Aussie Motoring

Holden has announced that it will be cutting 600 jobs from its Adelaide workforce. Holden says that increased efficiency at it’s Elizabeth plant and the end of production of the VZ models has meant that 600 positions have become surplus to requirements.

Would Holden ever give fans a voice?

Earlier this week Holden’s American cousin - Pontiac - opened Pontiac Underground, a new website designed to:

“designed to tap into the “street-level” energy of fans from all its active and retired brands by uniting and introducing the hundreds of offline and online groups already in existence”

With the slogan of “Where Passion for Pontiac Is Driven By You” Pontiac is taking the brave step of opening up a site where ordinary Pontiac owners can talk about their good … and bad … experiences of the brand.

2007 Pontiac Solstice

This is something that some companies in other industries have tried with varying degrees of success. Not only do sites like this attract some positive comments but they also give disaffected owners a chance to complain loudly about their problems.

Whether it works for Pontiac or not is something that’s worth watching but it does make you wonder if Holden, or even Ford, here in Australia would be prepared to open a site like this and give their buyers a voice.

You can read more about the marketing industry’s thoughts on the site here

Australian Muscle in America

by Stuart Livesey

Pontiac will be releasing a new sports sedan in America later this year and once again some Australian muscle will be available in the US. The Pontiac G8 will be a re-badged version of the current Holden SS Commodore built in Holden’s Adelaide plant.

Previously a slightly softer version the Holden Monaro was imported and re-badged by Pontiac.

All I can say is Hmmm.

The Wheels Car of the Year has just been announced and it happens to be the VE Commodore - the modern vehicle that has a fuel consumption slightly worse than my seven year old Hyundai and a spare wheel that is not really designed for Australian conditions.

If I was the other two finalists I’d be feeling rather pissed off about now.

Does Wheels honestly expect us to believe that Holden is better than BMW? Or that a poor fuel consumption figure in this day of high fuel prices is something that should somehow be overlooked, forgotten or considered to be of little consequence?

As I said, it just makes me go Hmmmm.

Convertibles are making a comeback in Australia

Despite the fact that we’re supposed to be taking more care of our skin and our summers are becoming hotter the Australian motoring public is showing a heck of a lot more interest in convertibles and this summer there are some hot ones hitting the streets.

Over the coming days Aussie Motoring will be showing you some of the best but right now let’s start off with a blast from the past.

This is a 2000 Holden Barina Cabriolet 5 speed 1.4 litre fuel injected. Average kilometres are anything between 90,000 and 110,000 and and according to Carsguide.com.au it’s worth somewhere between $9,700 and $12,400

For fun in the sun at a very cheap price this has got to be a great start.

First it was Ford and now Holden is shedding staff

Holden announced yesterday that they would be cutting 200 positions from their engine assembly plant in Melbourne before Christmas.

Earlier this year the plant, which produces a four cylinder engine mainly for export, was operating at full capacity but since August demand for the engine has dropped and production has been scaled back from 750 per day at its peak to 500 per day.

11,584 VE and WM sedans and wagons to be recalled

This recall affects all VE and WM model Commodores built prior to 11 September 2006 because of a potential problem with rear seatbelt buckles. A spring within the assembly could be bent and this may cause the belt to release when in use.

Holden says that owners of the affected Commodores will be contacted directly by mail and advised of the problem and where to take their car to have the problem rectified.

.. and the WM series as well.

It seems that Holden has discovered a problem with the fuel line and one hose in particular may be faulty and so all Commodores manufactured in July and August this year will be recalled.

Holden says that the problem has the potential to cause a fuel leak although there have yet been none reported.

Update - It seems that the recall for the fuel line problem only applies to around 1521 V8 Commodores - and you can see the full details here

Ajax Fasteners, the parts manufacturer that supplies specialest screws and clips to all four Australian car manufacturers has managed to stay in business until at least Friday.

Aussie Motoring reported back on August 12 that the company was on the brink of collapse and if it did go the consequences for Ford, Holden, Mitsubishi and Toyota would be dire. (You can read that report here)

Somehow the company managed to trade through Monday and Tuesday but workers on the first shift this morning reported to work with the expectation of being stood down. However overnight the four Australian car makers managed to cobble together a plan that will see Ajax Fasteners last until at least Friday.

It’s hard to believe but that headline is closer to fact than fiction. As reported on August 8 in More Supply Problems for Holden and Ford the industry is in dire trouble as another parts supplier is on the brink of closure.

Ajax Engineering Fasteneters, a company that supplies fasteners and bolts for Holden, Ford, Toyota, Mitsubishi and PBR Australia, is in voluntary administration and now cannot afford to pay it’s workers. Union spokesperson, Bill Shorten, claims the company needs $450,000 by Monday to pay workers and a further $2 million by the end of next week.

Unless the money is forthcoming the Administrator will have no choice but to close the plant. If that happens 200 people will be out of work immediately but that’s just the start. It’s estimated that PBR will run out of stock in less than 24 hours, Holden will be out of stock on Monday and Ford may just last till later in the week.

Re-supply is not just a matter of ducking down to the nearest Bunnings store and picking up a few packets of screws either. While fastemers and bolts may not sound very high tech what we’re talking about here are specialty products designed and produced for particular applications. Finding a new supplier will take months.

Talks aimed at providing a rescue package have been taking place between the Administrator and the stake-holders but one stake-holder has been unable to agree to the terms of a funding package.

You can read more about this looming disaster in the Australian car industry here