Comments on: Return of the Corsa?

By: Wheelnut

Wheelnut — Mon, 04 May 2009 10:59:10 +0000

I agree Brian68 the new Opel Corsas look very sporty [not like the car in the above photo]
HSV are looking at importing a few new Opels including the Corsa and Insignia – which could still happen despite the fact that Opel is most likely going to be sold to Fiat

Because as I have said previously GM still own the rights etc to Opels designs etc and could shift production of the Corsa etc to another plant before the sale goes through/ is finalised and sell them as Vauxhalls or Holdens etc

Its like if you wotk in an office for example… and you either leave or are sacked by your employer
Your employer holds the rights to use the spreadsheets or computer programs you created etc as you did them using property which belongs to your employer,
Not only that but its deemed that if your employer hadn’t directed you to create the spreadheet or computer program that you would never have done it – that is it wouldn’t look the way it does or do what it does etc.

By: Brianc68

Brianc68 — Mon, 04 May 2009 10:04:32 +0000

Just back from Europe and there are Opel Corsas everywhere, and they look great.
What an abomination the Kalos Barina is, when you think we could have had the Corsa!
Holden have gone so far downmarket I wonder if they’ll ever be able to recover any sort of brand image. All those horrid Daewoos, it’s hard to pick which one is the worst – Barina, Viva or Epica… Ugrhhh.
What GM should have done if they wanted to sell the Daewoos is badge them as Chevrolet in Australia like they do in UK, alongside the Vauxhaull brand.
They could have had a Chevrolet Aveo (Kalos) alongside a proper Holden Barina (Corsa) a few grand dearer.
But it’s too late now, the damage is done.

By: Nic

Nic — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:51:47 +0000

mmm…the anti spam is daewoo and where talking about a daewoo here. Anyway I like them both, but if GM can create a great car from korea then i would prefer a affordabel car that is safe and stylish then a safe and stylish over priced car. And when you tell your friends tell your barina is European they will not give a shit…because its not a BMW. And most of your friends wont know much about cars so they will assume your barina is an aussie. Ethier for me but in the long run a affordabel barina as good as a expensive one, would sell far better. Theres no point just having a european car for the sake of it. And Gm is producing the next chevy avep/opel corsa/holden barina/daewoo gentra/pontiac g3 all as the same car. Except the european corsa will just have a different extiorer and holden will be getting the euro exterior. But it will still be an south korean car.

By: Casey J

Casey J — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 06:30:45 +0000

I’m not happy with the holden barina tk i got. I can’t see my dash board and nor do i have a goood back view of my car when reversiing or changing lanes in free ways. this is too dangerous! Barina\’s really going down this time. I’ll save up for a FORD next time.

By: unknown

unknown — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 21:22:04 +0000

The Holden Barina (TK) known as the Chevy aveo earned 5 stars in crashed test. Why did it perform so badly in Australia?

By: franz chong

franz chong — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:46:02 +0000

They should bring back the Corsa as a Barina.I would buy one as a work car price it right competitive against Fiesta and Polo and the Japanese.1.4 to 1.6 litre engine good safety and equipment levels and styling.It’s looks like a smaller Astra.So what if Holden loses money on selling them better that than having to sell coffins and funeral plans with the cars.

By: Duck

Duck — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 07:38:41 +0000

^^^^^^^Agrees O!^^^^^^^^^^^^

By: o

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 06:57:34 +0000

lol we actually brought a tk barina and got rid of it a month later lol it was absolutly horriblre the seats are flat and low the proportions are all wrong the interior is fowl and worst of all it is outdated bring the corsa back

By: ads266

ads266 — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 11:32:27 +0000

Along with the majority I want Holden to bring back the Corsa. When I heard the news a couple of years ago re the re-badged Kalos i was so annoyed as i was waiting for the Corsa. I then went out and bought a Fiesta and could not be happier. The Fiesta is such a great little car. Holden have lost my business unfortunately and i was very loyal over the years. If they bring it back I will buy one. It’s a no-brainer decision Holden.

By: Duckula

Duckula — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 01:00:24 +0000

I have an XC ‘Beep Beep’ Love it, great little car, and driven the current Corsa in the UK, still a great car…Although the one upside of the new Barina/Kalos being a total piece of crap is that my XC is holding its value really well, Ive had 3 people offer to buy it off me… Long Live the Euro ‘Beep Beep’

By: CDXi

CDXi — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 00:11:33 +0000

GM-DAT has already secured a vital role in the GM world. Sales in Korea are way up and it’s supplying the Gentra/Gentra X (renamed, facelifted Kalos), Lacetti, Winstorm and Epica all over the world variously as Chevrolet, Holden, Pontiac, Saturn, Vauxhall, Opel and even Suzuki. GM-DAT product is here to stay. Holden will continue with the Captiva/Captiva Maxx and Epica (which I think still outsells the new Mondeo…even if both are selling very poorly). The all-new Viva will arrive sometime later this year/early 2009 on the new GM Epsilon platform. The facelifted Gentra X will become the facelifted Barina with a new, more powerful 1.6 and a much higher safety rating, possibly four stars along with that currently achieved by Viva, Astra, Epica, Captiva, Commodore and Statesman. Who knows what room this leaves for a rebadged Corsa and Insignia – Ford’s sales of Fiesta and Mondeo are steady but not strong and the Focus is neck and neck with the Astra. Holden’s new man Reuss will have a hard numbers case in front of him. GM-DAT will bring us ever improving, highly competitive bread & butter models. Maybe his strategy will be to add to the GM badge network here in Australia. We already have Saab and Hummer with Cadillac coming as well. Perhaps the new US made Kappa (?) platformed RWD, 3-series rival won’t be our Torana but a new Caddy and the Corsa/Insignia may come in as something else altogether. Whatever they may be and whatever pans out, the decision must make the ledger ink black, not red. That’s why we have lost the Zafira, Vectra, XC Barina and Tigra, and why we never saw the Meriva.

By: Signature

Signature — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 23:09:08 +0000

Unfortunately, I can see (from a business case) why Holden did what they did. Having previously owned a Barina SRi.. and looking forward to the next Corsa, i was incredibly shocked when they announced it wasn’t coming. What an incredible oversight of where the market was heading, the increase in fuel prices (leading to a greater demand for smaller cars), and the general further degradation of the Barina name, if not Holden itself. To start afresh would be good thing. The Corsa should be imported if possible as the Corsa, along with the Corsa VXR (Hello HSV…). Instead of marketing it only towards females, market it to a younger generation… widen the appeal. Spend some money on products other than the Commodore, advertise and market it properly… and it will find it’s place eventually. People know a good product when they see one. So many reviews of the car overseas have been supportive

By: John S

John S — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:32:10 +0000

hey no name…if i were to think about funeral plans everytime i overtake, maybe you should be thinking about the speed you’re travelling when you do.

and yes i was being sensible…cars with 2 stars NCAP ratings should either be sold with funeral or health insurance plans or not sold at all. take it or leave it…holden did the DUMB thing trying to pass off 3rd world cars to us and finally its biting them back where it counts…in profits and in credibility.

By: golfschwein

golfschwein — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 13:42:45 +0000

I’ve just had another look at the detestable thing with tiny wheels at the top of this page. Sheesh, I mean, this is real lowest common denominator stuff. Like the 120Y and the the Echo sedan, it’s the nadir of sedan styling.

By: John

John — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:17:10 +0000

Holden would have loved to sell a Corsa based Barina for a Kalos based Barina price. This was / is the conundrum faced by Holden. We know which way they went; it was a gamble which has not paid off in the long term. Corsa / Barina sales were slipping due to the price of the Barina and competiotion from Getz and Yaris (even though higher priced) and profits weren’t there. Same can now be said as sales of the Kalos / Barina have slipped further, so while profits may be made on individual cars, the sales are not there.

But to answer the question, it’s a no brainer; Corsa based Barina until a cheaper sourced equivalent car can be made e.g. Honda Jazz as made in Thailand

By: No Name

No Name — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 11:54:20 +0000

That a bit harsh John. You pays your money and takes your choice. Do you think about your funeral plans every time you put your foot down to overtake. Come on be sensible.

By: john

john — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 11:12:30 +0000

hahaha holden!

i cant believe all you people who bought holdenwoos out there…hope holden can subsidise your funeral or health plans…

hey that should be holdens next marketing plan…sell private health or funeral arrangements when you buy their korean crap cars!

By: No Name

No Name — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 09:25:07 +0000

Hi folks – Yep Holden have got it all wrong for you bods down under, What Holden should do is what we have here in Pommieland and sell the two lines separately. Daewoo of old is marketed here as Chevrolet using the cheaper Korean based cars, and the pricier Euro cars Agila, Corsa, Astra, Zafira, Vectra, Signum, Captiva sell separately. That way GM get a stab at the slightly better off market and the cheapo crap sector market. Makes good sense but personally I don’t think even our market is that big.
The Corsa by the way starts here at about $17K for a 1.0ltr rising to about $35 for a flashy one. Not really related to this but we have a Corsa VXR 888 limited edition 0-100 in 6secs, what a ripper.

By: Duck

Duck — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 08:07:58 +0000

Did you know the TK barina was originally priced at $12,990. But with high demands of people willing to buy it HOLDEN upped the price to $13,490!

By: Peter

Peter — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 08:01:27 +0000

The styling of the current Corsa is great, and would be very competitive in its class. I reckon that they should get rid of the Kalos and Viva; re-introduce the Corsa as the MY09 Barina, complete with a marketing campain to reinforce the return of the European Barina; and if priced competitively with the other euro-based mini hatches, I still think that they will outsell the combined total of Kalos/Viva. The Epica will probably be scrapped for whatever becomes the next Torana.