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Showing posts with label Holden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holden. Show all posts
Cruze Hatchback
May 14, 2011 5:13 PM
Following the Australian market launch of the locally made and subtly refreshed Cruze Series II Sedan in March, GM’s Holden division announced today that it has began testing the five-door hatchback version of the subcompact model to fine tune the car before its introduction later this year. Holden also released two new photos of the Cruze hatch, which was designed by the firm’s Port Melbourne design studio.
General Motors previewed the Cruze hatch as a thinly disguised concept car with Chevy’s bowtie logo in early 2010, while the production model made its world premiere at this year’s Geneva Salon. As with the sedan model, the only visible styling differences with Chevrolet’s version of the Cruze hatch concern the front grille and bumper designs.
Holden is still keeping mum on the technical details, but it’s safe to assume that the hatchback’s engine range will mirror that of the Cruze II sedan. One of the cars pictured in the official photographs is equipped with a diesel engine, probably the same 2.0-liter turbo diesel with 161HP and 360 Nm of peak torque offered in the update four-door Cruze.
Other engine choices are likely to include a 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline unit and a 1.8-liter naturally aspirated gasoline unit, both delivering 138-horsepower. A hotted up model with the 'SS' moniker sporting Opel's 180HP 1.6-liter Turbo is also said to be in the cards for the future.
The new Holden Cruze hatch will be manufactured at GM’s Port Elizabeth plant in Adelaide, with the first examples expected to reach showrooms in the fourth quarter of the year.
PHOTO GALLERY
Sport Truck Redux: New Rumors About the Holden Ute Heading to the U.S.A.
May 5, 2011 2:33 AM
It’s a poorly kept secret that many Americans are quite fond of the Australian-made and Commodore-derived, Holden Ute, which we recently drove in Queensland. It’s big, brutish and comfortable with a bevy of engine and equipment options to suit virtually any budget or taste - so long as those tastes only extend to, “Big, brutish V6 or V8 engined utes”.
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Before the Global Financial Crisis of 2009, the subsequent bankruptcy GM and the disillusion of the Pontiac brand, as many as half of the Holden Commodores built in Australia were destined for the U.S. and the world in the form of the Pontiac G8. A thinly disguised Holden Ute even made a showing at the 2008 New York Auto Show as the Pontiac G8 Sport Truck.
Since then – and after GM’s government sponsored recovery – rumors have been rife that the Holden Commodore and its ute bodied brethren could return to the United States badged as Chevrolets. With petrol prices on the rise once again and the predictable financial struggle some tradesmen have been experiencing, many are looking to downsize.
Ex-Holden boss and current GM President, North America, Mark Reuss explains:
“The bandwidth we have on pick-up trucks in the US is huge. When you look at fuel prices today, I think there's going to be a segmentation of that bandwidth. I've lived in Australia and I've seen where fuel prices are US$5 a gallon, and lots of tradesmen will use a ute with a tray on the back to do lots of different things, and they don't need the bandwidth of a big pick-up truck.”
So there’s certainly a market for the Holden Ute (or a Holden Ute-derived vehicle) in the U.S., though there probably won’t be an attempt at conquering the North American market until the VE Commodore’s successor lands Down Under in 2014. New emissions regulations set to be introduced stateside in 2016 are likely to make conditions all the riper for a lighter, sportier model to sit alongside Chevrolet and GMC’s more “heavy duty” models.
By Tristan Hankins
Via Drive , Live Pics Tristan Hankins/CoolPictures
PHOTO GALLERY
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2011 HOLDEN VE SERIES II UTE
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