New Holden Ute Pre-Launch News & Spy Pictures Thread

[JoeT]

Next Holden Ute A Step Closer

Joshua Dowling
27 July 2007
www.drive.com.au

Details of the new model are beginning to emerge.

The countdown to the arrival of the new Commodore ute has begun. Holden this week issued media invitations to the unveiling of the new model - until now, it had refused to confirm that the car existed.

As with the 2006 sedan, the ute will be unveiled over two months in an attempt to maximise exposure and anticipation.

There will be a technical briefing for media on the new ute on August 22, where images and details will be released but cars will not be available to test. That will come four weeks later, on September 25, about the time the first utes begin arriving in dealerships.

Disguised versions of the model have been sprung by eagle-eyed happy-snappers in recent months and images have been posted on the web. Drive has created a computer-generated image of what the new ute might look like, based on the spy photos.

The new version will have a significantly bigger cabin than the current model. And, for the first time, the ute will be based on the sedan's underpinnings, rather than the longer Statesman and wagon platform.

Some prototypes had black tape stuck vertically behind the door line to make it resemble a separate cabin-and-tray body style (as in the Falcon ute). But this is merely a decoy. The new Commodore is still a single-body ute.

What's not clear is how much cargo space has been sacrificed by the bigger cabin. Insiders tell us the overall volume will be the same as, if not more than, the current ute because of the taller body sides.

Drive understands there will be three models: a base V6, a sporty SV6 and a flagship V8-powered SS.

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GMI's Official New Holden Ute News & Spy Pictures Thread
Australian Car Advice Latest Holden Ute Spy Shots

2007 Holden Commodore Ute Sprung & Spied!

Australian Car Advice
5 July 2007
www.caradvice.com.au

One of our readers has sent in photos of Holden’s yet to be released Utility.

Presumably a base model Utility, it’s obvious that the front and front-side architecture is similar to the sedan variants. The faux air vents remain, as do beefed up wheel arches - even on this base model!

The following computer generated rendering seems to accurately reflect the new Utility’s stance and design. Several attributes are mimicked in the spy photographs, namely the flared wheel arches, relocation of fuel filler and continued existence of faux air vents.

From the photographs, it can be seen that the fuel-filler position has been moved further toward the rear, instead of closer to the driver’s door, as in the previous generation.

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GM HOLDEN chairman Denny Mooney has hinted that a VE Commodore-based utility or pick-up could step in for larger US pick-ups if proposed US legislation curtails their sales.

“There is no question that it could potentially help,” he told GoAuto last week.

Mr Mooney was careful not to officially confirm the existence of a VE Commodorebased utility, let alone any export plans for such a vehicle. However, his point on this model’s overseas potential was clear in light of the US Bush Administration’s proposal for higher Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards – and GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz’s criticism of it.

Continued http://www.mellor.net/mellor/enews.n...toNews_381.pdf[/quote]



Utility Sales Figures

Jaedene Hudson
13 April 2007
www.smh.com.au

Two-wheel-drive utes continue to struggle against the increasing popularity of their four-wheel-drive cousins.

The bigger 4WD utes are finding favour among families, and sales are skyrocketing.

The 4WD segment has also been stimulated by the release of the new Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan having stock of its Navara (pictured).

According to figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, sales of 4WD utes last month were up by 34.1 per cent compared with March last year and up by 30 per cent in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period last year. The story is not the same for 2WD models, with sales down by 12.6 per cent for the first quarter compared with last year.

Sales of the ageing Falcon and Commodore car-based utes are down by 10.8 per cent and 35.8 per cent respectively for the first quarter compared with last year.

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Related Thread: New Holden Ute Set For September Debut? US Exports?
Related Thread: Holden and Ford Confirm New Wagon Production

The picture's below are from www.ls1.com.au

One of the latest spy pic's from Australian Car Advice

Click here for more new spy pictures from www.carupdate.com.au

The VE Holden Ute pictures were taken by a member of www.dirtbikeworld.net and reposted on www.ls1.com.au



Below is a picture I combined of the two above clear front and rear half pic's.

A silhouette by Fnomna of the VE sedan behind the VE Ute to shows it's on the sedans short wheel base, unlike the LWB VU-VZ Utes.

Here's a silhouette of the LWB Statesman/Caprice behind the new Ute also by Fnomna.

[steve333]

Who needs AWD in a sunny climate? Why would they outsell cooler looking homegrowns that are RWD?
Has the world gone mad?

[Kennyboy]

I guess the Aussies prefer AWD to RWD? Those Aussies are weird.

[demonv8]

The VZ UTE's look old compared to the VE sedans. When the VE UTE arrives, the sales will increase.

[RedVee8]

And thats what people are doing. Why buy the old shape when the newie is (hopefully) just round the corner.

[mcool]

Originally Posted by demonv8

The VZ UTE's look old compared to the VE sedans. When the VE UTE arrives, the sales will increase.

Exactly... it's like the press sounding surprised the GMT800 sales were down in 2006 without acknowledging the end of the product cycle! There certainly are more compact 4wd models available, and I'm all for the success of the Captiva. And maybe Aussie's are having a shift in buying tastes, but I agree that a VE UTE variant would likely revive the sales. I'm sure there are a number of consumers hesitating to buy a VZ until they know the VE is coming.

[jbernie]

Low demand is not good, but hopefully that means they can build up some inventory so that if/when the new models arrive they can get the changes in the factories done quicker and get them to the market faster.

Though the demand will depend on whether the new models are more than just a new body. Hopefully they will be a step or four forward in product features and such.

[EvilTriumph57]

Are the heavy duty variants of the utes (The ones with the expanded beds) still RWD or are they 4 WD?

[Aych Es Vee]

this is stupid.


People are obviously waiting for Holden to bring out VE utes, but they are taking so damn long.



This is what they were saying about the Commodore before the VE was released .......... and then, wow, surprise surprise, as soon as the VE was released, the sales skyrocketed!

[redTT]

Holden stopped producing utes on the old platform.................this might have something to do with the decline.

[redimpss5]

Send one here, I will buy one! Make it a red SS, with the 6.0 and a 6 speed.

[Cammo6791]

This article is just ****-stirring. Like people on this forum have said, buyers are just waiting for the VE to come out. Like Aych Es Vee said sales of the VZ sedan also tapered off while people were waiting for the VE.

[mikmak]

The Wagon isn't dead. Denny and I have.....an understanding. Don't we Denny

[mikmak]

And yes, I have read Bill Tuckeys frivolous rant. Rhetoric is enroute.

[AusCalais]

If you were in the market for a ute would you buy one now knowing the new model is 4-5 months away or there may be some good deals around soon on the old one?

Even Falcon Ute buyers will be 1. watching & waiting to see what the new Holden VE looks like and/or 2. waiting for the new Falcon Ute in 12+ months. If the Holden Ute is the step-up the VE sedan was they may not get to option 2.