Vauxhall v Holden
Discussion
Apologies if that has been dealt with ad infinitum but I couldn't find a thread....
Why did GM decide to sell the HSV Clubsport as a Vauxhall VXR8 in the UK?
I know the car wasn't sold in the rest Europe as there was no LHD production from Australia but there was probably a Pontiac GTO or similar that might have approximated it.
So you have a big bruiser with the muscle to take a poke at M-Power and AMG and you try to sell it as Vauxhall??
Why could they not introduce a Sports brand called Holden which sold very specific models over here?
Be interested to know the real answer...
Thanks
Why did GM decide to sell the HSV Clubsport as a Vauxhall VXR8 in the UK?
I know the car wasn't sold in the rest Europe as there was no LHD production from Australia but there was probably a Pontiac GTO or similar that might have approximated it.
So you have a big bruiser with the muscle to take a poke at M-Power and AMG and you try to sell it as Vauxhall??
Why could they not introduce a Sports brand called Holden which sold very specific models over here?
Be interested to know the real answer...
Thanks
AFAIK it wasn't GM as such, but actually Vauxhall management that took the decision to import a small number of Monaro and re-badge them to introduce some real spice to their range of cars and improve the (dull) image of VX.
With that being quite successful, they then continued the idea with the VXR8.
I think they knew the cars would be very niche market though, being blue collar massive V8 muscle cars. In truth not really a UK thing for the masses.
Still, we are grateful they made such a bold move!
With that being quite successful, they then continued the idea with the VXR8.
I think they knew the cars would be very niche market though, being blue collar massive V8 muscle cars. In truth not really a UK thing for the masses.
Still, we are grateful they made such a bold move!
Vauxhall wanted to introduce a sporty new brand, like M or AMG or RS. They opted to call this brand 'VXR'
They used the Monaro VXR, VX220, VXR8 etc. to try to establish this brand as something aspirational and with sporting credentials. They were halo models basically designed to give the VXR brand some reputation.
They would arrange VXR events including at Santa Pod for example where they invited us to come along for free and run up the track before the main event started in order to set some atmosphere etc.
Basically, the purpose was to sell more (real) Vauxhalls, not to sell as many Holdens as possible.
Quite how / why they snuck the original 'plain' Monaro in I don't know, Dougie (username dougiemc maybe?) on here worked for them importing the cars at the time, he may be able to shed more light on it but I don't think he's been on for years...
Also, realistically, the Aussie specific Holdens were really only sold in Australia, so GM wanted to try and use some of their models overseas in order to get a bit more money out of those cars having obviously had to fund their development (a billion Aussie dollars for the VE for example). Hence the Pontiac GTO (to reuse a name with some history in the USA) for the Monaro, and then the Pontiac G8 for the VE (our VXR8). They finally used the VF as a Chevrolet SS, but sales weren't worth the money of developing LHD.
They used the Monaro VXR, VX220, VXR8 etc. to try to establish this brand as something aspirational and with sporting credentials. They were halo models basically designed to give the VXR brand some reputation.
They would arrange VXR events including at Santa Pod for example where they invited us to come along for free and run up the track before the main event started in order to set some atmosphere etc.
Basically, the purpose was to sell more (real) Vauxhalls, not to sell as many Holdens as possible.
Quite how / why they snuck the original 'plain' Monaro in I don't know, Dougie (username dougiemc maybe?) on here worked for them importing the cars at the time, he may be able to shed more light on it but I don't think he's been on for years...
Also, realistically, the Aussie specific Holdens were really only sold in Australia, so GM wanted to try and use some of their models overseas in order to get a bit more money out of those cars having obviously had to fund their development (a billion Aussie dollars for the VE for example). Hence the Pontiac GTO (to reuse a name with some history in the USA) for the Monaro, and then the Pontiac G8 for the VE (our VXR8). They finally used the VF as a Chevrolet SS, but sales weren't worth the money of developing LHD.
Edited by SturdyHSV on Wednesday 3rd November 08:50
vxr2010 said:
Good top Aussie bloke at the start of the vid..
Thanks for that video, I found it interesting and it made me curious how all the models fit together. After scouring wikipedia and some Australian fan pages, I've laid the information out in a diagram:
(sorry I'm a software engineer by day so I like over-complicated diagrams)
Does at least explain how the Monaro shares some parts with an Omega.
(sorry I'm a software engineer by day so I like over-complicated diagrams)
Does at least explain how the Monaro shares some parts with an Omega.
Edited by TheWidget on Sunday 9th January 16:12
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