Commodore wins Middle East award
December 14, 2007 by Karl Peskett
The Chevrolet Lumina SS, aka Holden Commodore SS, has picked up the “Best Sports Saloon” award for 2007 from CAR Middle East magazine.
The SS was awarded the category from 125 contenders, presided over by six judges from around the region. Holden should be rightly proud, considering the Middle East is not exactly devoid of stunning cars, some of which demonstrate considerable skill.
“The Chevrolet Lumina SS has a 6.0-Litre V8 Corvette engine under the bonnet. Need I say more? This all new-car from ‘down under’ is a fantastic reinterpretation of the cult Lumina SS.” said the editor, Shahzad Sheikh. “The vehicle edged ahead of some fierce competition to deservedly take the ultimate sports saloon award. It perfectly demonstrates GM’s renewed commitment to giving us the cars we really want to drive.”
And therein lies the secret to its success. We’d have to agree, as the latest VE sports models are certainly driver friendly cars.
The Middle East is now Holden’s largest export market.
Print it: 
****PRIMO!****
This could have been Ford with its Falcon if they had vision and the balls to stand up to FORD HQ.
The Falcon is doomed, Fairlane dies yeaterday, last one went built went down the line.Vale!
Cheers
F-0
I don’t think so frugal.
It would be doomed if we all thought like you mate.
when petrol is as cheap as it they get it there.. and the mentality levels are less than the preschool children here.. what did you really expect?
*yawn.
What the hell is that supposed to mean Alien?
Would that be the same Shahzad Sheikh who was/is deputy editor at Used Car Buyer magazine U.K.?
just shows how much holden have stepped up with the ve
goog,
Can you explain how they have stepped up to the plate? they have recall problems comming out of there a$%e
Only thing i can see they have gotten right is the outside look of the car. It still feels cheap inside, has constant problems and this is the car they thought would stick it up the euros? wrong!
Holdenwoo fan or not – congrats to the GM for getting the award. So who\what is CAR Middle East anyway?
oh yeah congrats to them totally! it is a huge achievement!
Agree Flying High, that’s a huge achievement. Congrats GM
Another market that likes overweight,unfrefined,fuel guzzling dinasours!! unbelievable!!
Yes, beating 125 contenders in the Middle East market is no small feat, congrats Holden.
we toryn.. the whole way it looks and goes and how good all the electrics are inside and how smoothly it is.. and ever been in 1 over huge bumps it just goes over them so smoothly.. the vz were crap, but the ve just have gotten better
“Best Sports Saloon”, does that mean it beat the likes of the M5 and the RS4? If so, then I’d love to know their criteria.
maybe they dont have M5 and RS4 over there yet???
Goog, that was lame reasoning, i admit but it was a good effort to take that gong!
Congrats to GM……….but I agree with Tonyn!
As far as the Fairlane being dead,Ford haven’t ruled out a replacement!Or it coming back!
Goog……it did take them a while though didn’t it,to finally match Fords package!
So did GM when collecting their award say.I would like to thank BMW ,Audi,and all those other manufactures that had the great ideas we copied!!hehehe Im going to get canned for that .Oh well!!
value for money has to also be taken into account, yes the M5 and RS4 are definetly better cars, but are they $100,000 better? For most people, not really. (for the record tho i would much prefer an RS4, but could never justify it)
Guys, bear in mind that the RS4 and M5 weren’t released to the Middle East market in 2007, whereas the SS was.
The RS4 and M5 were released in 2005.
Yep true Richo……in this Country!!!
Pity the Holdenwoo didn’t win the important Australia’s best family sedan awards, do they even win anything worth mentioning in our own country, middle east success is just a marketing stint to gain more sales, I must say Holdenwoo Australia forgot to tell middle east all the warranty and quality problems VE has encounted here, but why would you, just another concoct under the table deal like with wheels magazine.
“It perfectly demonstrates GM’s renewed commitment to giving us the cars we really want to drive.”
Therein lies the marketing lesson.
It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be what the customer likes.
Yet again, I pick myself up off the floor after suffering uncontrollable fits of laughter at the incredibly funny and sophisticated Holdenwoo jokes.
Nah, I’m actually taking the pi**. Guys, desist with Holdenwoo jokes right now. It makes you look so…unintelligent. Get your point across another way.
No no, let them go on, its actually quite funny to watch people eat sour grapes.
For the record, I’m having a nice two flavored ice-cream now, bubble gum and turkish delights if you must know, hahahaha :P
OK GM, HOLDEN, DAEWOO TAKE YOUR PICK BUT YOU FORGET THIS IS A MARRIAGE THAT NEEDS BINDING, THATS WHY ITS HOLDEN WOO NO OFFENCE DUDE..
I agree they look and feel cheap inside, i went for a drive in one the other day, the handbrake looks especially cheap, i think the plastic in my vs looks better than the new one
Hey Momo….I have to ask…..why MOMO ?? Your Italian designed and dress in Leather??? hehehe
Great products though!
I don’t do ice-cream…….I do like Turkish Delights though!!yum!!
importjap,
1 qs. have you personally been to the middle east? or stayed there ?
I’m not offended, OH MY. I’m just saying it’s well worn, not funny and it kinda makes you look, well, not very smart. Maybe even pre-pubescent. So it was just a friendly hint to do yourselves a favour, that’s all.
And Momo, what sort of greedy guts enjoys 2 flavours of ice cream at once. Ice cream makes me sick. I can’t eat more than 6 flavours at a time.
whats with every bagging the ve.. just wait until the new ford comes out and we can check there plastics.. all u people are bagging the ve and prob havnt even drive 1 before to see how they go..
Goog don’t you agree the handbrake does look and feel like its going to break off in your hand………..very budget!
Unless Im mistaken its not just the Ford supporters on here thet don’t like the tacky interior,STU has compared it to his VS!
wow i thought the VS interior plastics and quality couldnt get any worse.
i know quite a few people that have or have had VS’s and they are shocking and even at a young age!!! thats not saying much for the VE if STU thinks the VS is better
Richo,
you beat me to it.
a big factor in the equation would have been the value for money. when they judge the cars when do they ever take into account mechanical problems? all of those occur after the test drive, and even if it stuffed up in the testing there is still no criteria that ranks that sort of problem.
compared to what you get for what you pay whether its quality or not doesnt get considered either.
the other thing would have been its fresh entry to the market which would have made them sit up and look with anticipation
Yep I guess what Karl said earlier was correct …….
Really Andrew M the VS was bad too!! I do think Ford need to change their plastics as well even though they have upgraded some in the BF from the BA !
Problem with the hard plastics they scratch easily thus not wearing as well! I think the kick panels are the same material Ford used 35 years ago and that too was crap!
Gee I have to tell my kids when getting in the Cobra “don’t kick the door panels cause you will scratch them” How much extra does it really cost for better plastic material Ford??
Reliability ……..your right Andrew doesn’t seem to come into the equation of judging ..I guess cause they don’t get the cars long enough.
You know I love my BMW’s ,they have a BMW Mag in the UK where they buy second hand BMWs ..anything really……and drive it for several months,tell you what it costs to repair and up keep at the end of each month, a great concept I think our local car mags should do……gives you an indication of what to expect! Some are high k cars,I think its a great idea! Also shows how good the cars manufacturer is overall I think!!
Alien,
Yes, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Morocco, and Algeria. I’m British, but my family background is Middle Eastern/North African and I don’t take kindly to your comments, thanks.
Ok ImportJap……….I was going to your defense {and did ..but didn’t send it} but thought
you would reply to that one!
Im not sure what he was trying to get too!
Thanks Bavarian :) I’m sure Alien just didn’t think before he spoke. It’s really not welcome on a car site (or at all for that matter).
Yep I agree!!!!!!!! In full !!
importjap, while those countries you mentioned are perfectly fine – they weren’t the places I was aiming at. Saudi Arabia was more my target when I posted earlier. Having been there and seeing their lovely driving and the way they regard traffic rules.. that was more than enough for me.
Top it off with their road fatality rates (have you ever seen those?), their ridiculously low literacy rate, the price they pay for fuel, their ignorance in this modern day and age (I mean women still cannot vote and to drive a car? forget about it..)
So when I saw that some sheikh had awarded the Commodore, nothing against the commodore but plenty of reasons why I believe the sheikh and whoever else was involved in that team wouldn’t be credible enough.
Take it kindly or not, just go do search on youtube and you’ll see what I’m on about when it comes to arabs and driving.
Who cares how they drive or who is driving them. One third of the vehicles Holdens makes are exported to the M.E. Its good for our economy. Any how most of the vehicles exported are the WM Caprices.
lol…yet another market who loves fuel guzzling fat bogan.
look,i admit i dont know much abt cars..but by using common sense,some1 will think theres sth “wrong”:
the s65 has a 4litre v8 that produces 309kw
and the commodore ss 6litre v8 on produces 270kw
and even tho the LS2 6litre v8 that is in the HSV only produce 307kw..big cc engine but no use
i just wanna know when is the 20 litre 1200kw HSV commin out. thatll beat a veyron, haha. isnt that holdens answer to everything?
Oooops i meant 40 litre. 20 litre is just too small don’t you think?
Stfu, yes the old pushrod LS series engines arn’t all that competitive per L of displacement these days, i think you would find the fuel consumption figures are pretty close anyway, and because of its alloyhead, the LS engines are actually light aswell, they rev freely and have stacks more torque than that Audi engine… So who really cares about the size?
Non-Bogan, you must think you’re pretty clever with a name like that, because obviously only bogans could like these Commodores. Let me guess, you would think a small turbo engine would be best to fit under the hood? I think you should go speak to Mercedes about that, tell them their new 6.2L V8 is too big, because as we know, only bogans can drive cars like that.
As a Ford fan, I would like to say this.
The new Holden is something Australians should be proud of!! As we should be of the current and upcoming Falcon.
No where else in the world are Rear Drive large cars available at such a price with such high levels of handling dynamics, quality, safety and value.
Anyone who dismisses a Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon purely because of the manufacturers they come from, OR the market segment (large car) they compete in OR that typical cynical aussie dinosaur rubbish… NEEDS TO WAKE UP!!
For a country of such a small population, we have done well… REALLY WELL!
The ford VS holden thing can be healthy for competition, but generally is destructive of the perceived image of each brand between the losers who continually speak cr/ap about their chosen ones competitor!!
I drive a Ford, but would happily drive a Holden any day over majority of the other cars available for the same RRP!
And before everyone starts up with the reliability bull/cr/ap, My experience is that EVERY make has its LEMONS and DOGS. That includes Japanese, European, Korean.
mitchell.yes,mercs have 6.3l v8 but look at their power/kw…it\’s 0.2L more than a commodore but has 29 more kws
as u say the per L of displacements just doesnt pull the most out of the engine/thus the efficiency
and btw…the engine im talking abt belongs to the bmw m3,not the audi
Well said Alec.
Buy Aussie whenever possible.
Fightin’ words from Alec. Beautifully said, mate.
If I have a good year, I’ll trade the Vee Dub for a VE Sportwagon. In Morpheous.