WTF !!! VE Wheels Car Of The Year !!!!

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by LSTerritoryGhia

(Gee wiz Ford are still using a 4 Speed auto to).
Yes sad that my $48 k Calais can wip your $65,000 BF GT which is suposed to be a HERO Car.

Id like to see that, then we will get to the corners and its all over

[HSE2]

Yeah well done to Holden. Nice to see a proportionally challenge product break through for a win.

Its real shame for a brand new design they couldn't engineer a split fold rear seat. You could understand it if the shell actually out rated the aging BA platform for structural rigidity across the spectrum but surprisingly it doesn’t achieve that.

We have seen it time and time again that when the Ford product is tested back to back with the VE the Ford is taking more then its share of points from the ALL NEW Holden. The fact that the Ford was ineligible for this contest isn’t testament to the value or worth of the respective products.

Like in every contest all you can do is beat the competition that is pitted against you. Holden have done that on this occasions so good on them. But they didn’t lift the bar as expected and underachieved in key areas to get my money.


The VE came up short for me. As for hero cars and where they should sit in the scheme of things, I wonder why a carry over Ford product was able to comprehensively beat the supposedly best hero car to ever come out of Holden performance workshop?

It’s simply not a clear cut issue any more.

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by CDAA

No you can't. Been there had an XR8 remember. If all the GT is to you is a starter button and a few badges then I'm lost for words quite frankly, but there you go. The VE is a 'nice' car and I'm sure you'll be very happy together, but it's constant defence on this Ford discussion forum is becoming tiring. I'm interested in the VE to, particularly the HSV range but that's what LS1.com.au is there for isn't it?

I agree with you right there and then.

LSTerritoryGhia if i wanted to sit here and listin to someone come on a FORD sit and defend a Holden and bag our product id go to ls1.com or the likes, so get off your high horse and get over there with your calais because that is where you should be regardless if you have a Territory of not : :

[banarcus]

Just to add a little spice to the BA-BF GT is just a starter and a badge debate, I'm sure that the V8 'starter and badge' car will be worth FAR more than the ducks guts VE Calais in 5 or 10 years. Hmm nah make that the VE Calais will be worth less than a already 3 year old BA GT in 12-18 months. Perhaps we are all wrong about the poor old slow '03-'06 Falcon GT and Mr Calais has seen the 'red' light

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by TE50 056

Id like to see that, then we will get to the corners and its all over

Yeah bullshit, thats the biggest issue with the Boss powered v8s, they dont corner...

[DOC]

Originally Posted by LSTerritoryGhia

Yeah bullshit, thats the biggest issue with the Boss powered v8s, they dont corner...

??? mine does

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by banarcus

Just to add a little spice to the BA-BF GT is just a starter and a badge debate, I'm sure that the V8 'starter and badge' car will be worth FAR more than the ducks guts VE Calais in 5 or 10 years. Hmm nah make that the VE Calais will be worth less than a already 3 year old BA GT in 12-18 months. Perhaps we are all wrong about the poor old slow '03-'06 Falcon GT and Mr Calais has seen the 'red' light

Bit like your XR8??

Neways i dont need to carry on about it. The simple fact is the car won the award and did so fair and square.

Regardless of how you guys feel I still am a Ford bloke and like the product, but when it comes down to comparing apples with apples Ford is definately lacking in some parts, this is reflected in the sales at the moment.

[bob^]

As long as the award stays here in Australia and helps out the local car industry then good on em for winning COTY!

[banarcus]

Originally Posted by LSTerritoryGhia

Bit like your XR8??

Neways i dont need to carry on about it. The simple fact is the car won the award and did so fair and square.

Regardless of how you guys feel I still am a Ford bloke and like the product, but when it comes down to comparing apples with apples Ford is definately lacking in some parts, this is reflected in the sales at the moment.

I was only critical of the low rent V6. They are poo even in the lighter VZ form, the VE is a great car and deserved the praise but... As for my XR8, it sounded far better inside and out than the VE SS that my father-in-law and I took for a test drive. Sure the VE would have beaten my Falcon by half a second or so over the quarter but where do I get the chance to do that day in day out? Personally, there are things that give me more pleasure than poofteeths of seconds that it takes to get to 100km/h and the 1/4 mile. Give me the sound of a Ford V8 anyday than that of the powerful and fast hairdryer Chev engine.

PS. I'd love to have a Falcon GT(second hand) but my budget wouldn't stretch that far because of the value they retain.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by DOC

??? mine does

I was being sarcastic, i still like the XR8 and would buy one for the sheer beauty factor.

[HOON69]

Originally Posted by TE50 056

"Holden means a great deal to Wheels" To resite a famous qoute

DITTO
whats new really ay :P

[DOC]

Originally Posted by LSTerritoryGhia

I was being sarcastic, i still like the XR8 and would buy one for the sheer beauty factor.

Your Cool champ, can i ask a very stupid question, have you owned a XR8 AU / BA or BA / BF GT ?

i really dont know this answer

Pete

[Dave_au]

Originally Posted by banarcus

Just to add a little spice to the BA-BF GT is just a starter and a badge debate, I'm sure that the V8 'starter and badge' car will be worth FAR more than the ducks guts VE Calais in 5 or 10 years.

Resale rating over three years for the FPV GT is 58%, resale rating for the VE SS-V over three years is 53%, resale rating for the VE Calais is 48%. Massive.

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by LSTerritoryGhia

Yeah bullshit, thats the biggest issue with the Boss powered v8s, they dont corner...

Ive seen plenty of boss V8's turn corners :the_finge Im sure they are still a better car on the bends compared to your award winning calais. You say ur a ford fan but you come here and bag our product as i said in my last post, i have seen a calais (never drivin) my g/f's dad tests cars and he had one for a month albeit a V6 nice car indeed but comparing its to a GT isnt really the way to go even if the VE is all new id still prefer a BF2 ghia but thats my choice. Although i would buy a GTS or Caprice thats about it.
Anyway go over to ls1 and tell them how good your calais is we dont give a ****

Originally Posted by LSTerritoryGhia

Gee wiz Ford are still using a 4 Speed auto to).

Its funny how one of the Six Speed Auto Fords fell appart on a test day not so long ago.

Boy have you changed! Please clarify which 6spd auto Fords "fell appart".

Originally Posted by LSTerritoryGhia

The BA had 2 major recalls in the first few months, one for side airbags and another for rear axel issues. Your point being? It still won car of the year in 02.

I can't say Ford had two major recalls. The side airbag one may have been important.

Originally Posted by LSTerritoryGhia

More like BMW. Fords BA styling came fromt he Audi as the guy who designed it originally came from Audi.

Yep we can all agree that is the case, but every car looks like it's copied when its an all new shape.

Originally Posted by LSTerritoryGhia

Yes maybe but the Falcons no better. None of the Falcons ive owned have lived up to the fuel consumption stickers on them, so at the end of the day prescribed fuel consumption really means jackshit.

Have Holdens ever been accurate? This is not a valid arguement as the condition in which these fuel consumption figures are obtained is not what most will encounter.

Originally Posted by LSTerritoryGhia

Holden has better resale then ford due to brand popularity although its still pretty ****, but come on wake up and smell the roses, as if either is really good in the resale department. .

Sorry, strongly disagree. They are no better than Falcon.

Originally Posted by LSTerritoryGhia

Yes sad that my $48 k Calais can wip your $65,000 BF GT which is suposed to be a HERO Car. .

That's a pretty big call, which is open for debate. But lets not go there.

Originally Posted by LSTerritoryGhia

Fair enough, im not here to bag you because what you say isn't really true, but at the end of the day both Ford and Holden manufacture some of the best sedans in the world, its a shame we can't all appreciate both manufacturers for what they offer.

Agree with you strongly, and that's why VE deserves its win.

[Melz]

Originally Posted by bob^

As long as the award stays here in Australia and helps out the local car industry then good on em for winning COTY!

Couldn't agree more bob!

To those of you who don't think the VE was a worthy winner, why not try driving it for a week. Its not my cup of tea, but I don't go out of my way to bag a car until i've at least driven it and can make an informed decision! We are all armchair experts, but its different when you are in the drivers seat.

Also remember the guys who judged this are probably the same guys that judge the Territory as the winner a couple years back!

Well done Holden, Ford you now have something to really chase.....

Originally Posted by HSE2

Yeah well done to Holden. Nice to see a proportionally challenge product break through for a win.

Its real shame for a brand new design they couldn't engineer a split fold rear seat. You could understand it if the shell actually out rated the aging BA platform for structural rigidity across the spectrum but surprisingly it doesn’t achieve that.

We have seen it time and time again that when the Ford product is tested back to back with the VE the Ford is taking more then its share of points from the ALL NEW Holden. The fact that the Ford was ineligible for this contest isn’t testament to the value or worth of the respective products.

Like in every contest all you can do is beat the competition that is pitted against you. Holden have done that on this occasions so good on them. But they didn’t lift the bar as expected and underachieved in key areas to get my money.


The VE came up short for me. As for hero cars and where they should sit in the scheme of things, I wonder why a carry over Ford product was able to comprehensively beat the supposedly best hero car to ever come out of Holden performance workshop?

It’s simply not a clear cut issue any more.

Top post Ian.

In some ways VE has only just caught up (6spd auto although still below par), decent rear suspension. But at the same time considering, as you say, Falcon ran the VE so close or even beat it in some areas, is a real testiment to how good the BF Falcon is.

[devilracer_01]

I just rolled my eyes when I seen that crap on A Current Affair last night.

[FTE217]

Whats all the harping for ?
Nothing like good opposition to keep you honest and to get you to work harder next time.
GM has been spanked since 2002, we have enjoyed many victories off and on the track.
Do you think they were going to lie down ?
Well done GM, I'm not a base model lover of any brand but Calais up VE range is top notch imo........

[Jock260]

[QUOTE=Outbackjack]So YOUR the one that reckons that it looks good. : I had my black BF XR8 parked next to a new V8 VE at the car park at work. Even the VE owner reckoned that his new pride and joy didn't look as good as my BF. He bought the car purely for the performance figures. We asked the known petrol heads to have a look and all bar one prefered the BF. At least half of these guys are Americans. They love the rear wheel drive Aussie V8's. So far, they have taken four XR8's and 3 XR6T's back to the US with them after their PCS tour. And most probably the 6 or 7 that are still being used here will go back to the US as well.[/QU

all I'm saying is i think it looks good and has great dynamics in every perspective, that's my opinion, I'm not enforcing it on anybody else. i dont care if somebody like you thinks it looks like ****, i think it looks good and is a great car, and im sure many people agree with me.

[Bucknaked]

Looks like a few people woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I always say that if you drive a car, and it feels good, then that's good enough. Who really cares what a bunch of opinionated journo's write about or vote for. At the end of the day, its what you think about the car that matters. No matter what wheels says, I'll stick with my falcon's. Because awards are nothing. Car of the year, what is that anyway

[Focused]

Originally Posted by csv8

Constipated AUDI ???

lollol

[Wally]

Originally Posted by Bucket

Um...ok?


Have a look at the Side profile of the SS and then try and tell me that again Wally...I've been reading about the VE since it first started seeping into the media and I think I can even recall Holden stylists/designers saying they were getting cues from European cars like BMW (Shape and Profile) and Mercedes (Elements of the interior



Its not about blatant copying, its about design influences...now go and flush those smart ars pills down the toilet.

No sorry I just see the TT36, that Audi obviously got it's design cues from. :Reverend: .

Good thing you've been keeping abreast and you won't mind getting off your "smart ars" (sic) and posting proof of what the Holden stylists/designers said. Should be easy for an enthusiast like yourself. Or would you rather sling insults?

[havoc19]

Ve's Are Crap, the backs look like a mitsubishi 380 and the front headlights are similar to Ba headlights and the sides of them look like a mazda 6 or some crap like that, so how can they say its a entirely new car? & it won an award? how crap

[TUF_302]

This has to be the darkest day for Wheels, they have never gotten something so wrong, SHAME WHEELS SHAME!

[Redrum]

Now why I know why they spent so much on the VE, bribes......

[Bucket]

Originally Posted by Wally

No sorry I just see the TT36, that Audi obviously got it's design cues from. :Reverend: .

Good thing you've been keeping abreast and you won't mind getting off your "smart ars" (sic) and posting proof of what the Holden stylists/designers said. Should be easy for an enthusiast like yourself. Or would you rather sling insults?

Will do, If i can find the right Issue of Motor/Wheels.
Not slinging insults- I just think that its impossible not to see the European Influences in the Car, Why go out on a whim when you can model it off some of the Worlds Most popular/impressionable European Cars like BMW and Mercedes.

[Nashy86]

If the Aurion had won it would have meant nothing to Toyota, they are not relying on selling it to stay afloat, if the 6 isn't selling they can just chuck in a four banger and away they go. Holden and Ford are different, both rely on hype and customer opinions etc. to sell their big 6's or they go belly up, so of course Wheels had to support it, I'd put money on them doing the same thing for Orion.

Plus, lets face it, the VE does looks s***house, so for it to win the main criteria must be practicality, for example, how practical are those massive (ugly) wheel arch flares on the fender? VERY PRACTICAL, I know a few Holden V8 supercar drivers who will now not have to try so hard to block and elbow Falcons off the road! Good designs get rewards!

[Dave_au]

Originally Posted by SVO_XR6

This has to be the darkest day for Wheels, they have never gotten something so wrong, SHAME WHEELS SHAME!

More like a dark day for fordforums.com.au

Have any of you guys actually read the COTY article in the latest wheels?

I'm about to right now. Maybe once we can understand where the Wheels journos are comming from.....

[Coalminer]

Good for Holden. A very deserved win. I'm actually surprised that there is so much bad blood towards the VE on this site. But i'm pretty sure that MRC isn't the first thing introduced to Aussie motorists by Holden before Ford. Cast my mind back...........ABS,IRS, airbags, traction control the list goes on.

Oh i forgot..........has the falcon station wagon got coil suspension on the rear yet...........