It's Here! New Holden Sportwagon Released! Includes First Drive, Pictures & Video!

[JoeT]

Launch Pad: Holden Sportwagon

John Carey
11 July 2008
www.wheelsmag.com.au

Exclusive: John Carey on the ins and outs of Holden's big-booted Commodore carry-all.

There’s more than 895 litres of empty space riding in the cargo compartment of Holden’s new Sportwagon. This latest addition to the VE line-up comes with a weighty, but invisible, burden. It’s the model that Holden is surely counting on to carry the Commodore badge to its 13th straight year at the top the Australian car sales charts.

Here’s the situation. Through the first six months of 2008, Toyota sold 1092 more Corolla hatchbacks and sedans than Holden sold four-door Commodores. But Holden hasn’t been playing the game with a full deck. Production of Commodore wagon – the old-generation VZ – was halted back in September 2007. Through the last year of its life, it sold at a rate of around 900 per month. Mainly to fleets. And with only three model grades…

If the Sportwagon sells at anything like the rate the old one did (and even allowing that some customers inevitably will choose the VE wagon instead of a VE sedan), Commodore’s tally should catch and overtake Corolla’s through the second half of 2008. Should…

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Five With Ferlazzo

Samantha Stevens
11 July 2008
www.wheelsmag.com.au

Wheelsmag catches up with Holden chief designer Richard Ferlazzo on the launch of his newest creation, the Commodore Sportwagon.

Q. So let's start at the beginning - the Sportwagon was planned at pretty much the same time as the sedan, and it is very closely matched. Was the brief to essentially replicate the sedan in wagon form? And why the long wait?

Actually, the story is more like this: when we are framing up a new architecture, we scope out all the possible variants that we think are viable, i.e. SWB Sedan, LWB Sedan, Ute, Coupe, Wagon, Crewman, et cetera.

This is followed by some initial packaging studies with the principal objective to design the mainstream donor vehicle (Commodore) in order to enable all the derivatives. This will include Engineering studies, package drawings and scale models, even full size clay models.

The underbody and other common components need to ‘flex’ into other bodystyles. When we are satisfied with this groundwork, we ‘park’ them and focus on the mainstream. It isn’t feasible to run many programs simultaneously, so they are staggered to balance the workload.

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Holden VE Commodore Sportwagon Range

Joe Kenwright
11 July 2008
www.carpoint.com.au

The importance and the vision behind Holden's new Sportwagon can best be grasped from an exclusive conversation that the writer had with Holden's since-retired marketing guru, Ross McKenzie. It took place after Toyota's withdrew its Camry wagon from sale and in the lead-up to the Ford Territory release.

McKenzie intuitively knew that one way or the other it was curtains for Holden's traditional Aussie wagon.

What to do about it would take courage and conviction. Holden's research was telling him what most Australians already knew. Women, who typically drive the family car Monday to Friday, hated wagons with a passion. It reminded them of sales reps and a work vehicle.

In addition, the Subaru ploy of disguising its Liberty wagon as the pseudo-SUV Outback was also rapidly falling out of favour with so many new and exciting purpose-built SUVs from which to choose.

McKenzie was well aware of this trend after Holden's re-packaging of its Commodore wagon as the Adventra AWD struggled to ignite sales, despite its space and all-round competence. There was also the matter of a high-driving position so favoured by women that could never be truly replicated in a vehicle based on a passenger wagon.

When the Adventra only had to fill a gap until Holden's own Captiva SUV arrived, there was a strong faction within Holden which argued that there was no point in building a VE wagon at all. McKenzie was aware that it would cost Ford next to nothing to keep building the BA/BF Falcon wagon with its AU rear section even if the Territory decimated wagon sales (which as it turned out, never happened). He also recognised that there was no way that Holden could ever undercut such a basic Falcon wagon in fleet sales with an expensive new wagon based on the much longer WM Statesman platform.

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Commodore Sportwagon Aims To Turn Tables On 4WD's

Richard Blackburn
11 July 2008
www.drive.com.au

Holden is banking on its new Sportwagon to win back customers who have defected from the Commodore to 4WD's.

After losing a steady stream of buyers to offroaders in recent years, the company is banking on the new VE Commodore Sportwagon to stem the flow – and win back some of the Holden faithful.

The new wagon, which goes on sale next week, sacrifices the load-carrying ability of its VZ predecessor for a more stylish profile and improved roadholding.

The company’s director of marketing, Phillip Brook, says Holden is looking to attract more private buyers to the wagon by hitting the “sweet spot between form and function”.

He says the company is targeting people who may have made the switch out of a large sedan into a four-wheel-drive, as well current sedan owners who might on the verge of defecting to 4WDs.

“There’s people who drive sedans now who want something a bit more practical and might be thinking about a [4WD] so this is an alternative and then there are people who have been in 4WDs and might be looking at coming back. So it’s a bit of both, to stop people going and to drag some back,” he says.

“The Sportwagon is a serious alternative to the [4WD].”

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First Drive: Holden Commodore Sportwagon

Richard Blackburn
11 July 2008
www.drive.com.au

Holden's new sportwagon is a big departure from previous models, but is it enough to tempt four-wheel-drive owners back into a Commodore?

Holden is hoping its new Commodore Sportwagon will bring family car buyers full circle.

The car maker is gambling that buyers who flirted with the 4WD phenomenon will be tempted back to the large car fold by a new take on an old favourite: the station wagon.

The design brief for the Sportwagon was to blend the space and practicality of a station wagon with the style of an off-roader.

It’s a delicate balancing act, but on the style front at least, the Sportwagon looks a winner.

The new model has shed the dowdy, awkward looks of its predecessor, with a low-slung, sporty profile that makes most 4WDs look a bit bland.

From behind in traffic, it looks more like a mid-size Euro liftback, while the side profile is equally enticing. While the previous model was noticeably longer than the sedan, the Sportwagon is the same size.

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Drive.com.au Holden Sportwagon Video
Official Holden Sportwagon Media Release
Official Holden Sportwagon Product Infomation Factsheet
Official Holden Sportwagon Design Overview Factsheet
Official Holden Sportwagon Marketing & Engineering Overview Factsheet
Look Out Toyota! New Holden Sportwagon To Spike Commodore Sales

[FenwickHockey65]

Why do you Australians always get the cool wagons?

At least we'll have the CTW...

[Joe Ego]

Sure, and how much are you willing to pay for a Cadillac wagon?

The Sportwagon is exactly what GM needs to complement the sedan in Pontiac showrooms.

[ZvetteGuy]

Nice and slick looking... I likie...

[mikmak]

I agree with whomever said it before. The tail lights look all wrong. They look too long on the profile. Still a very tidy piece of kit. Just wish I could afford it

[mikmak]

I watched the video and changed my mind. The lights look good in motion.

[page2171]

This is what Pontiac needs instead of the Torrent. Sell that in the US as the G8 Sportwagon and I would probably buy one.

[joshls]

Me thinks a wagon would be a good idea with everyone shunning SUV's....

[MonaroSS]

I'll take one of these with a 6 speed manual and a 4.7 V8 small block version of the 4.9 DI V8 from the GMC Denali Concept......

Holden really needs a small V8 to sit between the 3.6 and 6.2.

[WishIhadatruck]

I love the look of it. If they brought it here with a 2.9L diesel I'd be very tempted to buy one.

[EldoFan]

Originally Posted by page2171

This is what Pontiac needs instead of the Torrent. Sell that in the US as the G8 Sportwagon and I would probably buy one.

I thought we were getting the G8 'Sportwagon' ??

[civilzues]

GMNA-Pontiac- said no to this why? Boneheads.

[camaro_freak]

Originally Posted by civilzues

GMNA-Pontiac- said no to this why? Boneheads.

because dealers are stupid and would rather pick of a piece of $hit than a good product. How many times have the done this now yet pick real winners like the G5 ARGGG!!!

[Sgt Beavis]

I want a G8 Wagon!!

GM, you suck for not bringing this to the states.

[civilzues]

Originally Posted by camaro_freak

because dealers are stupid and would rather pick of a piece of $hit than a good product. How many times have the done this now yet pick real winners like the G5 ARGGG!!!

funny thing is that I don't see these at all. I see like 2 of them at a dealership when I will drive by. I hate dealers who actually thought a Cobalt, I MEAN G5 would be a good idea.