01-24-2007, 02:00 AM
http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/hold...21065.html
-Also http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Articl...19977&vf=3
Commodore heads for US car market
Joshua Dowling, Detroit, The Sydney Morning Herald, 09/01/07
General Motors let the cat out of the bag early at the Detroit motor show when it announced that Holden's VE Commodore SS would be exported to America, reports JOSHUA DOWLING.
Commodore: will be sold as a Pontiac.
Australia's biggest-selling car, the Holden Commodore, will be exported to the United States, it was unofficially confirmed at the Detroit motor show last night.
The announcement was not due to be made until next month's Chicago motor show. But the worldwide head of product development for General Motors, Bob Lutz, gave away more than he was supposed to during a press conference.
Just minutes after Holden officials refused to answer questions about the Commodore's export program, Mr Lutz revealed details about the deal.
The Commodore SS, a V8-powered sports sedan, will be sold as a Pontiac from late this year or early next year.
Holden expects to export 30,000 Commodores annually, about half what it sells locally.
"We are seriously planning to import a lot of Commodore SS sedans as Pontiac G8s," Mr Lutz said, adding that Holden could export up to 50,000 Commodores a year if the model was priced correctly.
Mr Lutz said the export of the Holden Monaro as a Pontiac GTO from 2003 to 2006 (during which 40,000 of the V8 coupes were sold) brought Holden's expertise to the attention of its parent company, General Motors in North America.
"We are yet to officially announce it," Mr Lutz said of the Commodore export deal, once he realised he had made a faux pas. He eventually admitted that selling the V8 version of the Commodore in the US was a logical thing to do as it filled a void in Pontiac's line-up.
"While (the Monaro's) export program may not have fulfilled all of our hopes and dreams in terms of profitability and volume, it did break the ice on global programs."
The export deal comes at a crucial time for the Commodore. It has been Australia's biggest-selling car for 11 years but sales are at a 16-year low as imports flood Australia.
Holden already exports to the Middle East five times as many Statesmans as it sells locally and exports are increasingly being viewed as a key to the Commodore's survival.
Sales of large, locally made sedans were at a 16-year low in 2006 as buyers embraced small cars.
Last year, sales of the Ford Falcon were their lowest since the late 1960s. Ford is yet to announce an export deal but an updated Falcon due in March 2008 will have the capability to be built in left-hand drive.
When Holden developed the new Commodore, released last August, it did so with American regulations in mind. This has made the transformation from a Commodore to a Pontiac relatively simple.
![[Image: 2060721.010.mini15L.jpg]](http://www.americancarfans.com/news/2060721.010/2060721.010.mini15L.jpg)
![[Image: 2060721.010.mini18L.jpg]](http://www.americancarfans.com/news/2060721.010/2060721.010.mini18L.jpg)
![[Image: 1029big.jpg]](http://www.americancarfans.com/photos/3060721.001/1029big.jpg)
![[Image: CommodoreVE.jpg]](http://www.cycloneinjapan.com/upload/files/46/CommodoreVE.jpg)
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With all the support the GTO seems to have among those in MM, I thought some of you would like to see this 8)
-Also http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Articl...19977&vf=3
Commodore heads for US car market
Joshua Dowling, Detroit, The Sydney Morning Herald, 09/01/07
General Motors let the cat out of the bag early at the Detroit motor show when it announced that Holden's VE Commodore SS would be exported to America, reports JOSHUA DOWLING.
Commodore: will be sold as a Pontiac.
Australia's biggest-selling car, the Holden Commodore, will be exported to the United States, it was unofficially confirmed at the Detroit motor show last night.
The announcement was not due to be made until next month's Chicago motor show. But the worldwide head of product development for General Motors, Bob Lutz, gave away more than he was supposed to during a press conference.
Just minutes after Holden officials refused to answer questions about the Commodore's export program, Mr Lutz revealed details about the deal.
The Commodore SS, a V8-powered sports sedan, will be sold as a Pontiac from late this year or early next year.
Holden expects to export 30,000 Commodores annually, about half what it sells locally.
"We are seriously planning to import a lot of Commodore SS sedans as Pontiac G8s," Mr Lutz said, adding that Holden could export up to 50,000 Commodores a year if the model was priced correctly.
Mr Lutz said the export of the Holden Monaro as a Pontiac GTO from 2003 to 2006 (during which 40,000 of the V8 coupes were sold) brought Holden's expertise to the attention of its parent company, General Motors in North America.
"We are yet to officially announce it," Mr Lutz said of the Commodore export deal, once he realised he had made a faux pas. He eventually admitted that selling the V8 version of the Commodore in the US was a logical thing to do as it filled a void in Pontiac's line-up.
"While (the Monaro's) export program may not have fulfilled all of our hopes and dreams in terms of profitability and volume, it did break the ice on global programs."
The export deal comes at a crucial time for the Commodore. It has been Australia's biggest-selling car for 11 years but sales are at a 16-year low as imports flood Australia.
Holden already exports to the Middle East five times as many Statesmans as it sells locally and exports are increasingly being viewed as a key to the Commodore's survival.
Sales of large, locally made sedans were at a 16-year low in 2006 as buyers embraced small cars.
Last year, sales of the Ford Falcon were their lowest since the late 1960s. Ford is yet to announce an export deal but an updated Falcon due in March 2008 will have the capability to be built in left-hand drive.
When Holden developed the new Commodore, released last August, it did so with American regulations in mind. This has made the transformation from a Commodore to a Pontiac relatively simple.
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With all the support the GTO seems to have among those in MM, I thought some of you would like to see this 8)