Holden Australia Health Check

[Fab]

Finally a journo that tells it the way it is.

"The Cruze and Captiva are gold award winning ****boxes and the Commodore is a joke"

http://youtu.be/106WVY32TkE

[LoudPipes]

One day a villain the next a hero.

http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11429727



John Cadogan

Quote:
The Ford Territory is a dog with fleas. The closure of the Ford manufacturing plant is a gnat on the flea on the dog that is the Territory.

http://autoexpert.com.au/buying-a-ca...ford-territory

[MethodX]

So besides the Commodores size, what is actually wrong with it?

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by MethodX

So besides the Commodores size, what is actually wrong with it?

No idea...I've driven a few and found them to be a great car. Could be better in a few places, but then so could the Falcon. Captiva? We test drove a few, and would have bought one however they didn't meet the space requirements we needed. Cruze? I know a few guys who own them, and they seem happy with them. The turbo sports model seems to be a particularly nice little piece of kit.

If you want to hate a car you will...no matter how good it might be...

And he's complaining that Holden is importing cars from Asia...?

Like Ford doesn't...?

Interesting figures there showing Hyundai overtaking Holden this year. Car makers (Ford included) can all learn a lesson in "making cars people want".

[nadojay]

Must admit i check out his site frequently, not because he is informative but because his write ups are the equivalent to watching d grade horror movies, bad, awful but entertaining if taken as a spoof.

[chookaradley]

I think its refreshing. You dont always agree with what he says (and I dont). But he calls a spade a spade.

[new2ford]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

No idea...I've driven a few and found them to be a great car. Could be better in a few places, but then so could the Falcon. Captiva? We test drove a few, and would have bought one however they didn't meet the space requirements we needed. Cruze? I know a few guys who own them, and they seem happy with them. The turbo sports model seems to be a particularly nice little piece of kit.

I've owned two Holdens, one a Commodore and one of their imported models. Quickly vacated them to go over to the Ford camp. I don't like their generally cheap and nasty approach, the design and quality issues and a few other things. No corporation is entirely squeaky clean, but I don't like GM's generally opportunist approach. Ford's "one Ford" approach seems to deliver a bit more integrity with some genuine quality there.

The current Commodore seems a generally very good RWD car, like the Falcon, and I don't see it as a particularly large car in the overall scene. It's just become an orphan in the global scene like the Falcon. However, whereas Ford came to the party on any (of the very few) issues I had with my Fords, the unpleasant aftertaste of my Commodore ownership was discovering afterwards that my model (VP) had a seatbelt safety issue that Holden rectified on the next model but kept it quiet and never did a recall for the VP. I later read that I could have died in a crash over 26 km/h. That leaves you with a great feeling about the manufacturer.

As for Captiva, that was a poor attempt at a competitor to the Territory but it is less stable, not as nice to drive and smaller inside. Nevertheless people grabbed it up "because it was a Holden".

I drove a Cruze as a lease car after stepping from an Octavia. Considering they overlap in price I can't understand why anybody would buy a Cruze, which is a real POS. The two cars are at totally opposite ends of the automotive spectrum. Octavia shows how to design a FWD car, Cruze shows how not to. But people buy Cruzes, again because I guess "they are a Holden". The only real thing that Holden has achieved over the years is to demonstrate how well you can fool people with marketing.

I'd better stop or I'll start foaming like Cadogan!

[new2ford]

Originally Posted by new2ford

a crash over 26 km/h.

Typo correction, my bad - should be 56 km/h.

I remember a few years ago debating with GMH PR about some incorrect claims of Holden "firsts" on their website, most of which were in fact introduced by BMC Australia and a couple by Ford. Things like standard radials, disc brakes etc. The PR lady replied that their claims were correct because GMH was an "Australian" company whereas BMC Australia and Ford Australia weren't.

I think that they seriously believe their own bull. Obviously that "Australia's own car" [read "Australia's own South Korean car or Opel-derivative"] has been drilled into their brains over too many years. Half their luck for convincing a gullible market, but that's what salesmanship is all about isn't it?

[Focused]

Originally Posted by MethodX

So besides the Commodores size, what is actually wrong with it?

I drove an SS-V and a Calais-V a few weeks ago and thought they were fine.

What a sarcastic, immature old fool. The only sensible part was when he called himself an idiot for getting the year the new Monaro was revealed incorrect.

[bradles024]

That bloke has no idea.

[jmack]

someones cheque must have bounced ,funny but true

[Fordman1]

That guy is such a amateur.

Shock jock with little talent.

[new2ford]

What he says is pretty much true but his shock-jock language and presentation doesn't win him any respect. Most motoring journos would write about this much better.

[Road_Warrior]

Cadogan is an ********, there is a reason he runs his own blog and can only get a gig on shows like ACA, because he's crap. His "videos" are trolling and should be treated as such i.e. ignored

[Ray Falcon]

Originally Posted by Fab

Finally a journo that tellslightly to larges it the way it is.

"The Cruze and Captiva are gold award winning ****boxes and the Commodore is a joke"

http://youtu.be/106WVY32TkE

Have you driven a VF Commodore?
An Evoke handles and rides excellently, better tuned than many Euro cars. The engine revs freely and very smoothly, and the interior is excellent for its price.
All better than my MkII G6.
I did prefer my G6 through, mainly because the Evoke is noisier (from exhaust drone from under the floor), and the steering wheel on the Evoke was slightly too large, (and wasn't leather like my G6) and slower geared (but the steering was still precise).
The steering is great in my G6, and makes the G6 feel more alive than the Evoke. That's the one big difference for me.
Objectively the Evoke is noticeably superior overall.

[malazn mafia]

The top secret VT 2 door unveiled in 1988 and released 2 decades later? Is he for real? Stopped watching this fat obese troll there and then. This is probably his failed attempt at auditioning as a Jeremy Clarkson replacement except Jeremy is actually funny and doesn't exhibit little man syndrome..

[Joe5619]

Hahaha, funny clip. In terms of pubic opinion & sales, I think Ford & Holden are on the same path. Just Holden is 5 years behind Ford. I think ford is getting close to the bottom, but the road back up will take 10-15 years. Holden's bottom is still 4-5 years away & god only hopes by that stage GM global have some good products to help with the rebuilding.

I will say, I wish both Holden & Ford would hire an Australia to be CEO & keep them there for at least 5 years. Enough with the overseas CEO's that stay for less than 2 years!!

[new2ford]

When you see overseas CEOs being brought in, they're basically there as liquidators.

[csv8]

In May Wheels..Corsa to replace Barina...Astra to replace Cruze...Insignia to replace Malibu...by 2017...Then we do believe Wheels articles!!!!

[new2ford]

Originally Posted by csv8

In May Wheels..Corsa to replace Barina...Astra to replace Cruze...Insignia to replace Malibu...by 2017...Then we do believe Wheels articles!!!!

Talk about going around the full circle via Korea back to Europe. The Barina I had was a Corsa made in Spain, Astra was I think UK built. Mind you, the Barina simply progressively fell apart, it was a complete POS. That's one of the reasons I went over to Ford.

[timeout]

Originally Posted by csv8

In May Wheels..Corsa to replace Barina...Astra to replace Cruze...Insignia to replace Malibu...by 2017...Then we do believe Wheels articles!!!!

insignia is already on RVCS.

wow that guy is a ******

[Dave R]

It's a shame fools like this broadcast themselves, plenty of uninformed people take his nonsense propaganda seriously. The absolute hatred he has for all things Australian is downright bizarre. Watch a few of his videos, it's disgusting.

He seems to think that talking down Australian products is fashionable. I've had back and forths with him a couple of times and he's a total nut job- he goes as far as making things up to support his arguments, then when he realises you know what you're talking about he deletes his replies and you don't hear from him again.

Same bloke said in a comment that the only reason the Holden factory is closing is because the VF Commodore is so bad that GM banned them from developing any new cars and fired all of the engineers responsible for the disaster. He also tried to blame GM's 2009 bankruptcy on the Commodore. No joke. He's a psychopath.

[XRtowcar]

Cadogan's title should be "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story."
He's spent too much time at A Current Affair.

[Ben73]

He also bags out the Commodore in his 2015 Liberty review.
I can't say I agree with everything he says, But I don't mind some of his videos. I like how he compares cars stats side by side. I would just double check to make sure his comparison figures are accurate and not him just being biased.

[mr smith]

As someone who drives nearly every model new car, ( and no,not just around a shipping dock) I can say that Holden is near the bottom. They have become complacent in trading off the Holden name..