Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Holden Commodore ute to die at age 65?

The Holden Commodore ute, an Australia-only automotive icon, could be relegated to the history books in 2016 due to falling sales in the face of increased consumption of pick-up trucks imported from Japan and Thailand, News.com.au reports. Year-to-date, Holden Commodore ute sales have slipped 31 percent.

Holden hasn't said officially that the ute will be axed, but it reportedly told News Corp Australia that if the automaker is still manufacturing in 2016 and beyond that it will adopt two global vehicle platforms, neither of which will be made into a ute.

But according to News, less than one in 10 new-vehicle deliveries are built in Australia. And despite Thailand's production advantage due to cheap labor, it has a free-trade agreement with the Aussies, and has attracted a zero-percent tariff since 2010.

Four-wheel-drive pick-ups from Thailand accounted for 100,000 sales in Australia in the first nine months of the year. Last year, Toyota delivered more than 40,000 HiLux pick-ups, making it Australia's second-best-selling vehicle. Compare that to 4,100 Commodore ute deliveries this year. On a side note, the Ford Falcon ute only sold 3,500 units, and it will reportedly be phased out in 2016. Utes had their best year in 2004, when Holden and Ford each sold more than 20,000 of them.

While the Commodore ute sales have continued to slip in the past year, sales of the new VF Commodore sedan and wagon have increased 15 percent since they went on sale in June.

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/29/h...te-die-age-65/

Dawa

iTrader: (5)

i didnt know this was a real truck. i assumed it was a car that those crazy aussies turned into one of those drift car/trucks

yowps3

It's no secret that GM wants to kill Holden & Commodore and withdraw from manufacturing cars in Australia.

Same as what Ford is currency undergoing. Ford Falcon will die in 2016 and Ford will stop making cars in Australia.

I've been saying this for ages. It's just that right now GM is milking the Oz government in trying to get more funds to 'continue on' which we all know will just delay the inevitable end.

Toyota will be the last manufacturer standing in Australia.

pbm317

Not sure how much longer they'll be standing: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/business...-1226740173978

I read another story about how all the trucks (Hilux, Colorado, Ranger, etc) which are all in the top 10 for sales in Australia, are made in Thailand, where labor rates are like 20% of what they are in Australia.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

It's all about $$$. What happened to passion and offering the best. Enough bean counters. We need more Akio Toyoda's in the world

mmarshall

As I posted in another thread on this subject, this would have made a perfect new Chevy El Camino....too bad we aren't getting it here. And it is really stretching it to call it a Ute, which, IMO, it is not....it is a low-slung unibody sedan/coupe with a pickup-bed styled onto it.

yowps3

Yeah but they'll defiantly be the last standing.

The wages are high, these guys are making about 30-50 per hour.

yowps3

Precisely. These days it's all about the short term.

I8ABMR

The El camino thing died decades ago in the US. Its about time this thing goes away. I really dont think that US buyer would want a car like this when we have 50 versions of the F150 and its competitors and their variants . They are able to tow, go off road, and carry more utility than a sports truck that probably cant tow, cant go off road, and will over steer in a second based on the poor chassis layout for a true sports car and the front weight bias . What I call a Ford product that cant tow, go off road, and oversteers is a Mustang

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Anybody remember the Subaru Baja?



Essentially a four door "ute" offered Stateside from 2002 - 2006

mmarshall

Not sure I agree. Witness the great success of other retro-60s designs....Charger, Mustang/Camaro/Challenger, New Beetle, etc.....

The Baby-Boomer generation, who essentially grew up with these cars, is one of the largest generations in history. And even in a bad economy, because they have been working (and hopefully saving) for most of their lives, they have money to spend.


Mustangs, particularly the V8 models, are too nose-heavy for what amounts to true oversteer characteristics.

mmarshall

The Baja was, in fact, a borderline-Ute....relatively high-stance/ground-clearance, AWD for bad-weather/snow and limited off-roading. The Holden truck, though, does not have those characteristics. It is not a Ute (or even a borderline Ute) as I understand the term.

BTW, I considered a Baja (which was Outback-based), when I bought my Outback, but turned the Baja down for two reasons. One, its last-generation interior and fit/finish weren't as good as the latest Outback that followed it (the Baja body-style was not carried over into the new, then-latest-generation Outback), and, Two, I decided I'd rather have the enclosed, wagon-like cargo space of the regular Outback. But the Baja was quite useful for those Subaru buyers who wanted (or needed) a small truck-bed.

Even before the Baja, BTW, was the 2-door Subaru Brat of the 1970s......a similiar but smaller design.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

your comment makes no sense. without financial management, there is no long term.