Holden Builds Seven Millionth Vehicle

The seven millionth vehicle has rolled off the production line of General Motors’ Australian unit Holden which is also celebrating its 60th birthday this year. The milestone vehicle was a 60th Anniversary Commodore sedan (Pontiac G8 in the States), identified for dual fuel LPG fitment. Holden built Australia’s first mass produced car – the 48-215, in November 1948 at Fishermans Bend in Port Melbourne, Victoria while its one millionth car rolled off the production line almost 14 years later in October 1962. The Commodore was launched in 1978 and has been Australia’s best selling car for the past 12 years. -Continued

GM Holden Vehicle Production Milestones

• First Holden (48-215) launched November 1948 (Fishermans Bend, Vic)
• One millionth (EJ) October 1962 (Dandenong, Vic)
• Two millionth (HK) March 1969 (Dandenong, Vic)
• Three millionth (HQ) June 1974 (Pagewood, NSW)
• Four millionth (VC Commodore) June 1981 (Dandenong, Vic)
• Five millionth (VN Calais) August 1990 (Elizabeth, SA)
• Six millionth (VX Commodore SS) June 2001 (Elizabeth, SA)
• Seven millionth (VE Commodore) August 2008 (Elizabeth, SA)

HSV W427 503HP Commodore Enters Production – 38 High Res Photos / Wallpapers

The “Lion King” of all Holdens, the Commodore based HSV W427 is now available for order in Australia and New Zealand. But good luck trying to get one as all 90 cars being built in 2008 have been pre-sold. Overall, HSV will build no more than 427 W27s with prices (not including the new Luxury Car Tax regime) set at $155,500 AUD.

Designed as Australia’s answer to the BMW M5, the HSV W427 is equipped with the Corvette Z06’s 7.0-liter or 427.ci LS7 V8 engine developing a thundering 503Hp (375kW) and 640Nm of torque. Even though production has started, HSV has yet to release any official performance figures but we pretty sure that Holden’s four-door muscle car won’t leave anyone disappointed. -Photos after the jump

2009 Holden Epica Sedan Gets Mild Facelift and New Diesel Engine

GM’s Aussie brand has unveiled the 2009 Epica Sedan which is also known as the Chevrolet Epica in Europe and as the Daewoo Tosca in Korea. Styling changes are subtle as they are reduced to a new front grille, rear fascia and alloy wheels. Holden also upgraded the Epica’s safety equipment which now includes ESP and six airbags as standard across the range. -Continued

The most important changes are under the hood as Holden eliminated the 2.0-liter V6 petrol engine and replaced it with a new 2.0-liter turbo diesel unit that produces 148 Hp (110 kW). The new diesel model that gets a 6T40 six-speed automatic transmission with Active Select as standard, achieves an average fuel consumption of 7.6lt /100km or 31mpg U.S. Finally, the 2.5-litre V6 petrol model is also upgraded to a six-speed automatic transmission.

MY09 Epica model line-up and pricing is as follows (RRP excludes Dealer delivery and government charges):

Epica CDX 2.5-litre petrol (6 speed auto) from $27,990

Epica CDX 2.0-litre diesel (6 speed auto) from $29,990

Epica CDXi 2.5-litre petrol (6 speed auto) from $30,990

Epica CDXi 2.0-litre diesel (6 speed auto) from $32,990

Epica CDXi Optional Leather Pack $2,000

2009 Holden Colorado Pickup Truck Unveiled

GM’s Australian branch has lifted the covers off its soon to be released, new light commercial vehicle, the Holden Colorado that will replace the Rodeo. Despite the name change, the Colorado is nothing more than a reowrked version of the Rodeo. The reason that Holden renamed its pickup truck to Colorado is because the Aussies lost the right to use the Rodeo name after the split between GM and Isuzu. -Continued

Available in 4x2 or 4x4 variants, the Colorado will be offered with three engine options, including a 161Hp 3.0 litre four-cylinder common rail turbo diesel. Also available is a 3.6 litre Alloytec V6 petrol engine and a 2.4 litre four-cylinder petrol engine.