Holden prototypes

[VS Ute 5Litre]

Monaro prototypes

[damnitgmi]

Yes there was. Kinda looks saab-esque

My first impression was a 4-door version of the Opel Monza. Because of the design similarity of Opel and Holden models at that time, I wished we had some high power, high trim-level versions from Holden imported to Europe.

[chinamonty]

Monaro prototypes

The October 1968 one was actually built I think. i seem to remember it being on display at the Horsham motor Show around that time. I preferred it.

[AnotherSteve]

The October 1968 one was actually built I think. i seem to remember it being on display at the Horsham motor Show around that time. I preferred it.

Not sure about that, but they did have a very tasty show car done in white, including a white vinyl roof, with gold pin striping. I also seem to remember it had gold honeycomb wheels, first time I saw them.

[AceRimmer]

The Saga of the Saab 2.3L Turbo Commodore
(Or, "the Best Export program that never was!")

Fascinating read imo by Holden insiders..

PDF

Thanks for that. I found it very interesting. It would be great if more of these stories came out about what Holden was working on through the years etc.

[isszy]

Ford out sells Holden for the first time in 21 years



In 2018 Ford outsold Holden for the first time in 21 years – since 1997 – which was also the last time Ford led the entire new-car market.


Strong sales of the Ford Ranger UTE – which finished 2018 second outright in the new-car sales race behind the Toyota HiLux – and Mustang sports car helped Ford overtake its long time rival.

Meanwhile, as we have reported in a separate news story, the Toyota HiLux ute shattered its previous sales record after posting the highest annual tally of any vehicle for the past decade.
Preliminary figures for 2018 show the Toyota HiLux eclipsed 50,000 sales for the first time ever – overtaking the peak of 47,093 set in 2017 and the previous high of 42,956 set in 2008.
The last vehicle to top the 50,000 mark was the Holden Commodore in 2008, with 51,093 sales.



Holden’s biggest-selling model in 2018 was the Colorado UTE

LINK



Maybe GM should be shipping in some RHD Silverado's from the US the than South Koran Sparks?

Latest Holden sales data reading does not look good led the big drop led by the Isignia Commodore "Raw Holden sales data for December shows a whopping -60.4 per cent dip in Holden sales compared with December 2017, from 12,179 to 4822.) Holden's market share dropped to the lowest ever since Holden were brought out in the 1930's with a little bit of Opel money pit dull car knowhow in 2018.

It is all immaterial these days, but while they are referred to by the younger generation as utes, they actually don't fit the original definition of a ute, which was a 2 (or 3) seater vehicle with an integrated tray body, based on a passenger vehicle. The BA Falcon ute was argued not to be a ute because it was a cab chassis with a bolt on tray.
Ute

Ute

Ute

Ute

Ute


Not really a ute

Not really a ute

[chinamonty]

In coachbuilding terms it is a coupe utility.

[VS Ute 5Litre]

In coachbuilding terms it is a coupe utility.

Yes

Based on a car platform 2 door

Thats a traditional ute

[nota]

In coachbuilding terms it is a coupe utility.

Perhaps yes, but almost always not.

In specific, Ford Australia's seminal 1934 Coupe Utility was named thus iirc because to construct it FoA utilized the actual 5-Window Coupe-model roof pressing! A literal melange of a Coupe and a Utility Car. Check out this original Model 302 (being the 'styleside' variant's local ID) - its cabin is clearly sourced from the existing Coupe model.





However you won't see this specific coupe-roof build method being employed in any of those other utes which member ISSY has usefully shared; not from Subaru through our unique Toyota Crown Ute or even the Holden VF, XY Falcon, or that sharp looking VJ Valiant. And obviously a 5-window greenhouse does not in itself define a Coupe-anything.

Yes I suppose Ford's XA/XB/XC Falcon utes did feature the stretched doors from their respective Hardtop/Tudor models - but lol so did the Panel Vans, and identifying these as 'Coupe Panel Vans' shows the folly imo of using the romantic but innacurate 'coupe utility' as correct ID for typical generic passenger car-based Utes.

Btw I thought 'Coachbuilding' to be a term describing a particular construction method, of outer panels being fixed upon a (typically) wooden inner frame - in simple example, a Model T Ford would be a coachbuilt car but the all-metal 1949 Ford is not.

[chinamonty]

Coachbuilding terms carried on even when coachbuilding didn't.

[nota]

Coachbuilding terms carried on even when coachbuilding didn't.

In other words this specific construction terminology was later barstar-dized into cheap advertising cliche, as with 'Roadster' also 'Coupe de Ville' and 'Landau' etc.

Eg, original bodystye definitions as once accepted:

2-door Convertible = Roadster + wind-up window glass.
2-door Roadster = Convertible sans wind-up door-glass (may include canvas etc side-door weather protection).
Speedster = Roadster but always with detachable windscreen posts.
4-door Roadster = Phaeton.
4-door Convertible = it's obvious, isn't it?

However nowdays we have MX5 soft-tops promulgated as 'Roadsters' and dual-cab Light Trucks masquerading as Utes!

And now of course for the ultimate obscenity, it's SUVs also being recently labelled by US media as 'utes'


Btw for historical interest, this: courtesy Restored Cars Australia magazine

[Ruperts Trooper]

In other words this specific construction terminology was later barstar-dized into cheap advertising cliche, as with 'Roadster' also 'Coupe de Ville' and 'Landau' etc.

Eg, original bodystye definitions as once accepted:

2-door Convertible = Roadster + wind-up window glass.
2-door Roadster = Convertible sans wind-up door-glass (may include canvas etc side-door weather protection).
Speedster = Roadster but always with detachable windscreen posts.
4-door Roadster = Phaeton.
4-door Convertible = it's obvious, isn't it?

However nowdays we have MX5 soft-tops promulgated as 'Roadsters' and dual-cab Light Trucks masquerading as Utes!

And now of course for the ultimate obscenity, it's SUVs also being recently labelled by US media as 'utes'


Btw for historical interest I found this:

Coachbuilding terms were always vague when applied to cars, and open to deliberate misinterpretation - many of the terms came from the horse-drawn coach era.

To me, a "ute" is a specific Australian term used in that market only. Pickups sold everywhere else are different.

[nota]

How long can it be before (cringe) the inevitable Chevrolet Silverado 'Superleggera' ?

[Smitty2]

There are no Utes for sale in Australia


None

yup... ALL gone

only thing similar now.. is HUGE TRUCKS
Ranger HiLux RAM Silverado.. all trucks ( and I note taxed and rego'd as such)

[Smitty2]

....................

Btw I thought that not proceeding with WA (instead of the disaster than became V-Car) was one of Holden's worst-ever & most damaging corporate decisions.

ummm... nope
one of the BEST actually I reckon! WA feedback back then from GMH staff and customers was that it was a dodo....
and then the move to WB (Kingswood and Premier version ... NOT Commercial or LWB) was pretty much the same

Clays were put up at clinics by GMH Ad agency (Pattersons) ranked the Falcon (XD) first... then HZ Holden
then Commodore then Torana... with WB a distinct last.

So instead of GMH spending in excess of $100 million tooling up to build it, it got canned and the $ from that program
saved to tip into Commodore (which as we know survived and ultimately kicked Falcon off its perch as sales leader)