New Commodore gets six of the best

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

Holden will show off its Commodore VX to New Zealand motoring writers near Sydney later this month.

The car will officially be released in Australia soon after the Olympic Games, but it isn't expected to break cover here until the New Year.

The biggest change over the current VT is to the grille and headlight assembly. VX Commodore buyers will have three to choose from, including a one-piece nose in the top-line Calais similar to the integrated grille-headlights of the Mitsubishi Magna.

The SS Commodore will have teardrop headlights. Holden has managed to keep the front-end design of the entry-level Executive model under wraps and away from spy photographers during thinly disguised testing in Australia.

The facelight appears largely insignificant, with an extra curve here and there, and changed numberplate treatment, badging and wheel covers.

But Holden has apparently been beavering away under the bonnet in an effort to refine the drivetrain.

The VX will come with an improved version of the VT's Series II engine. Engineers have concentrated mostly on ironing out the engine's harshness towards the top of the rev range.

This will probably be the only significant mechanical change, although there has been speculation over the past week that a new-five-speed automatic transmission might find its way into the Calais and high-performance variants from Holden Special Vehicles.

The VX Commodore comes three years after the VT, the only Australian-built car to have won Car of the Year in New Zealand.

The VT has been a huge success for Holden in Australia and New Zealand. This year on this side of the Tasman it is the top-selling passenger car, largely responsible for Holden's 35 per cent growth in car sales.

New-vehicle sales in 2000 are up by nearly 7 per cent over last year and Holden's share of the market had improved at the end of June to 12.9 per cent, a 2.7 per cent increase on the first half of 1999.

Meanwhile, a limited-edition scale model of the Commodore coupe has just gone on sale in Australia and New Zealand. The die-cast car is made in China and has nothing to do with Holden's marketing division. It looks remarkable like the two-door concept coupe unveiled at the Sydney Motor Show in 1998.The detail extends to the blue leather interior, chrome interior highlights and five-spoke HSV wheels.