New Commodore ute and wagon decoded

[douglask]

AN ALL-NEW UTE

Sources say Holden believes the large car market and growth of SUV acceptance is now such that ute sales have eclipsed conventional wagons. As such, the VE ute variant has now assumed a higher priority.

Therefore the first VE variation to follow the sedan will be the new VE ute.

Like the VE sedan, this will be different from any ute ever launched in Australia. Previously, the Commodore ute and wagon were derived from the same long wheelbase platform that underpinned the Statesman/Caprice. This was a tradition that started with the HQ in 1971 and was closely followed by Ford with the XA Falcon and variants in1972.

The VE ute due later next year, will go it alone as a long wheelbase commercial model not linked to an equivalent wagon.

Those who have seen the new ute claim it looks stunning.

There is also another factor -- Holden’s sophisticated new multi-link rear suspension has been designed to fit under the ute platform.

This will generate the first Australian ute with proper multi-link independent rear suspension compared to Ford’s live rear axle and the crude semi-trailing arm tyre-munching design that sits under the current VZ ute. For the sports models, this will be a huge boost.

SPORTS WAGON -- WITH THE EMPHASIS ON SPORTS

Forget about the current Holden wagon... One thing’s for certain, Holden is no longer going to build a traditional square-backed wagon aimed at sales reps and couriers

One big clue is the fact Holden so conspicuously omitted a split-fold rear seat from the VE Commodore. Indeed, in doing so it has purposefully engineered a niche to be filled with a vehicle that is neither sedan, wagon nor liftback, but all three.

The five-door VE will go under the name Sports Wagon, or at least that is what the concept is called. It will be built on the same wheelbase as the sedan, a trend that lasted in the Holden world from the first FE wagon to the HG series.

Like the 1957 Holden FE wagon which lifted several dramatic rear styling cues from Chevrolet’s 1955 Bel Air Nomad wagon, the new VE Sports Wagon will be something extraordinary. Think of it as a cross between the Chrysler 300C Touring and the latest Audi A6 Avant, then factor in the VE’s long wheelbase with unique short and rear overhangs and you start to get a sense of how radical this new vehicle will be.

Holden has not been building five-door liftback concept cars (think: SSX, pictured) for nothing. It has been priming the market for something different while finalising a new breed of wagon designed to seduce drivers ready to leave their big and clumsy SUVs for something slinkier and sexier but almost as practical.

Full Article:

http://ninemsn.carpoint.com.au/car-review/2120263.aspx

[loki]

so..... hope that' we'll get a wagon here.. at least down the road a few years?

[Camino LS6]

Sounds like my dreams just might be coming true.

[mikmak]

I love the wagons. Can't wait for the VE wagon as otherwise I will end up getting an SUV (Captiva). Just for the record, I hate SUV's as daily drivers in the City. They have become a rash here (in Oz). We didn't even use the term unti labout 4 years ago.