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New Holden Commodore VF to be Unveiled on February 10, Previews New Chevy SS

Monday, February 4, 2013

Dubbed by General Motors' Australian subsidiary Holden as the "most advanced vehicle created in this country", the new VF-series Commodore sedan will be officially revealed this Sunday, February 10, though, the automaker will use social media and a new microsite at 'buildthecommodore' to tease bits and pieces of the new model beginning on Wednesday, February 6.

The next generation of the Commodore sedan also forms the base for GM's new North American market 2014 Chevrolet SS, which is scheduled for launch towards the end of the year as a limited production model. As some of you may recall, CarScoop's Josh Byrnes recently rendered the new SS.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

As many of our readers are probably already aware, Chevrolet is entering next year's NASCAR championship with an entirely new model aptly called the SS, which was previewed in Las Vegas just last month.

The Super Sport racer will be unique to the championship as the production-going road car has yet to be revealed and won't even built in the United States; to find it's country of origin you'll have to get an atlas and turn it upside down; yes that's right, it will be built in the backyard that Crocodile Dundee calls home - Australia.

Based on the Zeta architecture, the new SS won't be entirely new to the market when it goes on sale next year as a 2014 model. In fact, it's GM's second attempt to get the Holden-based Commodore on US shores - with the last try drying up after the Pontiac division was dissolved.

GM realizes that they still have a good product with the Commodore down under, so coinciding with the upcoming Aussie redesign they have given it another chance. This update is expected to bring substantial technological and interior quality advances over the previous G8 / current Commodore.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

As promised, Chevrolet lifted the wraps off its 2013 NASCAR Chevrolet SS racecar today during a special event in Las Vegas. Even if you're not a fan of NASCAR racing, you'll be interested to know that the competition SS incorporates design cues from the upcoming production 2014 Chevrolet SS.

We'll remind you that all NASCAR racers feature a generic body with some minor modifications that include the funny looking decals that resemble the head- and tail-lights. To understand the relationship between a production model and its NASCAR sibling, check out Ford's Fusion racer in our previous post here.

"As a passionate race fan, the debut of the SS NASCAR race car is a genuinely exciting moment for me,” said GM North America President Mark Reuss during the presentation of the car in Las Vegas.

Monday, November 19, 2012

An accident is an accident, and no matter what kinds of cars are involved in one, it all comes down to the well-being of people. We're glad to say that the passengers of the two cars seen in this video made it out alive and well suffering only "bumps" and "bruises", according to the driver of one of the vehicles.

What makes this incident of particular interest is that the two vehicles are classic Australian models, including an early 1960s Holden EK sedan and an early 1970s Ford Falcon XY GT, though we don't know if it was a replica or an original (say double 'ouch' if it’s the latter…).

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Australia's high-performance car manufacturer Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) continues the yearlong festivities for its 25th anniversary with the presentation of a special edition version of the GTS ahead of a world premiere at the 2012 Sydney auto show later in October.

"From day one, our mission at HSV has been to build Australia's finest performance cars. Every year, for the past 25, we have refined and evolved on what has gone before. And now, we present the newest HSV flag bearer – our 25th Anniversary GTS," said Holden's subsidiary in a statement.

In essence, the new 25th Anniversary GTS is a cosmetic and equipment package as there's no extra oomph for the special edition, which keeps the regular model's 6.2-litre V8 LS3 engine with 436Hp (325kW) and 550Nm (405.6 lb-ft).

Monday, September 24, 2012

From the magical land of eBay comes our next tale of replicas. This newly found example is pretending to be a Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4, though even an untrained eye can see that there something is wrong with car's proportions.

The seller and builder of the replica is "Z and M Customs", which is located in the city of Eagle in Ada County, Idaho.

The company informs us that the Aventador lookalike is built on the chassis and mechanical components of a "GM Holden" with power coming from a "LS1 V8 Corvette with approximately 400HP".

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Holden Special Vehicles, or HSV for short, is the high-performance arm of the GM-owned Holden brand in Australia. This week, HSV released details on its updated MY12.5 range that coincides with the company's year-long 25th anniversary celebrations.

The big story for the new model year is the re-introduction of the most affordable Commodore based V8 models, the ClubSport saloon and the Maloo ute, which is Aussie talk for a car-based utility vehicle (think Chevrolet El Camino).

Both models sit below their respective R8 level variants in terms of equipment missing out on HSV’s Enhanced Driver Interface (EDI) and in the case of the Maloo, the remote locking hard tonneau and performance sailplane as well, but do keep other goods such as the 20-inch wheels, performance seats, satellite navigation and Rear Park Assist with reversing camera.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Australia's version of the new generation of the Chevrolet Malibu was official unveiled today by GM' local subsidiary, Holden, ahead of the mid-size sedan's 2013 launch in the market.

Holden said that it will complete the engineering work to tailor the vehicle to Australian customers’ tastes over the next few months through "extensive testing" at the brand's proving ground in Lang Lang and numerous verification drives on Victorian public roads.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

This month's edition of the Top Gear UK Magazine has a special treat for its readers as the publication brought together the 24 most "inspiring" performance cars of the past 12 months at the famous Top Gear track for a hands-on evaluation by Jeremy Clarkson, The Stig and the rest of the TG team.

According to the magazine, the 24 sports cars have a combined output of 9,267hp, ranging from the 120hp Morgan 3 Wheeler to the 691hp (700PS) Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4, and a joint vale of £2,205,864 (equal to US$3,445,935 or €2,805,908 at today's exchange rates).

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Remember the 1979 Holden Kingswood HZ SL that was unearthed after being tucked away in a garage in Adelaide for the past 27 years having clocked a mere 998 kilometers (620 miles) since it was bought brand new?

The daughter of the car's original owner has listed the classic Australian model on Carsales for AU$40,000 (about US$40,200 or €32,200).

Thursday, June 21, 2012

GM's Australian subsidiary Holden is wasting no time with the Colorado launching an extensive range of genuine accessories just as sales start in the country.

The automaker says that more than two thirds of the Colorado’s accessories are unique to the brand, and have been designed, developed and engineered in Australia by Holden to meet the needs of the local market.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Just when you think that all barn, garage and let's not forget, dealer lot finds, have been unearthed, along comes another story to prove you wrong.

This past Sunday saw the unearthing of a 1979 Holden Kingswood HZ saloon in Adelaide, Australia. Warren Edwards, a photographer from Adelaide and a family friend of the car's current owners, was on hand to snap the pictures you see posted here.

The mid-size Aussie sedan, which is powered by a 4.2-liter V8 rated at 120kW/161hp, had been bought brand new but due to the owner's sudden illness at the time, it was parked in his garage after covering a little over 900km (~560 miles).

It had been taken out only once in 1985 to replace its alternator before heading back to its resting place where it remained until a few days ago.

Edwards tells us:

Thursday, June 7, 2012

General Motors announced today that the upcoming Chevrolet Trax will be sold in Australia as well under the Holden Trax moniker.

The only changes over the Chevrolet version of the Trax are the Holden grille and logos along with some market-specific tweaks to the chassis.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

So where do Australians go to burn some rubber? Well, there is the Summernats festival in Canberra, but that takes place only once a year.

If you are a friend of Mick Brasher, though, you might get another chance to smoke your car's tires to obliteration at the unofficial "Brasher NATS" gathering, which believe it not, is hosted at Mick's…backyard that features a huge concrete burnout pad!

Thursday, May 17, 2012

We have been reporting for quite some time that General Motors is planning to bring the next Holden Commodore sedan to the States as a Chevrolet, and now the Detroit carmaker has made it official.

The General confirmed the news that next Commodore will return to North America in late 2013 as the new Chevrolet SS rear-wheel drive performance sedan, adding that the SS will also be the brand's next NASCAR Sprint Cup racecar beginning with the 2013 Daytona 500.

"As a passionate race fan and performance enthusiast, I am thrilled that Chevrolet will deliver a true rear-wheel-drive NASCAR racecar in the SS that is closely linked to the performance sedan that will be available for sale," said Mark Reuss, president of GM North America.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Reports from Down Under are claiming that Holden will soon make an official announcement on a new export program to bring the next generation of the Commodore sedan codenamed VF to America as the new Chevrolet SS.

Australia's News.com.au tied the story with General Motor's recent decision to retire the Impala from NASCAR racing and replace it with a different Chevrolet nameplate for the 2013 series, saying that the Chevy SS will lend its body and name to the new racecar.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Every gearhead in Australia likes doing a good ol' burnout once in a while, just as long as it goes down smoothly and without an incident.

Unfortunately for the young driver of this late 1970s Holden Ute (it looks like an HZ, but we're not entirely sure), it didn't go as well or as smooth as he had hoped for and while he narrowly missed the newer Commodore Ute parked on the side of the road, he couldn't avoid crashing into a brick fence destroying his car.

Make your way over the break to watch the video.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

America might not be getting the new Chevrolet Trailblazer but Australia will as parent company General Motors revealed that it's body-on-frame SUV will be sold Down Under as the Holden Colorado SUV.

The passenger version of the Colorado pickup truck, which is set to arrive in Australian dealerships mid-year, will be the first heavy-duty 4WD SUV to wear a Holden badge in almost a decade.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

The United States and Canada aren't alone in supporting General Motors and its companies.

The Australian government is also doing its part to keep GM's local subsidiary Holden in the country by promising a subsidy package worth more than AU$200 million (US$210 million) after the automaker threatened to shut down its operations if it did not get financial aid beyond 2015.

While Holden has yet to issue an official statement, Australian news daily, The Age, reported that the country's Prime Minister Julia Gillard, along with South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill, Holden chairman Mike Devereux and vehicle union boss Ian Jones will be in Canberra today for the official announcement.

After securing the financial assistance, Holden is said to continue producing cars in the country until for at least another 10 years. According to sources, Holden has promised to invest some AU$750 million in its Australian operations during this period.

Interestingly, the newspaper said that Holden will "soon confirm an export deal to sell Commodores in the US, where the car will carry a Chevrolet badge."

Friday, February 17, 2012

General Motors' Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck (which will be made and sold in the States) has made its appearance in Australia in production guise under the Holden nameplate. The automaker had previewed the Holden version with a lightly camouflaged concept at last year's Melbourne Auto Show.

The 2012 Holden Colorado that will arrive in dealerships throughout the country in the middle of this year has dropped some of the more exciting, but not at all practical, elements of the show car such as the large alloy wheels and sporty mirrors but nothing much else has changed.