Holden

The Holden Commodore is an automobile manufactured since 1978 by the Holden subsidiary of General Motors in Australia, and, formerly, in 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.
more

The Holden VZ Commodore is the thirteenth model of the Holden Commodore lineup, a full-size car produced by the Australian automotive marque, Holden. Released in August 2004, the car debuted a new generation of 175 and 190 kilowatt 3.6 litre Alloytec V6 engines in place of the older... 3.8 litre ECOTEC V6 engines. These new Alloytec DOHC engines have carried on through to the VE Commodore which was released in August 2006. A new 5L40-E 5-speed automatic transmission sourced from General Motors was introduced on the sports and luxury V6 variants. The VZ is notable for being the only Commodore series of recent times to not officially introduce a Series II update to the range, however a number of mechanical changes were made in January 2006. Holden introduced the new L76 6.0 litre V8 to its range. The V8 has been slightly detuned, and both Displacement on Demand and variable valve timing have been removed.
more

The Holden VB Commodore is a mid-size car that was produced by the Australian subsidiary of General Motors, Holden. The car was officially launched on 26 October 1978 with show rooms receiving the first examples on 13 November 1978. Production of the VB only lasted seventeen months, the shortest... reign of any Commodore. The VB Commodore was effectively the successor of the Holden HZ Kingswood, although the bulk of the HZ series continued to be produced until the introduction of the facelifted Holden VC Commodore on 30 March 1980. 95,906 units of the VB Commodore were manufactured during the car's lifespan, and during 1979 the VB became Australia's number one selling car. Also in 1979, the VB won the first of Holden Commodore's five Wheels magazine Car of the Year awards, with the car being praised in the media for its value for money and engineering sophistication. The VB Commodore was loosely based on the 1977 Opel Rekord E bodyshell but with the front grafted on from the Opel Senator to accommodate the larger Holden six-cylinder and V8 engines, giving it a similar appearance to the Opel Commodore.
more

The Holden VY Commodore is an automobile which was produced by Holden in Australia between September 2002 and August 2004. The VY Commodore, which was the twelfth Holden Commodore series, was the successor to the VX Commodore. A VY Series II was released in August 2003 and that made way for the... updated VZ Commodore range in August 2004. The VY Commodore was available in several models. These are the Commodore Executive, Acclaim, S, SV8 and SS and the Berlina and Calais models which were not badged as Commodores. All the models in the VY range were offered as sedans and the Executive, Acclaim and Berlina were also available as wagons. Unusually, the VY also introduced a limited edition SS wagon featuring the same 235 kW for Series II V8, bodykit and sports suspension as the SS sedan. However, it was equipped with 17-inch alloy wheels as opposed to the 18 inch wheels on the sedan. 500 such wagons were produced for Series I and 350 for Series II. The VY was the last Commodore to use the 3.8 litre ECOTEC V6 engines. Sales of the VY Commodore failed to match those of the earlier VT model.
more