On a recent holiday to America, I was strolling down Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills doing some window shopping when I spotted a wonderful sight. Parked amongst all the Bentleys and Aston Martins was a Holden VE Commodore with Pontaic G8 badges. It fills you with pride when you’re on the other side of the planet and you come across something that was built in your own neighbourhood. So being the good tourist that I am, I whipped out the camera and snapped a quick pic!
Being proud of Holden’s export achievements, I thought I’d put together a list of some of the export variants of the humble Commodore and the websites of the worldwide GM affiliates that are selling our wonderful machine.
- Since most of the Holden’s here are actually Korean built Daewoos, it’s only fair that they sell the Elizabeth-built Caprice with their badging. Have a look at the Daewoo Veritas.
- Sadly, the global financial crisis wiped out the Pontiac brand in America, putting an end to our exports in that part of the world. The SS Commodore-based Pontiac G8 can still be found on Pontiac’s website though. At least Holden is making use of the left over Pontiac bumpers and bonnets for the local special edition SS-V. Maybe we’ll see the ute go that way with a Chevrolet El Camino badge, or the sedan as a Police car?
- Our minerals aren’t the only thing that China buys from us, they also get our Holden Statesman with a Buick Park Avenue badge slapped on.
- In Brazil, you’ll find the Chevrolet Omega.
- South Africa has the Chevrolet Lumina and the Lumina Ute.
- Any Top Gear viewer will have seen the HSV Clubsport as the Vauxhall VXR8 in the UK – if you haven’t seen it, I’m sure Channel 9 or GO! will repeat the episode where they test it for the twentieth time!
- The Middle East has the Commodore and the Caprice with Chevrolet Lumina and Chevrolet Caprice and Caprice Royal badging.
- And of course, our mates over the water in New Zealand get the Commodore as it’s meant to be – with a Holden badge!
So what else do we export from this great city? Post a comment to tell the world about other Adelaide exports that make you proud to be South Australian.
This week has seen a number of announcements that have been good news for Adelaide’s northern suburbs. It’s a fantastic time to be living in this part of town.
The first story is the announcement by Holden that a second shift would be introduced later in the year at the Elizabeth production plant. After 18 months of reduced production on a single shift, the time has come to ramp back up. I think this announcement was inevitable, given the expected launch of the Australian-built Holden Cruze in the new year and the next generation of the VE Commodore being just around the corner. It’s fantastic to see Holden taking steps to build vehicles that people want to buy – fuel efficient yet spacious and sporty looking large cars for the modern family, and now, diesel small cars for the eco-Aussie. Not only will this mean more hours for current Holden employees, but there will be many new jobs created in businesses that support Holden, as well as the local retail businesses who will benefit for the increased spending by locals in the automotive industry.
The University of South Australia also announced this week the opening of a new college in 2011 in order to increase the talent of the South Australian workforce. UniSA Vice Chancellor Professor Peter Hoj says the purpose of the College is to provide extra pathways into university and develop the talent and skills of more South Australians to underpin the depth, capacity and energy of the workforce. The college will play a lead role in the management of the new Maths and Science Centre at Mawson Lakes campus.
News from the Premier’s Office this week included the announcement of a $24 million upgrade to roads in the Edinburgh and Salisbury area. As most northerners would be aware of by now, significant infrastructure work has been taking place at RAAF Edinburgh in preparation for the Army’s 7RAR Battalion arriving early 2011. This will see over 1200 new military staff based at Edinburgh. Combined with ramp up at Holden and the increase in activity at automotive and defence support businesses in Edinburgh Parks, the already stressed roads in the area will really struggle with the increase in traffic. This announce details many upgrades between RAAF Edinburgh and Salisbury Highway which will greatly improve the flow of traffic around the base and Holden. I imagine the next few months will be a bit chaotic around Holden and the base, but it will be worth a bit of pain for the long term gain.
It’s all a great indication that we’re heading into a boom time in the north. Let’s all make the most of it.
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