Former Holden boss Mike Devereux to kill Commodore name when local production ends in 2017

[fgpsi]

http://m.heraldsun.com.au/business/c...Top+Stories%29

HOLDEN is poised to kill the Commodore name once local production comes to an end in 2017 — and the man in charge of the decision is the same person who vowed to save it: former Holden boss Mike Devereux.

The decision comes as the next generation large car to replace the Commodore is now expected to come from Europe not China.

Holden is pleading with General Motors executives to keep the Commodore name because it is so iconic, but the request has fallen on deaf ears.

[Ducati888]

This - "But others may welcome the move given that every car that has worn the Commodore badge so far was an Australian-made rear-wheel-drive sedan, whereas the next model will be a foreign-made front-wheel-drive sedan."

I agree with that. Commodore has a personality as a RWD car, a race car, a muscle car, a family car, a V8. The name should die with the end of production and be remembered fondly for what it was. Introduction of an Opel with FWD and a V6 or 4cyl will destroy Commodore's legacy. Especially if that Opel ends up being a Daewoo down the track.

It would be an absolute mistake to stop using the name "Holden" though.

[Paull]

Daewoo does not exist as a vehicle manufacturer anymore. They are all Chevrolet vehicles now. Wouldn't surprise me if they changed to GM Chevrolet.

[Nova 8]

I don't want to see some generic worldwide fwd badged as a commodore. Let the commodore badge die when it is no longer being produced in elizabeth.

[Bucket]

“But when executives from North America come out to Australia, they take photos of Chevrolet badges that people have fitted to their Holden (cars), and use that against us.”

LOL...the Irony!

[Crazy Dazz]

Commode hasn't been an Australian Car since the Kingswood.
Bastardised hodge-podge from the GM global grab-bag.

And seriously could not care less. They too have screwed over the Aussie worker, doesn't matter what colour you paint the broomstick.

Think I'll go find myself a P76 and restore that.

[pottery beige]

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

Commode hasn't been an Australian Car since the Kingswood.
Bastardised hodge-podge from the GM global grab-bag.

And seriously could not care less. They too have screwed over the Aussie worker, doesn't matter what colour you paint the broomstick.

Think I'll go find myself a P76 and restore that.

Wow

that's a right up there post

[buickman]

Barlow's Holden in Springvale RD Mulgrave have the Blue GM sign under the Holden sign might not be only the Commodore name that disappears. I've only noticed that in the last couple of months

[danzvtil]

Originally Posted by buickman

Barlow's Holden in Springvale RD Mulgrave have the Blue GM sign under the Holden sign might not be only the Commodore name that disappears. I've only noticed that in the last couple of months

The same blue GM sign that has been there on every dealer sign for years??

[buickman]

Originally Posted by danzvtil

The same blue GM sign that has been there on every dealer sign for years??

My eyes must be painted on. I've not taken notice until recently shows how many times I look at dealerships signage

[Ducati888]

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

Commode hasn't been an Australian Car since the Kingswood.
Bastardised hodge-podge from the GM global grab-bag.

And seriously could not care less. They too have screwed over the Aussie worker, doesn't matter what colour you paint the broomstick.

Think I'll go find myself a P76 and restore that.

Seems a bit harsh. Can you please explain how they have screwed over the Aussie worker?

Seems to me that if the Aussie worker (end everyone else in Australia) won't buy Aussie made cars, then how can they go on producing them? I wonder what you think of Ford, in the same context. And Toyota. And Mitsubishi. And Nissan.

Wander around the carparks at Elizabeth or Broadmeadows and see what percentage of the cars there are Australian made. I worked at Ford Geelong 25 years ago, and even then the volume was only about 40%.

Find me a business, in any industry, that keeps making products at a loss just so they can avoid screwing their workers. That philosophy will quickly have everyone's kids starving.

The main culprits, the ones who have truly screwed over the worker, are both the major political parties, their free trade agreements, and their reluctance to support manufacturing. Their subservience to China and the USA have killed our exports, and their fleet car policies have killed the local manufacturing demand.

The government will tell you that manufacturing is dead, Asia can do it cheaper and we have to be smarter. If manufacturing is such a drain on the economy, how come South Korea are so good and prosperous at it (a country with wages and living conditions similar to ours). How did China end up being the richest and most progressive nation on earth? Yep, manufacturing stuff is for dummies.

[I6DOHC]

Originally Posted by Ducati888

Find me a business, in any industry, that keeps making products at a loss just so they can avoid screwing their workers. That philosophy will quickly have everyone's kids starving.

The main culprits, the ones who have truly screwed over the worker, are both the major political parties, their free trade agreements, and their reluctance to support manufacturing. Their subservience to China and the USA have killed our exports, and their fleet car policies have killed the local manufacturing demand.

The government will tell you that manufacturing is dead, Asia can do it cheaper and we have to be smarter. If manufacturing is such a drain on the economy, how come South Korea are so good and prosperous at it (a country with wages and living conditions similar to ours). How did China end up being the richest and most progressive nation on earth? Yep, manufacturing stuff is for dummies.

Spot on.

[new2ford]

Originally Posted by Ducati888

Wander around the carparks at Elizabeth or Broadmeadows and see what percentage of the cars there are Australian made. I worked at Ford Geelong 25 years ago, and even then the volume was only about 40%.

The workers screwing over themselves!

People seem to forget that "Commodore" was a name brought in from Germany with a car model, just as "Falcon" was a name brought in from America with a car model. It's all just a marketing game, not about national "icons".

[Ducati888]

Originally Posted by new2ford

The workers screwing over themselves!

People seem to forget that "Commodore" was a name brought in from Germany with a car model, just as "Falcon" was a name brought in from America with a car model. It's all just a marketing game, not about national "icons".

No it isn't. It's about support for locally made products falling to such a low ebb that they are no longer sustainable.

All the names of all the cars are brought in from overseas. Falcon in 1962, Commodore in 1978. Corolla in (around) 1976, and there's not many others dating back that far. This point is irrelevant.

And no, it's not about the "workers screwing over themselves" unless you consider that "the workers" is the entire population of this country, their two dimensional voting patterns, and their blind subservience to the dollar.

[bungarra]

Originally Posted by new2ford

People seem to forget that "Commodore" was a name brought in from Germany with a car model, just as "Falcon" was a name brought in from America with a car model. It's all just a marketing game, not about national "icons".

Wrong, it was never known as Commodore in Europe. It was the Opel Rekford Series E. In the UK it was known as The Carlton.

Commodore was an Australian name.

[new2ford]

Originally Posted by bungarra

Wrong, it was never known as Commodore in Europe. It was the Opel Rekford Series E. In the UK it was known as The Carlton.

Commodore was an Australian name.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opel_Commodore

Originally Posted by Ducati888

No it isn't. It's about support for locally made products falling to such a low ebb that they are no longer sustainable.

I'm talking about the brand names. Brand naming is a marketing game.

Not many local names that I can recall - Kingswood/Belmont, Kimberley/Tasman/P76, Territory. Perhaps others can recall more.

[Gothefalcon]

Originally Posted by bungarra

Wrong, it was never known as Commodore in Europe. It was the Opel Rekford Series E. In the UK it was known as The Carlton.

Commodore was an Australian name.

Hmmm.. actually... Opel had been using the name Commodore on their cars since 1967.
That's 11 years before Holden adopted it for "our" version... so I think they can easily claim they thought of it first

They also introduced the Omega name plate back in the mid eighties...

D

[Vormund]

The Blue GM logo has been on Holden dealers for a while actually, it's nothing new.

Anyway, I do think that ditching the name is the right decision. (It really has a whiff of bogan about it too)

[stevesxr]

But GMH have been putting commodore badges on Opel's for years, why the sudden change?




Jk

[Gothefalcon]

Originally Posted by stevesxr

But GMH have been putting commodore badges on Opel's for years, why the sudden change? Jk

A slight correction required there...

GMH have been putting HOLDEN badges on Commodores for years !

The first (VB style) Aust. Commodore was derived from an Opel Commodore (the I6 version of the 4cyl Opel Rekord) Europe had it a year before we did. GMH had to modify the platform to take local running gear etc.

Since then... (very basically) every model Aust. Commodore (up until VE) has been based (even partially sometimes) on a European Opel/Vauxhaul variant... modified to some degree by local GMH Engineers. BTW... I'm not wanting to understate their substantial input & efforts here either... just noting where the Aust. Commodore gets it's origins from.

D

[MrEL]

Most keys have had the GM logo on them since the dawn of time.

[CyberWasp]

Mike's name is mud. Who would trust anything he says.
The Commodore replacement will still have Australian engineered Holden badges and glue so I can't see why the name can't continue.

[P6LTD351]

My tip...the Holden name will die post 2017 too. Chevrolet has much more street cred anyway....evidenced by the numerous Holden fanboys who would rather be driving another brand of car given the bowtie on their vehicle.

[Vormund]

Originally Posted by P6LTD351

My tip...the Holden name will die post 2017 too. Chevrolet has much more street cred anyway....evidenced by the numerous Holden fanboys who would rather be driving another brand of car given the bowtie on their vehicle.

If they do this, I am predicting they will do this gradually. They could start selling the next Chevrolet Impala as a Caprice replacement through Holden dealerships but retain the Chevy badge.

If the report is correct as well, the Commodore replacement will probably be the next Opel Insignia. Who knows GM could be looking at Chevy/Opel dealerships here. note: I personally think Opel would have done much better here if they didn't do separate dealerships here and just simply sold all Opels through Holden...at least to get it off the ground to start with.

[fgpsi]

Anyone think hsv are crap talking and will die in the **** too ?

[FalconXV]

Keep the name. It is going to be designed here, engineered at Lang Lang; at least keep some continuity from our history. Otherwise the lineup is ubrecognisable. Dowling is full of ****, why does Mike Deveraux have a say? He's not CEO anymore.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by FalconXV

Keep the name. It is going to be designed here, engineered at Lang Lang; at least keep some continuity from our history. Otherwise the lineup is ubrecognisable. Dowling is full of ****, why does Mike Deveraux have a say? He's not CEO anymore.

It won't be engineered here, because the whole engineering division is going bar a couple of suspension and steering guys to tune the cars for local roads. And even though the design studio is staying that doesn't mean they will design it here either, it could be getting done and any of the other GM design studio's.

It will be about as Australian as a Kia or a Hyundai that has had a minor suspension fiddle for our market.

[mik]

I think it is appropriate that they lose the holden name once the plant is shut, GM/holden for years has milked the holden is an australian made car for australians for as long as I can remember, after the plant closes the holden name should go with it.

[ebv8]

there was even a chevrolet commodore in the US, it was a VB (or euro equivalent)
if holden are using a european name for the new FWD pussbox would they just keep the Omega name going so people who don't care about cars just think the commodore has been renamed again?
however the commodore name is iconic in Aus, so using it on a FWD would not be the right thing to do at all.

[XWGT]

Moot point really.

And if Ford are not doing their level best to point out the the average punter that the new "Commodore" is a chinese daewoo FWD love child, as opposed to their USA derived global RWD they would be truly remiss.