Could you link me to the code of conduct?

much appreciated.

I hope Holden brings out the VF soon(very soon)with updated V6 and interior at the very least before the public wakes up and realizes the Ford is the better car at the moment by quite a margin.(This from a Holden man)

The slick Holden marketing team can only fool the public for so long.

Come on Holden you have had access to the Direct Injected V6 for years,it is time to bring it on.

Hi Tom,

Here’s the link for you:

http://www.caradvice.com.au/18319/caradvice-comments-code-of-conduct/

Kind regards, Matt.

the omega duel fuel is 1690. Thats from wheels web site.

Tom – I too am confused – I cannot see anything in your comment that contradicts the code. Perhaps some clarification is required?

CA,
did I read it right in that the commodore dims interior at night and that the falcon doesnt???

because if i did, that is wrong because the falcon also dims interior screen at night.

Also interesting to read that the falcon feels more roomy for rear leg room, but thats the one and only dimension where the commodore techniclly sneeks a one up manship from memory

and the story of in the wet, its probably not so much the extra torque and power, but more so thats its reached at much lower revs than the commodore reaches it.
thats where the main difference is felt.

I drove the SV6 before i signed on the XR6, and the main difference between pulling power is that you have to wait till you get another 1500-2000 rpm up the scale before the commodore starts to move, and when it does start to rev, its like its goijng to spit itself into pieces

Goodfa,
I dont think holdens marketing people have anything to worry about. They have been selling inferior to the falcon commodres for a while now, they know what they are doing.
they sold plenty more VY’s-VZ’s than ford sold BA’s and BF’s

Phillip,

I guess in regards to your comment, We have to remember that when GMHolden started building cars here in australia, they were built by Australians for Australia. There was a cultural shift to these cars because at the time the marketing was brainwashing the public.
Lets look at today. So many generations have passed with parents, grandparents remembering the marketing of yesteryear, so they will continue to buy GMHolden gear.
I also think to most people, a car is just a car, it’s only the loyalists thay will complain.

A expected result given the Falcon is a fresher design. The VE in its base guise looks a bit tired.

AGREE PHILLIP,

most commodore buyers will never set foot in a ford dealership to try a falcon.and vise versa.protest vote will go to a aurion,accord,liberty etc in both camps.

nothing mentioned about resale.some old (1995-2000)xr6′s are finding value.later models are fair dinkum in the doldrums.mostly there’s a 2 grand difference between brands,holdens way.worth considering.both party’s are still losing there shirts…

agree with ve being heavy.vx to vz were far more nimbler.ve kills them for feel and steering.and esp is a winner.direct injection motors are needed yesterday…

fords best kept secret,the fg,should shine but it can’t.ford’s marketing have taken more blows than a 3rd grade boxer.i still remember when it came out,and 5 minutes later holden had its 60th anniversery model at $32990 driveaway,everywhere…

Good review, and no surprise the Falcon would outdo the Commodore given that… its a 2 years ahead. Would love to do a review on all large cars in base format.

I agree with Aaron, many people would just buy a holden because of its Australian heritage let alone influences passed down by the generations. Although all manufacturers carry this loyalist group, Holden commodores still top this list and no doubt will continue as Marcus said.

Why don’t they put these two AMERICAN cars up against a base model Camry?

They don’t because they “know”.

Elitist Youre right – they don’t compare a RWD Commodore or Falcon against a FWD Camry because they “know”…. they know that the Camry is in no way a direct rival to the Falcon or Commodore

Those looking at a Commodore or Falcon are highly unlikely to consider a Camry and Vice Versa

Toyota had the opportunity to make an all new RWD sedan which would not only become a direct rival to the Falcon and Commodore as well as a possible V8 Supercar competitor but also be a welcome addition to thier international line up… but they said No

Camry,ha ha ha not even in the same league.LOL.

Stick with your overpriced and underspecified skid steering Camaurion,Elitist.LOL.

I’ve driven camries, no thanks. unpowered 4 cylidner engines tied to FWD and suspension that would be more familiar in a boat.

They are great A to B cars, but i enjoy driving. And SV6/XR6 are both great cars to drive.

Gibbos right ,where are you guys shopping ?

Friends of Wheelnuts and mine just bought a 60th Anniversary model Commodore for their parents $30,000 drive away ! Nice car too……..

Given the bargains you can get on VE’s at the moment i would probably throw the price argument out the window.

But let me say this before the comments turn into an absolute mess.

The falcon is the better car, i agree with the review, however the differences really are that tiny that personal preference, even from a neutral person who couldn’t care less for a holden or ford, would easily swing the ballot the other way. These cars are both excellent but for sure Holden need to address the drivetrain issues in the VF update later this year.

If holden can do that then the commodore can easily start winning these reviews because no one doubts that the chassis in the commodore is adaptable enough to be as good and better then the falcons, all it needs is some retuning of the dampers, but then again ford can do the same again after that to the falcon in a counter to the VF, and so the battle will always rage on. And those who aren’t so anti-ford and holden are the only ones who will miss out.

marcus……..the commodore is not the most popular car for private buyers by a long long way. Out of 51000 sold last year only 13000 were to private buyers so you can see that it is a mainly fleet oriented vehicle and as such can get away with being a far inferior product than if alot of them were sold to private customers. I would say those 13000 private sales were to people who who would be Holden bogans and wouldnt have driven a good ar before buying a VE. So you see that the Commodore isnt very popular at all wjth the average motorist.

The Falcon is the better car,but the VE Commodore doesn’t look similiar to it’s previous model.

Everywhere you look there seems to be another Car Of The Year competiton…which one do you take notice of?

I’d say this is a fair review. Regarding the falcons boot being bigger(which it is by a number) its floor isn’t flat and does not seem practical.

Why Holden sells more than falcon is the deals they offer ie 60th anniversary for under $30000. It was mentioned in the review that price it the clincher.

Torque:

Where do you get the 13000 private buyers from?
Yes holden in the past were a very big fleet seller, especially to Telstra. When the VE came along in 2006 the fleet buyers wanted the cars cheaper and Holden told them no. They went elsewhere, Ford and most of all Toyota.

Theres no need to read the test as we all know the falcon is better .Did you see how bad that interior looks in the commondore now but ugly with all that fake go faster metal trim yuk.

the average aussie who knows nothing about cars will always pick a holden over a ford…its just the way it is and always will be. holden are seen as the real “australian” brand and ford just another car maker in their eyes.

And I thought one of those had a bench seat Frugal One, Sooo disapointing.
Mines the Mondeo thanks. Oh by the way my 3.0CDTi Vectra does the same as the Commie to 100 and gets 7litres/100K’s. Irrelevant I know and totally off topic. Ooops!

Ha Ha Spam word “Pontiac” wonder if thats better!!

I dont see what the issue is with the Falcon not having a flat floor.. Anyone who has owned and actually LIVED with the non-flat floor would swear by it.
Anything that is put ‘in’ the floor rather than ‘on’ it stays where it’s put, extremely practical for shopping etc.

PG……I agree. The Falcons boot floor is great because you can actually put a large box in it and it wont slide around eveywhere.It also allows for smaller items to be located so they dont fly from side to side. It is very handy for putting your shopping bags in as well. It is actually very practical in every day use.

If the VE had a boot floor like that I am sure it would be lauded as “great Holden engineering”.

Whilst we are talking about boots…only a small thing, but the split fold rear seats are a handy addition and I’ve never understood why the Commodore doesn’t offer this.

I use it all the time in my old AU and makes a large boot almost ‘ute’ sized. The Falcons have used struts on their bootlids for a while too…not sure if Holden have caught up there yet. These things make a notable difference to one’s ‘boot size’.

****

I think the main reason that the Commodore outsells the Falcon is because of its looks(Looks sell).If you put a SV6 beside a XR6 most people will prefer the SV6,but if they drove both cars most people will prefer the XR6.

Ford need to get people to drive the cars.

If Holden can update that interior and get a Direct Injected V6 with 6 speed auto,I think the Ford will be in a lot of trouble.

The reality is the better car doesn’t always sell the most.
Look at the mazda 3 and corolla, perfect example.

The important thing being who makes more money selling vehicles locally at the end of the day.

Yes, as well as a cheaper purchase price than VE, the FG has a far better base 5 speed auto.

Hi All,

I’m new to this site. Really enjoyed this review. What’s really astonishing in 2009 is that Commodore are still persisting with an antiquated four speed auto.

Its clear the Falcon is a generation ahead of the Commodore and I suspect the only way Holden manage to keep the tills ringing is by the type of deep discounting that’s so prevalent late in a model’s cycle, ($29,990 Drive away).

Looking at the performance of the Falcon at just a fraction over 7 seconds to 100km/hr many would argue its something of a full sized performance bargain.

Holden dealer bulletin.
Sedans (inc LWB) & utes up $1000 & wagon $1500 both including GST which will make the wagons $1500 more then the sedan equivalent rather then the $1k it was previously.

I haven’t heard if Ford is planning on following any time soon.

MOTORHEAD,

any reason you know why?dollar?greed?stupidity

Here is my list of what I think Holden need for VF:

Omega/Berlina to get 5 Speed Auto and 195 kW version of V6
SV6/Calais/V to get Direct Injection V6 (approx 220kw/370nm) & 6 Speed Auto (They need this engine ASAP)
V6 models still to Harsh under acceleration. (NVH improvements required).
Reverse sensors standard on all models (except Omega).
Front Sensors to be available as at least an option on all models.
Front end to get a more Aggressive/Modern treatment (new lights, grill/front bar)(especially SV6/SS/V).
Rear taillights to be of a similar design to Coupe 60.
Steering Wheel to be of a new design. (More sporty) (Looks too much like a Mitsubishi wheel).
A model to compete with XR6T (SV6TT: Twin turbo HFV6)
V8 Models outputs to rise to about 280-290KW.
Keyless Ignition.(Push button ignition is more of a gimmick but gives the car a more sporty feel)
Weight reduction (If it can be done economically).
With fuel prices to probably rise again V6 models to sacrifice a bit of power /acceleration for economy. (With the upgraded engines it will still have more power than outgoing VE)
Ford has significantly better fuel economy (with 6 speed auto).
Holden must improve economy significantly. (Will have to be under 10l/100km to compete).
Ford interior now a step above Commodore. (At least upgrade materials and maybe centre console design)(Get rid of the cheap looking red led display in centre console) (Large LCD displays are becoming the norm).
Large LCD display screen in dash to be standard across range (Monochrome display on low models & Colour on
Higher end Models with the ability to be able to option Colour Screen on models with monochrome displays)
SV6/SS/V to be lowered slightly.
Quality control still an issue (Noisy suspension, squeaks in dash, recalls,flat batteries, etc)(improved quality control).
5 year warranty. (This would give perception immediately that quality has improved) (Or maybe a small fee ($200 at time of purchase) to upgrade from 3 year to 5 year warranty.
Fixed price services for the life of the warranty. (My dealer has ripped me off more than once)
More Colour choices.
Some small cost wheel options to help individualise the car.

Torque – 99% of the development work on the VF would have been completed and paid for some time ago, you clearly have little understanding of how production timing in the auto industry works. Most of the stuff that appears on the VF would have infact been available in time for VE, but ALL companies, not just GM, always leave alot in the bag with a new model so they continue to offer “oh wow” improvements throughout the lifetime of a car in order to keep it fresh.

Torque…..I think you are right about Holden having no money. I just read that they are only going to support a couple of V8 Supercar Teams this year. So lets hear some shit thrown at them because all of the Holden bogans had a go at Ford when they did the same……..I am not a Ford or a Holden fan………..I just like good cars.

I also heard that the next Commodore will actually be a smaller car and will be a re-badged Daewoo to align it with the rest of their Daewoo range of vehicles. Go the Aussie Holden …….what a joke !!!!

I dont think the vf will have a new dash when it comes out thats one of the most outdated dashs ive seen, cant see how there goign to keep the commondore fresh its lights on top of the guards are to high the gaurds are to big its all to tired looking for me after only 2 years hate to see what it will look like in 5 years time

Torque – holden where just given hundreds of millions of dollars to “green up” their range from the government, so the last thing they are going to do is cancel the improvements that would make the car more efficient because then they would have to give some of the money back!

Funny thing is my mates BF XR6 Turbo gets more power than that $150,000 lemon they call the W (wankers)427 !!! 7 Litre pushrod V8, NOW THAT IS FUNNY !! Whats next? Going to 10 litres for another 50 kw ! lol Packing Crate engineering at its best right there !

Richo…..just stating raw facts , thats all.

The fact is the best engine Holden has ever had was a NISSAN engine ……just goes to show that they have never had and still dont have any talent in engine design or developement.

As for VE it shytes over Falcon with short front overhang that gives it a sporty poise and style in front of front wheels and swoopy tapered rear roof line of which the Falcon is not (this makes it age well unlike Falcon which is an unreal design but not classicly done).

Rack & Pinion, I think you are giving the Holden engineers a bad rap. The AFM engine is just another crate engine from the US, nothing was develeoped in Aus, just the calibrations, don’t blame them for it’s failings.

Yes the mighty 186 and 202 were good engines to since then there only had the nissan 3l straight six thats was a craker of an engine was almost quiker than there v8s at the time.Since then its all been down hill with harsh and noisy engines that have cope plenty critics from the press

Rack and Opinion: An XR6 wit 370Kw+.. I’d like to see that

I know the F6 is capable of producing 310kw… its an awesome car!

But to get an extra 100+Kw out of the XR6T means that it must have had a fair but of After-market work done to it.

Which negates your arguement as to it making more power than the W427….because unlike your mate and his XR6T you can go into a HSV dealer and order a 370Kw W427 from the Factory.

Then if you wanted to you could take the W427 to CSV CAPA or even WPS and they would do a bit more work to it which could potentially make it so the W427 produces well over 400Kw

wheelnut 370kw is not impressive and not hard to get out of and xr6 turbo all you need is a flash tune exaust system tweak the turbo and it will destroy the W427 then theres the Boss motor just drop a supercharger on it and it makes 400+rwkw.

If you really want a car thats fast just build one from scratch it still and going to cost as less then the W427.

I used to drive a BF XT falcon for work. My colleague had the VE Omega. I have driven both and felt the BF had it over the Omega in most areas this story already touched on. I haven’t driven a FG yet, but considering the BF was a better car (IMO) it stands to reason that the FG would be a laydown Misère.
The only plus I read was the VE is better in the wet because the FG can break traction. Well of course if you drive hard in the wet, you are asking for trouble.
There was no emphasis on the fuel consumption either. Despite the Ford having a bigger engine, producing more power and torque and being a slightly larger car, it still consumes less fuel.
OK, so clearly I’m not a fan of GMH, but they aren’t even on the same map as far as I’m concerned. Well done Ford and don’t drop the ball.
I must say, I really don’t understand why Commodore is so popular. At best I think it’s related to cheap fleet buys, at worst it’s blind badge followers.

THANK YOU FRENCHIE,

ALOT OF FIGURES HERE RE RETAIL/FLEET ARE PULLED FROM SOMEONES BEHIND…

Goodfa,

\”SV6/SS/V to be lowered slightly.\”

Geez mate! I spend a considerable amount of effort trying to minimise the damage to the front spoiler. Going lower would make it just that more difficult.

I\’d like to see (on ALL cars, not just Holdens), the return of simple controls for the stereo.

On my SS, you have to drill down thru several menu options, just to adjust the bass or treble.

My 92 Calais had a recessed button for each. Push either button to pop them out (you could leave them in that position if desired), & easily adjust Bass or treble.

There\’s so much mucking around making simple adjustments to modern car stereos, taking your attention from the road, that it\’s not worth the effort.

Simple, ergonomic design for stereo controls people!

You don\’t have to make it complicated, just cause the Germans have.

iDrive etc may be workable now (I\’ve never used it), but it went thru several generations where it was even less intuitive than Windows.

While I\’m on the subject, the steering wheel stereo controls on the SS are great to use, & simple in their execution.

Once you have most things set, like radio station, or a song you like, you usually only adjust volume from the wheel, I\’ve found.

Holden put that button on the right, for a righthand drive car, meaning you can still make the most likely adjustment with your right hand not leaving the wheel, leaving the left hand to change gear etc.

Mazda 2 has a similar control on the wheel, but put it on the left.

It sounds like it wouldn\’t be an issue, but I often find myself changing gears & adjusting the volume with my right thumb at the same time.
In the Mazda, with the wheel vol control on the left, you can\’t do that.
I would have thought that Japan being a righthand drive market, they would have thought of that.

Of course, wheel controls would surely be easily reversible for lefthand drive markets.

The Japanese don\’t always get it right.

mmmmmmmm an interesting way of breaking down the numbers JasonP,; )

I mean come on just admit the Commodore looks better when it comes to the exterior!

Duck richo is write its all personal prefreance i like the fg more than the VE but ive never liked it to begine with but i liked the VT-VZ i mean the omega looks crap and cheap why put such huge gards on it?.

i do like the ss though but i’ll take a G6ET over a calais and day it just looks like a omega with some crome, looks bloods good side on though but any other angle i’ll take the FG.

To all you non believers that VE is really just a fleet vehicle there was an article stating the facts i mentioned on another car website so i am sure you could find it if you looked hard enough……

Torque – i know the article you where refering to, and it was an opinion peice, not a factual article.

As previously stated, all fleet cars end up in the hands of private buyers anyway, if the fleets couldn’t find private buyers to buy them then the resales would be terrible (magna/380 anyone?) and as a result the fleets would stop buying them (exactly what happened to the 380).

Also, as previously stated when people salary package vehicles they are considered a fleet sale rather then a private sale even though its ending up in the hands of a private owners. It’s fairly commonly known that commodores, falcons, aurions etc are typically a fairly common salary packaged lease purchase and are much more commonly bought under these arrangements then mazda 3’s, lancers etc which accounts for SOME of the skewing of the numbers. Theres no doubt a lot of commodores get sold through fleets, but to dismiss their purpose as nothing more then a fleet special is just plain silly because the fleets only buy the omega’s, but a lot of SV6’s and calais get sold as well allegedly to “fleets” now why would a fleet be buying a SV6? Unless its specifically earmarked for a certain employee of course… If holden only ever sold to fleets why would they even bother advertising the commodore?

Think about it a little bit torque, your like a dog with a bone with this fleet thing but if you actually bother to have a bit of a think about it you would know that regardless of its levels of fleet sales, it still MUST be a popular car, it just is.

rich the fact of the matter is these private buyers that are buying these XFleet cars arnt buying a new car there buying a second hand car at like half the price of a new one.

Richo, the whole point here is we ARE talking new cars. This story isn’t about old model commodores vs falcon. Its the current model. Fleet buys account for the vast majority of sales of both cars. In the past the commodore was probably a better proposition when buying a second hand car. This will change in a few years when current fleet cars are sold as the falcon is superior.
Also, you seem to think fleet buys are only ever base model. I’m sorry but you are very wrong there. Many companies will provide a higher appointed vehicle depending on your position. Senior managers often will get a Statesman, Calais or Fairmont ect. It just depends on the company.
With all this talk of fleet cars, I gotta say although the FG has it over the VE, there is no way I would want either for a private buy. Sure I picked a BF over a VE when I did have a choice of company car, but now I get a vehicle allowance and have gone VW.

Good points Simon. However the Commodore commands a better second hand price as well as trade in price than Falcon. Take a walk around car yards selling VZ to VE and BA – BF Falcons and there is usualy a $1500 to $2’000 price differance. Our company recently traded in a few Falcons and Commodores, all in similar condition and mileage and this was highlighted with the figures we got. I don’t know why but maybe it has something to do with the Falcon taxi image. A quick check with Redbook shows it as well.
Like you I am a user chooser and was going to go European (Passat wagon) but the Holden Sportwagon had a much cheaper overall cost (price, insurance, servicing, finance) and even accounting for depreciation is still cheaper. Only time will tell.

Well obviously there are a lot of people here who apparently don’t think. I don’t think I’ll bother responding to richo anymore. “Do as I say, not as I do”.
eh179driver interesting point you make about resale. I wonder if that will change given when the FG fleets are getting auctioned.
eh179driver funny you should mention the Passat.I bought the TDI and everytime I drive it I’m glad I bought it.
I was considering going back to a fleet FG when I finish paying it out. But since fuel prices have plummeted and my vehicle allowance has gone up – over 20k now I’m happy to drive everywhere.

The FG Falcon looks very dated already to me after seeing a few on the road.

The VE Commodore still looks a sexy design even after 2 and half years.

The Falcon just looks like a tired dated taxi.
The fact it looks like the previous model doesn’t help, I have to double take sometimes to work out if it is the latest model or not, the headlights look the damn same !

Simon, I also liked the Passat but the deal I got on the Berlina Sportswagon was too good to turn down. All the talk on the website about fleet sales versus private sales in pretty amusing really. Most people who are on a salary package can get good discounts on their purchase anyway with very few brands saying no. Before I bought the Holden, I looked at VW, Subaru, Mercedes, Mazda, Audi and a couple of others. In all cases bar Mercedes, the discount on offer was between $5’200 and $9’600 without any negotiation. All I needed was a letter from my employer to get the initial price. The highest percentage to sale price was the Subaru Liberty. Mercedes would not offer a discount but offered free servicing, discounted interest rates and other incentives, but in the past few weeks have sent me a letter now offering a discount. It just proves that all makes are keen for business and the discount % to sales price is about the same as that offered by Holden and Ford. I think the comments about “holden make no money” might be a bit exagerated although I do agree that the Omega and TX are obvoiusly aimed at fleet. It’s the same in Europe with BMW 3 series, A4 and C class Benz. They offer models in Europe with cloth and Vinyl trim, steel wheels and all the same cost cuts as Holden and Ford offer here, all aimed at fleet and taxi sales. In England, BMW sells for 3 series seadans than Ford sells Mondeo. Often the deals on 3 Series give you a lower drive away price than Mondeo!
So the situation here is no different than anywhere else.

Richo says:”……and all Simon and torque can come back with is “13,000!!!” ”
Please indicate where I said that.

eh179driver – I see the sports wagon has been very successful and there are brilliant deals going. Sounds great so long as that car is what you are after. We will see if Ford does a FG wagon. I’m glad you are happy with yours and long live choice!

also, ford have already confirmed that they won’t be doing another falcon wagon. They are concentrating on the territory instead

John A the Wheels magazine is not the be all and end all of the Australian auto industry brains trust. They regularly get Car of the Year wrong. Think back to some of their selections (P76, Camira, Magna?). I read the article and was a bit bemused by some of their comments. Remeber most of these magazine articles are written by journo’s that one day are at X magazine and next week are writing for Hello or womans weekly or what ever else Packers group are printing. In general they are not mechanics or engineers or have any technical background. There is only a few that I listen to and they are the ones that really know what they are talking about. Most of what they write comes from the car companies press pack. I once read an article about the BF and it’s control blade rear suspension that he raved about. I happened to meet the journo at a V8 race and asked what it was and how it worked. He didn’t have a clue.
I have driven a few FG’s as rental cars and although I am a Holden fan, I was very impressed with the car. I read these magazines (and websites) use them as a bit of background information and then drive a few and form my own opinions. If I followed some of the comment in various forums, I would never have bought a Commodore. I am glad I got one though as it is a very very good car.

sorry i stuffed up in there, that should have been hindsight, not foresight! oops

Richo,
depends which award scheme you are following

Peter,
but i ask whats the true cost behind discounting to achieve sales ratings???

have a good aussie weekend

Both cars are too big and too thirsty. The average Australian family contains 2.6 people and a comfortable 4 seater with a fuel consumption of 5L/100km or 6L/100km is all we need. Some examples are Golf TDi, 308 HDi or i30 CRDi.

the old saying goes…..

low turnover = high margin
high turnover = low margin
the guy with the lower turnover isnt always making less money

Its basic retail really.
Also stock sells stock, and thats the reason why manufacutrers bang it out to claim the #1 sales crown.

to eh179.glad to hear your ve going well and you happy with it,half the problems with the car i had started out as minor issues untill the dealer got hold of it the minor issues become major and they also created problems that in the end i hated the car so much i just wouldnt drive it anymore,lost a fortune to get out of it but ohwell.and this is how switched on GMH is last week i get a letter from them asking if i was happy with my last service well the service was last june and the vehicle was sold in october.crook dealer and gm really doesnt care.

Eh179. We recently towed a caravan 6,000km with a 2.0L diesel and our fuel consumption with a caravan was better than a Corolla’s consumption without one. We also did a long trip with 4 adults and their luggage. Both trips were very comfortable and trouble free. Most 2.0 L diesels have more torque than a 179. (320Nm vs 237Nm)

Of these 2, which would have the better GLOVEBOX?

Things like, size of opening, lighting, depth, lock mechanism, looks, rattles, shape, lining etc etc

Very keen!

Cheers

F-0

The fact that the FG Falcon didn’t win Wheels COTY is not surprising. Wheels is, and has been for a long time, the Holden Lifestyle magazine.

It’s simple commercial reality. Holden spend more with Wheels than any other manufacturer, so Wheels, like good business practice dictates, look after their biggest customer with favourable reviews and plenty of awards.

Look back at Wheels past winners, it’s heavily biased towards Holden. Those that know anything about cars know that Holden simply don’t build cars that are that good that often.

The fact that Ford Australia built what is by far, and unanimously, and by a country mile, Australia’s best ever car produced in this country bar none, and the first locally built car in Australia’s history to score all 5 ANCAP stars, and all of this for well under a billion dollars, and NOT win Wheels COTY is apalling, galling, and a complete NATIONAL DISGRACE!

The fact Wheels lamely attempt to justify this decision by stating the Accord is the right size – and therefore the Falcon is not – is offensive and an attempt to cover up this travesty on the Australian motoring industry. It seems now they have taken it upon themselves to tell us what type of car we “should” be driving.

Zorrow – “The fact Wheels lamely attempt to justify this decision by stating the Accord is the right size – and therefore the Falcon is not – is offensive and an attempt to cover up this travesty on the Australian motoring industry. It seems now they have taken it upon themselves to tell us what type of car we “should” be driving.”

That is well said, Zorrow. It is rather stupid how the motoring journalists in this country now seem to have a bias towards European cars and are making us have a European point of view about the size of our cars. For goodness sake, the Falcon is in no way a car that is too big for us Australians and sadly anyone skeptical about the fact the Falcon is the best car built in Australia would most likely use how it didn’t win 2008 Wheels COTY to defend their argument.

Devil,
I think you are overstating the Govt influence on the numbers. Sorry, but you are just plain wrong.
2008 totals (rounded up to nearest thousand)

Private: 324,000
Busines: 190,000
Rental: 45,000
Govt: 39,000 (and that includes all of them, from your local council through to fedreal).
And let’s not forget that most depts. now have mandatory “green” policies which exclude anything more than 2.5 L engines.

So you see, the Govt. fleets are in fact a drop in the ocean compared to other business fleets – exectly the opposite to you assertion.

Thanks for backing me up Thommo by proving that Govt have a bigger fleet than rentals. However at least I am man enough to admit my ocean was not as big as I first thought!!! I don’t know how the mining industry fits in there though! What I said did do one thing though, it made people think about more than just 1 or 2 things!!! By the way, I never said that the Govt was the biggest buyer of fleets, only bigger than rentals and mining, however I could be wrong about mining before the “credit crunch”!! I was just doing what a true “devil’s advocate” does, putting across another point of view….. I must say it worked too!!! TVFPIC

Actually if you were to consider all departments as a single Govt fleet, then perhaps he is right. However each dept. and sub organisation arranges and manages their own fleets.

Don’t forget that the Govt figures also include all of the local councils, now clearly that is a different bucket of money than, for example, centrelink.

Biggest single fleet is the Dept of Defence, but many are operational, not just “domestic”.

VNDriver, I will agree everything you have said…………except for, the last paragraph. The engine in the Holden VN Commodore was based on the Buick 3800 (which is American) design but it was made in Australia.

I have two Holden Commodores. A VT and a VN. I will agree with you that the Commodore is a very reliable car and no matter what Ford do the Commodore will still sell more than the Falcon. The Commodore’s image is so strong in Australia!

My 1990 VN Executive Commodore Wagon still goes, but shes been through hard days! And the 3800 engine in the VN Commodore are very noisy when you here them going around today!

Therefore, that concludes why you see so many Holden Commodore’s on the road!

How can you possibly say that Holdens last longer than Fords? Congrats on the VN still going, but how many VBs, VCs etc do you see? Not many! See a lot of XDs, XEs and XFs though. Seriously, why do you think most cabs are Fords? Because they LAST!

Can any one tell me which of the two cars is more reliable and cheaper to run as i keep my cars for a very long time .