2007 Holden VE Commodore Info

[Flybrian]

FOR RELEASE: 2006-07-15

All-New Holden Commodore Unveiled To The World

Fourth generation of Australia's best-selling car range revealed

Holden today unveiled the all-new Holden Commodore range, designed and engineered to extend a decade-long record as Australia's best selling car.

The 2006 VE Commodore is Australia's first $1 billion car program and the most homegrown development project in almost 60 years of Holden vehicle production.

The fourth generation Commodore is much safer, offers more technology and delivers more features and value than ever before.

Interiors, exteriors and major mechanical features have been totally redesigned or upgraded, representing the most clean-sheet car program in Holden history.

Holden spent more than six years planning and developing the new Commodore, the first generational change since the multiple award-winning VT Commodore was launched in 1997.

Holden launched the Commodore in 1978 and has built 2.4 million Commodores for sale in Australia and export markets around the world.

Holden’s sports performance hero SS model and prestige leader Calais were chosen to debut VE Commodore at an event in Melbourne.

The all-new WM series Statesman and Caprice flagship models, representing Australia's most successful locally designed export cars last year, were also shown in an historic double reveal.

Commodore’s design theme is enabled by an increased wheelbase which moves the wheels closer to the car’s corners, delivering a powerful European-styled stance on the road.

The launch comes 75 years after Holden became part of the world’s largest automotive company, General Motors. It is also 150 years since the original Holden saddlery business, which grew to be today’s GM Holden, opened in Adelaide.

GM Holden Chairman and Managing Director, Denny Mooney, today said VE Commodore was designed to excite buyers about Australian cars and enhance Holden’s future as the largest automotive manufacturer in the country.

Mr Mooney said General Motors had invested more than $6 billion in Australia over the past decade, including VE, to protect Commodore’s market-leading position.

The VE program totalled $1.04 billion and the WM Statesman and Caprice program $190 million, taking the combined cost to $1.23 billion.

Mr Mooney said VE Commodore had potential for GM markets around the world, having been engineered from a global architecture for left-hand-drive requirements such as the Middle East.

He said VE offered striking design, performance and refinement able to compete with the world’s best car brands.

“VE Commodore delivers ultimate value to the Australian buyer. Its design is comparable to anything in the world and we made major advances in refinement and quality,” Mr Mooney said.

“Our targets have been some of the most expensive and most carefully crafted cars around the world and this careful consideration of global expectations is what should make this car work.

“We pored over every panel, the tiniest of details to place this car right up there in terms of refinement, quality and performance.”

Mr Mooney said safety was a key factor in the new vehicle, with the acclaimed crash avoidance technology Electronic Stability Program (ESP®) standard and curtain airbags available on the entire VE sedan range.

“The chassis is designed to accommodate a range of active and passive safety technologies as well as the crashworthiness expected in many different markets,” he said.

“We have used more super-strength and high-strength steels than ever before in Commodore’s structure. Real world crash performance was a huge priority throughout its development.”

Mr Mooney announced a revised model line-up for the new range, including a new name to Holden, Omega, to replace Executive and Acclaim.

“We are also adding extra class with the introduction of a new concept, the V Series, to highlight our top-of-the-line offerings. This will commence with the SS V and Calais V,” he said.

“The peak power of our advanced Alloytec V6 engines, made right here in Australia , will move up to 180 and 195 kilowatts respectively.

“ The six-litre V8 will stamp its authority with peak power and torque of 270 kilowatts and 530 Newton metres which will really deliver the performance Holden buyers know and love.

“We will introduce a new six-speed automatic transmission for V8 models, sharing it with GM’s premium cars such as Cadillacs and the Chevrolet Corvette.

“We have introduced all-new front and rear suspension systems to provide outstanding handling without sacrificing ride comfort. The car’s microprocessing capability has more than doubled and allows us to provide new levels of safety and user-friendly features.”

Mr Mooney said recent market changes and external factors such as fuel prices were best countered by ensuring locally built vehicles were able to mix with the world’s best.

“The Australian car industry has a strong future while it continues to make globally competitive cars such as VE Commodore,” he said.

“We’re proud of what we have achieved with the all-new Commodore. We know Australians still enjoy large cars and we know they want safety, roominess and style in their cars.”

The Holden VE Commodore range will go on sale in August 2006. Pricing and full specifications and features will be announced closer to the start of sales.

2006 HOLDEN VE COMMODORE –HIGHLIGHTS

Overview

Australia's first $1 billion dollar car program. This compares with $600 million spent on the acclaimed VT range released in 1997

Combined with WM Statesman and Caprice, total program costs were $1.23 billion

Most clean-sheet car program in Holden’s history

More than 3.42 million development kilometres were driven during the program

About 2.4 million Commodores have been built for domestic and export sales since the VB Commodore was launched in 1978

Holden Commodore has been Australia's best selling car each year since 1996, the year before VT was launched

Model lineup

The new Omega and V Series models feature in a revised Commodore lineup. Omega replaces Executive and Acclaim while the V Series adds new variants to the leading SS and Calais nameplates.

Omega (new) – 3.6L V6, peak power 180kW, peak torque 330Nm, four-speed automatic

Berlina – 3.6L V6, peak power 180kW, peak torque 330Nm, four-speed automatic; 6.0L V8, peak power 270kW, peak torque 530Nm, six-speed automatic

SV6 – 3.6L V6, peak power 195kW, peak torque 340Nm, five-speed automatic or six-speed manual

SS – 6.0L V8, peak power 270kW, peak torque 530Nm, six-speed automatic, six-speed manual

SS V (new) - 6.0L V8, peak power 270kW, peak torque 530Nm, six-speed automatic, six-speed manual

Calais – 3.6L V6, peak power 195kW, peak torque 340Nm, five-speed automatic; 6.0L V8, peak power 270kW, peak torque 530Nm, six-speed automatic

Calais V (new) – 3.6L V6, peak power 195kW, peak torque 340Nm, five-speed automatic; 6.0L V8, peak power 270kW, peak torque 530Nm, six-speed automatic

Engines

Two variants of the advanced all-aluminium 3.6L Alloytec V6 engine will be offered

The high output Alloytec will deliver peak power of 195kW @ 6500rpm and peak torque of 340Nm @ 2600rpm, up 5kW and 5Nm

The Alloytec V6 will deliver peak power of 180kW @ 6000rpm and peak torque of 330Nm @ 2600rpm, up 8kW and 10Nm

Increased output from the new 6.0L Generation 4 V8 engine to peak power of 270kW @ 5700rpm and peak torque of 530Nm @ 4400rpm, up 10kW and 20Nm. This makes the new engine the most powerful standard Holden ever produced

Plans for a 3.6L dual fuel LPG Alloytec V6 engine later in the year.

Transmissions

Five transmissions will be offered, comprising three automatic and two manual transmissions. An all-new six-speed automatic transmission will be offered for V8 variants, shared with General Motors’ flagship Cadillac cars and the Chevrolet Corvette.

GM 6L80E six-speed automatic transmission with Active Select (introduced in the Cadillac STS-V in the United States ) makes its Australian debut as an option in all V8 variants

Tremec T56 six-speed manual in SS and SS V

GM 5L40E five-speed automatic with Active Select in Calais V6

Aisin AY6 six-speed manual in SV6

GM 4L60E four-speed automatic in Omega and Berlina

Safety

Electronic Stability Program (ESP®) standard on all models

Driver, front passenger and side impact airbags available on all models

Occupant protection system designed for real world driving environment

Curtain airbags available on all models - standard on SS V, Calais and Calais V; optional on Omega, Berlina, SV6 and SS

Ultra-stiff body structure, multiple load path strategy, structurally optimised front and rear deformation zones

Greatly expanded use of super-strength and high-strength steels in the body

Technology

All-new heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems

Zone-based front and rear park assist systems available on selected models

Multi-function display reporting system

Bluetooth standard on all models except optional on Omega

Roof-mounted DVD systems available on all models

Auxiliary plug in audio systems to accommodate MP3 devices

Integrated navigation and telematics systems available later in 2006

History

VE is the 14 th series of Commodore since the original VB Commodore was released in 1978. The VB Commodore was introduced as a replacement for the iconic Kingswood family. New generations of Commodore were introduced in 1988 with the VN series and the VT series in 1997.

Commodore has been Australia's best selling car for each of the past 10 years, including the end of the VS series (1996), VT series (1997-2000), VX series (2000-2002), VY series (2002-2004) and the outgoing VZ series (2004-2006).

It is Australia's best selling car year to date in 2006, a significant achievement given general awareness of the pending VE arrival.

Power and torque figures as per ECE regulations

ESP is a registered trademark of Daimler Chrysler AG

[pow]

SV6 – 3.6L V6, peak power 195kW, peak torque 340Nm, five-speed automatic or six-speed manual

That sounds perfect.

That's 262 horsepower and 251 lb/ft, btw.

[pow]

The 6.0L V8 makes 362 horsepower and 391 lb-ft.

[regfootball]

SV6 – 3.6L V6, peak power 195kW, peak torque 340Nm, five-speed automatic or six-speed manual

That sounds perfect.

That's 262 horsepower and 251 lb/ft, btw.

167307[/snapback]

the MONTANA has 262 hp?

:AH-HA_wink:

[Imaj]

Lucky Aussies, the interior on those things is amazing. The exterior is ok, better than a Camry, Accord or even the Impala!

[Sixty8panther]

GM 6L80E six-speed automatic transmission with Active Select (introduced in the Cadillac STS-V in the United States ) makes its Australian debut as an option in all V8 variants

Tremec T56 six-speed manual in SS and SS V

Aisin AY6 six-speed manual in SV6

Commodore has been Australia's best selling car for each of the past 10 years, including the end of the VS series (1996), VT series (1997-2000), VX series (2000-2002), VY series (2002-2004) and the outgoing VZ series (2004-2006).

167296[/snapback]

Americans are pu$$!es who buy enough Toyota Camrys to make it the

best selling car in America... I need to move to Australia because it's

obvious now that they outrank us quite a bit in the intelligence quotient.

Edited July 16, 2006 by Sixty8panther

[Flybrian]

Americans are pu$$!es who buy enough Toyota Camrys to make it the

best selling car in America... I need to move to Australia because it's

obvious now that they outrank us quite a bit in the intelligence quotient.

167453[/snapback]

Keep in mind, this country hasn't had a mass-market advanced RWD car in decades. We had ranky old RWD ones (Crown Vic, B-body) and advanced FWD ones (LH-, G-body), but not both together...yet.

[Robert Hall]

Keep in mind, this country hasn't had a mass-market advanced RWD car in decades. We had ranky old RWD ones (Crown Vic, B-body) and advanced FWD ones (LH-, G-body), but not both together...yet.

167455[/snapback]

Hmm... the US has one modern mass-market RWD platform now that I can think of--the LX with the 300, Magnum and Charger...

[91z4me]

Hmm... the US has one modern mass-market RWD platform now that I can think of--the LX with the 300, Magnum and Charger...

167471[/snapback]

Werd.

[Flybrian]

Hmm... the US has one modern mass-market RWD platform now that I can think of--the LX with the 300, Magnum and Charger...

167471[/snapback]

Instead of 'yet' I should've used 'until pretty much just now.'

[FAPTurbo]

Americans are pu$$!es who buy enough Toyota Camrys to make it the

best selling car in America... I need to move to Australia because it's

obvious now that they outrank us quite a bit in the intelligence quotient.

167453[/snapback]

Maybe I ought to give you the address to my cousin in Perth. He tinkers all day long with his straight six, RWD Ford Falcon all day long. He also complains about FWD Japanese cars honing in on Australia's turf with bland designs and anemic powertrains.

Wow... you two are like peas in a pod!

[CSpec]

Bluetooth standard on all models except optional on Omega

Roof-mounted DVD systems available on all models

Hopefully this stuff makes its way to GMNA very soon.

[Mule Bakersdozen LS]

Sounds like some good engine specification-but I'm surprised-that's ahuge gap between a 3.6-liter V-6 (remember, Alloytec=High Feature) and a 6000 V-8! Nice model array (and consolidation of Acclaim/Executive into one trim)-even if it were a Chevy (styling is a bit bland, but we can work with that-and what isn't these days?).

[ToniCipriani]

Anyone know how flexible is VE?

I wonder if it's possible to shrink that platform to the size of a Cobalt. Then we can have a RWD compact to replace the G5.

[91z4me]

Anyone know how flexible is VE?

I wonder if it's possible to shrink that platform to the size of a Cobalt. Then we can have a RWD compact to replace the G5.

167641[/snapback]

It isn't that flexible. It is way to wide and width changes costs lots of money.

[ToniCipriani]

It isn't that flexible.  It is way to wide and width changes costs lots of money.

167642[/snapback]

Actually, this isn't a bad idea, either. Keep it wide, but shorten it, down to around the 3-series size.

Then Pontiac and advertise "Wide-track" again.

[91z4me]

Actually, this isn't a bad idea, either. Keep it wide, but shorten it, down to around the 3-series size.

Then Pontiac and advertise "Wide-track" again.

167644[/snapback]

The STS is 72" wide and Zeta is likely wider. So this mini-Zeta would be almost 5" wider than a Civic?

Also wider would mean heavier.