent Monaro models. So the GTO sales kept the Monaro in production longer.
the demise of the Commodore was something of a national tragedy especially the final insult when the last edition came out ...cue the crowd hissing and booing! Still, those 1990s editions were quite alright, thanks for the memories!
When the Commadore 1st came to Australia it had a more advanced front end (struts & a rack) than the European one, but a less advanced rear end (5 link live axle instead of semi-trailing arm IRS). But the rear end was updated over time.
The last generation Commodore (before rebadging the Opel Insignia) is my favorite large sport sedan that was available in the U.S. under the Pontiac/Chevrolet brands. I think had GM branded the Chevy SS version as a Buick Grand Sport instead, sales would have been much higher and might have even delayed or prevented Holden’s demise. Nice video, HCG. 👍👍👍
@@thehopelesscarguy Arguably, the Corvette has been successful under the Chevy banner because GM has always treated it as its own brand within a brand. I believe they could have marketed the Chevy SS as a Corvette stablemate, especially since it had the LS3 power plant. On the other hand, had they branded it as a Buick it would have had the additional advantage of the Chinese market… assuming it could have legally been sold there. Cheers! 👍
@@Primus54Holden did export some of their long wheelbase luxury cars to China as Buicks. A mix of built up and CKD kits. The China market valuing the Buick nameplate and long wheelbase giving extra space for important passengers. Engine size and power less important so smaller V6 motors. From Wikipedia : In April 2007, General Motors reintroduced the Park Avenue nameplate in China on a luxury sedan that replaced the Buick Royaum. Like its predecessor, the vehicle is based on the Australian-built Holden Caprice (this time on the contemporary WM/WN generation), though, unlike the Royaum, it was assembled by Shanghai GM from CKD kits shipped from Holden's Elizabeth factory in South Australia. More info to explore in Wikipedia and the other markets the cars were exported to with different nameplates.
No single model no matter how successful is enough to keep a Vehicle Manufacturer afloat especially considering Holdens declining sales in its home market and limited export market. Even if marketed as a Chevrolet it would have remained a niche low-volume seller because the market had moved away from large RWD sedans and coupes to trucks SUVs and CUVs.
Australia produced some excellent cars within its history. Unlike many of the US cars, they were built to go around corners and not just in a straight line. Yes we built some road thumpers under the banner, "QUALITY".
Thanks for doing cars downunder! , A garage in Napier ,NZ was tasked with put the Nissan Engines in the Holden cars starting the VL(1986 to 1988) models . So quite a sort after version here in NZ.
@@johnd8892 I don't know if they were just kept in NZ , I know cars assembled in British Leyland factories in AUS & NZ were swapped ,Rover,Triumph,P76, so I am assume so. Moreover other You Tubers have come to NZ with the point to find and drive them, HubNuts Tour of NZ and Aus. Quick look NZ's Trade Me site shows 4x cars from $4000 to $20000.
@@thehopelesscarguy Mate I severely doubt that General Motors Holden Australia Pty Ltd - a billion dollar company employing thousands of people and with full local engineering capability going back many decades - tasked a garage in the remote backwater of Napier, New Zealand to "put the Nissan [RB20 or RB30] Engines" into any Holden product, of any description.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again ... USA destroyed the HOLDEN car company in Australia. This action placed over 3,000 workers out of work. I will NEVER EVER buy a CHEVROLET car as MY CALIAS is just fine. Australian built with Australian pride! DM.
Thanks, even though the last Commodore/Opel Insignia/Buick Regal was a FWD 5-door, I liked the design and thought it made a great Buick sedan and wished that GM/Buick would have kept it in production longer.
Completely passed over the development of what was going to be called a Commodore was a WA model . These were actual real life testing examples . Most people no these cars by the later version the WB statesman
The last Commodore at 10:12, being mainly turbo four cylinder, front wheel drive cars from Opel Europe were very poorly received. With that as their flagship car Holden could only acheive sales levels they had in the much smaller, and production constrained levels of 1950 or so. GM also not having any good right hand drive cars in the pipeline sent Holden to the wall. GM products now struggle to get into the top 100 for sales. This was unheard of since the twenties and would have to be the biggest sales market share collapse in any country in automotive history.
Reviews on the car itself were mostly positive however, what they (Holden) had seemed to forget is that the previous Opel Insignia was called the Holden Insignia, sold alongside the Commodore. A lot of potential buyers knew this. This would be like if when the Falcon ended, Ford simply transferred the badge to a Mondeo.
Because Holdens Red Six has been around since the 1960s and has a special place in Aussie history , and those power levels are base engines , there were triple side draught Weber carby versions of that engine making 350 HP . The motor ended up port fuel injected in 1985 and ran really well , the 1986 VL Commodore got the Nissan RB 30 3 litre the only RB of 3 litres produced for Aussie market , many had pulled off the RB 30 head and replaced it with the Nissan RB 26 TT twin cam twin turbo head on the 3 litre bottom end back in the day !
Great video mate! Can you tell me what country the GS/E Opel is from @ 1:09 to 1:18... That appears to be the identical body of a 1968 (HK) to 1970 (HT) Holden Monaro...except for the grille...An Aussie enjoying your video, bloody good research BTW...
GM maybe used its global prts bin the best.. VB- VZ were Opel based Torana was Opel. FX (the first Holden) was a redeployed /unused 1946 designed Chevrolet (and that platform lasted until the 1970 HG. HQ-WB the first locally developed car. VE-VF were locally developed (with off shore engines) Australian Falcon was also not a local. It was a RHD version of the 1960 US Falcon, a platform which persisted until FGX in 2015!
No Toranas were originally from England Vauxhall. HB Toranas are exactly Vaxhalls , even the early LC Torana still could be ordered with Vauxhall front and 1.2 litre 4 cylinder in Australia
The Liberal coalition killed the Australian car industry, claiming it was too heavily subsidised, when in fact it was the least subsidised car industry in the world, at between AU$15 & AU$125 per car (most at the lower end at around AU$25 per car). Pundits reckon the real reason was that the auto manufacturing unions were large donors to the Labour Party.
My first car was a vl, I also had a vn ss, and two vr /vs utes. After years of having a family I bought a stock standard vs commodore 1996 and my brother has a vx clubsport
I'd respectfully disagree. Look at the sheet metal design of the VE and VF series, that design does not exist anywhere else in the world of GM and as Australians we should be proud we know how to design a car from scratch
Correct, even FX (a platform that lasted until HG) was based on a unused Chev sedan, designed in 46. Really, only HQ-WB and VE-VF were locally developed platforms.
Please , not one piece except some styling came on early commodores , from opal, the car had to be redesigned ground up , with Australian components , try putting the Aussie only 308 ci V8 in a opal, I give it 4 seconds b4 it twists that chassis , and if you listened , Australia got the opal shape the same year as opal did 1978 ,
Funny we didn't get the extra side window in Australia until the VK Commodore My DRs wife drove a beautiful white vL Berlina turbo which was funny because he always bought every Falcon XR6 model As his daily driver 🤣gotta love the OPEL ❤️ Brand 🦅🦅 my daily driver is a one of a kind Toyota Camry panel Van conversion mortuary vehicle 🤠🐨🦘✌️🍀
You got it this is the first video l heard an American use the word "ute " not calling them a truck and bean an Australian l very pleased let's hope it catches on and it's not the Cyber truck its the Cyber ute
Whatever you call it I hope that piece of Tesla rubbish never catches on. It might appeal to a minority of the market who love pretentious hey look at me cars with no thought of practicality or even cost to the environment (the battery manufacturing and disposal process is anything but green)
Excellent. Excellent. I was not expecting this one at all, but I am most pleased by the video for the footage and the content and sharing the history of Holden and the Opel derived models to the many changes that took place and the use of the 3800 V6 and LSI V8. You put great effort and detail into this video. It is indeed appreciated. I liked how you share the impact of American or how they used Holden also. One day it would be nice to see Holden Caprice and Statesman. There are variants sold around the world under other GM brands. Vauxhall when they were a part of GM got a Commodore also. They called VXR something. Thank you again.
@@thehopelesscarguy It is still an excellent video and effort. The VT Commodore used the Opel/Vauxhall Omega as a basis. It was lengthened and modified for Australia. Cadillac of course got the Omega at the Catera. I went and looked up the Vauxhall version. It was called Vauxhall VXR8. Vauxhall got the Holden Monaro first then the Commodore version of HSV from 2007-2017.
Jump in a VF and you'll be surprised how good they are. I own a 2013 VF1 SV6 sportswagon now with almost 200,000km. Most reliable car I've ever owned with negligible repairs just brake pads, tyres, and battery, still on original brake discs. Shitbox? Don't think so. Look after your car and it will look after you.
In December 2013, Holden announced the planned termination of its manufacturing operations at the Elizabeth plant in South Australia by the end of 2017 and, with it, that of the Zeta platform. Sigma-based vehicles that shared design engineering with Zeta transitioned to the Alpha platform, which had used Zeta as its design inspiration. The Chevrolet Camaro, the only GM Zeta based car manufactured outside of Australia, transitioned from the Zeta platform to the Alpha platform in November 2015, with the launch of the 2016 model.
@@gerardcrabb4556 but the thing is it's a totally different platform , not even the same engines or diff , all the different Commodore body shells in 4 door sedan , 2 door ute, 4 door wagon, not to mention the long wheel base Statesman and Caprice ( that were exported as PPV police pursuit vehicles ) were stamped in Australia. I just googled the GM web site , um you might have that the wrong way around , as the Zeta platform was introduced in 2007/8 in Australia, the Australian design was used as the under pinings of the 2010 Camaro , but did not share any of the body work, drive train or parts . But in a way it shared the Australian design.
The only Commodore ever designed by GMH was the VE & VF- the rest (including names like Berlina, Senator, Commodore, Calais et al) were nought more than modified Opels. I have driven a VN V6 auto & the Opel equivalent; the Opel was miles ahead in almost every department (bar the Carlton model- it excelled everything built since the XY GT HO Phase 3)
I was bored to tears. You did not mention that many of these ugly vehicles are closely related to 80s and 90s GM US models. Such as the J cars, of which I owned a thinly disguised Opel Ascona as a Pontiac 2000 5-sp from 1983 to 1994. Its 1.8 lt engine was made in Brazil and its 5 sp transmission promised 46 EPA HWY of which I only got 42, at 55 mph, and overinflated tires.
All the Holden Commodore cars were rear wheel drive cars just perhaps sharing the GM world styling looks but nothing else. The J car you describe seems to share a lot with the smaller and hated Holden Camira. So unsuccessful that it was soon replaced by a version of the Toyota Camry badged as the Holden Apollo which was more highly regarded but got nowhere near Commodore sales levels.
the j cars were a world car platform. None of the Aussie cars in the 80's onwards had anything to do with yank designs whatsoever, except maybe some parts sharing. even the engines were Aussie. Your yankee ignorance is breathtaking. Our cars could actually handle and didn't look and slop around like whale blubber.
I guess that's why so many Americans import Holdens ! We had to teach them real V8s , and how do you know the US models didn't get styling from Holden ?
They were a pretty good thing. The old 2.8 and 3.3 litre sixes were gradually updated until a new Nissan sourced six bobbed up in 1986 and the V8 versions were frigging awesome. They were just a bit too skinny and Ford's bigger Falcon cleaned up. Holden fought back with a wider Commodore dubbed the VN in 1998. The VB to VL Commodores had more refinement, much more. The VN was rough, noisy and badly finished with a bus size steering wheel. Hey thanks for giving our Aussie cars a mention mate. Have a dig and you will find lots more. At one stage we had five car manufactures. Cheers.
I always try to include our friends down under.
Important point made at 2:02 about the modifications needed to the Opel starting point of the General Motors Holden Commodore.
The problems of the Opel engineering really held the cars back. So much so that GMH lost its top selling make soon after to Ford with the Falcon. Something unheard of since the thirties. Holden was so dominant in Australia for so long that the Government was considering legislation to break the near monopoly on Australian vehicle sales. Holden in this period had the best rate of return on investment of any GM division.
Soon after the early Commodores not selling as well as expected Holden were looking at an unheard of loss after so many years of high profits.
Interesting fact was that more Pontiac GTO versions were made in Australia than the equivalent Monaro models. So the GTO sales kept the Monaro in production longer.
the demise of the Commodore was something of a national tragedy especially the final insult when the last edition came out ...cue the crowd hissing and booing! Still, those 1990s editions were quite alright, thanks for the memories!
When the Commadore 1st came to Australia it had a more advanced front end (struts & a rack) than the European one, but a less advanced rear end (5 link live axle instead of semi-trailing arm IRS). But the rear end was updated over time.
The early 4.2 was enormous fun! although I preferred the earlier Premier [built like a tank]
I would suspect so, but I will have to take your word on that as I've never even seen one.
The last generation Commodore (before rebadging the Opel Insignia) is my favorite large sport sedan that was available in the U.S. under the Pontiac/Chevrolet brands. I think had GM branded the Chevy SS version as a Buick Grand Sport instead, sales would have been much higher and might have even delayed or prevented Holden’s demise. Nice video, HCG. 👍👍👍
I think GM failed the SS from a marketing stand point. There are so many ways it could have been more successful.
@@thehopelesscarguy Arguably, the Corvette has been successful under the Chevy banner because GM has always treated it as its own brand within a brand. I believe they could have marketed the Chevy SS as a Corvette stablemate, especially since it had the LS3 power plant. On the other hand, had they branded it as a Buick it would have had the additional advantage of the Chinese market… assuming it could have legally been sold there. Cheers! 👍
@@Primus54Holden did export some of their long wheelbase luxury cars to China as Buicks. A mix of built up and CKD kits. The China market valuing the Buick nameplate and long wheelbase giving extra space for important passengers. Engine size and power less important so smaller V6 motors.
From Wikipedia :
In April 2007, General Motors reintroduced the Park Avenue nameplate in China on a luxury sedan that replaced the Buick Royaum. Like its predecessor, the vehicle is based on the Australian-built Holden Caprice (this time on the contemporary WM/WN generation), though, unlike the Royaum, it was assembled by Shanghai GM from CKD kits shipped from Holden's Elizabeth factory in South Australia.
More info to explore in Wikipedia and the other markets the cars were exported to with different nameplates.
@@johnd8892 Very interesting, John. Thanks for sharing that information. 👍
No single model no matter how successful is enough to keep a Vehicle Manufacturer afloat especially considering Holdens declining sales in its home market and limited export market.
Even if marketed as a Chevrolet it would have remained a niche low-volume seller because the market had moved away from large RWD sedans and coupes to trucks SUVs and CUVs.
I daily a 01 VX Executive Wagon with a factory LS1 5.7, it was an 4 speed auto but i converted it to a 6 speed t56
Great car👌
Australia produced some excellent cars within its history. Unlike many of the US cars, they were built to go around corners and not just in a straight line. Yes we built some road thumpers under the banner, "QUALITY".
Excellent overview !!
Best on YTube bar far 👌
Thanks
Some versions of the Commodore were sold under the Vauxhall marque in the UK.
I've driven vt commodore my dad had one great car drove a ve prefer the vt love your vid man 🇦🇺
Cool, thanks.
Well researched, almost faultless.
Thanks for doing cars downunder! , A garage in Napier ,NZ was tasked with put the Nissan Engines in the Holden cars starting the VL(1986 to 1988) models . So quite a sort after version here in NZ.
Was that the Holden Commodore with the Nissan two litre six exclusive to the NZ market?
@@johnd8892 I don't know if they were just kept in NZ , I know cars assembled in British Leyland factories in AUS & NZ were swapped ,Rover,Triumph,P76, so I am assume so. Moreover other You Tubers have come to NZ with the point to find and drive them, HubNuts Tour of NZ and Aus. Quick look NZ's Trade Me site shows 4x cars from $4000 to $20000.
@@johnd8892 I don't know if it was exported elsewhere or not.
@@thehopelesscarguy
Mate I severely doubt that General Motors Holden Australia Pty Ltd - a billion dollar company employing thousands of people and with full local engineering capability going back many decades - tasked a garage in the remote backwater of Napier, New Zealand to "put the Nissan [RB20 or RB30] Engines" into any Holden product, of any description.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again ... USA destroyed the HOLDEN car company in Australia. This action placed over 3,000 workers out of work. I will NEVER EVER buy a CHEVROLET car as MY CALIAS is just fine. Australian built with Australian pride! DM.
Thanks, even though the last Commodore/Opel Insignia/Buick Regal was a FWD 5-door, I liked the design and thought it made a great Buick sedan and wished that GM/Buick would have kept it in production longer.
I thought it was a nice looking car.
Completely passed over the development of what was going to be called a Commodore was a WA model . These were actual real life testing examples . Most people no these cars by the later version the WB statesman
The last Commodore at 10:12, being mainly turbo four cylinder, front wheel drive cars from Opel Europe were very poorly received. With that as their flagship car Holden could only acheive sales levels they had in the much smaller, and production constrained levels of 1950 or so.
GM also not having any good right hand drive cars in the pipeline sent Holden to the wall. GM products now struggle to get into the top 100 for sales. This was unheard of since the twenties and would have to be the biggest sales market share collapse in any country in automotive history.
Reviews on the car itself were mostly positive however, what they (Holden) had seemed to forget is that the previous Opel Insignia was called the Holden Insignia, sold alongside the Commodore. A lot of potential buyers knew this. This would be like if when the Falcon ended, Ford simply transferred the badge to a Mondeo.
The use of the Buick v6 in Commodore's was a game changer, absolutely great motors.
It is a great motor.
Loved my 86 VL Commodore. And my VH, VN, VT and VZ
Why did you not usebthe vauxhall engines as 2.8 straight 6 had 148bhp
3.3 was frommthe victor days
Because Holdens Red Six has been around since the 1960s and has a special place in Aussie history , and those power levels are base engines , there were triple side draught Weber carby versions of that engine making 350 HP . The motor ended up port fuel injected in 1985 and ran really well , the 1986 VL Commodore got the Nissan RB 30 3 litre the only RB of 3 litres produced for Aussie market , many had pulled off the RB 30 head and replaced it with the Nissan RB 26 TT twin cam twin turbo head on the 3 litre bottom end back in the day !
3:17 my fav SL/E
Great video mate! Can you tell me what country the GS/E Opel is from @ 1:09 to 1:18... That appears to be the identical body of a 1968 (HK) to 1970 (HT) Holden Monaro...except for the grille...An Aussie enjoying your video, bloody good research BTW...
Just GM Detroit instructing subsidiary companies to use the developed GM corporate styling. Doubt if any body panels are interchangeable.
that opel is much smaller and looks nothing like the monaros at all. same design concept but not a single panel would be the same.
@@johnd8892 Thank you...photos can deceive.
@@thesolver1970 Thank you
GM maybe used its global prts bin the best..
VB- VZ were Opel based
Torana was Opel.
FX (the first Holden) was a redeployed /unused 1946 designed Chevrolet (and that platform lasted until the 1970 HG.
HQ-WB the first locally developed car.
VE-VF were locally developed (with off shore engines)
Australian Falcon was also not a local.
It was a RHD version of the 1960 US Falcon, a platform which persisted until FGX in 2015!
I would say that back in the day GM certainly used its parts bin the best.
No Toranas were originally from England Vauxhall. HB Toranas are exactly Vaxhalls , even the early LC Torana still could be ordered with Vauxhall front and 1.2 litre 4 cylinder in Australia
The Liberal coalition killed the Australian car industry, claiming it was too heavily subsidised, when in fact it was the least subsidised car industry in the world, at between AU$15 & AU$125 per car (most at the lower end at around AU$25 per car). Pundits reckon the real reason was that the auto manufacturing unions were large donors to the Labour Party.
So basically commodore was just a name
Isn't that normally the case?
My first car was a vl, I also had a vn ss, and two vr /vs utes. After years of having a family I bought a stock standard vs commodore 1996 and my brother has a vx clubsport
I stand in awe looking at all the european rekords and omegas with some actually beefy engines and a lot cooler designs!
Looks like Holden was never really an Australian car!
I'd respectfully disagree. Look at the sheet metal design of the VE and VF series, that design does not exist anywhere else in the world of GM and as Australians we should be proud we know how to design a car from scratch
Correct, even FX (a platform that lasted until HG) was based on a unused Chev sedan, designed in 46.
Really, only HQ-WB and VE-VF were locally developed platforms.
Please , not one piece except some styling came on early commodores , from opal, the car had to be redesigned ground up , with Australian components , try putting the Aussie only 308 ci V8 in a opal, I give it 4 seconds b4 it twists that chassis , and if you listened , Australia got the opal shape the same year as opal did 1978 ,
Funny we didn't get the extra side window in Australia until the VK Commodore My DRs wife drove a beautiful white vL Berlina turbo which was funny because he always bought every Falcon XR6 model As his daily driver 🤣gotta love the OPEL ❤️ Brand 🦅🦅 my daily driver is a one of a kind Toyota Camry panel Van conversion mortuary vehicle 🤠🐨🦘✌️🍀
A Camry Hearse?
You got it this is the first video l heard an American use the word "ute " not calling them a truck and bean an Australian l very pleased let's hope it catches on and it's not the Cyber truck its the Cyber ute
Whatever you call it I hope that piece of Tesla rubbish never catches on. It might appeal to a minority of the market who love pretentious hey look at me cars with no thought of practicality or even cost to the environment (the battery manufacturing and disposal process is anything but green)
Excellent. Excellent. I was not expecting this one at all, but I am most pleased by the video for the footage and the content and sharing the history of Holden and the Opel derived models to the many changes that took place and the use of the 3800 V6 and LSI V8. You put great effort and detail into this video. It is indeed appreciated. I liked how you share the impact of American or how they used Holden also. One day it would be nice to see Holden Caprice and Statesman. There are variants sold around the world under other GM brands. Vauxhall when they were a part of GM got a Commodore also. They called VXR something. Thank you again.
Thanks. I should have looked at Vauxhall.
@@thehopelesscarguy It is still an excellent video and effort. The VT Commodore used the Opel/Vauxhall Omega as a basis. It was lengthened and modified for Australia. Cadillac of course got the Omega at the Catera. I went and looked up the Vauxhall version. It was called Vauxhall VXR8. Vauxhall got the Holden Monaro first then the Commodore version of HSV from 2007-2017.
Shitboxes
Jump in a VF and you'll be surprised how good they are. I own a 2013 VF1 SV6 sportswagon now with almost 200,000km. Most reliable car I've ever owned with negligible repairs just brake pads, tyres, and battery, still on original brake discs. Shitbox? Don't think so. Look after your car and it will look after you.
In the famous Aussie vernacular re: your comment...'Wanker", even Aussie Fords are great. We are a small population on an F' ing big island.
Camaro was based on same platform in 2010...
Interesting
Not so sure of that , that's the VE Holden platform introduced in 2008 , full independent rear , L98 6 litre and T56 manual .
In December 2013, Holden announced the planned termination of its manufacturing operations at the Elizabeth plant in South Australia by the end of 2017 and, with it, that of the Zeta platform. Sigma-based vehicles that shared design engineering with Zeta transitioned to the Alpha platform, which had used Zeta as its design inspiration. The Chevrolet Camaro, the only GM Zeta based car manufactured outside of Australia, transitioned from the Zeta platform to the Alpha platform in November 2015, with the launch of the 2016 model.
@@JosephCowen-fz8vj Yes Camaro was only US made car with this platform after 2008 GFC killed Pontiac...
@@gerardcrabb4556 but the thing is it's a totally different platform , not even the same engines or diff , all the different Commodore body shells in 4 door sedan , 2 door ute, 4 door wagon, not to mention the long wheel base Statesman and Caprice ( that were exported as PPV police pursuit vehicles ) were stamped in Australia. I just googled the GM web site , um you might have that the wrong way around , as the Zeta platform was introduced in 2007/8 in Australia, the Australian design was used as the under pinings of the 2010 Camaro , but did not share any of the body work, drive train or parts . But in a way it shared the Australian design.
Your account is accurate but definitely skipping over almost every detail. Model designations would have been good for a start.
The model codes are certainly important to real fans.
I'm pretty sure he got it spot on , model designations ?
The only Commodore ever designed by GMH was the VE & VF- the rest (including names like Berlina, Senator, Commodore, Calais et al) were nought more than modified Opels.
I have driven a VN V6 auto & the Opel equivalent; the Opel was miles ahead in almost every department (bar the Carlton model- it excelled everything built since the XY GT HO Phase 3)
No VN was never an opal ! In 1988
That was interesting.
I was bored to tears. You did not mention that many of these ugly vehicles are closely related to 80s and 90s GM US models. Such as the J cars, of which I owned a thinly disguised Opel Ascona as a Pontiac 2000 5-sp from 1983 to 1994. Its 1.8 lt engine was made in Brazil and its 5 sp transmission promised 46 EPA HWY of which I only got 42, at 55 mph, and overinflated tires.
All the Holden Commodore cars were rear wheel drive cars just perhaps sharing the GM world styling looks but nothing else.
The J car you describe seems to share a lot with the smaller and hated Holden Camira.
So unsuccessful that it was soon replaced by a version of the Toyota Camry badged as the Holden Apollo which was more highly regarded but got nowhere near Commodore sales levels.
Well, aren't you nasty! And wrong, too.
These cars, except where mentioned, are not related to US-sold cars at all.
the j cars were a world car platform. None of the Aussie cars in the 80's onwards had anything to do with yank designs whatsoever, except maybe some parts sharing. even the engines were Aussie. Your yankee ignorance is breathtaking. Our cars could actually handle and didn't look and slop around like whale blubber.
@@johnd8892 HSV made an awd Coupe 4 and Camaro was based on same platform... Holden made an awd Adventura in V6 and V8...
I guess that's why so many Americans import Holdens ! We had to teach them real V8s , and how do you know the US models didn't get styling from Holden ?