The New Commodore Pt.2

[Swaytan]

Okay, so besides ripping on the new Commodore without actually have driven one, I decided to go & have a look at one in the flesh.

So I strolled along to a Holden Dealership. My first reaction was that they are actually quite nice looking vehicles. Beyond picking the car apart for it's similarities to some Fords, the rear of the car actually looks like a Mitsubishi 380.

I opened nearly every possible part of the SS I could, tapping everywhere looking for cheapness. Well, plenty of flimsy plastic everywhere. And some places where 2 pieces meet together were way off. Even the left side of the bonnet was about 5 mil higher than the right.

The dash was bright red & looked pretty cool, the gauges were typical SS Holden Gauges. Cool but nothing special. I just don't really know if I could look at the bright red dash with a hangover. I wonder what other colour options they have for the dash?

I was approached by a salesman, after chatting about the car for 5 minutes he asked me when I was looking to buy one. My reply was "if I can test drive the car today & I love it, I'll write you a check when we get back to the dealership". Of course this was a complete lie, but hey, I wanted to beat the 4 week wait for a test drive.

So he starts the car up, first thing I noticed is that the engine sound is not loud enough. When I drive a V8, I wanna feel like I'm harnessing a beast. If I can't hear the beast growl, how can I fully appreciate the power? Anyway, out of the dealership we go onto the road and around the corner to a parking area. I get into the driver's seat, nice feeling seats, nice steering wheel, good pedals, but the centre console is huge. The handbrake is really weird & folds down into the centre console. In order to change gears you've pretty much gotta hold your arm at a right angle over the centre console.

As with most commodores it does drive very smoothly, but there was a little bit of lag with the accelerator. I didn't make it out of 2nd gear around the streets. Giving it some stick is the only way to get a good sound out of it. But when you do get a sound, it's quite beefy. I then pulled over to the side of the road, stopped and just revved the car. I got it up to about 6 revs when the guy asked what I was doin. I told him I wanted to feel it rev, he then said "don't rev it too hard." With this I drove straight back to the dealership.

I can push my Fez to 6 & a half revs before I even worry about doing anything to the engine. Even then I'm not that bothered. If the dealer is worried about me revving the car to over 6 revs in this car, what's the issue?

All in all, it's not a bad car, but I wouldn't say it's better than any other commodore I've driven. I can't wait to see what the new XR8 looks like. My dealer has seen snippets of it & said it's killer.

So yeah, was very interesting.

[murcod]

You were "free revving" the engine to 6000RPM? I don't blame the salesman for asking WTF you were doing!?!

[Danny]

Originally Posted by Swaytan

If the dealer is worried about me revving the car to over 6 revs in this car, what's the issue?

Well, for a start, they eventually will have to sell that car...

[Ives]

Speaking of demo cars, I really dunno why people would buy them. Yes they're a bit cheaper but consider this.........the car is getting THRASHED while the engine isnt worn-in yet. I would question the car's longevity and reliability.

Thoughts?

[Swaytan]

Originally Posted by murcod

You were "free revving" the engine to 6000RPM? I don't blame the salesman for asking WTF you were doing!?!

Sorry, just read that back to myself, typo, that's meant to be a 3 not a 6. That's what happens when I use just the number & not just spell it. The demo they had was already "broken in".

Re: Breaking in.

My Fez is the second I've had. The first one was driven softly during the first 1k klms. Result = When I traded it on my current Fez, the Ford guy said "man, you mustn't have "broken this car in properly, I told you to flog it".

When I got my current Fez, I completely thrashed it. It now drives like a COMPLETELY different car than the last one. It accelerates better, it's more fuel efficient, it sounds better, it's more fun to drive. Without my knowledge, my sister bought a Fez 3 months ago, the same as mine except the colour. She & her husband drove it softly for the first 1k klms. Result = Her car sucks to drive compared to mine.

I had my "piece of mind" service last week & specifically asked them to check for any damage to the engine, as I've flogged the guts out of it for the last 3k klms. When they were finished with it, the said that there was NO damage at all & when they drove it around the block, they were shocked how well it actually drove.

The only thing I can put this down to is that the "take it easy for the first 1k klms" theory is BS.

Somebody has already posted this link, can't remember who. http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

A family that I know includes 2 teenage Serbian boys who love "sick rides". One has a Nissan 200SX, the other has a Skyline GTR. When they bought the cars, they weren't driven home, they were delivered by truck straight to the moto shop & broken in on a Dyno. The before & after stats spoke for themselves.

To me this whole thing sounds like the old falacy with letting water bead on your car after you washed it. Yes, it worked with old paint, but new paint is softer. Beading water on new paint acts like a magnifying glass & burns tiny holes into the duco. Then, of course he paint is compromised & weakened.

[Ives]

Hmm.. damn... i'll trade-in my fez for another one first thing monday morning.

[xurbanx]

But wouldn't only new engines need breaking in? Other than that, I agree the new Commodore does look good, but a big quiet car just doesn't have the "Fiesta" feel to me (save a Fiesta sounding engine that has nice power would do).

[Sonia]

Hrmmm.... I heard the BF II XR8 will not have any aethesthetic changes made to it.

[joshf2]

how can you typo 6 instead of 3 twice? and compare it to your fez revving at 6.5?

[murcod]

I had the opportunity to tour the Elizabeth assembly line today (ie. Commodore production line) as part of a Holden "family day." I know somebody who works there.

I was very impressed with the external build quality of the Commodores (and I'm not easily pleased! ;)). I didn't get a chance to have a sit in one, or a close look internally, but the paint quality and panel gaps were all top notch IMHO. The only thing I noticed was the bumper colour on 80% of the colours was a very bad match to the body panel colour!?

The Omega just looks plain stupid with those huge flared front guards and skinny steel wheel and tyres. Even the V series SS only just fills the guards out.

They also made the mistake of leaving the "production faults" board out in the open for all to see. I'd be checking very carefully for water leaks in them if I was to buy one!!!!! There were a couple of pages of print outs showing all the different areas water leaks had been found- ranging from around the spare wheel well to various places inside including the base of the "A" pillars. There was around ten different areas IIRC?

There were also two sitting at the end of the production line with plain black bumpers, taped off body panel holes (where the badges and spoilers bolt on) and different front guards with larger and lower "gills". Both were RHD with dual exhaust systems, so I'm guessing they were HSV models that were getting shipped off to Melbourne for a workover?

[Swaytan]

Originally Posted by joshf2

how can you typo 6 instead of 3 twice? and compare it to your fez revving at 6.5?

When I type fast, anything can happen...