Shortly after the last VE Commodore rolled off the line on Friday of last week, the refreshed VF Commodore commenced production on the following Monday. And this video shows a beautiful orange Commodore SS V Series sedan making its way down the line at the GM-Holden Elizabeth plant in South Australia in a fast-motion way and to a catchy beat:
Hat tip to Matt B.
Comments
Funny how I saw this article after just watching the live stream of Ford AU boss announcing the death of Australian production. Ford are partly to blame themselves, their marketing team is stupid and didn’t advertise the Falcon for the past year. RIP Falcon, Falcon Ute, Territory, FPV, the 4 litre in line 6 cylinder engine and maybe Ford Performance Racing (V8 Supercars). GM made a good decision in keeping Holden and Australian manufacturing.
@alex @holden4life
Did you hear that Ford’s Australian arm literally just announced they are shutting down
Yeah, I just watched the live stream. I commented on this article about it but I must have posted it after you loaded the article.
I’ll be discussing it on my FB page, facebook.com/holdenisaustralian later today.
haha ya your post wasn’t there when I loaded the page.
It’s too bad, I wonder if Eric Bana is going to go Hulk.
I think a lot of Falcon fans will.
I’m surprised they announced it so soon but I’m not surprised they are killing the local cars off. Ford didn’t care about the Falcon or Territory, that’s why there was little marketing done for them. As soon as the fear of the cars’ death came into light, sales slumped more dramatically and even their imports lost sales numbers. As with Mitsubishi when they closed Australian production, Ford will struggle to sell anything for the next few years. Hopefully Holden can gain some market share as a result of this. Maybe Ford fans will start to buy Toyota Aurions…
I think Ford AU decided a long time ago, that’s why there was virtually no Falcon news at the motor show last year, that’s why they didn’t make a big deal about the V8 Supercars Austin 400, that’s why they bought FPV from Prodrive and moved FPV production to Broadmeadows, so they could kill it off easily.
I wonder what will happen on social media as the news spreads.
V8 Supercars have already been in talks with TWO other manufacturers to enter in the future. Chrysler is one (with their 300) and rumour has it Hyundai is another (with the next Genesis sedan on its way to Aus). Ford will no doubt have to pull out if they can’t get an RHD Taurus over here quickly.
Aussies have until October 2016 to save the two cars. I may be Holden 4 Life but I admit the Falcon and Territory are great automobiles.
One aspect to notice here is that demand (and annual sales) of RWD cars in Australia (and globally) has been on a steady decline for the last decade or so. So what Ford is doing is simply electing to focus (no pun intended) on global vehicles such as the Taurus and Fusion — vehicles that are significantly more profitable for The Blue Oval than the RWD Falcon (and variants).
By far and large, it’s the enthusiasts that care about RWD vehicles… and I have a growing suspicion that Ford will satisfy their desires with the next-gen Mustang — which will finally be a global car (more or less).
But that brings up the same debate as to whether you’d buy an SS or a Camaro, the SS/Commodore/Falcon are cars that can seat a family comfortably, have decent luggage space and are available with performance trim levels AND luxury trim levels etc . The Fusion is already sold here and isn’t a huge success but does steal sales from the Falcon. The Taurus is a FWD piece of crap. Doubt we will get the SHO model but even if we do, the Commodore will beat it for sales.
The Falcon is older than the Commodore (which replaced the Holden Kingswood name plate and car) and has a closer tie to Aussie culture and history than the Commodore (but Holden itself has more). Yes declining large RWD vehicle sales have been happening for the past decade and the Commodore has suffered like the Falcon but the Falcon has suffered more as a result of Ford’s decisions and Ford Australia’s decisions. Australian RWD enthusiasts like how the Commodore and Falcon are everyday people’s cars where as BMW and Mercedes are prestige and expensive. The Mustang, Camaro and Monaro were sports cars that couldn’t occupy a family. Holden are launching the best Commodore yet with the VF model and I’m sure they’ll sell enough to keep the Commodore in the top 4 on the sales chart which is impossible to do in our new car market. Holden are also pushing the VF to the marketing limit and are making sure no one rules it out just because it’s in the large car segment. The next (and last) Falcon will probably be launched without anyone even knowing anything about.
So what I’m saying is that whilst declining RWD sales have been happening, Ford can be to blame for the fact that the Falcon has suffered significantly while the Commodore is hanging on (it held onto 4th on sales charts despite declining sales, a 7 year old model, not as fuel efficient as small cars etc. That’s pretty impressive to do in this time and I’m sick of mainstream media ignoring this). Ford gave up and rumours of the Falcon and Territory’s death started (long ago) and as a result, no one wanted to buy a car knowing it will die. Mitsubishi closed Aussie production in 2008 and just 7 weeks after announcing it. As a result their whole line-up experienced a massive decline in sales and a similar thing is already happening to Ford. Mitsubishi practically gave away the last stock of the 380, imagine what Ford will have to do with 3 years worth of stock.
As for the Territory, it’s very unique and pretty much fills a hole in the SUV market. Remember our discussion on the Colorado 7 vs the Territory vs the Captiva 7? The Territory is known for it’s market leading passenger space, boot/trunk space, it’s sedan like driving feel and more. No other SUV is like it and nothing other than a Commodore based SUV could replace it. I’ve driven a VE Commodore and a Territory and so I know my idea of a Commodore based SUV would be a sales success.
As for Ford’s decisions that have impacted local production, in addition to poor marketing as I previously mentioned, they also turned down the opportunity to build the Focus in Australia. The Focus is in that segment that has increased sales and is a market leader. Holden brought the Cruze into local production but Ford AU didn’t want the Focus. Holden showed they wanted to change their business plan to suit market changes. Ford only bought out the Eco Boost Falcon recently but FAILED TO MARKET THE PRODUCT. Seriously, anyone who is not an automotive enthusiast like you or me will probably have no idea it exists.
Ford head office (global) hate Ford AU as well. The Falcon is a brilliant car that could have success like the G8 was going to have and the Chevy SS will have, but Ford USA just won’t give the OK to an export program. With the Territory, Ford AU had to practically get on their hands and knees and beg for Ford to give the OK to make the car.
One curious thing I’ve always noticed/liked about the assembly line videos of the VE (and also the VF) is how the dashboards are installed to the firewalls. An above mounted robotic arm that lowers, tilts, and pilots the dash through the windshield frame and then seats it in one fluid motion.
In all the assembly videos I’ve seen of GM plants in NA, there’s always two people guiding the dashboard as it sits on mounting rig while it slides through either of the front doors and onto the firewall.
What gives? I can see the pro’s of the robot. Apart from the ability to pilot the dashboard through the windshield frame, I don’t know why GM wouldn’t use the robot in NA.
@Grawdaddy its due to the size (width) of the Zetas, and the accompanying dash size. The dimensions make it difficult to manually slide the dash in through a door opening without scratching it in the process; meanwhile, the robot offers a seamless and damage-free way of installation.