"Maximum" Bob Lutz appears bullish on Holden's new VE Commodore SS-V, calling it "a magic vehicle" after driving it just once, according to Australia's Drive.com.au. That bodes well for the car becoming integrated into GM's North American line — possibly as a replacement for the Pontiac Grand Prix — something Holden boss Denny Mooney would give his eyeteeth and a case of wallaby for.
Lutz recently spent some wheeltime in a production version at GM's Milford proving ground outside Detroit. Holden's reportedly been pitching the $1 billion car Commodore to GM brass as a Pontiac model for the lucrative US market by 2008. From Lutz's comments, the new VE is a hot piece of ride that's forgiving for inexperienced drivers, and that its fit and finish are "still way, way better" than in the US — setting it up as a high-margin, low volume halo for Pontiac. And that's good, because while the Holden platform will be used in the next Chevrolet Camaro, boss Mooney wants to sell Lutz on the Commodore as a turnkey, upmarket model that would sell at the top of Holden's capacity of 20,000 cars a year. Stay tuned.
VE NEWS: Lutz approves [Drive.com.au]
Related:
Herefore Art Thou: First Drive of the Holden Commodore VE SS-V [internal]