New Commodore in the wild

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How about an overdue replacement for the Pontiac Grand Prix. And a new name, like G7 or G8…
Am I that crazy???

Conversation 32 comments

  1. The holden looks really classy and elegant, compared to the impala. This vehicle would also look cool as a police patrol car or taxi. I am tired of Ford’s Crown Vics…it has stubbornly retained its design for ages.

    btw please share us some shots of the next redesign of the crown victoria if it exists.

  2. the car is definitely not bad-looking. it’s just so many different cars rolled in to one…

    the front headlights and grille, imho = mazda 6 + hyundai sonata + mazda protege (not the 3!)

    rear: 2006 refreshed accord sedan + mitsu galant

    yes, use the platform for a G7/G8 but don’t use the styling – the current grand prix is a good looking car except for that awful interior and that misguided attempt at sportiness with the melted trunk topped with a spoiler.

  3. Damn that car looks hot!!

    No wonder Holden keeps on making money while GM North America keeps loosing money!

    Sell it in the US…NOW!!

  4. this would make a great pontiac only if GM takes it and makes it freaking ugly (which they always do) put a nasty rear end on it (like most pontiacs ) then put lots of ugly body cladding on it, (like they said they wouldn’t anymore) If GM was smart they just would put pontiac badges on it and bring it here soon ! but gm nor ford aint to bright lately !

  5. This looks fairly decent, for a GM product.
    Better than some of their past efforts (so far) this decade.

  6. …nice looking car but not great. Pontiac needs something amazing to compete with established players like Honda, Toyota etc.. I see a bit of Mazda in the front…

  7. Is it just me or does this thing look a little like a Mitsubishi from he rear?

    Anyways, still a nice car and Vince is right, it would make a great Pontiac.

  8. Beautiful car. Could become a pontiac model without to much changing. GM won’t do it. They enjoy building “out of touch” cars to us and trying to sell them to us!

  9. What’s with Australians and conservative styling?
    This car still looks incredibly generic and boring (if it weren’t for the fender flares/ground effects/vents, it’d put me to sleep!).
    I’m sure the chassis has a lot of potential, but… why so old looking? 🙁

  10. That would make an amazing pontiac indeed. The pontiac grill would make it look even better and less boring. And the back lights have a little bit of ressemblance with the ones from the G6 and G5 (without the arrow shaped side).

    Most importantly, this car seems to have very good engineering…AND RWD !!

    I totally agree with you Vince about the name. I’d save G8 for a Bonneville replacement and G7 sounds prestigious (7 greatest industrialized nations)

  11. This looks a lot like both the Mitsu Galant and the Ford Fusion. Nevertheless, it would be better than anything Pontiac has to offer now.

    And in reply to the first poster’s comment, I am GLAD that most police patrol cars are still Ford Crown Vics. That way, you always know to watch out if you’re speeding.

  12. but isnt this car above the g6, and grand prix but more upscale. the original was the same as the omega, which was an upscale car not a grand prix type of car, but more 9-3, es, is, cts, tl, etc. wouldnt this car be to expensive to compete in the grand prix’s class

  13. although i dislike RWD, the styling is well above what I have seen on many lots.
    If GM made car designs like this, throughout their divisions, they would not be suffering as badly as they are.
    Unfortunately, just like Saturn(the Vue and Ion replacements shown at the autoshow were 3 doors, the Antara “out-cool-ing” Scion, even, yet, in June, they showed the Bland Mobile versions: 5 doors….instead, that we will get), we will get stuff that is as boring as watching tree bark grow.
    Instead of 70+ year olds making decisions for the US market, on designs, why not just rebadge all GM stuff overseas, as-is, and offer here?

  14. a) holden actually doesn’t make money, it’s losing quite a bit

    b) it will be going over to the US

    c) it will be a pontiac

  15. This will come to the US as a low production halo vehicle for pontiac. We will get the SSV version instead of the Calias which you have pictured.

  16. “Anonymous said…
    a) holden actually doesn’t make money, it’s losing quite a bit

    b) it will be going over to the US

    c) it will be a pontiac”

    Er, thanks for the insider info, but Holden is actually extremely profitable, mainly due to the large amount of Statesmen/Caprices they sell in Asia and the Middle East. As for your other two statements, from what I understand they’re still just rumours and very uncertain at this stage. Unless your last name is Lutz?

  17. in response to the post above, although holden operating profits are down from 230 mil in 2004, it still produced a 2005 operating profit above 100 mill if you were to look in the GM annual report.

  18. Holden Commodore – great car for rebadging. You can sell it as a Nissan or a Toyota or a Hyundai or a Mitsubishi or whatever. Styling is amatter of taste but if people have little taste they will LOVE that thing. I do not doubt the mechanical competence of this car. But what to expectect from packaging? Show the people the position of the power window switches-awkward in center console. And the dashboard looks like being from, well, look above.
    If they want to make this a Pontiac they should re-do the whole thing completely. Because as a Pontiac it has to step into the tradition of the great American road car and this one certainly will not. GM listen to that.

  19. Put it next to a Crown Victoria and you have one good and one bad looking car. Which one is which?Here is the answer:
    GM, leave the Holden in Australia or send it to the Arabs. That is is O.K. But do not let the rest of the world go to sleep when looking at that design.

  20. To those folks who think this car is dull, remember that the full-size sector is reasonably conservative. Ford got its fingers burned Down Under with the EA169 Falcon, with its New Edge styling—and Holden was on to a winner with its Omega-/Catera-based VT Commodore in 1997. Secondly, this car will have an eight-year model life: remember how your Ford Torino looked after a few facelifts.
       I will admit that sometimes, you can do full-size and neat, as the 1991 Caprice and the last Buick Roadmaster showed us, but one look at the Crown Vic suggests that usually, big cars are fairly dull. And the Commodore is a big, wide, RWD car—in the concept of what Americans used to do so well.

  21. Sharp car. Bring it to the US as a Pontiac or full-sized Chevy. Fix the Hyundai looking grille and the Mitsu looking tail-lamps, and then you have a real looker.

  22. Yeah, it may have conservative styling, but it has great proportions and clean/subtle detailing… something not one current Pontiac (save the Aussie-styled GTO) has. i don’t see why GM would NOT sell it in North America.

  23. they did make operating profit last, but made a significant net loss

    additionally, this year they’re doing much worse then last year. no offense intended, but i know a people working up there who can confirm it.

    the program hasn’t been approved yet, but will soon be

  24. Vince why do you keep doing this? You only post pics of the Calais model, the ones that grandpa’s buy, no wonder you Americans think it is boring. Post pics of the SV6, SS and SS-V Model, show the Americans just how H O T this car really is.

    Or for those people not prepared wo wait head to http://www.holden.com.au

  25. SV6, SS etc.. All these models with their spoilers and skirts make this car look almost as ugly and vulgar as a Pontiac from the 80’s.
    I think GM is moving away from that in the US at least.

  26. No way Vince. The SS-V looks super HOT with it rear wing and deep front fascia…

    but don’t forget it is not Australia that has an unhealthy fasination with unecessary bits of plastic spoilers – the Holden Monaro actually didnt have a rear wing, it was the dumb yanks at Pontiac that put a wing on the GTO and reduced the wheel size to getting back under cost!

  27. So boring. This car almost makes me depressed. Every car manufacturer is doing the same thing: ‘improving’ interior materials and quality, adding ‘fender flares’, reducing front and rear overhangs, ‘tightening’ gaps between body panels, offering 17inch (or greater) wheels, independent rear suspensions, improved overall quality…..yawwwwwwwn. The reality is we’re still dealing with the same recyled, post-modern, ‘melted jellybean’ look, apparently thanks to improvements in undertanding of aerodynamics. How uninteresting, unartistic. And the drag coefficients of some cars from the 50s are better still. Great job everyone. Virtually all new cars are dullsville. Same old story. A new design order is sorely needed in the automotive world.

  28. So boring. Most car manufacturers are doing the same thing, following the same formula: ‘improving’ interior materials and quality, adding ‘fender flares’, reducing front and rear overhangs, ‘tightening’ gaps between body panels, offering 17inch (or greater) wheels, independent rear suspensions, improved overall quality…..yawwwwwwwn. The reality is we’re still dealing with the same recyled, post-modern, ‘melted jellybean’ look, apparently thanks to improvements in undertanding of aerodynamics. How uninteresting, unartistic. And the drag coefficients of some cars from the 50s are better still. This is a nice, safe, cautious and formulaic design. Virtually all new cars are dullsville these days. Same old story. A new design order is sorely needed in the automotive world.

  29. Sorry, I think I posted a message here (‘New Commodore in the wild’) twice – please disregard the first one and if possible, post the second, edited version. Thanks!

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