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Holden’s chairman and managing director, Mark Reuss, said in a message to staff that the result was “disappointing because the organisation was well placed to make a healthy profit in Australia before world markets fell in the third quarter of 2008″.

Holden’s loss is a further blow to the local car making industry, after Ford Australia announced a $274 million loss for the same period.

“The Holden senior leadership team is doing everything possible to return to a profitable position as quickly as possible,” said Mr Ruess.

“This includes attacking the revenue and cost sides of the business with equal enthusiasm.”

Toyota Australia was the only local maker to report a profit for last year, although its figure of $123.4 million after tax for the year to March 31 was half the profit of the previous year.

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It refused to place signage on the car, and that was that. The statement read:

“V8 Supercars Australia and Nissan Australia have reached an agreement to end their partnership, in which Nissan provided the official Safety Car for the Championship Series.”

“Nissan fielded the world class Nissan GT-R as the official Safety Car for the first four events of the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series with great success and exposure for both brands.

“The decision to discontinue the partnership was amicable and taken in the best interests of both parties. The two companies look forward to exploring other partnerships in the future.”

As yet, a replacement hasn’t been found. But that’s hardly surprising, isn’t it? V8 Supercars has slipped off the radar of many motoring enthusiasts.

Surely, if the sport was as big as head honcho Tony Cochrane makes out, then manufacturers should be falling over themselves to have their car at the head of the field. Surely the exposure is worth every cent spent.

And surely they wouldn’t have a problem with alcohol signage put on their car, would they?

Let us know what you think in the comments.

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While other questions even attracted a friendly personal greeting from Mr Henderson, in regards to the Pontiac G8 he could not have been more blunt or evasive – even ignoring the majority of the question.

From Greg Migliore–AutoWeek
Does the Pontiac G8 have any kind of future within General Motors as a re-badged model? What kinds of changes would need to be made to the car for it to be sold under another brand?

Fritz Henderson: I am not a fan of rebadging.

This response is in stark contrast to the tone carried by Mr Henderson previously throughout the session.

Fritz Henderson: Bernard, welcome and good to hear from you. got any good cartoons of me? re channelling resources, 100 per cent of our product, technology and marketing spend will now be focussed behind the four core brands and 34 nameplates. Each one needs to be a hit and that is our challenge/commitment.
my best to james!

It is certainly disappointing that Mr Henderson would not provide a valid response, however it is likely the G8’s fate had been sealed even before Pontiac’s demise.

Earlier reports predating any pending closure of Pontiac were already predicting that the G8 would not carry over to the next-generation model, citing limited corporate resources and fear of rising fuel-economy standards as the main motives.

With Pontiac to be phased out by 2010, this would seemingly provide a convenient opportunity for GM to cull the less-than-frugal sedan as the company shifts toward a greener image.

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Mr Stephens stepped into former GM product boss Bob Lutz’s rather oversized shoes and now has the task of whipping the company’s somewhat reduced inventory of brands into shape.

As they are saying the US, Pontiac is toast at the end of the 2010 model year, when it will be closed down, or possibly sold off.

While some Australian media have been putting forward the idea of the US version of the Commodore being badged as a Chevrolet and sold to police forces, Mr Stephens doesn’t seem to strong on that idea.

“I know there’s still discussions on it,” said Mr Stephens. “But Chevrolet already has several sedans. How many sedans do you need to cover the waterfront?”

As Automotive News put it, “The G8, engineered and assembled by GM subsidiary Holden in Australia, has been a bright spot for Pontiac.

“With little advertising support, the sporty, rear-drive sedan, which starts at US$29,000, has sold well. Some versions have the same V-8 engine as the Chevrolet Corvette.”

Automotive News says some enthusiasts are lobbying GM to turn the G8 into a Chevrolet Impala SS. The current front-drive Impala SS is being phased out at the end of the 2009 model year.

The reports also suggest the G8 also could morph into a performance sedan for Buick, one of the GM brands that will survive, which has not had a rear-drive performance car since the mid-1980s.

Its also been reported that GM Holden in Australia has put a business case to Cadillac in the US for rear-drive models based on short- and long-wheelbase versions of the VE Commodore.

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“I can’t say forever because some day when I’m not here, and more perhaps when someone may have that idea, but we have not been approached, nor have we been offered, nor are we pursuing any sale of Holden.”

Mr Reuss said it was not a case of there being no potential buyers for Holden, which made a profit last month.

“I think this is a very closely held asset,” he told the ABC program.

“This is one of the iconic brands in Australia, and I think it always will be as long as we take care of it and feed it with the products and the different dealer services that we do today, which are very good.”

Mr Reuss said earlier in June that Holden would remain unchanged by General Motors’ filing for bankruptcy protection, which was the biggest bankruptcy application in US history.

He had said that Holden would join the New GM – a more efficient company comprising GM’s best brands – to be launched in the US, and would concentrate on manufacturing a four-cylinder car in Adelaide from 2010, improving technology across the popular Commodore range and launching its Cruze model.

Holden employs more than 6000 people in Australia, including 3100 in South Australia with the balance spread across other states, particularly Victoria.

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Initial speculation – or perhaps more accurately, wishful thinking – had the Pontiac G8 pegged to join the Chevrolet family or perhaps even Cadillac as an entry-level model.

This rumour has been bluntly denied by Mr. Henderson who responded simply with “no.” when asked whether the G8 would live on by a GM employee during the web chat.

Continuing support for the Holden-based G8 was also met with disappointment during a more structured question and answer session with the General Motors President and CEO.

While participating in the session, Robert Hammen posed this scenario to Mr. Henderson:

“I know you have also stated that the G8 won’t be rebadged as another manufacturer’s car (i.e. a Chevrolet). Might I ask you to reconsider. Find a way to take Holden’s next-generation VE platform vehicle, call it the new Chevy Impala, build it at Oshawa alongside the Camaro, and keep the people like me happy.

No economical RWD sedans = no more new GM purchases for me (sorry, a starting-at-$37K CTS isn’t in my price range new). I recognize the problems the new CAFE regulations will present, but there is still a several year window of time to sell a ton of these vehicles (including police/taxi fleets who will have fewer choices when Ford discontinues the elderly Crown Vic/Grand Marquis/Town Car platform). I know fleet ain’t great, but I think you’d sell a ton of these to regular folks, too (what’s the fleet penetration of the current long-in-the-tooth Impala?). Build these on the Flex line at Oshawa, with a mix of models like Holden does (V6, V8, lux, sport, et. al.) and you’ll have a winner on your hands. The platform is simply too good to ignore, going forward. To do so would be incredibly foolish.”

General Motors President and CEO Fritz Henderson responded with the following:

“Robert, I appreciate your comment. Certainly, the G8 is going to be one of the Pontiacs we’ll miss. But, we haven’t closed the door on RWD now or in the future. You point out both the Camaro, which is definitely in the mainstream price range of today’s cars, and the CTS, which is an amazing value in the luxury sport segment. As we map out our future vehicle needs, if we can find the right opportunity and price point to do a world-class RWD car, you can bet we’ll consider it.”

There is a bitter-sweet silver lining with GM still committed to the Australian-developed Chevrolet Camaro, however this does little to improve Holden’s export situation as it is built at GM’s Oshawa plant in Canada.

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Mr Reuss said Holden will continue normal operations in Australia and New Zealand and did not expect changes to its business after General Motors announced it has taken court action in the US to launch a competitive New GM.

The fact that Gm Holden has a taxpayer-funded deal in place to build a new small car, based on the Delta 2 platform used for the recently launched Korean-built Cruze, is believed to have played a big part in ensuring that Holden was saved.

“Operations at Holden are unchanged in Australia and New Zealand and we expect it to remain that way,” Mr Reuss, said today.

“GM has clearly stated that all of its businesses in the Asia Pacific region – and that includes Holden – continue normal operations and are not directly impacted by this process in the US.

“No operations outside the US are included in the court filing or court supervised process.

there had been speculation that Holden, like other GM corporate entities such as Saab, Hummer and even the GM Europe operation, would be sold off.

“Holden is a subsidiary of GM but we are a corporate entity in our own right – an independent company under Australian law,” Mr Reuss said.

“Beyond that, GM has indicated that Holden will be an important part of the New GM and we intend to maintain our focus on Holden product programs and activities.

“That means technology improvements to our best selling Commodore range, launching the all-new Holden Cruze this month, and the introduction of our locally-built fuel efficient, four-cylinder small car next year.

“We continue to run full operations at Elizabeth and Port Melbourne, producing cars for our 300-strong independent dealer network.”

However, the loss of a $1 billion deal to supply Commodores to the US, as the Pontiac G8, when GM decided to axe that brand in the US, has lead to production being cut in half at Elizabeth and workers being put on reduced rosters.

Hammering home the message that it’s business as usual in Australia, Mr Reuss said; “We don’t anticipate this decision will have any direct impact on Holden’s workforce, dealers, or suppliers.

“Holden customer warranties are not affected and we continue to deliver the sales and service experience that our customers expect.

“We wouldn’t normally issue statements to highlight nothing has changed, but we appreciate that customers will naturally ask questions about this sort of announcement from the US.”

Mr Reuss said Holden would remain informed of developments in the US, a process that had been determined to reinvent General Motors.

“The process being used in the US is unlike Australian and New Zealand law. It is a fast, court supervised process that permits the sale of selected assets to a new entity,” Mr Reuss said.

“Unlike court-controlled processes in many other countries, US chapter 11 allows GM to deal with the financial issues that have built up over many years and for New GM to emerge as a healthier business, better able to deal with the challenges of today and tomorrow.

“It does not mean ceasing to trade.”

He said that pending approvals, the New GM is expected to launch in about 60 to 90 days as a separate and independent company from the current GM, with two distinct advantages: it will be built from only GM’s best brands and operations, and it will be supported by a stronger balance sheet due to a significantly lower debt burden and operating cost structure than before.

GM has previously indicated it is negotiating with prospective buyers for the Saab and Hummer brands. GM is working closely with dealers, including those in Australia and New Zealand, to continue delivering vehicles and maintaining after sales and servicing requirements.

Asked if GM Holden would move to remove these brands from sale in Australia Mr Reuss said that to the contrary it would support the brands until they were sold and then would seek to work with the new owners to continue to provide support for them in the future.

GM Group Vice President and President of GM Asia Pacific, Nick Reilly, said: “We believe this step – which was taken with the support of the US Government – is the most efficient and effective means for New GM to emerge with substantially less debt and lower operating costs, and with our operations positioned for long-term success.”

Mr Reuss admitted that GM Holden, through its ownership of the GM Daewoo operation in Korea had an exposure to about 50 per cent of the debt accrued by that operation.

He declined to specify exactly how much that debt was.

Mr Reuss also said that from December, when the New GM came into being GM Holden would effectively be ‘fenced off” and would operate by itself.

He said this would mean that the company would receive operating capital from GM but would need to generate a positive cash flow, which he said the company was doing.

Mr Reus said the recently launched Holden Cruze, which is imported from Korea, and a similar but different Cruze model, which will be built in Australia from late next year, were significant steps in the future of Holden in Australia.

He also signalled a change in the model development of the company’s long-running large car, the Commodore, saying that the company would be doing business in a different way in the future, with ongoing development of the model replacing major model revisions.

“Next month’s Commodore will be the new Commodore and the month after’s Commodore will then be the new Commodore,” Mr Reuss said.

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The Sportwagon beat a number of competitors including the Hyundai i30cw, FG Falcon G-Series and Audi A4.

The AIDA award was judged by a panel of local and international design experts on a set of strict criteria including innovation, functionality, quality, environmental and emotional appeal.

Holden has sold over 12,000 examples of its Sportwagon since its launch in July last year.

For a full review of the Holden Sportwagon, click here.

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Self-styled automotive media expert and publisher of the New Zealand based Dog and Lemon Guide, Clive Matthew-Wilson, has claimed that a Chinese takeover of Holden “was a real possibility.”

“All of this looks just a little bit like self-promotion thinly disguised as complete speculation,” Mr Whiffin told CarAdvice.

“Let’s just deal with the facts – the fact is that GM is going through a process of reinvention that will see it emerge alive and well as a much leaner, more customer-focused and customer-responsive organisation.”

“In terms of Holden, what GM has said is that we are a viable, valuable and important part of its global picture. So to the answer to the question is Holden about to be sold off to the Chinese or anybody else – the answer is no,” Mr Whiffin added.

CarAdvice believes that only in the absolutely worst case scenario would Gm seek to sel off Holden, which has valuable Research and Development facilities that will be utilised by its ultimately restructured Detroit-based parent.

Seeking to make the situation absolutely clear Mr Whiffin said, “And to the question are there even discussions about selling off Holden or offering some kind of a stake a third party – no.”

Mr Matthew-Wilson, who styles himself as an internationally recognised expert on cars, said in a media release today that speculation that Holden will be sold to a Chinese company was valid, but this would not save Australian jobs.

“What the Chinese want is the dealers and the technology. The Holden Commodore would make an ideal vehicle to sell from China to America, and the Chinese could probably retail it for around 30 per cent cheaper than a Commodore built in Australia.”
“If the Chinese take over Holden, there will probably be a lot of assurances made about keeping the Australian plants going, but these will be largely empty promises.

“From day one the Chinese will start building a Holden plant in China and after a couple of years they’ll quietly close down their Australian assembly operation, leaving just a small research and development team behind,” Mr Matthews-Wilson said.

There is little to support his claims and Mr Matthew-Wilson has made similar claims, with little or no supporting evidence, in the past.

Chinese carmaker Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, which assembles and sells GM cars in China, would be the most likely company to buy Holden.

But Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive Andrew McKellar said it was premature to speculate about the future of Holden.

“These sorts of suggestion are completely premature and are not something we’d want to be drawn into,” McKellar said.

“It’s all in the area of total speculation,” he added.

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So to settle the situation once and for all, we proposed a showdown between the pair, one of the most comprehensive tests of its kind carried out in recent times, whereby the cars would be put through a number of tests aimed to categorically rate the two against each other not only in the fairest manner possible, but in real world conditions – something many rival publications seem unable to grasp.

Our cars were driven as the average owner would drive a car. No taping up gaps, no folding in mirrors and minimal use of controlled environment testing (performance testing being the obvious exclusion).

The results, as you’re about to see, speak quite clearly for themselves.

The Results

To begin, it’s best if you click through the below four articles to bring yourself up to speed:

• Introduction article
• Dyno testing
• Performance testing
• Economy testing

But for those of you who have been following our progress closely, we’ll commence with a few graphs from our performance testing day at CarAdvice’s private track in country Victoria.

Quarter Mile (0-400m): Winner – Ford Falcon XR8

First up, we have the standard measure of any Aussie performance vehicle, the quarter-mile run (or 0-400m for metric buffs).

Now as it’s pretty plain to see, the figures aren’t too far from the manufacturer’s claims, and what’s more, are within less than a second of each other.

Ford Falcon XR8: 0-400m

Holden Commodore SS AFM: 0-400m

We ran the cars as level as possible for this test. Additional weight (fuel and passengers) was dead even, both cars used identical fuel, they were tested on the same day, one after the other to ensure weather conditions and track temperature were identical and were both run with tyre pressures at the manufacturer’s specifications. We even used the same driver in each car.

The results, in case the graph is a little hard to read, shows the Ford Falcon XR8 winning the 400 metre run a 14.72 second pass and a terminal speed of 163.89km/h, while the Holden Commodore SS AFM managed a marginally slower 14.80 second pass with its terminal speed being 161.38km/h.

Standing Start (0-100km/h): Winner – Ford Falcon XR8

Next we did the obligatory standing start run, or the 0-100km/h test.

This test, quite simply put, aims to see which car is quickest when timed accelerating from a standing start to a proposed speed, in this case, 100km/h.

Ford Falcon XR8: 0-100km/h

Holden Commodore SS AFM: 0-100km/h

Again, the results speak for themselves, and as previously stated with our 400 metre run, the cars were tested following a criteria aimed at being as fair as possible to both parties.

Once more, for those who find the images a little small, the final analysis shows the Ford Falcon XR8 as our winner once more with a 0-100km/h time of 6.54 seconds while the Holden Commodore SS (AFM) came in just behind with a time of 6.74 seconds.

Braking Test (100-0km/h): Winner – Holden Commodore SS (AFM)

It’s all well and good to be able to go hard in a straight line, but so is putting the anchors on in those less than ideal times where a sudden stop is required.

Further more, most publications seem only to test stopping times from 80km/h, which is great if that’s as fast as you ever plan to go, but given the fact most speed limits in our home state of Victoria are 100km/h, we thought this speed would give a more accurate, real-world feel to our braking test.

While the results are perhaps not surprising, given the fact it’s a lighter car (Holden: 1782kg v Ford: 1832kg), the Holden Commodore SS AFM managed to nab this one from the Ford Falcon XR8 recording a stopping distance of 38.78  metres, just over one full metre further than the XR8’s result of 39.75 metres.

Ford Falcon XR8: 100-0km/h Brake Test

Holden Commodore SS (AFM): 100-0km/h Braking Test

Economy Test (0-800km): Winner – Holden Commodore SS

Finally, and perhaps more importantly in these times of increased fuel prices and environmental consciousness, our economy run set out to prove not only to ourselves but to V8 loyalists country wide which of our two beloved locals would come out trumps as the most economic bent eight.

Holden have put an admirable initiative in place to reduce fuel consumption in its 6.0-litres Commodore SS by introducing a system known as Active Fuel Management (AFM) on all automatic variants.

Simply put, the car shuts down four of its eight cylinders when they’re not required in a bid to conserve fuel, but after having had both the Holden Commodore SS manual (non-AFM), Commodore SS automatic (AFM) and similar Falcon XR8 manual and automatic models, we here at the CarAdvice office simply couldn’t credit the claimed savings from the red lion as being anywhere near where it claims. In fact, we thought the difference in real world terms was quite negligible.

We were right.

Our test equipment, courtesy of Applied Measurement, shows that the two cars recorded very similar fuel consumption figures over the run from Melbourne to Tarcutta and back, in fact so similar that they were within .03-litres/100km within each other.

The reason for this destination was that it is exactly half way to Sydney, meaning for all intents and purposes a tally of kilometres almost identical to the more illustrious of economy runs, the Melbourne to Sydney drive.

The graphs show that the cars were, as in all our tests, driven as normally as possible. Steady throttle use, the occasional overtaking manoeuvre, stop-start traffic both in and out of the city, in fact all the facets of a drive any normal person could expect on a similar trip.

But what does it all mean in real terms, well our final figures prove the point without so much as another word. The following figures were accrued over 935.227km:

• Holden Commodore SS (AFM): 9.79 litres per 100km (Average)
• Ford Falcon XR8: 9.82 litres per 100km (Average)

The following figures were achieved prior to the test during our regular test drive conditions:

• Holden Commodore SS (AFM): 822.92km @ 14.1-litres/100km (Average)
• Ford Falcon XR8: 902.80km @ 12.25-litres/100km (Average)

Although we can’t include the road test fuel efficiency figures in the final test as the conditions weren’t controlled for both vehicles, they’re indicative of what we experienced when both of these cars were road tested earlier in the year.

It’s also worth noting the SS Commodore’s inaccurate speedometer. It ended up being out by some 7km over the trip back. In addition, the analogue speedometer was out by some ~7km/h at 110km/h, while the digital speedometer was out by around 4km/h. The XR8 on the other hand had its digital and analogue speedometer accurate to 1.5km/h at 110km/h.

Conclusion

If you go through all the figures, you will find the following results in summation:

• Ford Falcon XR8
  • 9.82-litres/100km.
  • 235.0kW – at the wheels. 288.8kW – at the flywheel.
  • 6.54-seconds 0-100km/h.
  • 14.72-seconds @ 163.89km/h.
  • 39.75m 100-0km/h.
• Holden Commodore SS (AFM)
  • 9.79-litres/100km.
  • 204.5kW – at the wheels. 252.4kW – at the flywheel.
  • 6.74-seconds 0-100km/h.
  • 14.80-seconds @ 161.38km/h.
  • 38.79m 100-0km/h.

When it’s all said and done the Holden versus Ford argument is one that isn’t going to be settled by any test or trial and will instead remain one rivalry fought on passion alone despite any performance, economy or technological difference offered by any logical, scientific test any one could reasonably be expected to put a car through, and as we see it, that’s a great thing.

Without the love, the rivalry and the hard-fought competition between these two brands neither of these ground pounding Aussie V8s would survive, and though many eco-warriors would consider that a victory, those of us who grew up watching Bathurst in our pyjamas or spent countless hours tinkering with their own piece of locally produced muscle would see it as a sad day either is lost to a four pot import.

Yes, yes, the Ford may be faster and the Holden may be a touch more economical but at the end of the day would this make any die hard Ford or Holden man change teams?

Not bloody likely.

VBOX equipment courtesy of:

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It will also accelerate the shutdown of some American car assembly operations and cut extra jobs in the US.

Holden spokesman Scott Whiffin has told CarAdvice there would not be any impact on jobs in Australia.

“G8’s are assembled at our plant at Elizabeth SA where we have been modifying our production volumes and we will continue to do so, Mr Whiffin said.

“Notwithstanding the fact that this has only just been announced, we don’t envisage there will be any job losses at Elizabeth as a result of this decision.”

“We’ve just been made aware that GM intends to eliminate its Pontiac brand from the end of 2010 and continue with the four core brands of Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and GMC.

“GM is having to make some tough decisions as part of its viability planning in the wake of the Global Economic Crisis and this is unquestionably one of those tough decisions.

“There are direct implications for Holden in this and specifically our Pontiac G8 export program.

“We will work with Pontiac to manage the phase-out of the G8 through to the end of next year. The announcement has only just occurred so we don’t know what their expectations might be, as the car is currently selling really well.

“It is true to say were disappointed the G8 program is coming to an end – it is a great car that has been exceptionally well received and reviewed in the US.

“It’s worth noting that we shipped more than 36,500 G8’s to North America in 2008. Our focus now is on finding new markets for what is a world-class vehicle in addition to continuing to export cars to Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

Holden has already announced a decision to cut its afternoon shift from early next month with plans to run two teams on a single day shift, each working one week on and one week off.

The move will cut wages for local workers but retain the 3000 jobs at the Elizabeth manufacturing facility in Adelaide.

The company said it would also push ahead with plans to build a new small car in Adelaide from 2010.

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