Sad day for sure, not looking great for Holden as well I guess for in the future, Government's back many moons ago should of only had two car company's for our population size, they have done the job for Aussies over generations, Sad Day for sure
FORD to close in Aust by 2016!
#26
Posted 23 May 2013 - 08:06 PM
#27
Posted 23 May 2013 - 08:22 PM
Its not good new but sadly i wont be buying a VE/VF or any new local Holden/Ford as i nead a 4x4 ute, duel cab. Holden/Ford dont make one so what there selling is of no use to me at all. Not many people have a use for a large auto sedan/wagon or a ute that only one passenger can sit in.
#28
Posted 23 May 2013 - 08:36 PM
There will be many more to follow
Unfortunately true Geno :(
Australia is becoming a nation of buyers not builders
Trades and trade skills are slowly disappearing
We have a 2007 VE Commode and cannot afford a newie but the next one will more than likely be another 2nd hand VE
Wait till the buyers of your average 4-banger front wheel drive compact has more than 1.5 kids and tries to stuff them and luggage into that
u-beaut average 4-banger front wheel drive compact.
This government and the new one in September are all built with the same mold and will do fur king nothing about the above, imports, illegal boat invaders.
Sorry, just remembered what they offer the people put out of work, they offer TAFE courses which will give them a better chance of getting a job by giving them new skills.
Sorry, been there done that, I can touch type, have computer and digital camera skills and after doing the TAFE courses I was still out of work.
It will need a very gutsy leader/government to make some very hard decisions, mmmmm, ain't going to happen.
Barry
#29
Posted 24 May 2013 - 12:20 AM
I think the local car manufacturing business is done. regardless of which Government is to blame/contribute. It's a bit late for naming & shaming, what is in store for the future?
Ford announced a few years back that the local Plalcon was on the out, & that it would be replaced with their 'global platform' front wheel drive generic NYC taxi. It wasn't a secret. Now they have given a date.
Think about it ...... 1 mechanical package/body shell/trim level optional car that they can peddle world wide! Tooling costs that can be easily recouped with quantity which allows for more quality in trim/mechanical levels. Isn't that what the Japs did? Isn't that why we are in the mess that we are now?
Once you have sold 1mil cars from the tooling, you are basically earning profit. How many VT-VZ were manufactured? Pittance compared to Toyotas 30mil Camrys ....... or Corollas .......... or Hiluxes which they sell to many global markets.
Our manufacturing industries are next to go. Quality in that field doesn't seem to matter as much as deadlines these days.
Holden will 'hold on' for as long as they can, which in reality is 2 or 3 more models of the local Commodore (historically speaking) , after which that platform will be obsolete. What then?
#30
Posted 24 May 2013 - 12:32 AM
Holden and Ford aren't giving people what they want and haven't done for a long time.
You can't survive in any business if your competitors meet the customers needs and you don't.
Simple.
#31 _Quagmire_
Posted 24 May 2013 - 01:56 AM
they are potta...it's just turned into a "niche" market that is too small to compete inHolden and Ford aren't giving people what they want and haven't done for a long time.
You can't survive in any business if your competitors meet the customers needs and you don't.
Simple.
if ford had followed holden into the export market it may not be in this mess so soon
and if they where given a level playing field with taxes/taffifs the outcome may have been different
sorry to say but this has been on the cards since the early 90's ...i just doubt button and his cronies expected thier plan to work this well
rip ford
Edited by Quagmire, 24 May 2013 - 01:57 AM.
#32
Posted 24 May 2013 - 01:58 AM
toyota had more sales with the hilux only because of the mining boom in w.a otherwise mr average couldnt afford an sr5 top of the range hilux at what 55 k rip off
then you got all the camrys with all the fruit for 28k drive away when holden wanted 36k for a commodore and ford where the same 37 k and they are basic models
so the way i see it holden and ford just wanted to make as much profit as possible well its come back and bite them on the arse
like col said its to late now
#33 _Quagmire_
Posted 24 May 2013 - 02:00 AM
sell em to the yanks as cop carsHolden will 'hold on' for as long as they can, which in reality is 2 or 3 more models of the local Commodore (historically speaking) , after which that platform will be obsolete. What then?
Edited by Quagmire, 24 May 2013 - 02:01 AM.
#34 _oz772_
Posted 24 May 2013 - 07:18 AM
I disagree with some of you blokes commodore up to a couple of years ago was still one of the most sold sedans in australia and a good car
toyota had more sales with the hilux only because of the mining boom in w.a otherwise mr average couldnt afford an sr5 top of the range hilux at what 55 k rip off
then you got all the camrys with all the fruit for 28k drive away when holden wanted 36k for a commodore and ford where the same 37 k and they are basic models
so the way i see it holden and ford just wanted to make as much profit as possible well its come back and bite them on the arse
like col said its to late now
To be honest Gene, Toyota loses a lot of money on each of the sales of those Camry's at $28K or whatever it may be. The $36K or such for a Holden is probably in line with what you are getting as a car, and leaves a small margin for profit. Toyota can afford to lose lots of money on those Camrys in Australia, because the cost is amortised via the rest of their sales throughout the world. Holden and Ford Australia don't have the ability to do that (and hence what Statler says above). The game is pretty much up. In a world scale, as unfortunate as it is, time is done for making cars here - a shame.
#35 _Skapinad_
Posted 24 May 2013 - 07:53 AM
Watching the news last night or the night before.... snippets of the factory workers who will lose their jobs... dont get me wrong i feel sorry for them... but they also showed footage of workers driving out of the staff carpark...
first car out ? VW golf... next some jap thing.... lol.
#36
Posted 24 May 2013 - 09:55 AM
Same storey with every industry, we want to make but don't want to buy it.
Go figure.
Australia's entire industry is going out the door and I blame the government entirely.
#37
Posted 24 May 2013 - 10:06 AM
somebody voted for them
True and you can't always blame one party or leader over another, if a policy is so bad, the successive leaders have the opportunity to fix it.
s
#38
Posted 24 May 2013 - 10:10 AM
Toyota loses a lot of money on each of the sales of those Camry's at $28K or whatever it may be.
That may be so, the Japs were clever in realising the potential of the aftermarket, they made their cars cheap but made up for it by hitting you hard with the price of their spare parts.
Most people are eager to save money up front without considering the after effect, plus many buy a car to sell it straight after warranty or before it falls apart and pass on the problem$ to the next buyer.
s
#39
Posted 24 May 2013 - 10:15 AM
#40 _uctorry_
Posted 24 May 2013 - 10:44 AM
Doesn't matter who is in government
If Aussie are not going to buy Australian made and support Aussie producers then u have no one to blame but ourselves
Ford sold 14 000 ford falcons last year .
#41 _HI05BROCK_
Posted 24 May 2013 - 10:49 AM
A very good read. Wish the government could take note and make these changes.
#42
Posted 24 May 2013 - 10:57 AM
Hi
Ford say that it costs twice as much to build a car in Oz than it does in Europe. Europe is not particularly renowned for unfair wages. Maybe it's not all Ford Australia's fault? Just saying!
Cheers
Bazza
#43 _Skapinad_
Posted 24 May 2013 - 11:17 AM
great read ! good to finally see some real fact and statistics weighing in on the discussion... very rare !
Edited by Skapinad, 24 May 2013 - 11:18 AM.
#44
Posted 24 May 2013 - 02:25 PM
great read ! good to finally see some real fact and statistics weighing in on the discussion... very rare !
My guess is many people don't know it and if we all here emailed our local member, perhaps sending them a copy of that speech and enough people did it, something may be done before Holden faces the same demise.
s
#45
Posted 24 May 2013 - 07:43 PM
People have very short memories, GMH & Ford retrenched approx two thousand tradesmen in Adelaide in 1971, finish work on friday 3.00pm pack your toolbox & collect your pay then don't turn up monday, your retrenched and any one who worked at the Woodville plant will remember the rumors that were flying around before the retrenching. I'm surprised that they (GMH & Ford, Chrysler has gone.) have lasted so long but they did receive some Government funding to stay in the country & not move manufacturing / assembly overseas. GMH are looking at 2022 what happens then ??
#46
Posted 24 May 2013 - 11:15 PM
Holden and Ford aren't giving people what they want and haven't done for a long time.
You can't survive in any business if your competitors meet the customers needs and you don't.
Simple.
I agree
#47
Posted 24 May 2013 - 11:23 PM
What option do you have if your in the market for a small SUV ,I would have liked to buy a Holden item ,but no match for price and reliability compared to Subaru ,Mitsubishi .Not a fan of Captiva and not aussie built.
#48 _Hamster_
Posted 25 May 2013 - 12:05 AM
"Figures released by Holden show it received $2.17 billion in state and federal government assistance over the past 12 years, compared to $1.1 billion for Ford and $1.2 billion for Toyota, News Limited can reveal."
so do we get the 1.1 billion back from ford?
On the cars, holden make average cars sure but in my opinion it is about the fuel consumption now. Sure heaps of people say they want power blah blah but that is the minority now and they need to change. The whole idea of people saying they want small cars is bs in my opinion. Im 6 foot 4 and most younger kids are taller now rather than smaller and need the leg room in the back seat of a car so it would appeal more to families to have a bigger car. HOWEVER due to yuppie wankers thinking they need a 4wd in the city that is what is popular and that is what is being sold (we won't go to far into that).
So in otherwords they need to appeal to the newer market. They seem to be trying to appeal to the old fashion market.
Edited by Hamo, 25 May 2013 - 12:05 AM.
#49 _oz772_
Posted 25 May 2013 - 07:33 AM
What option do you have if your in the market for a small SUV ,I would have liked to buy a Holden item ,but no match for price and reliability compared to Subaru ,Mitsubishi .Not a fan of Captiva and not aussie built.
Subaru and reliability are poles apart. Two friends with Outbacks, one current (diesel manual), the other superseded. They have been nothing but trouble. Clutches, gearboxes, and other things. I'm sure there are stories for all cars, but it seems people think Subarus are some doyen of reliability, and they aren't.
#50
Posted 25 May 2013 - 08:20 AM
Subaru and reliability are poles apart. Two friends with Outbacks, one current (diesel manual), the other superseded. They have been nothing but trouble. Clutches, gearboxes, and other things. I'm sure there are stories for all cars, but it seems people think Subarus are some doyen of reliability, and they aren't.
I agree, the reliability myth attached to certain cars is just that, a myth.
Especially current Toyota. This company built its reputation on SV21 Camrys & AE92/102 Corollas nearly 2 decades ago. Ask an owner of a present-day Hi-Lux diesel or Kluger about reliability & running costs, you won't get a very pleasant response from some of them.
Current Commodores & Falcons are light years ahead in reliability compared to those of the 80s & 90s, many Japanese cars, not so.
Since I closed my workshop last year (est. mid-70s) I now sell electronic & ignition parts to the trade, It's amazing the difference between the public's perception & reality.
Dr Terry
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