Holden Commodore from Australia

Holden commodore is an automobile manufactured since 1978 by the Holden subsidiary of General Motors in Australia and New Zealand. In the mid-1970s, Holden established proposals to replace the long-serving Kingswood nameplate with a smaller, Opel-based model. Opel continued to provide the basis for future generations until the launch of the fourth generation in 2006, which deployed an Australian developed platform. Initially introduced as a single sedan body style, the range expanded in 1979 to include a station wagon, with utility and long-wheelbase Statesman/Caprice derivatives following in 1990. The foundations for a revived Monaro coupé, four-door Crewman utility, and all-wheel drive Adventra crossover were provided by the now discontinued third generation architecture. From 1984, Holden began branding the flagship Commodore model as Holden Calais; the Holden Berlina and Holden Ute followed in 1988 and 2000, respectively. These were known previously as the Commodore Berlina and Commodore utility.

Rivalry has come predominantly from the Ford Falcon—also locally-built. Prior to the 1988 onwards second-generation holden commodore, Commodore Holden was positioned a full class below the full-size Falcon. To a lesser degree, competition has also come from Toyota, and previously Nissan, with nissan morano, their mid-size cars. Between 1989 and 1997, Toyota retailed a Toyota Lexcen version of the second generation Commodore. With the introduction of generation three in 1997, Holden broadened the Commodore’s export plans. Since the late-1990s, holden commodore have been sent abroad as the Chevrolet Lumina and Chevrolet Omega, with Vauxhall VXR8 sales beginning in 2007.

A new dedicated LPG system for Holden Commodore range will dispense with the conventional space-sapping boot-mounted tank, not only paving the way for a return to LPG in the Sportwagon but potentially giving sedan and ute models a cargo advantage over Ford’s new EcoLPi Falcon and aftermarket systems. The Holden Eco-branded system – mostly engineered in-house – is set to get a tank tucked under the back of the car when it replaces the current dual-fuel system in the New Year. Insiders say the new LPG Commodores will lose no boot space, unlike Ford’s just-released Falcon EcoLPi sedan, which has a shallower boot than petrol models but also loses the full-size spare wheel as standard equipment.

Holden’s current dual-fuel option will continue until the arrival of the new system in early 2012, avoiding the LPG model drought experienced by Ford. In Ford’s case, its previous system could not achieve the Euro 4 emissions standards that came into force in mid-2010, meaning Ford dealers had to do without an LPG alternative for several months until the belated arrival of EcoLPi this month. Holden commodore is expected to start rolling out its pre-launch publicity campaign for the Eco LPG system from September or October of this year.