The new HSV MALOO 307KW UTE

[slip]

In lower spec, I agree Rik.

Higher spec - SS, HSV etc look the goods though, especially the GTS etc rear end. Classic idea of round taillights, but done in a modern fashion.

Ever since the VR, they have been doing well - Regardless of how woefully shit, poorly built, unreliable, and awful to drive the VT Commodore was - it looked a whole lot better than the AU, and that matters. A lot.

They know what they are doing.

 

[okeyb5]

Holdens F*%%^** Rule

They Are One Of The Funnest Cars To Drive Isnt That What Counts Not To Mention They Look Great And Sound Awesome When Fired Up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:d

 

[roasted]

Okeyb5, curious to know what other sports cars you have driven?

for the sake of contributing to the thread - I don't understand the holden/ford rivalry, and I don't understand the idea of taking anything even resembling practicality out of a car and selling it to kids for an arseload. Someone want to enlighten me?

 

[slip]

Excess, being a dickhead (in a good way), tough image, screw it all attitude, practicality, tax, and the pure awesomeness that is shoving 300kw + into a totally impractical ute.

A VE SS ute would be one of the worst cars for me, but I love em and want one - for the above reasons.

 

[wombat]

Now whenever there is a discussion on 'ugly' cars, some bastardisation of that quote always comes up. I seriously disagree with donthucktoflat. I believe that Holdens integration of a constant design language across its range is far more advanced than some of its competitors.
...
On product placement terms, Holden have pretty obviously realized that the utes arent used for load-bearing purposes, rather as a sporty ride. Styling is sharp, modern and agressive. The styling of the VE quite obviously has a clear goal in mind, and i think it wholistically achieves that.

I think I agree, kind of...to part of it.
Of the four pictures you posted, three are the same car in different forms, and the other isn't even a Holden design.
Of course you'd expect the ute, sedan and wagon to be consistent, they're almost the same thing from the A pillar forward! If you're trying to make the point that the VE is much more consistent in its aesthetic with Holden's euro imports, then yes I agree, the euro flavour is very obvious and IMO makes it one of the best looking commodores so far.

In terms of aesthetic I think VE is very much a step in the right direction, and looks a lot more coherent than VZ. You only have to compare VZ's sharp front grille and bumper with its more bulbous flanks and hip line to see that it's a very obvious attempt to modernise a very old design (as you'd expect, it was the last of the line).
As a first gen design, VE would want to be a lot more coherent, although I'm sure by the time the VE platform is in its final guise, it will be much less consistent.

Whilst I like the overall flavour of VE's looks, some aspects of the design are a bit of a joke; most notably those front arches. They're so extreme for a family car that they simply look comical and scream "bodykit". I also think that its a poor product for the current climat: too big, too heavy etc., but I guess that's the problem with such a long lead time, they got suprised by what I assume were unforseen shifts.

I actually think that the VE wagon is a bit of a standout, especially in profile; I'll wait until I see one in the flesh though.

 

[leitch]

They Are One Of The Funnest Cars To Drive Isnt That What Counts Not To Mention They Look Great And Sound Awesome When Fired Up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:d

 

[floody]

They Are One Of The Funnest Cars To Drive Isnt That What Counts Not To Mention They Look Great And Sound Awesome When Fired Up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:d

Have You Ever Driven One??????????????????????? I Bet The Answer Is No And You Are 15!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:d

 

[Tomas]

I think I agree, kind of...to part of it.
Of the four pictures you posted, three are the same car in different forms, and the other isn't even a Holden design.

1) this is farkin, no place for professionals, Wombat. Go focus your energies elsewhere .
2) I know there were bad examples, i got sick of trawling google for good pictures.

If you're trying to make the point that the VE is much more consistent in its aesthetic with Holden's euro imports, then yes I agree, the euro flavour is very obvious and IMO makes it one of the best looking commodores so far.

That was the point, yep. Across their range, they have a consistant language presant. The same cannot be said for many others.

 

[Tomas]

Designed by Committee is a very old saying, not derived from some Forbes article.
It means anything with no clear purpose or cohesion. Can apply not only to styling but even mechanical things.

Personally I think the Holden Commodore range looks great, perhaps in a '90s Japanese way, but the HSV styled ones are fugly and designed by committee adequately describes the inconsistent, tacked on styling crap they produce.

The implacation from DHTF was that there were different people doing different areas of the car, and they dont work together. This is what was talking about.

If i missed the old coloquial 'designed by committee' reference, so be it.

 

[Sov]

2) I know there were bad examples, i got sick of trawling google for good pictures.

Two of the four pics you posted were photoshop jobs - speculative pics before the cars were actually released (I'm referring to the wagon and Maloo pics. The Maloo chop was a good job tho!)

There are official pics of the wagon at holden.com.au

Fwiw, I think that the Holden styling works well on the sportier models as they have wider/larger wheels that fill the arches nicely. The Maloo ute is way too gaudy for my tastes but I love the understated look of the Senator and Grange.

The utes are really fun cars. I have driven a manual and an auto SS and would love to have one. But I think a wagon would be much more practical (manual Calais wagon with FE2 suspension and cylinder deactivation would be nice please Holden!)

 

[and1]

Stuff air bags man... I wouldnt even bother with getting a ute like a hilux to do up. I would make a street sleeper, something like a honda civic and drop a S2000 motor in it or put a Integra motor in it, some cams, change the comperssion, extractors, exhaust, cold air induction ect ect ect... Keep it all naturaly aspurated and aim for 300kw at the wheels and you would have a fuckin rocket. Oh and dont forget to gut the shit out of the interior. Only things you need like driver seat and the dash board ect...

Now that would rape a maloo ute.

You have absolutely no idea what your talking about...

 

[jacobmy20]

ABSOLUTE PIECE OF POO. for one just coz it got 307kw dusnt mean u all need to bloody jack off 2 it, there has been plenty of better cars than that ugly excuse for a ute.. and also FORD RULES.

 

[NCR600]

ABSOLUTE PIECE OF POO. for one just coz it got 307kw dusnt mean u all need to bloody jack off 2 it, there has been plenty of better cars than that ugly excuse for a ute.. and also FORD RULES.

If it wasn't for your spelling and punctuation, saying "Ford Rules" would have blown all your credibility out of the water all on it's own.

 

[MasterOfReality]

Hahaha had to laugh at the ford rules comment.

Holden and Ford rule jack shit on the international stage compared to the japs and the euros, they only appeal to the bogans who think they have 'made it' when a new HSV or FPV is sitting in the driveway.

Sure, they are good value for money, impossible to find a ute or sedan with the same power for the money, but thats where the comparisons end when you start taking into account build quality.

Oh yeah, the ute is fugly.

 

[McPete]

If I were to look at it objectively... In buying an Aussie ute, I'd make a number of observations, based on driving experiences and the technical data available to me.

Ford make a better 6 cylinder motor. That's a fairly concrete fact. I will grant that the Alloytech motor has come leaps and bounds since it first arrived, wheezing and coughing in the engine bay of a Commodore, but the big Ford motor just has the extra low down pull, the rather impressive mid-range surge and general tractability that I like.

When you start looking at 8 cylinder cars, it's the reverse, although creedence to Ford for making theirs sound the way it does. The General's big 6 litre is still the better engine though.

But, if I'm going to use that logic, I'm not buying an Aussie ute anyway. I'm probably buying a BT-50 with the suicide doors.

 

[eerrggh]

Holden and Ford rule jack shit on the international stage

i was under the impression that ford was an internation company [\sarcasm]

In 2006, Ford was the second-ranked automaker in the US with a 17.5% market share, behind General Motors (24.6%)

^^thats not 'jack all'

 

[wombat]

i was under the impression that ford was an internation company [\sarcasm]



^^thats not 'jack all'

So picking another national market (and about the only other one in the world where GM and Ford have such a huge brand loyalty) is a good way to prove a point of internationlism?

Check the worldwide figures (here's a few from a mag sitting next to me):
-Toyota overtook GM Q1 this yearto become the world's biggest seller.
-In 2006 GM lost $2.41 billion, and Ford had simillar performance
-In the same year, Toyota made $20bil. profiit.

This doesn't even take into account the huge range of brands that both Ford and GM market their vehicles under, which is much more extensive than that of Toyota; yet still they can't sell as many cars.
Market shifts really seem to be catching up with the big yank pair, and the seeming unwilingness to react quickly enough.

 

[MasterOfReality]

So picking another national market (and about the only other one in the world where GM and Ford have such a huge brand loyalty) is a good way to prove a point of internationlism?

Check the worldwide figures (here's a few from a mag sitting next to me):
-Toyota overtook GM Q1 this yearto become the world's biggest seller.
-In 2006 GM lost $2.41 billion, and Ford had simillar performance
-In the same year, Toyota made $20bil. profiit.

This doesn't even take into account the huge range of brands that both Ford and GM market their vehicles under, which is much more extensive than that of Toyota; yet still they can't sell as many cars.
Market shifts really seem to be catching up with the big yank pair, and the seeming unwilingness to react quickly enough.

Thats more what I was trying to say, spot on actually.

There might not be a Ford or GM in the future if they can't resolve their issues with retired medical benefits.

 

[Tomas]

Two of the four pics you posted were photoshop jobs - speculative pics before the cars were actually released (I'm referring to the wagon and Maloo pics. The Maloo chop was a good job tho!)

There are official pics of the wagon at holden.com.au

Fwiw, I think that the Holden styling works well on the sportier models as they have wider/larger wheels that fill the arches nicely. The Maloo ute is way too gaudy for my tastes but I love the understated look of the Senator and Grange.

The utes are really fun cars. I have driven a manual and an auto SS and would love to have one. But I think a wagon would be much more practical (manual Calais wagon with FE2 suspension and cylinder deactivation would be nice please Holden!)

I think its been well rpoven im a retard at the whole internet thing. I was just trying to prove a point.

(actually, 4/4 pictures were photoshop efforts, and i had to go back and change two. Apparantly i missed some.. fuck i hate google image )

 

[Ben-e]

So picking another national market (and about the only other one in the world where GM and Ford have such a huge brand loyalty) is a good way to prove a point of internationlism?

Check the worldwide figures (here's a few from a mag sitting next to me):
-Toyota overtook GM Q1 this yearto become the world's biggest seller.
-In 2006 GM lost $2.41 billion, and Ford had simillar performance
-In the same year, Toyota made $20bil. profiit.

This doesn't even take into account the huge range of brands that both Ford and GM market their vehicles under, which is much more extensive than that of Toyota; yet still they can't sell as many cars.
Market shifts really seem to be catching up with the big yank pair, and the seeming unwilingness to react quickly enough.

On this, you would think that Holden and Ford Australia would wake-up and smell the coffee - they're loosing money because the large car segment is in decline - both make many different cars for a diminishing large-car market, and it won't be long before extra tariffs/taxes are implemented on excessive fuel consumption. Large fuel guzzling cars are not the future.