While there’s no doubt a number of outside factors led to the demise of Holden manufacturing, many continue to point fingers at General Motors itself. First, Peter Hanenberger spoke out and slammed GM’s mismanagement of the brand in the mid- and late-2000s. Now, we know Holden had a secret SUV program in the works, and back in the United States, GM killed it.
The automaker said it would build the proposed SUV on a North American platform, rather than the Zeta architecture, which engineers designed and developed to underpin numerous GM vehicles from SUVs to Cadillac sedans. Motoring reports GM never built the SUV, and former Holden employees back up the report.
Zeta’s global aspirations tanked when GM entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy and numerous programs were axed. However, Holden insiders say the SUV was proposed after the Ford Territory SUV boomed with success in 2004.
“Ford made a really good decision around Territory … We looked at cars exactly like that way back on Zeta and the GM leadership at the time said no. They said ‘we can do these better and more efficiently because they are the types of cars we do, off North American architectures rather than the Zeta architecture,” former Holden advanced vehicle design chief Mark Sheridan said.
When asked if GM followed through on its promise to build the vehicle on a different platform, he shook his head.
The report states the death of the Zeta-based SUV embodied the difficulties Holden had in sourcing SUVs for its portfolio. Today, crossovers and SUVs regularly outsell passenger cars. Many believe the Zeta SUV could have kept Holden manufacturing alive as the volumes increased at the Elizabeth factory. In total, Sheridan said GM planned 15 global Zeta-platform applications.
“If [the SUV] had been allied with the Zeta architecture or something that we manufactured in Adelaide, then Adelaide wouldn’t have had the volume issues and the productivity issues and the cost issues it had.”
Comments
Even it would not have saved their production.
When you oh see every Auto MFG cut production there is s major issue in the market bigger than on model.
Because of cost it would never been brought here either.
I agree Scott3
I wish GM would of made this very public! I am glad GM cancelled it! Australian people don’t deserve any performance cars or trucks from GM.
Brian, I think your name is really Brain and your surname is certainly Dead. What an idiotic statement, you are nothing but a troll.
The difference is that I actually believe my statements
Brian, you don’t speak on behalf of all Americans, nor would they agree with you.
And your negativity towards Holden and Australia serves no useful purpose whatsoever.
Well then we disagree
Brian while there were issues involved here no one should dance on the grave. Many involved had no control over the government actions that had taken place nor the globalization of the auto industries.
Even in WW I both the Germans and Allies may not have agreed but they did show respect for each other.
This would have been a good vehicle but it would not have changed the out come as exports would have been limited and in country sales would have been not enough to support Holden production.
While many pile on GM and Holden here they were the last to try to keep production of all the others in country. It was a hopeless fight but at least they tried. I think they held out hope for other changes that never came.
Not everything in the auto industry is fun or easy and this is the dark side that can not always be avoided.
To the critics provide one other company moving more auto production to Australia or held on longer.
As for you Brian show some reverence as you may only get a choice of a imported car some day if things don’t change.
See I am a different person then most around here, I put GM as a top priority. When I see people not making GM a top priority I tend to not be a fan of those acti ones!
So when the Australian people turned their backs on GM for what ever the reason they claim it makes me take GM side!
Because of this I don’t think Australia deserves anything fun or kool from GM. Give the Australian people boring fwd cars, because next time they have a chance to back GM maybe they will think twice before turning their backs on GM.
The Australian people brought this on themselves and now I hope GM teaches them a lesson for years to come.
Sorry to be so blunt but somebody has to be willing to tell the truth. In reality if the Australian people would have embraced GM and help them stay in Australia I would be singing the praise for the Australian people.
But they didn’t show any loyalty to GM and now I show zero loyalty to the Australian people!
Like I said you get what you deserve!
I have a great love for GM myself but there is no need to rub people’s nose in the S#$t.
The vast majority here had nothing to do with this and yet they are paying the price with a job loss.
You appear to confuse the failure of their government and the changes in the global market as the true closing of mfg there.
GM really did not want to leave but they were left with little choice as at the end of the day they need to show a profit.
What’s next are you going to go make fun of kids with second hand smoke cancer?
Show a little class.
Blunt is one thing but this is beyond that.
Show a little class
Not supporting GM is showing no class!
What next you going to go to Houston to taunt people with flooded houses?
? GM decided to kill RWD. The Commodore would have been FWD in 2010 if GM hadn’t decided to just throw in the towel instead. They decided not to replace the Zeta platform.
Why should Holden get rwd cars from GM now? I feel they don’t deserve any
Brain we really don’t need your loyalty !!! Who are you? Nobody so what difference does it make !!!!!
Your exactly right I am a nobody and your people don’t have fun, kool cars to drive anymore!
Score board says I win!
Have a nice day!
And by the way let me know when you start building cars again! Yea must hurt really bad!
I disagree! It’s spot on! If Australian people loved GM as much as some people say they do then sales of Holden cars would have never dipped to a point that profits were compromised!
Like I said they turned their back on GM, and yes the perople did have something to do with manufacturing leaving. If the people were buying Holdens like hot cakes then manufacturing would have never been shut down!
Dude you’ve got it all wrong, we don’t love GM !! Holden maybe a subsidiary of GM but it’s Holden we love not GM !!!
The only “fun ” car GM America makes is the Corvette and it’s way over priced !!
We’ve been screwed by GM, Holden was by far the best of all GM brands and they folded it to help prop up their other brands then sold us a dump by giving us the best of the rest then sell Opel off !!
I just hope they close Holden down as it is Holden no more and I certainly won’t be buying GM products again.
P.S The Kia Stinger is looking real good !!
By not loving GM you sealed the fate of your Holden brand, had you stayed loyal to GM Holden would still be there building cars but the people of Australia were to ignorant to see that!
If you think the corvette is over priced then you are delusional, the corvette has the best performance for the price in the world!
GM was smart to get rid of Opel/Vauxhall and hopefully Holden is next. You ungrateful people expect a company like GM to be loyal to their fan base but are not willing to be loyal to the company that provides you with kool cars. Running to a different car company is the easy way out but that seems like that is the Australian M.O.
By the way tomorrow I am going to go look at a new camaro and a corvette! What will you be looking at? Oh that’s right it’s that Kia thing you talked About!
Have a nice day!
If you like hairdressers cars that’s fine by me 🙂
Really that’s what you have! Hairdresser cars! I think you would be pretty hard pressed to find a hairdresser with either one of those cars!
This Holden thing has really hit you Australian people hard, it’s screwing up your head!
The Australian Gov’t reckoned that we could run our car industry with ever decreasing tariff protection, unlike every other car producing country in the world, including the US. The only place that wanted a level playing field was Australia. Almost every country producing cars exported to Australia for practically no penalty. Great for competition they said, great for consumers they said. 53 different makes of car with all their different models went on sale here in a market of 20 million car driving people. Was that ever going to work? Not likely. Then there was the GFC and our Dollar went berzerk, which made our exports, Chevy SS and Police very expensive. I think you guys had a bit to do with that one.
GM had already pulled the plug on our Middle East business because they wanted to sell Cadillacs there. Another nail in the coffin. Hence the demise of our industry. Not just Holden Brian, but Ford and Toyota have now gone too. There’s more to it Brian than just the love of a car. You should get out more mate. Read the international news you might just learn something.
First of all I am not your mate! I am not here pat you on the back and make you feel good. Giving you a soft place to land is not my job, go ask your mother for that!
I don’t care what happen to Ford or TOYOTA! I am a GM guy and if the people of Australia really loved having Holden as a manufacture in Australia then they would have supported GM owned Holden! I am sure there are plenty of sales in the ca r industry to support one car company in Australia! But you didn’t and now your crying because now you have to live with crappy fwd cars! And all I am saying is that if Holdens were flying off the lots you still be building your precious little cars!
So yes I hope you never get a camaro, corvette, v series Cadillacs or anything kool and fun to drive! Because the people of Australia don’t deserve it!
Do you think the people of Australia will learn their lesson?
Tool !!!!
I was just trying to explain to you the circumstances that we found ourselves in that contributed to the death of our ENTIRE industry. I can’t argue with the fact that Holden didn’t have a product that people wanted to buy, if they had a decent SUV, maybe things would have been different. But also the size of our market, the reduction in tariffs, dumping of products, narrow mindedness from our Government, not listening to industry experts, all made it, in the end not viable. It wouldn’t have mattered how many were sold, in fact they couldn’t make them fast enough in the end. But.. All this explanation is wasted on you, so GM Authority, you’ve just lost a customer.
In all of that you fail to blame the people of Australia for letting it happen!
Oh Brian, aren’t GM products just, well, dreamy….. l love the Malibu, Sonic, Cruze, the list just goes on and on.
You can connect your smart phones to them and everything. Best of all most all of them have only got two thing-a-me’s near your feet – one for go and one for stop. I’m glad they got rid of the third one – could never figure out what it did. And they’ve got front wheel drive WOW WEE it’s just great for, I don’t know – everything.
God bless GM
Stop eating paint chips!
And Mary B and her wonderful staff strikes again! Doesn’t look like she went out of her way to promote a much more promising product line that what we have today. Nice job….keep showering us with front wheel drive, no soul, three row child carriers!
Korea is going to supply rear drive mid size ( Holden – Falcon ) cars soon. The Kia Stinger sales will go crazy. Ford stole all Camaro sales with the introduction of the Mustang. You cannot go anywhere now without seeing Mustangs everywhere. Now that the tuning companies are in on the act , there are some real flash Mustangs out there. For me , I’ve gone to Mercedes Benz rear drive V8 E-Class, wife drives a AMG C-Class. and our SUV is a ML-550 AMG, and a SL-350 CC Coupe is due for Xmas. All service parts are sourced in the USA ( towbars included) Some of these vehicles are $ 100,000 each cheaper than buying in Australia. Buying in Japan is a breeze for late model , low Km’s cars. Once we are able to buy from Japan and the UK , and import to Australia motoring will be very affordable , and we will be able to drive anything we want to. Read Cadillac in here , as they become very much cheaper to buy and import. Bring on Import Cars to Australia, nothing is made here anymore. Luxury Tax , that sucks as well, although I believe it is going to be axed, Ferrari will double its sales in Australia when that Tax gets abolished.