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Australian Government to Create $89 Million Fund For Affected Holden Employees
In the wake of General Motors’ decision to cease all manufacturing operations through Australian subsidiary Holden by 2017, the Australian government has announced that they will create a $100 million...
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Opel Cascada Leading Brand’s Return To Australia
Though the local auto industry in Australia is slowly drawing to a close, a few Opels will soon be found in Holden showrooms, beginning with the Cascada convertible. Carsguide reports Holden dealers...
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GM Korea May Increase Exports To Australia
As Chevrolet slowly exits from the European market while Holden exits the production line altogether, General Motors is mulling over increasing exports to Australia out of South Korea. Bloomberg...
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Analysis: Australia’s Free Trade Deals Are The Final Nail In The Coffin Of...
In the span of 24 hours, Australia inked two free trade agreements with both Japan and South Korea. Even though Holden, Ford and Toyota had already committed to ending auto manufacturing in Australia,...
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Holden Gets Rebadged Opels
Holden may be losing the Commodore, but the brand will gain three new “premium” offerings, suggesting a possible direction for its famed HSV performance shop. Holden-badged versions of the Astra GTC...
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GM Moves EV Pack Production In-House, Almost Had A Commodore EV
Automotive News reports General Motors will bring production of the Chevrolet Spark EV’s battery pack in-house to its Brownstown Township plant in the Detroit metro area, having already moved the...
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Hot Holdens In The Post-2017 Era: Get Ready For The HSV Insignia
Come 2017, Holden will cease producing cars in Australia, ending a decades long lineage of big, rear-drive, V8 powered sedans. But their high-performance HSV division is expected to survive the...
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Could The Holden Brand Die With The Commodore?
The next Holden Commodore will come from GM’s European product portfolio, but it won’t carry the Commodore name either. Aussie outlet Carsguide is reporting that despite pleas from Holden, GM is...
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Crapwagon Outtake: A V8 Wagon From Down Under
Even though it’s Canada Day today, my fair nation has never managed to build its own local auto industry with any sort of distinct brand. Ok, that’s not entirely accurate. In the 1960′s, GM tried...
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Capsule Review: 2013 Holden Commodore Ute
Luke Vandezande, Managing Editor of AutoGuide.com, submits his review of the Holden Ute. What if I told you that there’s a parallel universe where Europeans love muscle cars, have their own country...
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HSV Unveils Its Last, Fastest-Ever Ute
As a parting gift to the world, Holden is set to built what should be the fastest Ute ever produced, borrowing the LSA V8 from the HSV GTS sedan. Carsguide.com.au reports the ute will receive its...
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2015 HSV GTS Maloo Ute Officially Unveiled
Last month, Holden Special Vehicles announced plans for the most brutal ute to ever be assembled as a send-off to the Holden Commodore Ute before all local production draws to a close in 2017. This is...
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AMA About My Isuzu Impulse Ownership Experience
My first car was rarer than a Ferrari. Honest. Back in 1990, upon turning 16, I bought a 1984 Isuzu Impulse Special Edition. It was exactly like the car pictured above. Yes, it had gold rims. Isuzu...
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TTAC AMA: I Own A Pontiac G8 With A Holden Commodore Conversion
This week’s AMA comes courtesy of reader APaGttH, who has a Pontiac G8 GT that has been converted into a Holden Commodore replica. Read on below to hear the story. Seeing the handwriting on the wall...
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Dorizas Leaves Holden, General Motors To Pursue New Ventures
Another bell tolls as Holden draws closer to the end of local production in 2017, this time for brand boss Gerry Dorizas, who resigned after serving just eight months in the position. Motoring.com.au...
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Holden’s Loss Is Ford’s Gain
With Holden set to lay off hundreds of engineers as it shuts the doors of its Australian factories, Ford is looking to grow its ranks. The Blue Oval is set to hire 150 ex-Holden engineers to help...
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Holden Retaining Name For Next-Gen FWD Sedan
Holden will retain the Commodore nameplate for its next-generation large sedan, even though the new “Commodore” will bear no resemblance to the large, rear-drive car currently sold in Australia....
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The Future Of The Holden Commodore, In One Image
You might be thinking that in a fit of absent-mindedness, I’ve mistakenly put a photo of a Opel Insignia or Buick Regal as the main image – and technically, you’re right. But the car above, though...
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Not Aussiely Influenced: Big Chevrolet Sedans Struggle All The More In...
In September, we told you the Chevrolet SS didn’t sell as often as the dreadfully unpopular Cadillac ELR in August, the first time the SS failed to do so during the period of coexistence. They tied in...
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While You Were Sleeping: No Holden Volt, Super Troopers 2, and Meeke Gets a Win
The second-generation Chevrolet Volt won’t go on sale in Australia as GM will not convert it to right-hand drive. The Holden Volt is dead (CarAdvice) It appears a Holden version of the...
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QOTD: Is It Time for Lefty Countries to Drive on the Right Side of the Road?
After only selling close to 250 Volts in Australia since its introduction in 2012, the decision was made to not import the second-generation extended range electric vehicle, even though it features...
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While You Were Sleeping: Project CARS Tomorrow, Off-Road Lowrider and the...
Almost everything interesting from overnight happened in Australia. So lets talk about video games instead. ‘Project Cars’ will finally come out on May 6th, we hope (Engadget) Yes – this article is...
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While You Were Sleeping: Toyota Fortuner SUV for Oz, More Airbag Recalls and...
In addition to the go-anywhere Toyota HiLux, it looks like Australia will get a Fortuner reprise. Here’s what happened overnight. Confirmed: Toyota Fortuner SUV is go for Australia (GoAuto) “We...
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Can It Really Be True? Chevrolet SS Sales Increased In April 2015
General Motors sold more Chevrolet SS sedans in April 2015 than they did in April 2014. Albeit only 16 more, to be precise. 5.7% more. Yet not in any of the previous five months in which the SS could...
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While You Were Sleeping: Cadillac ATS-V+, Holden Monza and Lamborghini Urus...
This edition of While You Were Sleeping offers up a bit more than usual. Instead of just overnight, we are going to try to cover as many topics from over the long weekend as possible with additional...
View ArticleThe Holden That Almost Became A Buick
The most famous Holden product to ever wear a Buick badge is the Chinese-market Park Avenue, a car that Buick dealers inexplicably rejected. But back in the mid-1990s, GM apparently planned to use the...
View ArticleWe’re Not Getting The Holden Ute, But Not For Reasons You’d Expect
Every so often, the same tired rumor will pop up again, like a particularly resilient pimple that habitually reappears in the same conspicuous spot. Thanks to the incessant hunger for clicks among auto...
View ArticleDerek’s Grey Market Fantasy Garage
In my rant about the Holden Ute, I qualified my cynicism with a caveat; my tastes are not representative of the broader market, or what makes good business sense for an auto maker. Some of you...
View ArticleToyota Looking For Government Cash To Help Sustain Australian Operations
Australian media is reporting that Toyota is next in line for some government cash, following Holden’s deal with the government to keep production of the Commodore and other models in Australia. Toyota...
View ArticleHSV Gen-F GTS: Imported From Adelaide, But For How Much Longer?
Holden and HSV try their hand at the “Imported From Detroit” style car commercial. As someone who has always been partial to Aussie muscle sedans, it’s easy for me to say I’m a fan. No doubt the line...
View ArticleHolden To Aussie Government “Moar Monies Plz”
Hot on the heels of a $275 million “investment”, Holden is going back to the Australian government, hat in hand, asking for more money. This time, Holden wants another $265 million to keep their...
View ArticleOpel Withdraws From Australia After Less Than A Year
Opel’s foray into the Australian market, which began in late October, 2012, has come to an end. Having sold just under 1600 vehicles in that time period, Opel has decided that the Australian market is...
View ArticleHolden Prepares To Euthanize The Ute
2016 will be a pivotal year for Holden’s Commodore-based Ute. Declining sales and shifting production capabilities could mean that the traditional Aussie Ute could become extinct, as both the Commodore...
View ArticleAustralian Car Industry Dead As Devereux Out, GM Tools Up For Front Drive...
If you want to see the future of Holden in Australia, this is it. Yes, it’s the same car that Jack Baruth took to the woodshed in today’s edition of TTAC, but it’s also a harbinger of things to come...
View ArticleGM Rumored To Be Shuttering Australian Manufacturing Operations In 2016
Reports out of Australia claim that GM will be ending Australian vehicle production by 2016, turning Holden into a brand that sells imported cars, rather than locally produced vehicles. Holden has been...
View ArticleHolden To End Australian Manufacturing By 2017, Transition To “Sales Company”
Holden informed the Australian federal and state level governments that it will cease car production in Australia by 2017, citing a “perfect storm” of unfavorable exchange rates, high production costs...
View ArticleAlpha: General Motors Last Hope For The Commodore
“I believe 2013 will be a year that Australia decides whether it wants to have an auto industry or not,” -Mike Devereux, Holden’s former Managing Director, in November, 2012 Those ominous words spoken...
View ArticleGM Looking To Shutter Holden, Re-Brand As Chevrolet After 2017
With the demise of Holden’s manufacturing and R&D facilities complete by 2017, General Motors is reportedly looking to kill off the Holden brand and switch over to Chevrolet instead. According to...
View ArticleNext Holden Commodore To Be Made In China, Sport 4-Cylinder Engine
Just as TTAC predicted in earlier editorials, Holden will be receiving vehicles imported from China as part of its future product plan – the vehicle slated to be imported from China is no less than the...
View ArticleSay Goodbye to Rear-drive Chevrolet Sedans – Again! – in 2017
Unless your local police force harbors a crop of non-conformists, it’s easy to believe rear-drive Chevrolet sedans bowed out in the 1990s. Of course, that’s not true. General Motor’s Australian Holden...
View ArticleQOTD: What Car Would You Purchase If It Was Offered As a Wagon?
The Internet Car Enthusiast, or ICE (see what I did there?), is always telling us how they would purchase Vehicle X if it were only offered in a wagon variant. But because it invariably isn’t offered...
View ArticleJapan’s Captive Import History of Masquerading Marques
The Japanese market is notorious for being closed to the outside world. It has forced successful U.S. companies to abandon the country, as Ford did recently, and propped-up sales of niche producer...
View ArticleTime to Go Global? GM Australia’s Holden Special Vehicles Building...
In response to the huge global success achieved by the sixth-generation Ford Mustang, General Motors’ Australian Holden branch is developing right-hand-drive Chevrolet Camaros for sale in 2018....
View ArticleHave No Fear, Bowtie Faithful: the Chevrolet Camaro Will Not Wear a Holden...
General Motors’ Australian outpost is losing all of its domestic production, but that doesn’t mean Holden is shutting down all of its Australian development operations. Late last month, we told you the...
View ArticleThis Is the End: R.I.P., Australian-built Automobiles
Maybe the dingo ate your industry? No, that cruel joke doesn’t hold a grain of truth — Australia’s domestic auto industry simply fell victim to the harsh realities of economics and globalization. No...
View ArticleIt’s Official: The Chevrolet Brand Is Returning to Australia
The bowtie badge is heading Down Under. As General Motors revamps its overseas presence — pulling out of some countries, ditching its Opel and Vauxhall subsidiaries — Australians can look forward to...
View ArticleJunkyard Find: 2000 Daewoo Leganza SE
Daewoo wasn’t a well-known name in North America in the late 1990s, though quite a few Daewoo-built Pontiac Lemans cars were sold here during the 1988-1993 period. For the 1999 model year, a trio of...
View ArticleQOTD: Having European Dreams?
It’s a gearhead fantasy nearly as old as time itself. We know some vehicles offered around the world are not for sale here in this country, thanks to a myriad of safety and emission rules which are...
View ArticleDone Down Under: GM to Kill Off 164-year-old Holden Brand
A car brand that emerged from a saddlery company in 1908 will disappear from the Australian and New Zealand markets, General Motors announced late Sunday. Parent of the Holden brand since 1931, GM said...
View ArticleAce of Base: 2020 Holden Commodore Liftback LT
It will not have escaped your notice that The General has deep-sixed the Holden brand in Australia. To the gearhead Aussies within your author’s circle of friends, this amounts to a treasonous action,...
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