[J.E]

Re: GM getting out of RHD and retiring Holden brand

Australian's don't have any money and the greedy rich ones aren't looking to employ Australians and are more interested in their nazi mobiles. Holden isn't the only brand to have died in 2020. 161 others have already gone to retail heaven as well. The only thing keeping our economy going is coal and iron ore mining and if it wasn't for those industries Australia would be a basket case.

I heard China and South Korea are the biggest buyers of Australian iron ore. You guys must be very worried with this Coronavirus outbreak in China, Am I right?

 

[GolfBravo]

Re: GM getting out of RHD and retiring Holden brand

I heard China and South Korea are the biggest buyers of Australian iron ore. You guys must be very worried with this Coronavirus outbreak in China, Am I right?

The Australian economy is not too bad actually, as we're also very good at selling our houses to each other at overinflated prices. Oh, wait....

 

[SierraGS]

Re: GM getting out of RHD and retiring Holden brand

I think you mean why did GM strangle Holden out of export markets (other than New Zealand) and supply it with inferior FWD and utes for decades , gosh who knew they would struggle to sell sub-par vehicles (Commodore being the only exception, that they couldn't see should have been used as a platform for other vehicles globally including SUV's).

To sum up, thanks for nothing GM another brand you have trashed, better give the execs a bonus.

Good Points

The irony of it all is that the Zeta (Commodore) could have made GM the number one automaker in the world in 2020 if GM would have be smart enough to utilize it's built in flexible design potential. As the long running FCA 300, Charger and Challenger show, all that was needed was updated powertrains and better interiors and GM would have had a profitable Camaro, Impala, Large Buick Sedan, Cadillac ATS, CTS and CT6 along with multiple Mid and Large SUV/Crossovers, Trucks, Wagons and Vans all based upon the Zeta II and updated platform. This would have saved GM nearly 20 Billion Dollars and allowed GM to Hybridize and Electrify the Zeta Platform for competitive vehicles until the 2030 MY.

The money saved could have developed a single world class mini to large FWD based architecture along with a world class Mid and Full size Truck/SUV and Van architecture using a smaller number of ICE variations that could have been economically upgraded with Hybrid/Electric powertrains as required.

What did GM do?

What GM always seems to do, the wrong thing.

GM went in the wrong direction in 2008 and have been paying for it ever since with no end in sight.

 

[tripowergto Jan2003]

Re: GM getting out of RHD and retiring Holden brand

Good Points

The irony of it all is that the Zeta (Commodore) could have made GM the number one automaker in the world in 2020 if GM would have be smart enough to utilize it's built in flexible design potential. As the long running FCA 300, Charger and Challenger show, all that was needed was updated powertrains and better interiors and GM would have had a profitable Camaro, Impala, Large Buick Sedan, Cadillac ATS, CTS and CT6 along with multiple Mid and Large SUV/Crossovers, Trucks, Wagons and Vans all based upon the Zeta II and updated platform. This would have saved GM nearly 20 Billion Dollars and allowed GM to Hybridize and Electrify the Zeta Platform for competitive vehicles until the 2030 MY.

The money saved could have developed a single world class mini to large FWD based architecture along with a world class Mid and Full size Truck/SUV and Van architecture using a smaller number of ICE variations that could have been economically upgraded with Hybrid/Electric powertrains as required.

What did GM do?

What GM always seems to do, the wrong thing.

GM went in the wrong direction in 2008 and have been paying for it ever since with no end in sight.

This was the cost of the govt bailout, along with Pontiac, Hummer, Saturn and Saab.

 

[ksr]

No, they, and you repeatedly, have said "world's first highway-legal EV".

Friend in your well-meaning replies to my post I notice you susequently addended a 'serial production' proviso (to the Forbes quote I originally objected to) and now you delete the "world" reference to both the author's quote and yours previous.

It is the world context which makes this claim so absurd

I'd bet my leftie that Australia has never in its history gazetted any road-going EV car to be 'highway illegal' specifically because of its (EV) propulsion. Ipso facto those excellent Detroit Electric EVs imported here at the beginning of the 20th century were always legal, on any public roadway.

Which begs the question: In which countries can you cite any such legislation excluding EVs from highways? Not in Australia, or Bulgaria, nor Chile - shall we run it through the alphabet of Nations?

Last time I checked, Nations A, B, and C listed above etc are part of our shared world.

View attachment 42107
Factual trivia: Hans Tholstrup (genuine legend) and Larry Perkins (multi Bathurst 1000 winner) pictured in 1982 on AU's Highway 1 in remote Western Australia during their record-making 4,000 km EV trans-continental crossing from Perth to Sydney, using only solar power (fully independent vehicle, no external recharging). Please note: vehicle was legally road-registered and obviously on a highway!

Perhaps your country had previously enacted laws to ban EVs from your highways? Don't know, or care.

But for both you and the Forbes idiot to arseume that your USA DOT (Dept Of Transport) law - or whatever governing US Body it may be - holds sway over history because it had somehow appointed itself as motoring's World Authority, capable of banning EV's until 2008 from all the world's highways, even those outside US jurisdiction, since the dawn of motoring??

This is truly a ludicrous posit. Just absurd - can't you see why? Am I the only poster here who recognises this?

Plus imo it's base cultural arrogance. Not to mention typically imperialist thinking


World means GLOBAL - not Planet America! :nono:

Where is any post did I make a claim that the Tesla or EV1 was the world's first EV? I even asked in one post what was the world's first electric car and received a couple of answers. I didn't say that it was "American" in any post. Now I'm an "imperialist" because I explained - correctly explained - something in a magazine article.

The article was about potential future competition to Tesla. A very legitimate issue since there are a lot of large companies investing very heavily in EVs and some countries are making moves to phase out ICE vehicles completely. You're latching on to a statement in article about the first EV and declaring that it makes the entire article illegitimate. What was the first EV is completely irrelevant to the entire theme of the article. It could have been completely omitted and not changed the point of the article at all. You really don't see that? It's an article about the future of competition in the EV industry and you're obsessed with a poorly worded statement that has nothing to do with that future. It's a business article.

As for highway legal, every modern nation, including Australia, has rules governing the use of highways. It isn't the EV part that could make them illegal. It's speed and safety regulations. Not a problem for any modern EV, but EVs made in the 19th century would likely not be highway-legal because they could not maintain the minimum required speed. They also would possibly not meet minimum safety requirements. I haven't seen recent ones, but the vehicles that competed in Australian Solar Challenge races would not likely be certified for regular use, like GM's Sunraycer or Mr. Tholstrup's solar car.

Say you had dinner with Warren Buffett and he gave you a stock tip to buy some semiconductor company. You ask Mr. Buffett, "Say Warren, who invented semiconductors anyway?" Warren says, "How the hell should I know, it was decades and decades ago." Do you now ignore the advice of a legendary investor because he didn't know trivia? That's how you're treating this article in Forbes magazine, which is about future, not the past.

 

[ChrisNJ]

Re: GM getting out of RHD and retiring Holden brand

Good Points

The irony of it all is that the Zeta (Commodore) could have made GM the number one automaker in the world in 2020 if GM would have be smart enough to utilize it's built in flexible design potential. As the long running FCA 300, Charger and Challenger show, all that was needed was updated powertrains and better interiors and GM would have had a profitable Camaro, Impala, Large Buick Sedan, Cadillac ATS, CTS and CT6 along with multiple Mid and Large SUV/Crossovers, Trucks, Wagons and Vans all based upon the Zeta II and updated platform. This would have saved GM nearly 20 Billion Dollars and allowed GM to Hybridize and Electrify the Zeta Platform for competitive vehicles until the 2030 MY.

The money saved could have developed a single world class mini to large FWD based architecture along with a world class Mid and Full size Truck/SUV and Van architecture using a smaller number of ICE variations that could have been economically upgraded with Hybrid/Electric powertrains as required.

What did GM do?

What GM always seems to do, the wrong thing.

GM went in the wrong direction in 2008 and have been paying for it ever since with no end in sight.

I agree 100%. I waited and waited for Zeta to become a Buick park ave. I longed for the long wheelbase version to become a car the public could buy here in the US. As soon as they announced it was finished in the US, I immediately went out to drive a couple of SS's to put my money down. I couldn't though, both I drove where way too stiffly suspended for me.
I bought a 300, and my daughter liked it and bought a charger.

 

[richmond2000]

Re: GM getting out of RHD and retiring Holden brand

Good Points

The irony of it all is that the Zeta (Commodore) could have made GM the number one automaker in the world in 2020 if GM would have be smart enough to utilize it's built in flexible design potential. As the long running FCA 300, Charger and Challenger show, all that was needed was updated powertrains and better interiors and GM would have had a profitable Camaro, Impala, Large Buick Sedan, Cadillac ATS, CTS and CT6 along with multiple Mid and Large SUV/Crossovers, Trucks, Wagons and Vans all based upon the Zeta II and updated platform. This would have saved GM nearly 20 Billion Dollars and allowed GM to Hybridize and Electrify the Zeta Platform for competitive vehicles until the 2030 MY.

The money saved could have developed a single world class mini to large FWD based architecture along with a world class Mid and Full size Truck/SUV and Van architecture using a smaller number of ICE variations that could have been economically upgraded with Hybrid/Electric powertrains as required.

What did GM do?

What GM always seems to do, the wrong thing.

GM went in the wrong direction in 2008 and have been paying for it ever since with no end in sight.

IMHO Omega should NEVER have been developed and Zeta along with Alpha should bahe been used as the "cornerstone" of GM "premium" products
and Opel and GMNA FWD products moved to 2 - 3 FWD chassis total NOT the 6 + GM used that were NOT related to each other
the money spent on Omega could have given a NEXT GEN ZETA with SUV line up and likely "fixed" Alpha for small PREMIUM SUVS

a USDM line up of

Chevrolet FWD small med sedans with all size FWD based SUVS + truck based tahoe/suburban ++ Alpha Camaro 6 and ZETA Impala/CapricePPV
Buick small/mid FWD shared with Opel and Holden Zeta Caprice becomes the Buick "roadmaster" full size sedan a in "spirit" replacement for the CADDY XTS
Caddy everything RWD off Alpha/Zeta with sedans in the small / MED sizes and SUVS MED/Large on Zeta
GMC gets its SUVS based on the ZETA but more "para-military" in feel - say a BIT "HUMMER" - no FWD based suvs and capability is the order of the day

 

[AusCalais]

Go get 'em Scotty

 

[VS Ute 5Litre]

Go get 'em Scotty

Got to agree


Make them pay through the nose and ask for a fkn money back while hes at it

 

[Col Klink]

Re: GM getting out of RHD and retiring Holden brand

This I don't get.. Oz and NZ buy FWD made in Asia makes from other brands.. yet.. U know what.. I don't have a dog in this fight.

Could be because they were fed dross FWD from who cares where by GM. Unfortunately for GM they couldn't build FWD as well as Japan, trying with trash from Korea then unreliable euros.

Yeah that doesn't work, the only unreliable euros people want are high end LOL, and no-one wanted Korean cars in the early days.

So to sum up hard to sell a full line-up when you only have one car people actually wanted to buy.