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I could see being excited about one of these in our Home Grown series-
GM Camaro
v
Ford Mustang
GM Camaro
v
Ford Mustang
Cars & Transportation The death of Ford V Holden
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GM bought it out in the 1930s
Borry
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Go Nissan.
V8 Supercars are garbage in any case - they're now all the same car with different panels hung off them to make them look like Falcons or Commodores.
As someone who's worked in the car manufacturing industry, it's clear that this won't just effect the 3-4000 Holden company workers. It'll effect thousands of workers from part manufacturers, truck drivers, suppliers, and more. It's an industry worth saving, it's the bastards who live in ivory towers that couldn't give stuff.
I bought a Jeep.
Exactly. If you want a cheap car you buy an Asian one. And if you want quality to you buy European. Australia can't match the cost of the former (due to labour costs, the dollar and most importantly scale) and will never get near the cachet of BMW, Mercedes, Audi, let alone Jag's, Ferrari etc.
Australia is a relatively small country economically and certainly population wise. Unless we are the clear leaders in a field only artificial barriers (ie costs to the consumer and/or the taxpayer) will keep us having industries that can't compete on a level playing field. Labour costs certainly weren't the only reason the manufacturers left, but were a significant contribution to being unprofitable. It's hard to feel sorry for the workers when this has been known for decades and they've seen other car makers leave, yet still demanded (and with ALP support) got crazy rates for the work done. So they've blown their own foot off, excuse me if I don't feel sorry to watch them hobble and cry crocodile tears to the camera that it's the government's fault.
You bought a jeep?
Yes Andre, I bought a Jeep.
That makes you Harry's mum...LOL
It's ultimately a matter of whether you want manufacturing or strong competition in Australia. Having both is an immense juggling act.
Jesus, who would even know where to begin
Especially when that manufacturing involves virtually no exports (unless you are Toyota, yay them).
Get around the Fiat
Bluelegs
Digging into the why
If only there was some kind of growing information technology industry that we could focus our efforts into building long-term infrastructure to create new business opportunities.
Messenger
No, I’m just disappointed
What governments knew from history is that the car companies always come back for further consideration.
Quivorir
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**** them. They decided to spend all this money on these supercars taht nobody can afford and in reality shouldnt be on our roads, whilst the likes of Toyota, Hyundai and Mazda did the smart thing and focused on family cars.
Why would I buy a car from ford/holden for 50k+ when I can get the same specs from Toyota for 35-45k?
Why would I buy a car from ford/holden for 50k+ when I can get the same specs from Toyota for 35-45k?
I actually respect Ford. They were the one US manufacturer that didn't need a bailout and they are now making record sales in North America and Asia because they did focus on cars like the Fusion.
That said, I drive a Mazda and Nissan
Quivorir
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I actually respect Ford. They were the one US manufacturer that didn't need a bailout and they are now making record sales in North America and Asia because they did focus on cars like the Fusion.
That said, I drive a Mazda and Nissan
The fusion...Looks like our Ford Mondeo...European car. Doesn't surprise me its the number 1 car.
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http://news.drive.com.au/drive/moto...inners-and-losers-of-2012-20130104-2c83p.html
2012 sales...
6 small/mid sized cars, 1 mid/large sedan, 1 large sedan, 2 4WD utes.
Demand for large sedans has dropped year after year for a decade. That is Holden and Ford's bread and butter. For many years it was Falcon-Commodore 1-2 (or reverse order) for #1 seller (win on Sunday, sell on Monday...) with combined sales at the level of 150,000 or more. Holden sold 30,000 Commodores last year, Falcon didn't even register in the top 10. Beyond that Holden really only make the Cruze, which as well as being built in every other semi-developed country on the planet is nothing special. There's nothing wrong with it, but it's competing with the Corolla, Mazda 3, Hyundai i30 etc. and there is nothing to suggest it has the potential to dominate market share ahead of those models - and when you're making 30,000 a year it's pretty hard to compete with models that are produced in the hundreds of thousands even if you have cheap wages.
A Holden Statesman or Caprice is cheaper than most of these. Real estate agents and rich farmers don't want Statesmans and (long gone) Fairlanes any more. They spend more to get (heavily taxed) Euro luxury and 4WDs.
5 diesel powered, 4WD dual/single cab utes capable of going off road. Not a Holden or Ford ute in the the top 5.
I would love to see Holden survive, but emotion only goes so far. People simply don't want what Holden produce any more.
2012 sales...
6 small/mid sized cars, 1 mid/large sedan, 1 large sedan, 2 4WD utes.
Demand for large sedans has dropped year after year for a decade. That is Holden and Ford's bread and butter. For many years it was Falcon-Commodore 1-2 (or reverse order) for #1 seller (win on Sunday, sell on Monday...) with combined sales at the level of 150,000 or more. Holden sold 30,000 Commodores last year, Falcon didn't even register in the top 10. Beyond that Holden really only make the Cruze, which as well as being built in every other semi-developed country on the planet is nothing special. There's nothing wrong with it, but it's competing with the Corolla, Mazda 3, Hyundai i30 etc. and there is nothing to suggest it has the potential to dominate market share ahead of those models - and when you're making 30,000 a year it's pretty hard to compete with models that are produced in the hundreds of thousands even if you have cheap wages.
A Holden Statesman or Caprice is cheaper than most of these. Real estate agents and rich farmers don't want Statesmans and (long gone) Fairlanes any more. They spend more to get (heavily taxed) Euro luxury and 4WDs.
5 diesel powered, 4WD dual/single cab utes capable of going off road. Not a Holden or Ford ute in the the top 5.
I would love to see Holden survive, but emotion only goes so far. People simply don't want what Holden produce any more.
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They're not 'utes' in the traditional Ford and Holden sense of being a Commodore/Falcon with a tray at the back.
And yes, they're just imported Ford/GM variants and will continue to be sold regardless of whether other models are produced here or not.
Quivorir
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Surprised the BT-50 isnt in the top 5...Other than that who else is there? Great Wall?
