The Secret Zeta-Based Holden SUV

[William Maley]

The Zeta RWD platform had so much promise when it launched with 2006 Holden Commodore. Plans were drawn up for a number of models that would have included a number of the GM brands, including Cadillac. But the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent bankruptcy of GM saw many of those plans go into the trashbin and would ultimately mark the beginning of the end of Holden's local production. We have learned about one of those Zeta projects.

Motoring reports that Holden was working on a Zeta-based SUV that would compete against the Ford Territory, a model that used the underpinnings of the Falcon.

“There was an SUV and that was probably one of the defining moments around global Zeta and it was probably one of the defining moments around Holden’s success in Australia,” said Mark Sheridan, former head of Holden's advanced vehicle design chief and one the key people behind the development of Zeta.

“Ford made a really good decision around Territory … We looked at cars exactly like that way back on Zeta and the GM leadership at the time said no. They said ‘we can do these better and more efficiently because they are the types of cars we do, off North American architectures rather than the Zeta architecture.”

Sadly, General Motors would not build that SUV for Holden. Insiders at Holden believed that if the project was allowed to continue, it might have helped keep local manufacturing.

“That (Zeta SUV) would have given us a portfolio that would have given us a much bigger stretch across the marketplace and that would have given people a choice,” Sheridan said.

“If that had been allied with the Zeta architecture or something that we manufactured in Adelaide, then Adelaide wouldn’t have had the volume issues and the productivity issues and the cost issues it had.”

This isn't the first story of a Holden project being canned. As we reported last year, there was a secret project for an electric supercar that could rival the Bugatti Veyron in terms of performance.

Source: Motoring

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[David]

Nice Looking SUV. 

Politics suck and clearly that is what happened here as some idiot moron in GM Ivory tower could not see past his ass kissing servants below him in the ivory tower to see what Holden truly had to offer.

So Sad, So Bad.

[Robert Hall]

That p

2 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Nice Looking SUV.  

That's just a photo of the Holden Trailblazer...based on the Colorado. Nice front, nasty greenhouse in profile. 

[David]

1 minute ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

That p

That's just a photo of the Holden Trailblazer...based on the Colorado. Nice front, nasty greenhouse in profile. 

I actually like it and the Green house, just need to Limo Black the side and back windows and put some proper BF Goodrich All Terrain tires on it.

[Robert Hall]

Just now, dfelt said:

I actually like it and the Green house, just need to Limo Black the side and back windows and put some proper BF Goodrich All Terrain tires on it.

The forward curve of the rear door window and the shape of the rear quarter window just doesn't flow...seems awkward to me. 

[David]

4 minutes ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

The forward curve of the rear door window and the shape of the rear quarter window just doesn't flow...seems awkward to me. 

I see what your pointing out but I can accept it as it gives the strength for roll over protection and they have a proper rear window rather than the big blind spot of the D pillar in the auto.

[daves87rs]

Very interesting....

The side profile on the TB looks a bit odd glass wise......like a GI Joe toy.....

[A Horse With No Name]

4 hours ago, dfelt said:

I actually like it and the Green house, just need to Limo Black the side and back windows and put some proper BF Goodrich All Terrain tires on it.

That would be an improvement.

[riviera74]

Since Zeta has already been replaced by a newer and lighter Alpha RWD platform, what is stopping GM from building a RWD 5 or 7passenger crossover?