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They sold the Clubsport and Maloo as Vaxhaul VXR8s in England but no one wanted them.

US car sales are similar to ours except they have more 'pick-ups' and bigger versions of them. The ute was planned as a Pontiac variant but died before it got off the ground. I don't think it would have been a big seller. Your average 'murican would rather have a Dodge Ram or Ford F Series than a sedan with a tray.

Well duh, poms aren't ute people.

American car reviewers who review Aussie Utes are impressed and it would have had certain novelty. They sold the Monaro as a Vaxhaul too but it was more successful as a Pontiac in the states.


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Well duh, poms aren't ute people.

American car reviewers who review Aussie Utes are impressed and it would have had certain novelty. They sold the Monaro as a Vaxhaul too but it was more successful as a Pontiac in the states.


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The Australiana was never exploited in US car exports
Remember the Ford Capri convertible
 

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Seppos aren't ute people either, they are pick up people. As are we now. Hence tough guys with hugely original and unique tatts drive Ford Rangers and Holden Colorados instead of Falcons and Commodores with trays on the back. The US just take it to the extreme.

Correct, from here: https://www.motor1.com/features/358016/20-bestselling-vehicles-2019/4635573/ and tabled below for reference.
30.6% in the top-3 american pickups alone.
Sedans 23.7% of top-20 total sales
Note the absence of any European Luxury Brand making the top-20, as well as the 'cheap' versions such as Hyundai, Great Wall, etc

RankMake / ModelHalf Yearly Sales 2019Type
1Ford F-Series896,526Pick Up
2Dodge Ram633,694Pick Up
3Chevrolet Silverado575,600Pick Up
4Toyota RAV4448,071SUV
5Honda CR-V348,168SUV
6Nissan Rogue350,447SUV
7Chevrolet Equinox364,048SUV
8Toyota Camry336,978Sedan
9Honda Civic325,650Sedan
10Toyota Corolla304,850Sedan
11Honda Accord267,567Sedan
12Toyota Tacoma248,801Pick Up
13Jeep Grand Cherokee242,969SUV
14Ford Escape241,338SUV
15Toyota Highlander239,438SUV
16GMC Sierra232,325Pick Up
17Jeep Wrangler228,032SUV
18Nissan Altima209,183Sedan
19Jeep Cherokee191,397SUV
20Nissan Sentra184,618Sedan
 

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Seppos aren't ute people either, they are pick up people. As are we now. Hence tough guys with hugely original and unique tatts drive Ford Rangers and Holden Colorados instead of Falcons and Commodores with trays on the back. The US just take it to the extreme.

Pontiac was planning to take the Commodore Ute to the US as the G8 ST, but was cancelled before they could do it.

In any case, 'trucks' like the El Camino Hawk Dork posted are still well remembered in the US, so we can't say one way or the other as to how they would've gone had they been exported.
 
Worth noting the exchange rate history over the life of the Zeta platform as well. When Zeta was first conceptualised and funded, the AUD was trading at around 60c/USD. Soon after the VE exports started, the exchange rate was virtually at parity and remained that way until the twilight years of the platform. There was probably a strong business case for exporting the Commodore at one point such that GM saw fit to commit a billion dollars to the architecture it was built on, but that business case probably didn't take into account the dollar moving by that much.

The Chevy SS probably would have sold much better if the price were listed when the dollar was worth 0.75 USD and not the $1.05 USD it was worth when it first went on sale.
 
Unlike models like Monaro or Commodore, the Torana had run its course by the time it was discontinued.

An icon of its time but better left there.


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Well that's Holden's fault for making the awful UC Torana with ugly tail lights and no V8 option.
Headllights were crap too looked like a bad attempt at trying to be a generic Japanese car
iu

If you cover the front and the back its not that far of a HR Holden though except with HQ door handles and mirror
 
The UC was a car attempting to shift image with the market, isn't the lack of that what we are now criticising them for?


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The End of Holden


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