I allmost thought they wouldnt do it but there you go !!

With Cruze and Malibu and Commodore i think Holden may be able to claw back market leadership in a few years

Add in a real 4WD Landcruiser competitor and they have pretty much every line to compete with Toyota

 

Perhaps Holden should be given access to some work on the next Tahoe and a Silverado..

I would love to see what their Tahoe would look like...

 

Add in a new Barina, Barina-based SUV and Colorado, yes.

 

Will be interesting to see how it is priced and where it does come from as said above.
I can see it doing well if it is marketed well although I wonder how it will go along with the Commodore at a similar size.

 

This is great news!


...but it is awfully close to the 1st of April for my comfort.

 

If Holden brought out the Tahoe I'd be the first to sign up for one..

 

I think this will be priced just under current omega prices

Would not be at all supprised if Holden dump omega all together and start the range at Berlina or SV6 level

They have Cruze to take Fleet volume and now Malibu to attract midsize 4cyl buyers

 

It'll be interesting how this pans out, I'm not sure there is enough room between Cruze and Commodore.
Anyway, I welcome the Malibu and will be interested to try one out when I'm shopping next, especially a diesel.

Re the Suburban, that GMC above sounds nice. There is a Chev Suburban in one of those cops/csi style shows, (the mentalist?) that looks very attractive.

 

It'll be interesting how this pans out, I'm not sure there is enough room between Cruze and Commodore.
Anyway, I welcome the Malibu and will be interested to try one out when I'm shopping next, especially a diesel.

Hmmm... I haven't watched the video yet... do they speak of a diesel?

 

This lookes like a VE Commodore with the tail lights it should always have had. (I always felt uncomfortable with the VE tail lights; SSV lights are the pick of a bad bunch)

If Malibu stays substantially the same as this tease, it will be very hard to tell Commodore from Malibu from even Cruze.

I'm going to guess that the SS Cruze is going to get a similar bonnet treatment as what appears on this tease; and VF SS will also get a similar bonnet accents as the Coupe 60/Malibu tease.

What ever they call VF in NA if it gets released there, it is going to fit right in with the Chevy family took by then. I'm staring to think that VF may actually be assembled in Oshowa (on the the soon to be vacant Camaro line). Which would make much more sense than importing them from OZ.

 

The malibu looks absolutely incredible in profile and from the details.... absolutely invigorating qnd delicious. Gotta love those hood streaks.

 

I guess that this car will be the test for Holden in a Global partnership with Chevy now that Daewoo is gonski. Being the only "other" brand will probably mean less input into the design and potentially a heavy American design theme making its way into the market. The taillights say it all really. Inspired by the Camaro - a car not really sold anywhere else.

I'm not saying I don't like it, but I'm interested/concerned on where this will leave Holden's pseudo design independence.

 

Designing and re-designing the Commodore for the next 20 years?

 

Hey guys, any idea where the Australian Model will be sourced from, and any idea of whether it will get subtle changes to the grille like our Cruze does to eliminate the Chevvy grille?

 

^ Guessing S Korea & yes.

 

The malibu is going to look awesome

 

Holden had input into the design: this would have been designed under Mike Simcoe's brief as design chief.

Holden like other GM companies has to 'interpret' global themes locally. VF will have nuances of the global GM design consensus. Cruze is an example of that, believe it or not.

The good thing about Malibu is, GM has a car that will steal a march on the Camry and Accord, Mazda 6 with more content, better styling and DI motor with sixspeed trans.

The midsize market here is shrinking along with the large car segment, but it's still big dollars. Unless they assemble Malibu here, it won't be a big fleet seller - most government and big private companies have a 'buy Australian-made' policy. Apart from anything else, it's cheaper for insurance.

 

I'd like the same policy here in the US - buy American-made products.

 

Anyone know where Holden will import them from?

Edit: http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/...com/forums/f70/shanghai-preview-next-generation-chevrolet-malibu-teaser-101765/

This thread says it will be built in the US and China, no mention of Korea.

 

Daewoo have a version it's just not called a Malibu

 

Nice sculpted definition lines in the hood. This could be promising.

 

Holden Malibu? Nice... It leaves the Epica name where it belongs, i.e. as the Dutch heavy metal band's name.

 

Holden guys,
You can't badge engineer ANYTHING GMT900-based until you start sending some of your RWD funboxes stateside. Period.:

That first Suburban was a badge engineered disaster.

 

To our Aussie friends:

I'm curious, but what was the major problem with the Epica? Was it priced and sized to close to the Commodore range, or was it just a subpar car in general?

Here in North America, we never recived the current iteration of the Epica/Tosca. We did see the previous generation Magnus sold here under the Suzuki Verona/Chevrolet Evanda label. I confess to being rather ignorant of these cars, you hardly ever see them; but my gut feeling tells me they were not very good cars. Of course I've never seen the current Epica in the flesh, but from what I've gleaned from pictures and reviews online, it did seem like a vastly superior car to the Magnus.

 

It underperformed against Camry/MAzda6/Mondeo ect because of weak engines (allthough they were very smooth) and a general image of being about a gerneration or 2 behind the rest in look and feel

 

Privately imported Silverados and Sierras has been going on for years, so GM gave us the Suburban, typical GM thinking that caused it's downfall, no one was bringing them in, it was the big utes everyone wanted.

 

Yep just look at when Ford stopped selling the F-series trucks here, people were paying more for them 2nd hand then what Ford were selling them for new because everyone wanted them.

 

Most average Australians see American cars and trucks as overpriced , thirsty and problem prone

This is due to the ones that have come over and the problems people have had with them

A lot of hurdles to overcome along with a high price

 

746 Holden Suburbans were sold averaging less than 250 per year.

 

I GM develop the new large "trucks" in RHD then the cost won't be as high. But there is very little demand for these trucks in RHD which will probably mean that it won't happen. Plus I just don't think there is enough demand for these trucks in Australia regardless. Sure they will sell some, but these trucks are HUGE. I've seen a couple that were converted privately and they just take up the whole lane.

Full size trucks are an American niche with the potential for sales in the Middle East.

 

BAck on topic briefly i think the Malibu is a good fit for OZ - being 4cyl only it gives Holden buyers a choice if they dont want Commodore and Cruze seems too small for them

It may be hard for some of us to picture but there is a lareg group of Australian buyers who simply wont but a six or eight cylinder no matter how fuel efficient it may be

They simply see 4cyl = better ecconomy

 

That's pretty much it. I know people who will never, ever consider a 6 cyl car even though I point out to them 'look, it's cheaper to run'.

It's like SUVs - some people want 'em. Holden better have good ones to sell. Malibu should sell in the 4-500 range a month and more affect Camcord sales than Commodore.