Final Commodores for 2017

[commodorenutt]

Originally Posted by Ford17

Peter Brock did more for Holden's Commodore than any one person has ever done for a single model, mass-produced vehicle, anywhere in the world. General Motors' top US marketing executive - John Rock - said as much back in 1997.

Consider the Commodore was almost unfit for Australia - a small European design placed in the land of large - this was no mean feat.

That he won so many races in one (all legally BTW - cars were indeed weighed back in the Group C days) cemented its popularity.

Any recommendations for reading "The Rise and Fall of Peter Brock" are also largely irrelevant, as John Harvey (who was technically employed by Holden at the time) has subsequently claimed responsibility for largely writing that book.

For Holden to pinch Brock's HDT model names does seem to be a bit opportunistic - given they were working on organising their own HSV operation back in 1986 - well before the polarizer/Director issue hit the headlines.

Hope the current HDT operation and the Brock family are at least being remembered with this current marketing exercise.

In addition to all this good work, Holden had ditched the V8 with the VL - despite the "V8 'til '98" campaign that was held.

The VL floor pressing didn't allow for the V8 to fit properly. GMH were only interested in the Nissan 6 & the Turbo would cover the performance angle.

It was Brock who pressured Holden into letting him shoe-horn a V8 into a VL (whilst racing a VK in '86). They succeeded - by lowering the engine a little, which managed to just squeeze the bellhousing & box into the tunnel (which actually ended up being altered anyway - for more clearance, in late 86 just prior to the V8 release).

Within weeks of the VL V8 release, the VL Group A was in full swing so they could get them homologated for '87. It is also widely known that HDT were developing the sequential-port EFI V8 for racing, that ultimately ended up in a Walky. And ever taken a look at an early Walky bellhousing? You'll find the odd one with HDT still cast into it....

So had PB not pushed the point for a V8, would Holden have ever reintroduced it? That remains to be seen. Perhaps it would have come back in the VN anyway.

But one thing remains factual history - in late 87 and thru '88, Holden were losing money hand over fist on the Nissan drivelines due to the Japanese Yen's massive increase. The only profitable 6's were those with a higher sticker price - basic models, the volume sellers, were killing them. The V8 remained profitable for Holden in all trim levels - hence the advertising push on V8s, and several limited edition V8 specials to push more V8 volume - and thus badly needed profit for Holden.

The V6 was never meant to be in the VN - but the financial pressure was too great, and they rushed it in so they could relieve themselves of the Nissan pain.

Had they not had the V8 to at least claw their way back towards some inkling of black on the balance sheet, perhaps the US might have pulled the plug on the local operation before the VN release?

Remember - Brock pushed for the V8 - which eventually became a saviour for Holden within 18 months - in the same time period when he was on the outer, and still trying to build cars sourced from dealer's stock.

Holden have a lot to thank him for, and so do HSV.....