Holden hints at un-Australian Commodore’s future

HOLDEN has leaked a tantalising glimpse of an all-new global vehicle that could replace the Commodore large car once Australian production signs off in 2017.

A video produced to sell Holden’s exit from Australian car-making has shown front and rear images of a Holden-badged concept car displayed on the screen of a designer.

The images on the screen show a four-door sedan, however, a series of similar paper-based images scattered around his desk show a fastback wagon-style design that features similar tail-lights to those shown on the rear of the sedan.

Holden managing director Mike Devereux revealed early this year that the car-maker’s Port Melbourne-based design studio was already working on the next-generation Australian large car, mainly in an effort to quell persistent rumours that the next one would not be designed and built here.

However, this month’s announcement that Holden will quit making cars means the Commodore name is now likely to be attached to an all-new global car that will include design tweaks to make it look distinctively Australian beyond just the badge.

The design is also likely to underpin a new generation of Buick vehicles that will help Holden’s parent company, General Motors, cement a foothold in China, one of the world’s fastest-growing new-car markets.

The front image concept car shows a muscular bonnet behind a deep-set, seven-point Mazda-like grille with the Holden badge set inside a narrow strip running along its upper third.

Each side of the grille is framed by VF Commodore-style, LED-lined headlights that wrap back along the front fenders.

A lower air dam is framed by a pair of trapezoidal inserts for the foglights.

A glimpse of the side profile reveals a high-sided look emphasised by a shallow glasshouse framed in chrome to give a sense of prestige.

The rear shot on the designer’s main screen shows a thin-pillared roofline that extends almost to the rear of the sedan, maximising headroom.

The rear is framed by slit-like tail-lights, while a pair of exhaust pipes inset to the bumper hint at a performance-honed model.

The wagon version, though, shows a fastback design similar to the current-generation VF Commodore Sportswagon.

Unlike Ford, which has already shown what its showroom will be like once it pulls out of car-making in Australia in late 2015, Holden is providing few details about the shape of its post-Commodore product line-up.

However, one clue is the revelation that Holden’s parent, GM, plans to cut production in South Korea – the feeding ground for many of the models filling Holden showrooms today.

The future line-up of Holden’s product range is also buoyed by the news overnight that its former loss-making European division, Opel, is slowly returning to profit and figuring highly in GM’s global plans.

Opel was unexpectedly yanked from the Australian market in August after the brand claimed it couldn’t turn a profit in one of the world’s most competitive new-car markets.

However, the withdrawal now leaves the door open for Opel to become a feeding ground for Holden’s post-2017 showrooms.