<![CDATA[Jalopnik: Ve]]> http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/jalopnik.com.png <![CDATA[Jalopnik: Ve]]> http://jalopnik.com/tag/ve http://jalopnik.com/tag/ve <![CDATA[Victoria Police Divisional Van Kicks Dirt In Our Camino-Less Faces]]> The Victoria Police in Australia are getting Holden VE Omega Utes with a new feature, a custom-designed bed-pod bridging the gap between cars and vans. We can't even get one El Camino and they're putting toppers on theirs. Not fair. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5373084&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Top Gear Australia's Ratings Slump Despite Holden Vs. Ford Shootout]]> If we lived down under, we would have tuned in to SBS on Monday at 7:30 to watch the Top Gear Australia shootout between the iconic Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon...but we don't. Watch the clip and judge for yourself, but we think that even though it may not be quite as polished as the UK original, this segment wasn't all that bad. So why did the ratings for this second episode drop off significantly from the series premiere's, even though they were actually expected to go up? More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5060014&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[926 HP Holden Ute: Blueprint For An Epic Pontiac G8 El Camino]]> Considering everything under the skin of the new Pontiac G8 El Camino sport truck is basically a Holden Ute, it stands to reason all the modifications done to this truck-car could be done to our sport truck. How would you feel about a 926 HP El Camino? We would feel pretty good about it, all seven seconds we drove it before planting it into a wall somewhere. The mega-hoons at C.A.P.A. Performance who build this baby really understand the idea of Maximum El Camino Day - it's every day of their lives.
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]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=368635&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[No Holden VE Sportwagon For U.S.: A Nation of Big Back End-Lovin' Auto Enthusiasts Mourn]]> We can hardly believe our eyes. We all were under the impression after the last set of rumors from Automotive News that we here in the U.S. would be seeing a Zeta-platformed wagon and ute sometime before the end of the decade. We'd even done our darndest trying to track down that rumor ourselves — first with Rick Wagoner at CES, then with Lutz himself at Detroit on Tuesday morning. Now, Australian auto media site GoAuto is reporting GM's main product man told them and other members of the media from down under the United States will not be seeing a Holden VE Sportwagon-based wagon. How could "Maximum" Bob Lutz leave us out in the cold like this? Here's how and why — straight from his "Maximum" mouth:
"We looked at that, but the amount of change to meet US regulations was going to be quite a lot of money...and the sad truth is, as much as some of us like 'sportwagons', they just don't sell in the US.
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]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=345930&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Hello KITT: Aussie Cops Testing Super Police Cruiser]]> Here is where Shakespeare's timeless question gets stretched to it's limit; Does a rose by any other name smell just as sweet? Or adapted: Does KITT, recreated in part by Aussie coppers, bust just as many bad guys? The cool swooshy light show will be roofside instead of in the nose, but it does a lot of the stuff that got our collective 12 year old engines revved. How about starting with the solid base of a Holden Commodore VE, add realtime cameras that stream video back to base, voice recognition, automatic plate recognition, and get this - the ability to fire a GPS enabled tracking dart into a cars' backside. Now doubt hoons everywhere will respond with rotating number plates, hardened trunk lids impervious to darts, and lasers. Also, turbo boost. What? You mean life doesn't imitate art? [couriermail.com.au] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=339433&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Edmunds Inside Line Takes The 2007 Holden VE "Utility" Out For A First Drive, We Stew In Anger]]> Why does the Line on the Inside at Edmunds get all the fun with a first drive of the new Holden VE Ute? Doesn't the General know that we've got an entire section devoted to the El Camino? Jeez — we mean, come on, they call it a "Utility" fercrissakes. Don't they know no real fan of the truck-car ever searches for an El Cam, even of the Holden variety, by searching for the word "Utility." SEO, our Ranchero-loving butts. [Edmunds Inside Line] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=327264&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Aussies Want To Send Holden Sportwagon to the States]]> It looks like GM's Holden brand is pushing to have its new VE Commodore Sportwagon shipped off to its cousins on the other side of the world. Built on the same rear-drive platform that underpins the Holden Commodore sedan — and soon-to-be Pontiac G8 — the Sportwagon actually has less cargo space than its predecessor, the VZ Commodore wagon. That, Holden execs say, will likely reduce its competitiveness among local fleet buyers. Thus, they're pitching GM on the car's export potential, saying Holden could make up for the loss in business sales by exporting something like 10,000 units. Imagine the Sportwagon wearing a Pontiac badge, they hint, and it could capture a segment of disaffected SUV buyers. Grand Safari, anyone? [GoAuto] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=314913&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[The Holden 2007 VE Ute Lineup: Are You The Next El Camino?]]> Holden, GM's Aussie division, unveiled today the new VE lineup of ute's — or as it's better known here in the US — the El Camino truck-car. The big news for the new VE series is it gets a performance update in addition to the minor updates to the exterior sheet-metal. The top end engine in the new Holden VE SS V gets a 6.0-liter V8 with a peak power output of almost 362 HP, and on the low end the Omega gets a 3.6-liter V6 with a horsepower rating of 241. Prices start at $30,990 and topping out at $46,990 in Aussie bucks. With all of the added power dropped on to this year's lineup, one of us is just happy to see they've kept the beer can coke can holders in the tailgate. Considering the platform underpinning the new Utes is the same Holden platform that will bring the G8 and the new Camaro to the US of A, it's easy to see we're excited about the new Ute lineup from the General's Aussie division. However, it's only in as much as we're hoping to see one of them show up on these shores as a new El Camino. Full press release after the jump. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=292083&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Vauxhall VXR8 Nears UK Launch]]> The Vauxhall version of Holden's VE HSV Clubsport R8 is so close as to be generating its own gravitational field around the UK (hold on to your cider). It's yet another Australian-born teaser for the Pontiac G8, which will appear in the states sometime during the 385th season of "According to Jim." If we can survive another millennium (or so it will seem) of the unfunny Belushi brother, we'll may get a taste of what the VXR8 already has in its toybox. Of course, the most potent of Vauxhalls will get GM's LS2 producing 411 hp, while the G8 will likely get a 6.0-liter L76 producing 362 hp. If only we had a queen... More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=287168&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Test-Drive Video: Crikey, the Holden VE Commodore SS-V]]> Our mild obsession with / jealousy of Australians' access to muscle cars continues with a video from Drive.com.au of the Holden VE Commodore SS-V carving up the Holden test track in Victoria, with one of the company's engineers at the helm. Nine'een inch wheels, big V8, a lotta fun to drive. Roight! More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=192097&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Herefore Art Thou: First Drive of the Holden Commodore VE SS-V]]> What does a billion bucks buy you? If you're GM's Aussie Holden division, it's a kiss on the cheek from the 6.0-liter V8 gods and a rear-drive platform that will affect many more of the General's products. Not enough? It'll also buy into production the Commodore VE SS-V, one of those distinctly Australian muscle cars that does more to get Americans scratching their heads than two seasons of "My Fair Brady." Why, we ask, do we — the freaking muscle-car capital of the world (if we might be so bold) — not get similar machines in the states? Don't give me business-case reasons — give me cars. Aussie Drive lets us know what we're missing. More »
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