Photo: Catalin Garmacea
Australian petrolheads already know that both General Motors and Ford will close manufacturing operations in the country in a few years' time. Though the Blue Oval sells a right-hand drive 2015 Mustang in this part of the world, the future is terribly bleak on General Motors Australia's side of the deal.
After the Holden Commodore V8 will stop production in 2017, the American carmaker will most likely import the future generation Commodore from China. That is if the name will stick around by that time. Furthermore, there's a lot of worrying about how the next Commodore will be front-wheel or all-wheel drive and, at best, will be powered by a turbocharged V6.
When a big company such as GM resorts to half-assery such as this, you sort of get a glimpse on the turmoil GM Australia finds itself in nowadays. But that's not the last of worrysome news we have to share with you. A highly-placed GM executive told Motoring that like the C7 Corvette Stingray, the upcoming 2016 Chevrolet Camaro will not get a right-hand drive variant for Australia, New Zealand or the United Kingdom.
About the Commodore's replacement, some voices hint that cost-cutting won't go as low as importing a China-made vehicle. Those people are adamant that the next generation Commodore is going to be the soon-to-be-launched second-gen Opel/Vauxhall Insignia. That means Aussie drivers will basically get a rebadged Insignia, which will boast with turbo V6 grunt and all-wheel drive in its most racy outfit.
When a big company such as GM resorts to half-assery such as this, you sort of get a glimpse on the turmoil GM Australia finds itself in nowadays. But that's not the last of worrysome news we have to share with you. A highly-placed GM executive told Motoring that like the C7 Corvette Stingray, the upcoming 2016 Chevrolet Camaro will not get a right-hand drive variant for Australia, New Zealand or the United Kingdom.
Boo and hiss!
As if that wasn't enough of a tearjerker, the official also disclosed that it's highly unlikely for General Motors to produce a replacement for the badge-engineered US-only Chevrolet SS. We've driven the big V8 performance sedan in the past and we liked it a lot mainly because it feels like a Vette with two extra doors and seating for five. Besides that, the SS is good at pulling big burnouts, but it's also perfectly comfortable.About the Commodore's replacement, some voices hint that cost-cutting won't go as low as importing a China-made vehicle. Those people are adamant that the next generation Commodore is going to be the soon-to-be-launched second-gen Opel/Vauxhall Insignia. That means Aussie drivers will basically get a rebadged Insignia, which will boast with turbo V6 grunt and all-wheel drive in its most racy outfit.
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