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It's still Holden on to the American dream
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By Bruce Newton
November 20, 2010

The Holden Commodore appears odds-on to return to the US with a Chevrolet badge and it should happen within the lifespan of the current model.

A senior engineer for General Motors, Al Oppenheiser, confirmed to Drive at the Los Angeles motor show this week that negotiations were under way to sell the Commodore in North America as a Chevrolet sports sedan.

"We are definitely looking at that, although we have made no official announcement as yet," Oppenheiser said. "We are definitely looking at doing something with Holden for the retail market."
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Another GM source, who did not wish to be named, went further and said the export deal had been approved. "But you didn't hear me say that," the source said.

The VE Commodore was previously exported to the US as a Pontiac G8 with V6 and V8 engine options. That program ceased when GM crashed into bankruptcy last year and the struggling Pontiac brand was killed off.

The axing of the deal cost Holden millions of dollars in lost exports and placed the future of the Elizabeth plant and Holden itself in danger.

"What we are looking at is bridging a gap in the performance sedan market that was vacated by the Pontiac G8," Oppenheiser said. "With no Pontiac, the obvious performance brand is Chevrolet.

"So the Commodore Zeta 1 architecture offers us so much with rear-wheel-drive performance. The synergy between motor compartment packaging of the Commodore and HSV products versus what we do here with Camaro and Corvette means the opportunities are endless."