Thanks stevedee3, this link works just fine :)
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As much as i have respect and love for the Australian Ford and Holden...its time for a radical change, the Labour handout will do nothing bt line up the pockets of GM USA CEO's. The AU factory worker will lose out and join the unemployed queue :(
look what happened to Mitsubishi Australia? where are they now?
this is my way of thinking:
1. Holden and Ford, immidiate stop in production of Falcon and Commodore. come up with small 4 cylinder car that majority of m\Australian families want and can afford at these critical times.
2. HSV and FPV to produce high performance and expensive cars for nieche markets only.
3. more government investment in research and development of greener and cheaper cars produced here in Australia.
i might be wrong or simply dreaming bt thats the way i see it...its just a joke to see a $40,000 Commodore or Falcon when i can have a $25,000 Corrolla or Astra which will suit my family more.
$6bn dollars health system and roads thanks Mr.R
So I read in the news last week that Matell Toys is worth more than GM and that GM is worth less than it was in post war USA....and that they also need US$7Billion to meet their next round of bills followed by another US$1Billion per month after that just to stay afloat.
Lo and behold this week the Krudd gumbyment finds a spare AU$6Billion to give to 'Holden'....Of course we all believe you Mr Krudd :rolleyes:
I think the only thing thats going to stop GM canning Holden is the fact that Holden was smart enough to build a product that is sold around the world as various models. The latest Commodore IS a world class car. Also with Holden bringing out the displacement on demand system they are thinking towards a future where emissions based tax and fuel use really matter.
Ford on the other hand...Oh dear...Ford US is in no better a position than GM hence why they have really been pushing their 'World Car' philosophy with the Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo...cheap, mass produced, very well built and reliable.
Ford Australia IMHO has been caught napping. They have built a car the rest of the world does not want AGAIN. Make no mistake Ford Aus is in trouble and I reckon the Falcon will be gone very soon. Another clue to that is in the Mondeo; its almost as big as a Falcon but better built and nicer to drive and with the XR5 able to outrun an XR6 while using less fuel and costing the owner less to buy.
Cynical...me?
Why didn't the government buy out Holden from GM for a couple hundred millions? That would have secured a lot of jobs and future income...
Holden have a small Size family car in the range. Its call an Epica. Its cheaper to bring in the Korean built Products such as the Barina Viva and Epica then build them locally. For a start they arent going to stop building the commodore. They need to get the return on there billion dollar project. So therefore a new factory plant would need to be built meaning new tooling etc. This would run into millions of dollars then you have the R & D and testing of a new model on top of this.
GM worldwide have already started looking at alternates. So far they are building certain cars in certain countrys. All Small platform stuff is coming out of Korea. Mid Size stuff Europe and Large size out of Australia and the USA. (the USA is a large market and GMH wouldnt cope producing all the large products here)