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

Holden Commodore Hybrid to be Introduced by 2010

GM’s Australian subsidiary Holden is planning to launch a new hybrid version of the locally produced and developed Commodore according to General Motors Goup vice president Nick Reilly, who broke the news speaking at a quarterly strategy meeting from Holden’s Melbourne offices.

“We will introduce hybrids in the next couple of years,” said General Motors group vice president Nick Reilly. When he was asked by journalists on whether the Commodore would be one of them, he said: “That could be one of the first hybrids you could see (in Australia from GM). I would put a time frame on that of probably a couple of years.”

As you already know, the Pontiac G8 sedans are basically rebadged versions of the Commodore that are shipped to the US from Australia, meaning that the North American market will probably also see hybrid variants of the G8. -Continued

According to the drive.com.au website, Reilly also unveiled to reporters that a diesel-powered Commodore is also in the company’s product pipeline. “We don’t yet have a diesel Commodore but that will come,” he says. GM’s VP also confirmed that a four-cylinder Commodore was being looked at without however giving out any details on whether that unit will be GM’s 2.0-liter turbocharged unit found in the Pontiac Solstice, the Opel GT and elsewhere.

HSV Announces Clubsport R8 Tourer with 425Hp LS3 V8

Holden’s specialty vehicles unit – aka HSV, announced today that it will be adding a station-wagon version of the Commodore to its high-performance model line-up. Dubbed HSV Tourer, the supped up Commodore VE Sportwagon will go on sale with specifications similar to the ClubSport R8. Although HSV said that price and final specifications will be confirmed closer to start of sale, expect the Tourer to be equipped with the same exact 425 Hp 6.2-liter LS3 V8 engine as the recently revised R8 Saloon.

Holden Commodore 60th Anniversary Editions

Continuing its "special edition" marketing attack, Holden released details on the Commodore VE 60th Anniversary that will be available in two flavors, the Omega and the sport SS V. Starting with the V8-powered SS-V 60th Anniversary Special Edition it features new 20-inch 10-spoke alloy wheels, a colour satellite nav, rear parking sensors, chrome surround exterior door handles, rear spoiler, special ‘60th Anniversary’ floor mats and badges. –Continued after the jump

The Omega 60th Anniversary Special Edition offers $8,000 AUD worth of extra value with special features including new 18-inch alloy wheels, leather seat inserts, decorative moulding on instrument panel in micro silver, front grille insert, rear parking sensors, mobile phones bluetooth connectivity for compatible and special ‘60th anniversary’ rear badge. The VE Commodore 60th Anniversary Special Edition is on sale 1 May and is priced

Both versions will go on sale in Australia on May 1, with prices set at $55,290 AUD for the manual SS V and at $33,990 AUD for the Omega.