Every so often, Wheels releases a list compiling the best vehicles Australia has ever built. Among the list was the original Holden from 1948 (in seventh place), and the 1934 Ford Utility (in tenth). There was also the Holden Monaro from 2002 in fourth and the legendary 1966 Ford Falcon XR GT at fifth, but they’re all eclipsed by one clear winner: the Holden VE Commodore.
Introduced in 2006, and only now being retired in place of the more modern VF Commodore series, the VE won the judges over with its design, engineering, value and versatility. Briefly, Americans enjoyed this Australian masterpiece in the Pontiac G8, and we’re grateful for that, even if it was short-lived.
Comments
That was a difficult choice.
It will be in Number Two in Two years when the VF arrives.
Very true. A car that has more potential than GM knows, it ticks all the right boxes being both practical & performance with no compromises just a simple old fashioned V8 in a RWD saloon 😀 not everybody demands a SUV.
more potential in what market? wasnt a great seller in the US
Truth is this car Is to the limit now. They have done all they can to it. This is per a GM engineer.
Moving it to the Alpha will bring this car things not possible now. It will undergo the things that the Camaro will see that will truly make it a world class car. The loss of weight will bring performance more HP would never bring in handling and braking. Also the car will get more MPG than it could even dream about now.
Having spent time in a Alpha as it is I am amazed how good the platform is and I am excited to see what all it brings to the other brands. The Alpha will do everything the Zeta did but only better.
This is a nice send of for the VE and a good set up for the VF.
I cannot understand why GM won’t sell the new one worldwide under Holden, Chevy, Vauxhall, Opel & Buick badges depending on which ever country it’s sold in. It’s odd that they are choosing to cherry pick markets when there is quite clearly demand for it.
@V8 Jon: “under […] badges depending on which ever country it’s sold in. ”
When you look closely at what GM is doing, you should be aware that this time is forever gone, this time where there was one GM brand per country (except the USofA, which had a plethora of brands).
No, today GM projects Chevrolet and Cadillac as global brands, and Opel (whith Vauxhall) and Buick as in-between depending on which country it is in (in China, both Buick and Opel coexist, but do not sell the same car with a different brand badge). And of course, Holden is just the Chevrolet in Australia.
Wake up to reality!
There is however option B & C which is rebadge it or buy German.
How I would love one of those Utes in my driveway!