VF Holden

[Windsor220]

Originally Posted by DASH GT

I think this is going to hurt Falcon...

Falcon is already hurt. It can't go much lower.

[Brazen]

Holden have used very strong language about the fragmentation of the market. Mr Devoureux has said that no longer can Commodore be the jack of all trades and master of none. There are too many different vehicles for the Commodore to cover all bases. Holden is targeting a particular buyer with the Commodore, with fleets moving to the Cruze, Malibu type vehicle. Cruze production at Elizabeth allows Commodore to become premium. There is almost a relief with Commodore designers and engineers that they no longer have to appeal to everyone and instead they can now focus on a particular buyer.

It is a very different strategy to the Falcon, with local Focus cancelled and money put into 4 cylinder Ecoboost and EcoLPI to get fleets on board and build volume without resorting to building a local small car.

It will be an interesting contest. Commodore with high prices, high technology, lots of features, And v8 luxury/performance private buyer niche focus with Cruze to attack the fleets and government sales. Or the Ford approach of making the Falcon higher volume, lower price and appeal to a wide range of buyers including fleets with a variety of economical and emission friendly engines.

[Mighty Reds]

When is the VF due for sale?.

[prydey]

haven't read all the pages but at least now the commodore looks like the rest of the korean range of cars they slap holden badges on.

[Josh_XC]

If the Cruze is going to be fleet and the commodore going to be the premium Holden does that mean there will be no omega or equivalent, maybe they are only going to have a Calais and S/SS versions of the VF?

Originally Posted by Brazen

Holden have used very strong language about the fragmentation of the market. Mr Devoureux has said that no longer can Commodore be the jack of all trades and master of none. There are too many different vehicles for the Commodore to cover all bases. Holden is targeting a particular buyer with the Commodore, with fleets moving to the Cruze, Malibu type vehicle. Cruze production at Elizabeth allows Commodore to become premium. There is almost a relief with Commodore designers and engineers that they no longer have to appeal to everyone and instead they can now focus on a particular buyer.

It is a very different strategy to the Falcon, with local Focus cancelled and money put into 4 cylinder Ecoboost and EcoLPI to get fleets on board and build volume without resorting to building a local small car.

It will be an interesting contest. Commodore with high prices, high technology, lots of features, And v8 luxury/performance private buyer niche focus with Cruze to attack the fleets and government sales. Or the Ford approach of making the Falcon higher volume and appeal to a wide range of buyers including fleets with a variety of economical and emission friendly engines.

[Brazen]

Originally Posted by Josh_XC

If the Cruze is going to be fleet and the commodore going to be the premium Holden does that mean there will be no omega or equivalent, maybe they are only going to have a Calais and S/SS versions of the VF?

Berlina is gone with Omega staying, the Omega will effectively move up a slot. Malibu and Cruze will fill the gap.

[malazn mafia]

Originally Posted by Brazen

Holden have used very strong language about the fragmentation of the market. Mr Devoureux has said that no longer can Commodore be the jack of all trades and master of none. There are too many different vehicles for the Commodore to cover all bases. Holden is targeting a particular buyer with the Commodore, with fleets moving to the Cruze, Malibu type vehicle. Cruze production at Elizabeth allows Commodore to become premium. There is almost a relief with Commodore designers and engineers that they no longer have to appeal to everyone and instead they can now focus on a particular buyer.

It is a very different strategy to the Falcon, with local Focus cancelled and money put into 4 cylinder Ecoboost and EcoLPI to get fleets on board and build volume without resorting to building a local small car.

It will be an interesting contest. Commodore with high prices, high technology, lots of features, And v8 luxury/performance private buyer niche focus with Cruze to attack the fleets and government sales. Or the Ford approach of making the Falcon higher volume, lower price and appeal to a wide range of buyers including fleets with a variety of economical and emission friendly engines.

Cruze for government sales. So we will see Cruze's stickered up as police/hwp cars and save tax dollars .

[BroadyFord]

Separated at birth?

[csv8]

Originally Posted by Mighty Reds

When is the VF due for sale?.

June...

[Fireblade]

Looks like it has a watered down version of the Ford bonnet bulge to me.....

[Mighty Reds]

I don't think the Opel is necessarily a more attractive car than the commodore but it is a more cohesive design.

[Joe5619]

Originally Posted by Brazen

Holden have used very strong language about the fragmentation of the market. Mr Devoureux has said that no longer can Commodore be the jack of all trades and master of none. There are too many different vehicles for the Commodore to cover all bases. Holden is targeting a particular buyer with the Commodore, with fleets moving to the Cruze, Malibu type vehicle. Cruze production at Elizabeth allows Commodore to become premium. There is almost a relief with Commodore designers and engineers that they no longer have to appeal to everyone and instead they can now focus on a particular buyer.

It is a very different strategy to the Falcon, with local Focus cancelled and money put into 4 cylinder Ecoboost and EcoLPI to get fleets on board and build volume without resorting to building a local small car.

It will be an interesting contest. Commodore with high prices, high technology, lots of features, And v8 luxury/performance private buyer niche focus with Cruze to attack the fleets and government sales. Or the Ford approach of making the Falcon higher volume, lower price and appeal to a wide range of buyers including fleets with a variety of economical and emission friendly engines.

Only problem with that theory.. Curze is on a bigger sales slip than Falcon (in a segment that is increasing). I'd say Cruze is causing huge problems for Holden right now.

[csv8]

FORD will need a few of these, monday !!!

[Smoke Pursuit]

I heard VF goes into production next Month.

[Brazen]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

Only problem with that theory.. Curze is on a bigger sales slip than Falcon (in a segment that is increasing). I'd say Cruze is causing huge problems for Holden right now.

Yeah Cruze is disappointing, the update in March should help. Holden sees Cruze as a longer term bet they know how big the small car market is they just need to get the product right. Cruze is just not compelling enough at the moment, Holden knows the market is there they just need a car to nail it. They should of built the Focus under licence!

[csv8]

Ten colours will feature on the Holden VF Commodore palette with seven carried over from the old car, three dropped, and three introduced. At least on the Calais V-Series show car, two interior trim combinations will be available to match.

Redhot, Phantom (black), Heron (white), Perfect Blue, Nitrate (silver-grey), Karma (teal), and Alchemy (deep purple) continue over into the new VF Commodore range, while Regal Peacock, Prussian Steel and Fantale are new.

Fantale will be the ‘hero’ of the VF Commodore range, according to VF colour and trim designer Kirsty Lindsay.

“Orange has real significance on Holden product – we’ve gone all the way from looking at the Torana and the Monaro, which had some pretty ‘out there’ oranges, right through to the Sandman orange, through to the VTII Tiger Orange which is so iconic, through to VE when we launched Ignition Orange on the sports vehicles as the hero colour.

“Orange keeps reinventing itself, and for 20 years we’ve seen it as being a really important fashion colour, not just in automotive but in product design.

“It re-interprets itself, it reinvents itself, and it doesn’t seem to go ‘off trend’.”

Regal Peacock is what Lindsay describes as a “beautiful jewel-like green, almost a black” and will headline on the luxury-sports range including the Calais.

“It looks beautiful with chrome, so you get the contrast of the bright chrome with a very dark exterior colour,” adds the colour designer.

Prussian steel, meanwhile, is the colour of the Calais V-Series show car.

“We’re calling it a tinted grey, but it’s got so much travel…” says Lindsay. “From some angles it’s green, from some angles it’s blue… [it has] a shift of colour, so as you move around the colour, the colour moves.

“There’s a beautiful, silver highlight, then it drops it to this tealy green.

“This colour was developed in conjunction with the interior colours … these light, luxurious interiors.”
http://www.caradvice.com.au/212822/h...-trim-colours/

Chief designer of interior colour and trim design, Sharon Gauchi, developed the interior colour combinations that would match the exterior ducos.

“From a materials and colours point of view we’ve been able to embellish all the points of the interior,” she says.

“Calais V interior one is a lighter interior colour,” says Gauchi. “We use black as the canvas, but we’ve grown the mid-section of lighter colour to create this very European interior look with the colour of the light grey and black colour combination.

“But what we’ve done with this interior is a lot of debate about whether we’d continue to have a wood [trim] with VF… the wood’s quite recessive [with] it’s modern and its grain type selection.”

There are two types of chrome featured inside – galvano chrome, with a duller milky finish, and bright chrome “for smaller areas to catch light and increase that sense of opulence” according to Gauchi.

The black interior, second for the Calais V luxury line, is a “continuation of black in the IP lower and in the seats, but [we’ve] incorporated the light titanium colour with stitching that matches, to bring up that sense of embellishment and feeling of luxuriousness and sophistication.”

According to the colour and trim specialist, “darker, blacker” trim creates a more “neutral environment” instead of wood.

Both of the two very different flagship interiors get alcantara on the instrument panels and door trim, black or cream leather on the seat face and sides, but man made leather on the back of the seat and headrest.

[Brazen]

Originally Posted by DASH GT

I like it.. No doubt they will want 65,000 for a Calais V V8 on the road. Bit disappointed they didn't share the rest of the range. I think this is going to hurt Falcon...

I think there is an opportunity for Falcon, the base Commodore will not be attractive to fleets when the price rise I'm sure is coming happens. The base Commodore fleet price can only go dramatically up with all the gear it is getting. There may be be a mini boom time if Falcon if they can grab some of the existing Omega fleet sales.

[BHDOGS]

i like the interior however the outside is crap its just another some car exterior park it next to the rest of the bland brigade.

[csv8]

Marketing the VF UP 40% !!!
The Holden VF Commodore will attempt to shake the fleet-focused image of Commodore models past, as Holden bills its new large sedan as a “sophisticated” offering.

“The traditional way of launching a Commodore, in the good old days, was to do a big launch with the car belting around corners and appealing to the sport customer,” says Holden marketing manager for large cars Kristian Aquilina.

“I think we’re going to take it very much down the luxury path, more refined.

“The whole aim for more sophistication and refinement goes across both sports-luxury models… [Calais V and SS V]”.

Aquilina admits that it will be a challenge to change people’s perceptions of large cars – whether it’s that they are too big, too thirsty, or not technologically advanced.

“We’ve got a lot to do to challenge those perceptions,” he says.

“The car has enough substance not only in its design but also the features and the technology to change minds about it.

“Our job is to not necessarily revert to the way we’ve marketed Commodores past. ‘Sophisticated’ is the right word. It’s been our catch-cry…”

“I think we’ve got enough [marketing] grunt behind it to do the job.”

There’s certainly grunt available, with Holden managing director Mike Devereux confirming that Holden has “40 percent more marketing funds” to use in 2013 compared with last year.

“There’s a couple of things that you’ll see us talking about,” added Devereux. “Number one, in a way that no car ever conceived and created in this country has ever been able to say, it [VF] is a world class execution in technology, in features, in everything…

“So I’d say the way we’re going to approach it is … you’re seeing a significant increase in our marketing investments, you’re seeing [Holden] connecting with iconic sporting properties like the Collingwood football club and the NRL – the Holden Kangaroos, the Holden State of Origin.

“We’re proud of our roots. We also want Australians to realise that this is an embodiment of what you can do in this country”.
http://www.caradvice.com.au/212824/h...s-40-per-cent/

[Vekgib]

It'll win Wheels COTY. All bets are off.

[FalconXV]

OK a few thoughts. I am interested to hear what Ford's designers think of this, because it looks like Holden has delivered a winner(overall) under tough circumstances. Ford's circumstances are tougher and they will have to try harder, not just equal it but surpass.
I am happy the 2014 Falcon is still in development but if its just a watered down expression of Fords global design language, with no flair or character (like this) don't bother. If the sole objective is to modernise it to catch up with this, thats not enough. Holdens upmarket push might give Ford leeway to make the Falcon more expressive and youthful. Something radical to lure in showroom traffic after a 12 month flogging by this.

[ivorya]

They did nothing but bag the crappers out of ford for having folds in the bonnet, now it seems in vogue, they've copied the Taurus/Fusion?? lol

Were ford ahead of their time??

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by csv8

FORD will need a few of these, monday !!!

Are you sure you're on the right forum?

[KW XRT]

Originally Posted by Chopped

image

Bye Bye Commy.

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by Brazen

Holden have used very strong language about the fragmentation of the market. Mr Devoureux has said that no longer can Commodore be the jack of all trades and master of none. There are too many different vehicles for the Commodore to cover all bases.

That in my view is a very deliberate and targeted shot at clowns like Dowling who can't seem to let go of the 1990's when large cars where at the top of the sales charts and we had half as many brands in the market. The game has changed, and car makers who have large cars have to get what they can in one of the most fragmented and cut-throat new car markets in the world.

[csv8]

Originally Posted by Road_Warrior

Are you sure you're on the right forum?

Yes !! my warped sense of humour !!!!!

[Brazen]

If people never saw a FGII G6E before or a VF Calais, I reckon most people would prefer the Ford in looks.

Holden have done a good job though in giving the car character without going crazy with odd or weird surfacing. Looking at a VE Calais now just makes you realise how bland they are.

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by DanielXR8

Hopefully someone at Ford is telling the bean counters to take note. The days of decontenting cars are over. They can put back the better quality floor mats in the GT and a whole lot of extra stuff while they are at it.

I'm guessing meetings about the 2014 Falcon are going to be a big headache at Ford on Monday. I very much doubt they planned this much of an upgrade on the interior like the VF has introduced and I also doubt they were planning to be quite as generous with the tech across the model range either.

That is all before you get to the Holden CEO's announcement that they are really going to get behind this car and market it aggressively.

When you think about it how many times has Ford or Holden really caught each other out? It's more a case of not being able to match things like engines, etc..rather then surprised and clueless about not knowing what the other was doing. They share so many suppliers including trim from Futuris for example that there are no real secrets. ...Actually one funny one I can think of, Holden got wind of the new 260kW BA XR8 but didn't know of the actual weight gain over AU and so expected a real big jump in performance over the 225kW AU XR8. It's no coincidence that VY SS press cars were suddenly recording never repeated performance numbers which even caused the mags to raise a few eye-brows, lol. I think all the tech in the VF would have had a similar wish list within Ford simply because they are in current Ford vehicles around the world, it's what "can be afforded list" vs "the considered required list". Maybe the VF release has altered the "what's required list", here's hoping

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by Brazen

If people never saw a FGII G6E before or a VF Calais, I reckon most people would prefer the Ford in looks.

Holden have done a good job though in giving the car character without going crazy with odd or weird surfacing. Looking at a VE Calais now just makes you realise how bland they are.

http://www.google.com.au/imgres?q=ve...8&tx=197&ty=54

Not wrong there. I always liked the VE Calais (Probably my favourite model VE), but the VF makes them look like an Omega IMO.

[chookaradley]

Price is going to be a key consideration. A lot of tech has gone into this car, and people are usually happy to pay a small premium for a new model but its hard to see it being a small premium.

No doubt it will be more economical than VE because thats what makes the world go round these days, but initial rumours suggest not that much has gone into improving drivelines. The 3.0 SIDI is a shocker IMHO. If its been tuned for greater economy I cant see it being any better. Doubt it will steer or handle any better than VE apart from the 40kg weight saving in aluminium panels (que huge increases in insurance premiums)

I dont have an issue with how it looks. Good luck to Holden, I wont ever buy one but WILL buy the next Falcon, 2014 cant come quick enough.