Just saw the new Astra/Opel tv add. Seem to be jumping on the VW golf train with the German thing! All i can say is go the Golf!

Yes, its only here because of the very popular golf. They do make some interesting gti style performance models but it would have been easier (and cheaper) to sell as a rebadged holden. I hope they are an improvement over the astras of old which aren't known for their quality.

General Motors doesn't really care about Holden sales by the look of it... so long as they have a sale...

Chevrolets and Vauxhalls will be next.. lol

and the German phrase at the end of adds is a bit over the top..
IMHO.. Das Auto - the auto..??

parts were very expensive when the Astra was a Holden [opel]

LEE

Opel is definitely aiming for VW's market in Australia, and pitching themselves as a "premium German" brand. Having said that, there are ads in the paper today offering the Astra for $24,990 driveaway with 1.4 litre turbo engine, 16" alloy wheels and even metallic paint included, which is very close to the price of the equivalent Cruze SRi, if not perhaps even undercutting it. In fact, I just looked it up and the Cruze SRi is actually $2000 more at $26,990 driveaway, with only 17" alloys in it's favour. And personally, I think the Cruze 17" alloys are quite ugly.

Whether we need two competing GM small cars in the same size range, built on the same platform, with the same engines/transmissions is an excellent question. When I was at Holden last year I got the impression that Holden management was not happy with Opel launching in Australia, but the orders had come from higher up in GM.

Really, given that the cars are basically so similar, I would hope that people could support Australian jobs and buy the locally-made product. Every Holden dealer should be putting giant "Made in Australia" signs on every Cruze to emphasize the fact.

this is nothing new, they just leaving the opel badge on rather than rebadging it as holden.

opel have been with us for a very long time, since at least the 70s as far as i know. Pretty much all holdens from late 70s is just an opel altered by GMH to suit our conditions and market.


its funny how many people are falling for this marketing scheme. We all know the auto trend is been going towards the European cars for a while now, so holden(or higher GM authorities?) did the obvious to jump aboard this ban wagon and just not going to rebadge the cars they have been selling for a long time to make it look like a new german car on the market.


My friend took out a loan with his gf to buy one of those cruize cars.

I just rolled my eyes at that one.

I bought a new Vw Golf in 2006/7 1.9tdi dsg.

Made in South Africa not Germany!!!

Had trouble with the DSG gearbox changing gears at random.

Then had a problem with wind noise, found that on the production line the machine hadn't been putting any locktight on the bolts that hold the skin to the door itself and the door sin was coming away from the car at speed...........

Sold it with 2000k's on the clock

It will take a bit of convincing to buy another water cooled dub

the main reason for the Opel badge and not holden is that the holden small cars have taken a beating since they started production in the old Deawoo plant.. Quality has fallen down from the german built models and sales have been affected

It all comes down the the Aussie public, holden did a survey asking if people would buy the same car one built in germany or one built in korea with there being a price drop or equipment upgrade and they result was quite high on the korean model, all people could see for the most part was cheap or free extras..

A very large amount of holden parts are all made at the korean plant now, panels and such. the quality isn't as good as it once was and all in all it has hurt holden and in turn gmc so they decided to relaunch opel here with that in mind and the desire of people to own a german built car..

truth be known most new cars are going down hill as the companys try to save money and the public demand more and more for standard trim.. yes some are better than others

steff...

Hi

The older cars from the same stable have a such a bad reputation in the trade that I would be surprised if anybody buys one.

No wonder Holden gets beaten in sales figures when it builds a big car nobody wants and small cars that smart people try to avoid, Ford isn't any better.

Steve

Holden's problem is that they can't adapt to the changing Australian market fast enough. Back in 2006 when the VE was first launched they could sell as many of them as they wanted. The Australian market has gone off the large car segment quicker than anybody could have predicted.

Check out this graphic for some proof:



So, large car sales fell from about 15,000 per month to 5,000 per month in only 10 years. Meanwhile, SUV sales swallowed that entire loss of volume, growing from roughly 7,000 per month to 17,000 per month. The fact that large-car buyers have moved to SUVs rather than small cars proves that the change in buying behaviour is mostly driven by fashion trends rather than a desire for better fuel economy. Large cars and station wagons are now desperately uncool, so buyers have switched to SUVs to fulfill the same purpose.

This one has got more to do with corporate goals than anything else.
GM has been trying to flog off Opel (the company) to any group with deep enough pockets to carry the debt that comes with it. We are talking hundreds of millions of dollars here, more than Opel's value in assets and more that GM can afford. Consequently they want Opel to be an established player in global markets, or at least look like they are to potential buyers. Getting rid of Opel is more important than giving Holden the right cars to sell from GM's point of view. In reality Opel will probably go the way of Saab within a mode cycle or 2.