Matt Greenop: Accept it writing's on wall for big beasts
5:30 AM Saturday Feb 9, 2013
Holden Commodore Photo / David Linklater
This weekend will surely be an odd time for the Holden faithful, and the fanatical for that matter.
The next generation of the Commodore, the VF, will be unveiled for the first time, calling a halt to the "inside information" of the rumour mill and other wild guesstimations.
What we do know is that Commodore as a large vehicle isn't going to be here for long. New Zealand and Australia mightn't be totally over the big-car mentality (although very close to it), but even those who won't give up the giant saloon know that the writing's on the wall.
It's not only Commodore, the Falcon's staring at a firing squad as well. With small cars making far more power than they used to, and diesels not being the smelly and rowdy machines of old, there are alternatives. Many of us are just trying to figure out which of these alternatives we like.
The large-car segment has been losing traction for years, and you have to wonder how much of the viability equation was based around sentimentality or plain old stubbornness. It's doubtful that if either the Ford or GM version was a new-ish, fledgling nameplate, they would have gone the distance that they have.
What is it that makes us prefer a particular type of car? I'm not just talking about buying, that's often just a case of necessity. Some vehicles aren't designed to be loved, but there are still people who devote half of their lives to fawning over them.
Take the Trekka that Phil Hanson wrote about recently - it's pure sentimentality that has kept the handful of those that have survived in existence. So what will become of these Fords and Holdens when the market just says no? What will happen to Bathurst, the holiest of all weekends? The replacement for a Commie or Falcon could be a hybrid or electric - you just don't know what the next generation will like, but time, I guess will tell.
Gains that have been made with more efficient engines have been lost as comfort, convenience and safety features add bulk to vehicles, and inefficiency in the driveline.. The current Holden Commodore series weighs in from about 1,700 kg. The 1971 HG base model was about 1,300 kg. The early fifties FJ was just a shade over a tonne.
The 1.8L car that I drive today has way better performance than the 2.5L car that I owned back in the 1970's , so I'm missing nothing. My question to you is this. What percentage of cars on the road have engines larger than 2L now as compared with when the oil crisis of the 1970'a hit? I'll be certain that there are considerably far more small engined cars nowadays compared to big ones in the old days.
Why don't our police use ford territory's for their fleet? My thoughts are they'd be very practical esp for traffic duties with that upraised stance for spotting bad drivers in traffic!