Holden Commodore Again Rumored to Come Here, Should it?

[Oracle of Delphi]

Link - http://bit.ly/fV6Unc

[FAPTurbo]

No.

[Drew Dowdell]

on the next version of the platform after it has lost a bit of weight, yes.

[Justin Bimmer]

This should be job #1 at GM. Bring this to the US NOW! These cars will save the company for sure!!!!!!

[Satty]

God, this is like Ross and Rachel but culturally relevant after 2002.

[Croc]

God, this is like Ross and Rachel but culturally relevant after 2002.

Yeah, and then when the Commodore gets here we can make jokes about how its platform used to be fat.

[regfootball]

only if all wheel drive is an option. and they lose some pork. and they put a new interior in it.

[GMTruckGuy74]

As long as pricing is not sky-high, and V6 equipped models are offered too, I'd definitely be interested in the Commodore station wagon, or would be extremely tempted for the Ute version (El Camino). Bring it on GM!!

[SAmadei]

One year after the Holden Commodore comes here as a Chevrolet, GM will discontinue Chevrolet just to spite us.

[daves87rs]

Too late.

If they're not decent on gas and fast-GM need not waste the time.

[ocnblu]

Why is this question even being asked? Yes. There's Automobile magazine's answer. Sheesh.

[ZL-1]

One year after the Holden Commodore comes here as a Chevrolet, GM will discontinue Chevrolet just to spite us.

I see interesting signs and portents regarding the return of the AUS RWD cars to the US

[Camino LS6]

Better late than never, but it should have been here over a decade ago.

[z28luvr01]

on the next version of the platform after it has lost a bit of weight, yes.

Agreed - though I think you could make a case for the aluminum-paneled 2013 VE Commodore if the mpg gains are sufficient enough

Better late than never, but it should have been here over a decade ago.

Of course - the VX/VY Commodore would have made a nice sedan companion to the GTO and a suitable replacement for the Bonneville.

[Robert Hall]

Would be nice...Chevy needs something interesting in sedans besides more FWD appliances...

Edited March 31, 2011 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Croc]

Remember, the 1997 Buick Regal was originally planned to be an imported Commodore.

[SAmadei]

Better late than never, but it should have been here over a decade ago.

A decade and a half! These should have come here in 1997 to replace the Caprice. Of course, I would say they should have been here in 1987, but GM still thought they had a good grip on the market then.

Remember, the 1997 Buick Regal was originally planned to be an imported Commodore.

What?!? Source, please, I've NEVER heard that. I don't necessarily doubt you, but what to read more.

[Robert Hall]

Remember, the 1997 Buick Regal was originally planned to be an imported Commodore.

Interesting...never heard that rumor. I suppose it was nixed because Cadillac didn't want competition, since it had the Catera which had a similar origin (the Commodore being derived also from the Omega).

[Croc]

I thought this was fairly common knowledge. That's why the Regal we actually got was a Century rebadge rush-job.

Remember the 1995 Buick XP2000 concept car?

[Drew Dowdell]

yea I can see how that would cut into Catera sales

[Robert Hall]

I thought this was fairly common knowledge. That's why the Regal we actually got was a Century rebadge rush-job.

Remember the 1995 Buick XP2000 concept car?

Interesting...don't recall ever seeing that concept anywhere, in pics or in person (I went to the NAIAS from '95-97).

[Intrepidation]

Interesting. I see GM dropped the ball on us and the Commodore more than once, and its nothing new.

I don't remember seeing it before, but that Buick concept sure is good looking, looks mostly production ready too.

[z28luvr01]

I do remember seeing that. I had no idea it was Commodore-based, though. Looks like the exterior design eventually morphed into the 2nd gen Aurora.

IIRC, Holden offered GMNA the Monaro to fill the void left by the F-bodies when they were discontinued.

[Intrepidation]

I was thinking that it reminded me of a second gen Aurora, especially in profile.

As an aside, I don't get why GM killed the Aurora and didn't give it to Buick. It was at the time one of the best sedans in its class.

[Croc]

I was thinking that it reminded me of a second gen Aurora, especially in profile.

As an aside, I don't get why GM killed the Aurora and didn't give it to Buick. It was at the time one of the best sedans in its class.

No kidding. Buick now has Regal, though, and that appeals to me very similarly.

yea I can see how that would cut into Catera sales

I think it had more to do with exchange rates than Cateras. I think the Catera was a similar rush-job.

I don't remember seeing it before, but that Buick concept sure is good looking, looks mostly production ready too.

Yup, it was essentially production-ready.

[Camino LS6]

There have been so many Holden-based ideas for GMNA floated over the years that it is hard to keep track!

[Robert Hall]

I refuse to believe anything until I see new Zetas on the dealer's lot.

[ZL-1]

yea I can see how that would cut into Catera sales

Seeing how much the Opel Omega and the Commodore shared back then, I think that concept actually BECAME the Catera

EDIT (to clarify) - If you look at that Buick concept's greenhouse, the Opel Omega's greenhouse, the Holden Commodore's greenhouse, and the Cadillac Catera's greenhouse you can see they're all one car, with different front and rear ends.

Edited March 31, 2011 by ZL-1

[Z-06]

Lightened zeta please. TY

[Camino LS6]

yea I can see how that would cut into Catera sales

Seeing how much the Opel Omega and the Commodore shared back then, I think that concept actually BECAME the Catera

By the time Holden was done, the two cars shared very little (thankfuly).

[aurora97]

"As an aside, I don't get why GM killed the Aurora and didn't give it to Buick. It was at the time one of the best sedans in its class."

They did. It's the Lucerne. I miss the Aurora, too.

[Drew Dowdell]

Welcome back Aurora97

[Croc]

"As an aside, I don't get why GM killed the Aurora and didn't give it to Buick. It was at the time one of the best sedans in its class."

They did. It's the Lucerne. I miss the Aurora, too.

Similar market position, but Lucerne is sized/appointed/drives far more like the LeSabre successor it is. It holds little interest to me.

[Camino LS6]

Lightened zeta please. TY

You know, the notion of a "factory lightweight" in 2012-2014 has a certain appeal.

[balthazar]

When mercedes 2-seat roadsters -half made of plastic- weighs nearly as much as a 1957 Imperial hardtop sedan with a cast-iron Hemi, I think there's a universal appeal in a factory lightweight.

[Camino LS6]

When mercedes 2-seat roadsters -half made of plastic- weighs nearly as much as a 1957 Imperial hardtop sedan with a cast-iron Hemi, I think there's a universal appeal in a factory lightweight.

True.

But you of all people must understand the tack I implied with my comment.

The marketing angle, if you will.

[Drew Dowdell]

When mercedes 2-seat roadsters -half made of plastic- weighs nearly as much as a 1957 Imperial hardtop sedan with a cast-iron Hemi, I think there's a universal appeal in a factory lightweight.

The Camaro Convertible V6 I just had weighs more than a 2004 Cadillac Deville.

The Camaro Coupe V6 weighs the same as a 2005 Buick Park Ave.

[balthazar]

Sure I gets you, Camino- back when weights weren't out of control, lightweights carried great attention among enthusiasts. Today the knowledge of high weights has much wider awareness, so marketing for one might have a big impact.

Question is, can it be done ?

[Z-06]

Lightened zeta please. TY

You know, the notion of a "factory lightweight" in 2012-2014 has a certain appeal.

That is why I said so. GM is getting bashed for the pork recently. Time to have the lightest yet most desirable GM cars in the class they compete.

[Camino LS6]

Sure I gets you, Camino- back when weights weren't out of control, lightweights carried great attention among enthusiasts. Today the knowledge of high weights has much wider awareness, so marketing for one might have a big impact.

Question is, can it be done ?

Sure it can.

Marketing is all about perception. Spin this right, and it could lay claim to both advanced design and heritage all at once.

But first they have to make it real.

[balthazar]

^ Not the marketing aspect; the lightweight aspect.

Nowadays, Car x SUXORS! if it doesn't have every single latest 1lb electronic gimmick going. Sheet metal is paper thin, glass is thinner, 80% of the interior is plastic, 40% of the exterior... I am afraid the areas left are those unimportant invisible ones, like structure... or more expensive materials are going to have to be employed - rendering said factory lightweight a plaything of the disposable income crowd. Just not sure how engineering is going to spin it up if content reduction isn't utilized.

Edited April 2, 2011 by balthazar