Today's announcement that GM is selling its Opel/ Vauxhall division to PSA group makes you wonder what impact (if any) this will have on upcoming Holden models.
What do you guys think?

There were plenty of other cars rebadged as a Holden that were good, some were bad. Apollo, Nova (although these were assembled in a GMH facility), Scurry, Shuttle, Suburban, Jackeroo, Rodeo, Piazza etc. It could still be a good thing if they'd just choose the right cars, like Camaro, GMC/Chevy trucks and similar stuff. I'd personally rather a Holden Camaro or a Holden K2500 than an SS sedan or a Colarado.

PSA Group is Peugeot/Citroen, which AFAIK is majority owned by the French Government.

Dr Terry

I simply can't wait till we can trace the Commodores linage back to the 2CV!

SUVs now outsell large sedans, Holden needed a good SUV but the Captiva just did not hold.

Holden will import and badge what will sell, that is what shall dictate the market.

Warren

Holden can't hold a candle to Toyota and they are about to take them head on without anything that's either better or competitive.
As for the SUV market, they have nothing to offer. But they could easily have taken on the Prado and Landcruiser with proper US built stuff. You may see lots of euro and jap SUV stuff in cities but if you venture into regional areas it's all about Toyota 4WD vehicles.

^^I've been hounding Marks 4WD since I bought my Hilux in 2010-11 for them to hurry up with the LS conversion for it. However they have been concentrating on the Landcruiser commercial market, specifically auto conversions and portal axles. There is a massive market out there for an affordable LS conversion into 2005+ Hilux, especially the plethora of higher kM diesel ones that are no longer viable to repair due to the final vehicle value. I know of a few good utes that need $5-10k spent on fuel system and diesel and transmission, that are parked in backyards. Same deal with 3.0L GU Patrols. Any of these are candidates for an LS conversion.

Edited by user Tuesday, 7 March 2017 8:51:14 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Well for me guys, I am (at the moment) keeping the 2003 4.8 Petrol Nissan Patrol Wagon and the (Last of the Last Aussie Coupes) HSV Signature as daily drivers.

Both great in their own way and still good enough to use daily with most of the comforts but without the much more complex newer technology.

I was at the Ballarat Monaro Nationals when Nick Gontas showed me his mates HSV Signature . ....I just wan They all look similar and are just becoming rounded off safety capsules which ted one and a few months later I found one. Typical Holden build quality of the day. Great all rounder, but not quite there (Honda Accord or Mazda of the day had better build quality).

The Patrol is built (and drives) like a truck. Much more robust than most Fourbie wagons these days.

Both vehicles have a soul. This is missing from SO many cars of today. Simply ,seamlessly, silently moving people. They are now designed to make people forget they made a journey in a car.

Enter the GM-H situation. The new executive team of Holdens are GM yes men armed with a range of product from all over the world. Our market represents just one State in the U.S.A. General Motors management has changed from passionate strong individuals who wanted only an Automotive career to Uni grads applying new age business models anywhere they end up. Many bounce around in completely different industries through their careers.

What we see here as a huge matter means little in their US headquarters. Interestingly, until recently the Australian Motor Industry has punched hugely above its weight. It has influenced and in many cases directly affected major changes in products offshore. ALL of this is slowly being lost.

So far as selling off the Holden brand in Australia goes? Well that will be just another decision on the meeting agenda of these new young UNI grad execs one day in Headquarters before they move on to the next item on the list.... no big deal for them really.

Ford and GM-h can bang on all they like about keeping styling and testing/durability facilities here but in the end it will shrink and disappear.

And as far as our Holdens being rebadged Peugeots goes? Well I reckon it is London to a Brick on that most of our stuff will end up from China.

S o one day we could well see a Great Wall built Commodore SS or a Cherry made Hsv........adds new meaning to the word crap.

Cheers.

How many people realise the Mistubishi ASX platform is also underneath the Peugeot 4008, and some other Citroen?
And what about all the co-development between Nissan & Renault?
Even Mercedes have co-developed a dual-cab ute from the Navara platform.

Today's car industry is really a global melting pot of shared development costs, and commonality where it's not being seen.
Australia were pioneers in this respect with many shared components across numerous brands. Components from the likes of BTR, PBR, Hella, Bosch etc - even back in the early 80s, and possibly the 70s, with the basic Bosch ignition systems sharing many core components.
The "Industry Seat" is the perfect example of the sort of collaboration going on these days - but the Aussies were doing that 30 years ago!

The car industry has to do it to survive, and the modern day euros & yank cars have to share driveline development costs to remain competitive. BMW engine in the current Mini? PSA engines in various marques? Even in the 70s Audi/VW & Porsche were developing & sharing engines - was it doomsday for them? Audi's surge in modern popularity, Skoda making a somewhat successful return to the Oz market, and even how VW still came out OK after "dieselgate" are good examples of where co-development has meant the opposite to doom & gloom, and ensure popularity, growth, and profitability.

So this whole "PSA buys Opel/Vauxhall, so Holden is doomed" thinking is way off the mark. They won't kill off many decades (perhaps close to a century?) of brand history - like GM never killed off the Vauxhall name, and want to hang onto the Holden name. What I see coming from this is much more co-development & sharing of platforms & drivelines, simply with different body styles & interiors - very much how the 4008/ASX don't look anything alike, despite sharing the same platform.

The Vauxhall brand continued on in the UK, despite the majority of their vehicles being sourced from Opel (and other GM global operations).
GM do see the value in the history of a brand, and have already publicly announced several times that the Holden brand is staying.

The purchase of Opel/Vauxhall by PSA has no effect on the Holden brand - it's still owned by GM in the USA!

There's 2 very glaring problems with your "comparison" - JD bought chamberlain over 40 years ago, so it's hardly relevant to a very different market that we have today, and cars have a much wider audience with the general public than tractors.
The majority of Australians live in highly populated areas. Ask 100 of them who live in a metro area to name a car brand, and most will know Holden. Ask them to name a tractor brand and most would be stumped. 2 very different markets.

Using a more modern JD brand example, JD bought Waratah in 2000 and they haven't killed off that brand......
https://www.deere.com/en...waratah_attachments.page

Edited by user Thursday, 9 March 2017 10:41:14 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified