ejspecial

Sorry mate, I misunderstood your post. No doubt an Opel version of Alpha would have been a good car and I would like to see rwd at Opel again but I guess that's not going to happen anytime soon.

Oh yeah, I'm sure Holden will be devastated, after all Opel (or GME or whatever they're calling themselves) has been so helpful in the past and lets face it, they know better than all of us. Just ask them.

I think that if you are expecting the G8 to have a killer interior then you are going to be dissapointed. Industry average - no more, no less. I have seen many fanciful comments regarding this car ever since it was announced and I think a lot of it has to do with peoples misconceptions about what sort of a car the Commodore is and by extension what sort of a carmaker Holden is. Holden is a maker of good value family cars, and sporty variations on that theme - they are not a cut price BMW. Holdens priorities when designing the VE were : Practicality - VE is first and foremost a family car built for Australia, therefore considerations such as interior space, durability, ease of use, and the ability to carry a family and tow their caravan or boat are some of its most important aspects. Price - Holden is the equivalent of Chev in Australia, they cannot charge large premiums for their cars and so there will be compromises. I think Holden does as good a job as any to keep these to a minimum but this is why you end up with an average interior. The upside is the engineering that goes into the platform itself. Performance - This is the bit you should be excited about because having driven many VE's they are, in my opinion, a great fun car to throw around (for a family car) and I think your expectations in this area will not only be met but exceeded. Pizzaz - This is where Australia differs most with the U.S. in vehicle tastes IMO and if you cant live without all the bells and whistles then the G8 is probably not the car for you. In summary, if you are after a cheap, sporty, large, comfortable family sedan get a G8. However if you want to add all the best quality interior appointments and all the newest and greatest innovations then frankly, I think you need to open up your wallets a bit further.

Why stop here? If GM are quick I'm sure they can still get that boatload of G8's turned around. It may make them look like pathetic weaklings but the opportunity to save 0.0001MPG for CAFE surely makes it worth the risk.

I wouldn't bet against Holden doing a new Monaro despite what Bob Lutz says. I hope we do see the Camaro but it's not a Monaro replacement.

If you want to state facts then surely you are aware of the fact that Holden didn't take anything and Opel didn't give them anything. Holden was made to use the Opel chassis, a decision that would have disasterous consequences for many years. The fact is, it wasn't good enough for our conditions, which is not an indictement on Opels ability to build adequate platforms (although MB and BMW seem to manage), but the simple truth. As many have said, the 04-06 GTO was not well received, but then neither was the Opel based Commodore, would you care to lay the blame for that on Opel ?

Yep, the parts that were good enough, which didn't leave much.

Sounds like my little island - Tasmania.

Don't give up. It's never too late. All you need to do is get 200,000 mates together and phone, email and post letters to every GM exec, every car mag and every local politician every day for the next 6 months to a year and tell them you don't want no stinkin' FWD Impala. People power worked when Holden was gonna drop its V8, and if we can do it so can you guys. Do it! Now! You still here?

Went there. Felt better.

Excuse me, I think I've accidently entered the FWD loving " Camry with a Chev badge on it" thread, can one of you ladies point me to the " Asskicking V8 RWD Chev" thread.

We aren't arrogant you ignorant German/American. We can't help it if we are simply better than you, it comes naturally. Just kidding mate. We aren't all bad. BTW good job spreadin' the Holden love. Keep it up.

G8 Brute.

The second paragraph sums up why Holden means so much. I know this new Camaro is going to be one awesome machine, too bad they're probably gonna charge us an arm and a leg to buy one down here.

Very nice El Camino. How anyone could be against a modern version is beyond me.

That's the current Calais front end. This is the best, most integrated verson of VE so far IMO, even better than the Ute. Very understated and smooth, just the way I like it.

Yep. There were only 3 generations of Monaros to offer both sedan and coupe - HQ '71-'74, HJ '74-'76 and HX '76-'77. The next model HZ only came in sedan and didn't have a Monaro badge on it, just GTS badges, although Holden still referred to it as a Monaro.

Gotta love those HQ's - thinnest A pillars in the world.

Not a very exciting story I'm afraid. Apparently the head of Holden's trim and colour department, Sharon Gauci, came up with K'Pow and Atomic while she was vacuuming her son's bedroom, and then she came up with Crunch when she moved on to the kitchen.

Wagon looks fantastic. I think sacrificing space for style is a move in the right direction and they will still offer more space to fit your new BFT than most wagons. If that is the new Maloo then HSV will struggle to keep up with demand as it looks awesome. I think Holden has 2 winners on their hands. Life is good.

Looks great. I think they got the model range just right, great to see an SSV. In 6 months these will be everywhere.

Nice pick. The EJ was a great model, and a huge step forward for Holden style-wise.

What's not to like ? Utes are perfect for many uses, from a base model for tradies to a two door sports car with a tub out the back. They have a carrying capacity up to 1800 lbs and a towing capacity up to 3500 lbs ( and these are very conservative figures ), and a 6.0l v8 manual with IRS "SS" model that has everything an "SS" sedan has minus the back seats, whilst being lighter, faster and about 9-10k cheaper, and having better resale value. Then there are the HSV models with LS2's - awesome. These are the VE's that I am most interested in and it's been a long wait.

Current unemployment levels in Australia are running at about 4 - 5%, in other words, very low unemployment at the moment. Anyone who really wants a job can find one without any problems. I can't say for sure but I'm fairly sure our wages are higher than those in the U.S. but that is offset somewhat by our higher cost of living. If you are prepared to live outside of large cities like Sydney or Melbourne then you will find reasonable accomodation for reasonable prices, same as everywhere else really. I can't be any more specific without knowing what sort of job you would be looking for but if you would like any more info feel free to ask.

Nothing unusual about Opel "people" being jealous/envious of Holden, it goes back a long way. It is a bit frustrating however as we wish nothing but the best for our "little German mates".