With the Holden Astra officially sent to that great auto scrap yard in the sky, power-hungry tuner HSV is faced with a serious dilemma.
Not only was it one of the few remaining quality cars in the Holden fleet, its departure leaves HSV without a foundation for its Astra-based pocket rocket.
Initially HSV boss Phil Harding wanted to import the outstanding VXR Corsa (pictured) from the UK – a 140kW super Barina capable of sprinting to 100km/h in under seven seconds – but fears exchange rates would price it out of the Aussie market.
So Harding is instead investigating whether Holden’s new Cruze can hold up to the major upgrades required. In fact, our spies tell us there’s more than one Cruze currently undergoing tests in the HSV yard. The only problem with that, though, is that it will undoubtedly be awful.
But we think we can solve this problem. With auto wife-swapping currently the rage in the motoring world, we figure it’s time for HSV to branch out.
So here’s our list of small cars we’d like to see go under the HSV knife. The requirements are simple; they have to be reasonable driving cars that would benefit from a serious power boost.
Mini Cooper S – Already famed for providing the most fun you can have on a road while obeying posted speed limits, The Cooper is no stranger to tuning jobs, with the boys at JCW constantly turning out mentalist versions of the hatch. The only downside is the price. With the S already the better part of $40K, you’d need to sell an organ to buy an HSV version.
Renault Clio Sport - It already clings to hilly roads like a mountain goat on steroids, but could benefit from the addition of a stonking big engine. Perhaps the 325kW GTS V8?
Mazda MX-5 – A true rear-wheel drive sports car, the MX-5 would be converted into a certified drift monkey if you squeezed even one more kilowatt into it. Which is probably why we want them to so badly.
Ford Fiesta – It drives, steers and feels like a much more expensive car. Sadly though, it’s as powerful as butterfly, and with the XR4 model nowhere to be seen, it’s time HSV buried the hatchet with FPV and stepped in to help.
VW Polo GTi – The GTi has always been a good car, it’s just that, well, it’s kind of the girlie version of the Golf GTi, isnt it? A big, lairy power boost would soon fix that.
Tata Nano – No words needed here. I mean, just imagine…
So that’s it. Now tell us, what would you prefer? The Cruze? Or one of our choices?
Give me the Cooper. Maybe a Porche engine & some decent brakes. Then some valium to calm me down again after I’ve been driving it.
Good grief
You want Ford to let hsv look after the fiesta!!
That would be like leaving your child at a day care centre run by Ozzy Osbourne!!
The cruize is another korean s/box asking anyone to spend hsv dollars on one will be difficult as there are just not that many stupid people out there – well maybe!
renault hsv – just doesnt sound right!!
mini hsv – yeah how about a mini hsv van!!
The Sandman reborne!!
Black dog is right. If HSV got their little mitts on one of their rivals cars (Fiesta), they’d just paint it pink, detune the engine until it makes the Toyota Prius seem like a supercar and let Toys R Us fit out the interior.
I reckon the best bet would be the Nano. How about slotting in a whopping great supercharger under the hood, fitting a monstrous spoiler on the back and pumping up the guards to fit, say, 20-inchers? Now THAT would be a traffic-stopper.
didnt they do that allready with the lada,remember the Brock Lada sedan thing.
lada samara was that Brock special.i just googled lada , the new lada niva is build as a joint venture with GM and lada,so half the commodore is built in the salt mines in siberia most likely.
OH MY GOD THE NEW COMMODORE IS A F###en LADA.
Yep, and it should be a damned lot better than the Commodore.
You really don’t like Holdens very much do you Cold Fusion?
Yeah. Good choices. Get a track ready Mini or a road going JCW and shove a Bugatti engine in there, and to make it fair NASA can strap 2 rockets onto the sides…Ultimate hatch by HSV, I think this might work(Mind the price though!!)
Nissan Z car. What’s the new one 370Z, 380 ? The old one’s got the looks, but apparently it’s a bit of a pussy to drive. HSV could add a few turbo’s, some black plastic bits and another 100kW, to make a right beast!
Well gmh do source a lot of cars from all over the world,
But Lada! – well thats just nasty!!
G.O.M. – Yeah, I guess you could say that. We have a 1993 Holden Rodeo, and, well, I guess that’s all I need to say, really…
If I’m to be honest, Holden has become a much better car company in the last 20 years and have made a few half-decent cars, but they’re like Hyundai – even thought they’ve gotten better, you still just can’t trust ‘em.
Cold Fusion – A Rodeo!! No wonder you don’t like Holdens. What was that a copy of? I’ve forgotten. Go for the older Holdens, pre 1979. Those you can trust. All car manufacturers have gone downhill since EFI was introduced. How you feel about Holden is fairly close to how I feel about Fords. Except I think old Fords were crap to except for the genuine cobra, xb coupe or the xw-y gt.
If this stuff about the new commie coming from Lada is true, then I would be steering well clear of it. They just seem to be going downhill to me. Holdens used to be good cars. 30 years ago.
Sure, G.O.M., I’ll check them out. Anyway, back to the subject of cars for HSV to look after. How about the Hyundai Tiburon (and I’m being honest here)? It looks good, but despite having a 2.7L V6, it only manages 165hp. That equals a miserable power-per-litre ratio of 61hp per litre. Heck, even a Corolla manages 75hp per litre. Maybe this is an area HSV could really show the world what they can do.
I reckon that the Tiburon is a potent car and, despite the inevitable torque-steer problems HSV might have, it should make a great car that could compete with the likes of the Ford Focus RS (if it turns out to be really, really good).
It’s not a car, it’s a ‘white good’ designed to transport lazy people to the shops and back.
Oh yeah – The perfect match a Hyundai/Holden
I think they should start importing the GeeWizz
from the uk!
Easily hotted up with loads of vents and stickers
And a performance mode button-this would switch on a 2nd battery for well! amm err -for going faster!!
and it would be affordable!
coldfusion family owns a VR commodore got it 2nd hand is a 93 model have no problems with it.
and sounds like you own a lemmon.the only reliable cars we’ve had have been commodores but as i explained to G.O.M. ages ago,my hubby is old school sparky(no gammin laptop like it is now)thats why.every other car we,ve had nuthin but problems.HSV needs to come up with a totally original idea,built in oz for us only,that is fuel efficent,drives well and handles well in all conditions.love the older holden’s they have class,and are just plain hot to look at when they are done up.and G.O.M.i heared god of mind from disturbed love it.now i know why you love so much.
Mmm, A Tato Nano running a Hayabusa engine????
and sucked in ford,hooray to holden we got loundes back.that partnership was doomed from the very beginning.F.O.R.D. fixed or repaired daily.and repco stands for RIP EVERY POOR C**T OFF!try to charge me $350 for a bloody new toolbox with everthing in it when i can get one for $200 from auto barn!just basic tools for goodness sake.
Love the commitment to checking out the old Holdens Coldfusion. I won’t hold my breath waiting for you to do it.
HC34 – Disturbed is a bloody good band. If you have that CD it’s thier first, track 1 is brilliant & track 12 just rocks. They do good covers as well. They do an awesome cover of Shout by Tears for Fears & Land of Confusion by Phil Collins. Both heaps better than the originals IMO.
As for the little car to do up, I’d like to see HSV go retro & come up with a new Torana that isn’t just a concept. There is definite room for improvement. Failing that, give them a Suzuki Swift. It just has dangerous written all over it. Besides, it’s already a crap car so they couldn’t stuff it up anymore than it already is.
Holden chick34 – It’s a lemon, alright. It has a 2.5L four-cyliner, but it uses – get this – about as much fuel as a HSV Clubsport, and that is when it’s in tune! Produced a tyre-shredding 100hp brand new.
Oh, and by the way, if you’re wondering why I’m still keeping it, I use it for ‘dirty jobs’, like if it rains and there’s mud everywhere.
One of the reasons I prefer Ford over Holden is the fact they made the GT40 and its successor, the Ford GT. Holden have produced burnout machines, but for some reason never made anything that could be called a supercar. I reckon they should do a Monaro successor that can compete with, say, the BMW M3 and maybe the Corvette Z06. Holden should fix any traction woes the new car might have, so that it doesn’t remain stationary whilst its rivals’ taillights fade into the horizon.
What’s that? The W427? No, too many doors and too much weight.
I like both those ideas Coldfusion. I don’t think Holden would do it in aus though because of the limited market over here. If they did design something to rival the M3 they would just import it O.S. anyway & leave some half done version for us aussies.
A decent traction control system would be good for the HSV range to. You get sick of having to start in second just so you can have less wheel spin.
Excange the engine from the rodeo. A Jackeroo motor should slide straight in from memory. With a fuel bill like that you will soon save what you spent. Assuming the engine is the problem. Could be a leaky fuel line or pump to. Among about 20 other things it could be. Better still, dice the whole bloody thing for an old hilux or something like that.
Best way to make a hot hatch follow these simple rules
1.A overpowerd 4 cylindger motor ie 220hp-300hp
2.A exhust sytem that makes it sound like a lion’s roar
3.6 speed gear box.
4.Rear wheel drive for wicked fun burn outs and drifting
5.don’t go copying other style of cars be creative make a desgin your own having areo dynamic’s is good but we don’t want to be driving around in bubbles.
6. you have to have a red version because they go faster.
7. instead of going bunta on things we don’t need have basic’s a stero that’s cheap air con that works throw out the rest of the rubbish such as power windows cruise control sun roof and all the rest of that no driving experiece feeling.
8. have a bonet you can see there is nothing more annoying then not being able to see where your bonet it it makes you feel like your driving a t.v not driving a car.
9.Make the car fun you don’t need oversive mags and complicated tech to make a car cool if you keep it resonably simple it will keep the price fair and if your not paying exuberant omounts of money for a car you want to have fun in then it makes it more fun.
10. there is no 10.
Now isn’t Chevy Volt thing based on the Cruze. How about HSV going morally better route and selling some sort of machine with Tesla performance. Along with the wind turbine and solar panels for the roof of your house…… I know oil company addicts won’t like the idea, but keen drivers might just get it.
EARTHIE, keep it up, I read it with int-rust, sorry pb slang..!
How about a really long extension cord for that Earthy? Than you can always find your way home.
Nah, wouldn’t need it, I’d have a big bag of methane collected from cattle farms stuck to the roof to power the generator engine. God help the poor souls stuck in traffic behind me though!
If your so concerned about the environment Earthy, why don’t you convert the Alpha to run on deep fryer oil? I don’t know the name off the top of my head but there is a company over here in WA that will happily do the conversion for about a grand. They admit that you will have the occasional break down, but you own an Alpha, I’m sure your used to that.
You don’t need to harvest methane from farms either mate. Just feed me some fried onions & point me at your carby. You would have a very unique hood ornament. Just gotta hope it doesn’t backfire. That would bring new meaning to burnt out rings!!
hey cold fusion holden never had a good enough machine to out rival ford gt? i think not!!
VK GROUP 3 SS that brock won bathurst in.between brocks driving skills and the VK ss
it made brocky king of the mountain,the gt didnt make dick johnson king of the mountain.
I think he means the GT4. I think that’s what it’s called. Like the one Clarkson had imported from america for himself.
No.I’m wrong. The GT40 was brought out in the mid 60’s. Type it into google & check out the pics.
And if I’m not too wrong it was a bloke called Eric Broadly at LOLA racing cars in the UK who actually designed it. FORD just gave him the cash to do it.
One to cheer up HC34 a bit:
Little Johnny was in class on Friday afternoon when the teacher made an announcement: “Every Friday from now on, I’m going to ask the entire class one question. Whoever can answer the question correctly, can have the following Monday off school”.
“How many litres of water are in the ocean?” the teacher asked.
“Don’t know miss” chorused the class.
“I’ll see you all on Monday then” said the teacher.
Next Friday rolls around & it’s question time. “How many grains of sand are on the beach?” asks the teacher.
“Don’t know miss” the class chorused again.
“See you all on Monday” replied the teacher.
Little Johnny is no fool & knows that these question can’t be answered. “I’ll stuff her” Johnny thought to himself. He got two ping pong balls, painted them black & took them to school the next Friday.
Just as the teacher was about to ask her weekly question, Little Johnny took out the two black ping pong balls & rolled them at the teachers feet. The teacher saw the balls, picked them up & held them high over her head. Then she asked “Ok, who’s the comedian with the black balls?”
Little Johnny jumped out of his chair & yells out “Eddie Murphy miss. See you Tuesday.”
I checked out the VK SS on Google, and I remember reading about it in the Motor mag (yes, Motor). Whilst it was undoubtedly a good race car, it doesn’t have all the traits that made the GT40 so successful. Mid-engined, big-block power and reliability to name a few. That’s why it won at Le Mans in 1966. And 1967. And 1968. And 1969.
True, Holden is inept when it comes to mid-engined stuff (remember the V6 hybrid thing?). Surely, though, Holden should be able to come up with a machine that does 0-100km/h in under 4 seconds (the best they can do is 4.5 or something) and possibly as good-looking as the GT40. It shouldn’t be THAT hard.
Wit thier current financial troubles & the limited market that it would appeal to they won’t be in any hurry to do something like that.
I’m sure they could, if they improve the traction control system they use, but a mid engine supercar isn’t exactly a high demand item in these days of financial trouble & families wanting performance, safety & something they can put the whole tribe in without it costing an arm and a leg.
For goodness sake – the gt 40 is a icon/legend in every way.
gmh/holden have never built anything close!
Earthy is right the gt40 was a colaberation between lola and ford
(just have a look at any lola from the era)
a genuine gt40 recently sold by southebys fetched 4 million!!!
and how much is any genuine gt worth now!!
on the subject of w427s – you holden fans may know this – they brought out a very limited no of track ready hsvs about 7 years ago 1 saw one at the brissy car show they had a roll cage etc but were rd legal (might have been a monaro)
i took a pic but lost it on my old puter
Anyone know about this one????
Was that the bright yellow thing they built? The GTS-R that was. I’ve forgotten the specs & exact model it was based on even but I remember it was canary yellow, had yellow highlights all through the interior & had a whopping great bloody wing on the back of it.
Thats the one but i saw a red one!!
yes the wing thats right ,was huge wheels were black,race seats,
i have never seen one anywhere after that show!!
i remember the price being about 110k and the one on display had a sold sign on it
I bet Lindsay fox has one in his garage
hes got everything else!!
Hang on – the yellow one is the gts-r 1994 vr i think.
one i mean is around 2000 2001!
The only car I can find from the hsv range with a factory fitted roll cage wa the 1996 HSV GTS-R. Only 75 were built with lots of input from HRT. The original asking price was just over 75grand & prospective buyers were flown to Melbourne, accomodated in a5star hotel for a night & given a test drive out at the lang lang facility. I know 10 at least were written off which of course makes it worth even more. I wouldn’t want to contemplate what one is worth now. If any survive for another twenty years they will probably be around the half a mil mark I imagine.
Struth it was a rare car i saw!! only 2 ever made
check it out
on the biggest link i have ever seen!
wish i still had the pic
http://images.google.com. au/imgres?imgurl=http://i mg34.exs.cx/img34/4094/hr t4277ct.jpg&imgrefurl=htt p://www.gminsidenews.com/ forums/f67/one-million-do llar-monaro-rare-hrt-427- concept-up-grabs-sold-920 -000-a-61176/&usg=__Eo7pb K5ryVmETMU320HTmoWGgNg=&h =400&w=600&sz=42&hl=en&st art=74&tbnid=EL-KQKR8BwU4 hM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=135&prev =/images%3Fq%3D2000%2Bto% 2B2004%2Bhsv%2Bspecial%2B build%2Bcars%26gbv%3D2%26 ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26saf e%3Doff%26sa%3DN%26start% 3D72
Bloody hell. What a link. What a car!! Leaves that 427 for dead.
What was that about slow Holdens Speed?
I can’t understand why they won’t bring back the torry there problem solvvved wack a twin turbo’d 4 wiith a new body torry’s are rear wheel drive so it would be perfect.
Not a fan of any 4cyl myself though it would be a good answer to thier small car problem. I’d rather see them bring it back with an ecotech 6 in it a standard though I doubt many would be too happy about the power to weight ratio there.
I’d like to see HSV drop the E2 v8 or the 427 in a new design of torana. What a weapon that would be. Perhaps I should start saving for my next project as soon as the current one I’m doing is finished. Project outline:427kw dropped into an LX hatch. I might have a serious think about that one. It would never be legal but it sure would be fun at the drags!
speedo did you not see top gear on monday,rear wheel drive is no good.personally iv been in trouble in a rear drive 99% more then in fwd or allwd.i think rear wheel drive should be banned,its too old tech.
Front wheel drive has it’s advantages but it also has an awful lot of disadvantages to. If you having trouble with a RWD it is 100% because of the way you drive. Absolutley nothing else is to blame there except the person in control.
Do you realise that the statement you just made means banning some of what are recognised as some of the best made & safest cars on our roads today?
Just so you realise what exactly you are talking about & how utterly stupid your idea of banning RWD’s is Spandau, here’s a few of the vehicles that you propose be banned -
Skyline R32,33 & 34. MX5, RX7 & 8. BMW 1, 3 & 5 series. Most Mercs, Porches, ferrari. lamborghini, Ford gt.
That’s just a few. There’s alot more on that list some of them are the top cars ever produced. Almost every supercar ever made & any muscle/performance based car.
Getting the idea that it would be a dumb thing to do yet? It’s your driving Spandau, not the car.
ok ban fwd then,or untrained sex workers.
Nope-front wheel drive sux on most cars.
Our driveway has a rwd fwd awd and 4wd
(wich has all,cept fwd)
NO one likes the fwd!-ok its an 01 magna but a good one with good tyres.
tourque steer is always there,i think if you learnt in a rwd,you probably dont like fwd!!
If Holden can’t make a supercar for us Aussies, what they need then is something cheap yet exciting so we can at least have something half good. That sounds like the Mazda MX-5 to me. The great thing is that it’s rear-wheel drive, so it could be a drifter. Should be loads of fun.
Did you check out Black Dog’s link Fusion? Those specs are very impressive. Shame about the price tag & that they only made two of them.
I keep coming back to a new version of the Torana everytime someone says holden should make something cheap & exciting. The originals were designed so that they could handle a range of different engine capacities so they could easily do that again so that there was a 4cyl for those who want a city car that’s cheap to run & kind to the environment. A V6 version for those that want a bit more grunt & a V8 version for those of us that like raw power. HSV could have a ball with it to. Silly Holden will probably never realise that the Torana is the ideal car to fill in the missing gaps in thier range.
Spandau – Send the untrained sex workers this way. I’ll train them.
lol i’m rolling round the floor in stitches G.O.M. best thing i’ve heard all day.yes remember the car black dog.and i think holden should pull their finger out of their hole and put into production(when they get the money too)
210 MODEL TORANA with V6 echo tech motor,make it fuel efficent,dont even touch the body keep the original body with modern paint job,heaps of safety features and bring it out in two forms.v6 and v8.problem soved for holdens delema
with the rear vs front drive,hard cornering is my main issue,in front or awd you can push it at ten tenths but in a rwd you all ways have to back off to 8 tenths,[talking about cars with similar power],looks like in f1 there is nothing but straight line acceleration,i lke to be on the gas as early as possible.
having a bigger and a longer safety margin in rwd i mean.
That’s cods whollop Spandau. It’s a matter of being able to alter your driving style from a car that wants to drag you wide through a corner (FWD) & a car that wants to push you through a corner (RWD). It’s a totally different driving style & technique. In a RWD you won’t suffer from understeer half as much as a FWD. When a FWD pulls you wide on exit because of too much throttle you have no choice but to back off. In a RWD you keep the wheels pointed the direction you want to go & accelerate harder. You have to enter a corner slower in a FWD than RWD. A RWD is more likely to spin on corner exit if you nail the throttle too hard & are not ready for it.
Put it like this. Watch a drift race. Then come back here & try telling me you can push a FWD harder through a corner. You can’t.
Sorry Spandy. It’s just your driving style.
so my driving style allows me to drive a fwd faster around corners then a rwd,goood.you can drift a fwd but only with the hand brake.gom you let the cat out= rwd is like driving a fwd with the hand brake on. but drifters have locked diffs.
I remember reading about about a Vauxhall (i.e. Holden) that I thought was actually a very decent car. It’s the Wortec Carbon Edition, based on the VXR8, and it has a supercharger helping generate 447kW and 813Nm. 0-100km/h takes 4.4 seconds, apparently.
A supercharger would be brilliant idea for a new Holden. Think supercharged V6 with rear-wheel drive, no stupid electronic aids (except traction control, with a simple on/off switch) and a simple manual gearbox without the useless dual-clutch stuff.
I guess it’s selttled then Enough people would love to see them bring back a new version of the Torona and FWD SUCKS i know i got one and trust me it sucks!
But what we’ll really get is some type of Korean built ‘Cruze’ with big wheels and a spoiler on the back. That’s what happens when marketing and consumerism control things.
I would love too see HSV make the cruze, only to have it die on its arse a week later. Give me any other of those options mention, but do everyone a favour and let FPV do the job. That way, it wont look like some hollywood bimbo with dodgy plastic surgery, like micheal jackson (minus the bimbo part; R.I.P) Except the tata nano. HSV already know how to buil a flop, just look at the W427. Of the 427 planned to be built, only 133 were sold to the public. What a flop. If they do the cruze, expect the same sort of results.
P.S.: TGA, that is a puicture of the cruze, not the Corsa VXR as mentioned.
earthy you should know better,the koreans are well on the way to producing the most reliable cars in the world,allready you can run a hyundai to 200k with maybe one oil change,holdens, fords,even a bmw or merc would be blown well before then.the koreans take a lot of pride in their jobs,would you buy a bmw coming from south africa or vw from argentina or romania or honda or toyota from india.not me i will only buy korean,even the little getz and the kia rio will probably go half a million km.
speedo if you swap your lancer to a falcodore,you will cry,trust me.you may even shoot your self in the head with a paintball gun.
Haa-that would be funny – i can see a stencil outline on the wall of speedys head surronded with fluro paint.
Spandau – If you can’t get a Ford or Holden motor to last you more than 200thou, there is something wrong with your car maintainance shedule. I’ve run more holden engines than I can remember past 500thou & my girls old man (taxi driver) reckons he can get a million from a Ford. I think he is exagerating just a bit but there is no question that they will outlast any asian garbage.
One oil change in 200thou? Bull$hit! Your hyundai would be long dead. Try every 10-15thou for a decent run out of an engine.
Speed – Don’t listen to Tango, I think he’s been smoking something for the last few days with some of the stuff he’s been saying.
ok heres the goss on the first ever ute in australia.it was during the deppression that a farmers wife in 1930’s wrote to manufactures and said they needed something to take her to church in on sundays,and for him to drice pigs sheep to markets in,so the came up with the first ever ute early ford then the gm company followed suit.its still going today is in vic has number plates vic 001.info from the denny ute muster!
no gom its happend,somebody traded in a excel with only one oil change in the book,when the sales guy asked who else serviced the car,the owner said nobody else ,that it,it has 100k warranty,sales man said,yes but thats not the service intervals.
hdrippo,did you watch 60 minutes?
Exception to the rule Tango. There’s always one. Few and far between though. I’d bet on a well maintained Holden over any asian car everyday & twice on Sunday. I hate Ford’s & I’d bet on the Ford outlasting anything asian to.
Spandau Tango have you been drinking? I can’t push a FWD or RWD into or through a corner as hard as I can an AWD. So working on your theory, doesn’t that mean that everything should be banned except AWD & 4WD vehicles? I hate to tell you but G.O.M. is right, it’s all about driving style & technique & Black Dog is right that it probably depends on which of them you learn to drive in. As another qualified mechanic I would have to say that Holdens, Ford & any other engine that doesn’t have an overhead cam will generally last longer than a rice burner.
The first ute was built by Austin Seven.
As you can probably tell from my screen name I like Toranas so I’m all for bringing that one back.
TGA it seems no one really likes your choices of car to let HSV have a crack at. Maybe you should have picked some that people don’t look at and say “GAY!”
yes xu1 i was a bit,and your first bit there,i dont think rwd or fwd will handle corners better then awd either,but im sure a fwd can be pushed harder then a rwd,it they have similar power.i think someone proved it with the first 2.4 magna against the 2.4 sigma with same tyres etc,the sigma was in the scrub every time.
yes torana would be great. holden stop buy cheap shit from overseas and start making a new torana rwd only with a v8 option i know i would buy one
So…..we’re thinking a successor to the Monaro or Torana, anything but front-wheel drive and no stupid fuel-saving hybrid/V6 hippie engines, just a big V8 and no driver aids (except an on/off traction system).
And, I agree, Holden should stop wasting time buying Daewoo/Opel/Vauxhall stuff from overseas and get going on a Monaro or Torana successor.
Gotta have the Torana with a 4cyl or V6 ecotech option or the greenies will be complaining. I’d only be interested in the V8 version myself but we have to provide for the masses to. If they made a new Torana as FWD it would just be another pice of crap & not worth going anywhere near.
Spandau – Against a sigma? I’d bet on a shopping trolley handling better than a Sigma. Talk about body roll. If you believe test results like that, then no wonder your barking up the wrong tree.
yes but the first magna wasnt too hot either,this was 20 years ago,it was a good comparison back then,to show people that the fwd was as good or better.
I guss we will leave it at each to thier own then Tango. I’ll still take a RWD over FWD anyday though.
By the way, your not a track racer are you? What are you doing pushing that hard? Should we start calling you Speedy Spandau?
Spanua Korean cars are rubbish i drive one for work and they are forever breaking down don’t lie there garbage you wouldn’t even put them on top of rubbish because it would be insulting to rubbish
I’m happy the communtiy agree’s well top gear australia you will have to tell hsv that the public want the Torry back.
speedo,are you a lawer as well?
Insulting to rubbish!! Classic.
Come on Top Gear Aus, lead the push for the Torana to be brought back.
Don’t forget the Monaro, Speedo.
So, I guess that’s it then. HSV, we want the Torana and possibly the Monaro back. Just please, please, PLEASE don’t go all eco-hippie on us.
we want the torana we want the torana.holden bring back the torana
Ok-bloody to-tor–tooorhana,
cant beleve i said that!!
But it has to have balls-not stickers!!
and i want an agx version in a hatch with the “tent option”
remember that anyone??
I do. My old man has been after one for about ten years. They ran the old ad for that on TGA in the first series I think.
I can’t believe you said Torana. Here I was thinking your vote would be to bring back & update the TC or TD Cortina with a 302. Full of surprises you are Black Dog.
I meant a9x – yeah a mate had one long ago.
Oh dont get me wrong-im not changing sides but this is a blog on holdens-And hatchback toranas are cool!!
No gom dont like cortinas – even though they are fords(uk fords)-just ugly,…
Knew which model you meant as soon as you said about the tent out the back. Just figured it for a typo.
Yeah Cortinas suck. I used to have a TC with a 250 in it. Went ok but had a habit of ‘floating’ down the road at anything over 120kmh. The pommy imports with the indicators on the wrong side of the column always drove me nuts.
Enjoy Bathurst all. I’m late.
Been thinking about the Torana. Obviously I believe no one should drive at all. Except me in my Alfa once a month. But……
Now isn’t the new Vauxhall/Opel Insignia VXR quite a nice piece of kit. 4×4 hatchback turbo thing. The new Saab 9-3 is very, very similar underneath and will be coming to Aus. So the basic structure of the car will be certified already for Aus. (The Insignia not likely to come as far as I know). But how about HSV getting a hold of the Saab version of the Insignia VXR? Only downside is that Saab was just sold off to Koenigsegg, so it would be just for the period of this model.
And Cortina’s are horrible. My dad had one from work in the UK, 1600cc’s of pure mass produced crap. Even an Austin Princess was a better car (when the BL workers could be bothered).
Why not stick in the GM camp by hotting up the Daewoo M300 i4. Surely HSV could use its 1.2 Turbo to produce a pocket rocket. It will be on global release next year as the Chevy Spark so it will probably come to Aus eventually.
The one problem with what you said small and Beutiful Daewoo need i say more. i like your enthusiasim though.
Small has a good point.
Most People want the image”only”-making it go like the image is largely irrelivant,give the masses a genuine eco frindly hsv at a realistic price,badges/wheels/wings and guages dont cost much!!
Then they can concentrate on making the enthusiast models better.
(Smug followup)- However the above would not work in the case of fpv-ford fans are a little harder to sell to!
If only GM had something like the Fiat 500 Abarth hiding around somewhere. Oh wait, it does, the Opel/Vauxhall Corsa and Fiat Punto where developed jointly. The 500 is based on the platform of the Corsa. Surely there’s some way HSV and indeed Holden could get around the economies through import discussions and joint work practices with Fiat and give us the Corsa VXR?
An HSV Punto Abarth??????
HSV-Smart 4???
even though the 2 words should never be used together!!
I like the Abarth but someone already did that you need somthing no one else has done i like the Suzuki swift and that hasn’t been turneded into a over powerd car yet but the word Suzuki just doesn’t do it for me ohh sigh.
i love fiat 500s,especially the abarth,michael schumacher has one.
HSV shouldn’t be making cars like the holden cruze they already made a car that my dad keeps mistaking for an astra. i am a holden fan and i want to see fasst v8s with high fuel consumption and high emissions so step up holden and make cars that are col and that people won’t mistake them for anything.
Ryan – And HSV will go bust within the year unless they diversify. Not many being sold as is.
lol-post 104,just spat coffea on the puter!!
As a mexican would say K
I know many HSV enthusiasts love V8s but the number of spectators for V8 Supercars could fit into a phone box compared to the world wide viewers of WTCC or WRC. HSV has potential to expand globally if it produces a vehicle that can match the Subaru WRX and Lancer EVO X. In the WTCC that could be achieved by providing support for the Chevy Cruze teams (rebadged to HSV). On the rally front, the Punto Arbath is already in the WRC and the Cruze and Barina do not provide good potential rally platforms hence my suggestion of the M300 which could be produced in WRC form (4WD 2L) and JWRC (FWD 1.6L). Add to the mix a Dakar capable AWD Maloo and they would have a good range appealing to a world audience. From a purely nationalistic viewpoint, I would love to swap my EVO IX for a competitive HSV rally vehicle if only they produced one.
Opel corsa OPC by MSD seems to make quite a decent little 4×4 super 2000 Rally weapon. Yup, where’s the HSV version. (Bio diesel powered of course!)
http://www.msd-world.com/ archives/?p=78
I agree with you both but we all know that just won’t happen.
106. black dog, not you again! My apologies for my former post, really not sure what inspired me to write that. Good I wasn’t edited though, like that Hey Hey skit. Technically it wasn’t offensive?!
ps. Ryan, you’re still a goose, and so is your sister. And your Dad.
earthy,re msd corsa,looks great as do all comp prepared cars,this is the type of stuff that should only be passed for ADR,with maybe a 1.6 diesel and a 6 speed box,and compolsary helmet law=99% reduction in injuries,agreed?
Just keep my personal agenda out there…..
Anyone else out there reading Monbiots book ‘Heat’. Love the link between Faustus and climate change:
One theme in Doctor Faustus is sin. Throughout the play, Faustus is continuously making wrong choices when it comes to his lifestyle. His first sin was greed. Faustus began his downfall by making a pact with the devil. Doctor Faustus is a German scholar who is well known for his accomplishments. He grows sick of the limitations on human knowledge, which leads him to his interest with magic.[9] Faustus summons a demon, Mephistophilis, ordering him to go to Lucifer with the offer of Faustus’ soul in return for twenty-four years of servitude from Mephistophilis. At the news of acceptance from Lucifer, Faustus begins his years filled with sinful nature. Faustus feeds sin with his need for power, praise, and trickery.[10] He becomes absorbed in the way people look up to him, believing him to be a sort of ‘hero’. In the end, Faustus realizes his mistake in believing the knowledge power will bring him happiness. At the end of his twenty-four years, fear filled Faustus and he became incredibly sorrowful for what he had done, but it was too late. When fellow scholars found Faustus the next morning, he was torn limb from limb, with his soul carried off to hell.
If only there where a less scary version, but truely, we have very little time to mend our crazy ways.
earthy what is that crap,PLEASE EXPLAIN,err actually,DONT.
Sound’s Ironic. i probly would have had a chuckle if i had seen fantus face when he got dragged to hell with the knoledge he didn’t have to cheat and be sinful and that he wasted his life and gift then he had no chance to do anything right sound’s kinda funny.
Won’t bother to explain the Faustus link to current society, just have a read of George Monbiots new book ‘Heat’. (You could even read the intro where the ref is located at a bookshop in 10 minutes next time you are near a bookshop)
PS I’m not George Monbiot and have no links to him or the Guardian Newspaper and don’t stand to make any cash!
Wonder what sins you’re committing Spanex?
where do i start?????i farted yesterday,i felt so quilty,10mlgm of methane gas.
Building a Korean car into a hot hatch is a sin.
10 Mlgm isn’t so much Spandex. I wouldn’t worry about the hounds of hell just yet. More of a squeak than a fart.
Speed Demon – Korean cars aren’t great I know, but Aussies will be building the Cruze soon enough, so an HSV version isn’t so far off. The Cruze forms the basis of the Chevy Volt, so it’s even possible that they could turn the wick up a bit on the electric motors and produce something with the performance of the Tesla 4 door saloon or at least getting close to. That would kind of be cool-ish. Instant full torque from zero revs sounds almost V8-ish to me and might even get a petrol-head excited.
HMM i doubt it the words HSV and cruze should not be mixed it’s like hotting up a camery just pointless there so boring the cruze they should be called the snooze that’s how boring they are if they want to make money as i’m sure they do they should play to the market and give people what they want not what they say they have to have that’s why i say the Torana is still the car they should do think of how many people that would make happy.
Making us happy isn’t on thier priority list I don’t think. Making money, that’s a different story.
I’d buy a Cruze, then rip it to pieces, throw the entire drivetrain, brake package & steering/suspension in the rubbish where it belongs. Then I would throw the interior & the wheels. Shove a 5lt V8 in it with a toploader & 3.08 diff. Forget that FWD nonsense. Build a custom steering & suspension package for it & fit 4wheel discs with 6 piston calipers. Modify the interior of a VL Calais & fit that with a nice set of chrome mags. There you go, one decent car. Shame it would still look like a pile of freshly laid droppings.
Hang on, maybe I could just buy a decent car to start with, save myself a small fortune & not end up with a body that looks like it was fabricated from tinfoil.
HC34 – Pics will be up tomorrow. Will give you link in morning.
are you all forgeting that even mercedes benz has a factory in china and most of the jap cars are made out of parts made in india,china,thailand and other cheap labour places,so i think korean products are better then chinese any day,might be that the cruz is a superior built car then even a c class merc,and also,i think all the rolls of sheet metal for car bodys come from korea china or india,just hope your new car has the korean steel.
That sheet metal used by the asians probably came from Australian mines in the first place.
The only decent holdens are old ones & there is no such thing as a decent ford. All asian cars are rubbish. You need tiny hands to work on them.
TGA – A Tato Nano done by HSV? Have you guys been smoking the wacky backy?
i was reading a story in a magazine about the GM plant in china,next year alone they are going to build 10 more different models of buick and chervolet plus all the different parts,so just about every part of the commodore is actually made in china and just assembled here?.
And Millions of dollars of Aussie Tax Payers cash is poured into GM why exactly?
If we are flipping there bills then we should get in a say in the car’s they build you know like shape desgin engine rear or front wheel drive or rear wheel ect shame on HSV for telling us we are to drive the snooze i mean if i asked you if you wanted a wedgy witth your undies pulled over your head you would probly say no and then i just went and did it that’s what HSV are saying to us that we want to drive cars we hate is HSV run buy a third world dictator.
Speed Demon, What did you just say? I’m a bit slow off the mark although that could have something to do with the bottle of JD I am currently making rather empty. I got the jist of the first bit, I think, but the rest was lost on me.
The solution is easy, rebuild it yourself so that you have a decent car.
Yeah but it would be nice if they would just build cars we like.
conman,you have to drink atleast half a bottle of jd and the all speedos posts become crystal clear,iv said this before he should be the prime minister,brilliant man.
Spandua if i was prime minister you should be doing stand up i always wanted to try stand up but none of my material is any good.
thanks gom look forward to it
speed demon lol you make me laugh
HSV is made for musle cars not little rice burning jap crap so if you want a pussy 4 go to Nisswan or Toyota and leave HSV for us grown ups