Photo: Holden Special Vehicles
The Ford Motor Company may have pulled the plug on Australian production, but General Motors didn’t do it just yet. The imminent stop of production for the rear-wheel-drive VF II Commodore is set for October 20, but in the meantime, Holden has a bit of an identity crisis on its hands.
2016, for example, saw the Australian arm of General Motors slump to a new low. With 94,308 vehicles sold, market share fell to 8 percent, representing less than one-tenth of the market share Holden was capable in the olden days. Now lessened to an import-only brand, the automaker has another problem to solve, one that’s affecting its go-faster division.
You see, discontinuing the VF II Commodore and all products based on the rear-wheel-drive Zeta platform doesn’t stand well with Holden Special Vehicles. Alas, a report coming from Car Advice suggests that HSV is thinking about changing its name into Walkinshaw sometime next year.
“Confirmation from three dealers of the name change cemented word from another source earlier in the year,” but more importantly, HSV-turned-Walkinshaw could see the performance brand import the Camaro and Corvette into Australia and convert these vehicles to right-hand-drive. While there’s no official confirmation whatsoever regarding this particular scenario, the publication expects the first Walkinshaw-branded product to be a performance-oriented take on the Colorado mid-size pickup truck.
Whatever the future may hold, there’s no question HSV will lose all credibility once the Commodore assembly line comes to a grinding halt. There’s no direct replacement in sight for the full-size RWD sedan, unless you consider the Opel Insignia-based NG Commodore as a fitting successor. However, is the Walkinshaw name actually an inspired choice?
Purists will likely argue that it’s a damning shame to give up the legendary HSV name. But at the same time, the three-letter brand would be merely a shadow of its former self by the time 2018 rolls in. For all intents and purposes, rebranding HSV into Walkinshaw sounds like an appropriate move for what is, boiled down to its very essence, a fresh start.
You see, discontinuing the VF II Commodore and all products based on the rear-wheel-drive Zeta platform doesn’t stand well with Holden Special Vehicles. Alas, a report coming from Car Advice suggests that HSV is thinking about changing its name into Walkinshaw sometime next year.
“Confirmation from three dealers of the name change cemented word from another source earlier in the year,” but more importantly, HSV-turned-Walkinshaw could see the performance brand import the Camaro and Corvette into Australia and convert these vehicles to right-hand-drive. While there’s no official confirmation whatsoever regarding this particular scenario, the publication expects the first Walkinshaw-branded product to be a performance-oriented take on the Colorado mid-size pickup truck.
Whatever the future may hold, there’s no question HSV will lose all credibility once the Commodore assembly line comes to a grinding halt. There’s no direct replacement in sight for the full-size RWD sedan, unless you consider the Opel Insignia-based NG Commodore as a fitting successor. However, is the Walkinshaw name actually an inspired choice?
Purists will likely argue that it’s a damning shame to give up the legendary HSV name. But at the same time, the three-letter brand would be merely a shadow of its former self by the time 2018 rolls in. For all intents and purposes, rebranding HSV into Walkinshaw sounds like an appropriate move for what is, boiled down to its very essence, a fresh start.
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