GM Bankrupt. Do you want a small car..?

[Dog_ger]

No way.

I am happy with my 2008 SS....

What car do you want to drive...

[Psyber]

I'd really like a nice low mileage 993 Carrera 4S - the last real Porsche made.
The problem is people are keeping them, and it's rare for one to pop up on the second hand market.

[the big bang]

I'd really like a nice low mileage 993 Carrera 4S - the last real Porsche made.
The problem is people are keeping them, and it's rare for one to pop up on the second hand market.

got my eyes on a holden sportswagon, or a dodge nitro. sick of having "normal" cars (currently have a VS wagon), and wouldnt mind splurging a bit on a decent car.

[Felch]

I'd really like a nice low mileage 993 Carrera 4S - the last real Porsche made.
The problem is people are keeping them, and it's rare for one to pop up on the second hand market.

got my eyes on a holden sportswagon, or a dodge nitro. sick of having "normal" cars (currently have a VS wagon), and wouldnt mind splurging a bit on a decent car.

Dodge Nitro ??? Decent car ???

Holden Sportwagons look good, not alot of room in them but look the part.

[Booney]

What car do you want to drive...

One of these thanks Dog_ger.

[mick]

I'd really like a nice low mileage 993 Carrera 4S - the last real Porsche made.
The problem is people are keeping them, and it's rare for one to pop up on the second hand market.

got my eyes on a holden sportswagon, or a dodge nitro. sick of having "normal" cars (currently have a VS wagon), and wouldnt mind splurging a bit on a decent car.

Dodge Nitro ??? Decent car ???

Holden Sportwagons look good, not alot of room in them but look the part.

Useless piece of equipment if you really need a wagon (I do) it's a shame when styling overides practicality. The Porsche Cayenne also fits into the useless vehicle category as well, all pose, OK for taking little Tarquin and Matilda to St Peregrines but useless as a 4WD.

[Sojourner]

Have spent some time comparing the Mazda 6 Wagon to the Commodore Wagon, the Mazda 6 being front wheel drive offers nearly the same room in the rear, with cheaper rego, insurance and running costs. The Commodore is more powerfull. What concerns me is when you compare the two together, its fairly obvious that the build quality of the Mazda 6 is better than the Commodore, I feel that it is in this are that Holden need to improve what they are trying to sell in order to raise their sales figures.

[Felch]

Have spent some time comparing the Mazda 6 Wagon to the Commodore Wagon, the Mazda 6 being front wheel drive offers nearly the same room in the rear, with cheaper rego, insurance and running costs. The Commodore is more powerfull. What concerns me is when you compare the two together, its fairly obvious that the build quality of the Mazda 6 is better than the Commodore, I feel that it is in this are that Holden need to improve what they are trying to sell in order to raise their sales figures.

That's Holdens problem though - they actually need to produce the Commodore to the same standard it is now (or better), at a cheaper cost to them. Same with all Aussie carmakers.

We do make good cars here in Australia - both the Falcon and Commodore are good, value for money cars and compare pretty well to overseas models. Obviously they arent up to the level of most Japanese-built cars, but even some of them have let their quality slip (Honda springs to mind).

[dedja]

Have spent some time comparing the Mazda 6 Wagon to the Commodore Wagon, the Mazda 6 being front wheel drive offers nearly the same room in the rear, with cheaper rego, insurance and running costs. The Commodore is more powerfull. What concerns me is when you compare the two together, its fairly obvious that the build quality of the Mazda 6 is better than the Commodore, I feel that it is in this are that Holden need to improve what they are trying to sell in order to raise their sales figures.

I used to own a VT Commodore and a Vectra ... the Commodore did a rear engine oil seal (under warranty luckily) which was a known problem for 10 years (yes, they basically used the same engine for over 10 years) and the Vectra nearly killed me a couple of times by stalling while turning due to known electrical problems. I should have known better because I worked at the Elizabeth factory for 3 months when I was at uni many years ago (hint, don't ever buy a VL Commodore).

I couldn't trade both quick enough and headed to my local Mazda dealer and bought a MPV (a 3.0L V6 which put out more power than the 3.8L V6 Commodore at the time), then later a Mazda 3 SP23 ... after nearly 7 years, couldn't be happier. The build quality of the Mazdas are light years ahead of Holden.

Also, Mazda had 6 cyclinder versions of the Mazda 6 but never brought them out to Australia, instead opting for the 4 cyclinder model and later diesels ... whilst GM and Holden opted to continue building large v6 or v8 models, oblivious to the changing market.

The result ... Mazda sales have gone through the roof in recent years.

I don't want to see Holden go under, but they really have only themselves (and their parent company) to blame.

... and just to be pedantic, GM have filed for Chapter XI bankruptcy, which is very different to bankruptcy in Australia and is essentially a company debt reorganisation tool, as opposed to a debt repayment avoidance tool.

[Felch]

I agree Holden's have themselves to blame, but for other reasons. There is still a very large market for 6 and 8 cylinder cars. Modern 6 cylinder cars do not use much more fuel than some of the larger 4 cylinder cars.

Holden's, and western carmakers in general, are in strife because they spend too much money producing their product. They don't produce a bad product.

Mazda hit the jackpot as far as car sales go, mainly due to the fact they came up with a great looking range of cars. Their cars have always been good quality, but the styling was not up to the same standard. Now every woman out there wants a Mazda 3, because they look good. By the time you factor in buying and service costs, a Mazda 3 is probably around the same price as a Commodore or Falcon.

[dedja]

Now every woman out there wants a Mazda 3 ...

Not every woman, I wanted the 3, not my wife ...

[Felch]

Now every woman out there wants a Mazda 3 ...

Not every woman, I wanted the 3, not my wife ...

I have to admit, i wouldn't say no to a SP23 !!!

[Sojourner]

The issue that worries me with the Commodore is that my Brother in Law has one and it has had to have some defect in the controls fixed in the steering wheel for the second time, both times it was over $600 for the work as the airbag has to be removed each time.

Holden didnt do themselves any favours by cutting the Spanish made Barina in favour of the Korean one which had initally a 2 star rating. The Vectra that was made by Opal in Germany was another good value car cut in favour of a cheap import. they have cut Isuzu from the company and I notice that on North East Rd an Isuzu dealership has opened up in competition against them. Isuzu products traditionally sold very well through Holden because of the quality, I think cutting back the quality of the footprint of vehicles the company offers is the quick way to failure. Ford on the other hand are fitting the Volvo V5 engine to the Focus and are doing better as a result. Surely Holden could source things through other arms of their company to improve their offering rather than cut it back?

[Felch]

Yeah, but i reckon you get issues with every type of car. Obviously, Commodores and Falcon account for a large portion of the cars sold, so the incidents of defects/problems will be higher. As i said, Aussie cars aren't perfect, but they are still pretty good.

Its funny how Holden changed their tact when it comes to imported models. Ford changed theirs to, but in the opposite direction. Mondeo, Focus and Fiesta are made in Europe, where as the previous model Festiva use to be Korean-made.

We seriously looked at a Barina a couple of years back, but the safety rating put me off.

[auto]

If your after a small car, check out the new Holden Cruze. Saw it last week and its an attractive car and its definetly value for what you get.

[Psyber]

I agree Holden's have themselves to blame, but for other reasons. There is still a very large market for 6 and 8 cylinder cars. Modern 6 cylinder cars do not use much more fuel than some of the larger 4 cylinder cars.

I compromised - my 1995 Audi S2 is a 5 cylinder - but it is turbocharged and has the hot chip.