Holden Confident The 2018 Commodore Will Fill Australian Expectations
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There’s a reason Holden decided to retain the “Commodore” nameplate for an upcoming, imported successor; the brand thinks the inbound car has earned the right to carry on the homegrown nameplate. A nameplate that has been traditionally affiliated with muscly, rear-wheel-drive sedans.
Mark Bernhard, chairman and managing director of the Holden brand, told Motoring that Australians will not be disappointed with the 2018 Holden Commodore, despite moving to front-wheel and presumably all-wheel drive.
“The next-generation Commodore will have the performance and the technological capability behind it to carry the Commodore name,” he responded categorically.
He cited the technology, and more importantly the performance, as attributes to carry on the iconic Commodore name, despite not being produced locally in Oz.
“That’s part of the reason why we feel so confident using the Commodore nameplate, because the car will [meet existing Commodore customer expectations].”
Holden will receive a reworked variant of the 2017 Opel Insignia as its bread-and-butter sedan. Just how reworked remains to be seen, though. Twin-turbo V6 engine power will likely be paired with all-wheel drive to fill in the rear-wheel drive, V8-powered void left by the Commodore SS. A wagon is also planned, but the ute, sadly will be retired for good.
We’re expected to catch our first glimpse of the 2018 Holden Commodore at the 2016 Paris Motor Show next month, where Opel will unveil the 2017 Insignia, previewing what to expect for those down under, as well as here at home in the expected 2018 Buick Regal.
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I still don’t believe the Insignia being rebadged as Commodore. This was never confirmed, for one.
Second, Holden Insignia already exists and it’s sold down under.
And third, just by this statement “That’s part of the reason why we feel so confident using the Commodore nameplate, because the car will [meet existing Commodore customer expectations]” it’s clear that next Commodore will be a RWD sedan. “existing Commodore customer” won’t accept anything else but a RWD saloon, in V8 or V6 form. If GM thinks otherwise, than they are not worthy being Holden owners going forward.
Wrong, it was confirmed many times not only by Karl-Thomas Neumann (CEO of Opel) but also by Holden guys.
Let’s be honest here folks. This is more than likely going to be a large, FWD-based sedan with four and six cylinder powertrains under the hood! While most of us have no doubt it’ll have decent handling, it’s safe to assume it’ll fall well short of the RWD-based, performance beast that currently wears the Commodore name! This supposed Insignia-based Commodore will not and cannot match the expectations of the current VF Commodore! Even if Opel/Holden engineers do decide to put an emphasis on handling and performance! None of GM’s brands make very compelling-to-drive FWD-based sedans! The best Opel has today are there OPC line of performance hot-hatches, which are very good but the driving dynamics cannot be translated into a midsize or full-size sedan!
At the end of the day, performance cars are becoming more of a niche in the Australian market, as it is here. Thus, the best-selling cars are some of the same type you see here, which is what I’m certain this next Commodore is going to cater to! So unless Holden can wow us with the next FWD Commodore, I’ll remain skeptical!…
Something about all this just doesn’t seem to add up. Surely GM knows that meeting existing Commodore customer expectations means a large V8 RWD sedan. This is as ridiculous as saying a Chevy Cruze hot hatch would be enough to satisfy Camaro customers. Surely we’ve missed something! This can’t be the new Commodore!
We have two things to expect here. They are not going to replace the performance car with FWD only.
We will see a AWD TT V6 version that will our run and out handle the present car. Or we will see something entirely new here.
We have yet to see a replacement for the Impala yet and could they be working on a Impala Alpha or something else much more interesting?
That is not to say the Insignia is not coming but it may not be the only new model.
Not saying this is a slam dunk but I would wait to see what you get before you complain.
An informed opinion is much more intelligent than a ignorant gripe.
If it turns out lousy then gripe away but till then at least know what you are gripping about.
As an Australian, my first expectation of a Commodore is that it be manufactured in Australia (just like my current Commodore) !! if it does not meet my first expectation then I have no other expectations at all !!!