Despite strong interest within GM, the VE Sportwagon will not make it to America

By BYRON MATHIOUDAKIS in DETROIT 15 January 2008
www.goauto.com.au

HOLDEN will not export the VE Sportwagon to the United States in the foreseeable future as Americans continue to ignore wagons in virtually any size and form – in contrast to the situation in Europe where such vehicles have a healthy share of the market.

This was the bombshell dropped by General Motors' product czar Bob Lutz this week to the Australian media at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

"We looked at that, but the amount of change to meet US regulations was going to be quite a lot of money," Mr Lutz said. "And the sad truth is, as much as some of us like 'sportwagons', they just don't sell in the US.

"How often do you see an Audi wagon? How often do you see a BMW wagon? How often do you see a Mercedes wagon? The answer is, almost never.

"They're just not fashionable. I can't explain why."

Mr Lutz revealed that he championed the VE wagon strongly, but was shouted down by the number crunchers who could not make a strong enough business case for the Australian Commodore carryall.

"We have the product idea: We say: 'Hey, how about taking the (Holden) Sportwagon and doing a (US Pontiac) G8 Sportwagon of it," he said.

"Then we turn it over to the marketing guys, who do the volume analysis, and they look at sales of Audi A4 wagons … zero. BMW 3 Series wagons: close to zero. Mercedes C-class wagon and E-class – it's all close to zero. The Jaguar X-Type … it was sales proof!

"But then we say: 'Well, we think this one looks so good, that it can overcome that, and the volume planners say: well … we can only do two to three thousand, which is not worth the investment.

"So, reluctantly, in my particular case, I reluctantly gave up on that one."

The production version of the VE Sportswagon – which made a splash at last October's Australian International Motor Show in Sydney – is due to arrive early in the second quarter of this year.


http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...2573D10014EB68

 

Ok, GREAT! ANOTHER rwd zeta shot down... let's see, no wagon, no impala, probably no el camino then.... BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

Does anyone else feel that a G8 coupe would sell better than a G8 wagon or pickup?

 

I'll agree you dont see a huge number of wagons, but for the number of 300's and Chargers I see on the road compared to Magnums, its respectable. I dont see many Audi or Merc wagons at all, but I do see a few BMW ones and *loads* of Subraru and Volvo wagons.

But the bean counters got their hands on it. I wonder what the "magic number" was supposed to be.

I wonder if the model would change if they stuck the 2.9L diesel in it and CAFE'd it as a truck. The mpg might be good enough to make it more viable than a V8 gas hog.

 

Does this mean no Ute too? Because I can't see the Ute selling very well either, but it would be cool to have.

 

I don't know why wagons don't sell well here in the US. With as many people fleeing from large SUV's & going to "cross-overs" you'd think a wagon would be a good option. I'd take a wagon over a mini van any day.

 

I'm going to offer a couterpoint to BL here. I think, in THIS country, where MB, BMW, and Audi are considered to be premium vehicles, as opposed to bread and butter cars "over there" that the association w/ those brands and a WAGON are the reasons that no one buys them HERE. I guess you could say if you want a wagon, get a Chevy, Honda, or Dodge. If you want a premium auto, get a BMW, MB, or Audi.

I personally think that a Malibu wagon would be a knockout. I don't see how one fits into Pontiac, given the image they're trying to develop for it. To me, wagons are the new SUV, a more economical and "green" way to potentially haul alot of stuff, not necessarily tow.

 

I get the feeling that more shoes may drop for Zeta......


Which brings up the question: If the Camaro's business case is based on it sharing an architecture with a sedans - and those sedans no longer exists - what happens to Camaro's business case.

 

Yeah, but who makes them besides Dodge? I think the reason people don't buy the German ones are because they buy those cars to have a nice premium CAR. To ME, buying a BMW wagon is akin to buying a Dodge Nitro, a Chinese platformed, FWD, 4 cyl SPORTS CAR. If I want a sports car, its got to have the traditional sports car stuff, RWD, ect. If it want a wagon, its a utility thing, and those fall in line w/ more mainstream manufacturers like Chevy, Honda, or Dodge. Just my opinion.

 

Then maybe you'll get your wish and it'll move to a modified Kappa architecture.

 

I agree - but I think the performance capability and utility of the G8 Wagon would be superior. Towing, for example. No matter what though, an Aura Wagon or a Malibu Wagon is nothing more than vaporware - we've heard nothing near official or even seen a concept, which means such a vehicle is probably years and years away. I want to replace my 98GTP a couple years from now, and I *really* want a wagon.

Then again, I cant stand driving a Minivan, and I'd never own one.

 

Surely the sales numbers for wagons can't be news to anyone. Frankly I was surprised that they were even considering bringing it here in the first place.

Still, it's too bad that the wagon was dropped. It could have been an interesting alternative to the minivans and SUVs that make up the utilitarian side of the market - not to mention the fact that it would have been all alone since the Magnum is on the way out.

I don't really see how the decision to drop it really affects domestic Zeta to any degree at this point in time or Holden for that matter since VE was set up to be profitable with just domestic (Australian) sales - sending cars here is just icing on the cake for them. It isn't like the production was going to happen alongside the Camaro - it was going to be imported from Australia. Still, there goes another RWD choice so I suppose in that vein Zeta could be even more vulnerable.

On a certain level, this all seems to be a rather kneejerk reaction to CAFE requirements that don't take effect until after VE/Zeta would be updated. I don't see anyone dropping Suburban or Tahoe - like vehicles off the table in droves. - Just my opinion.

Scrambling to put Camaro on Kappa now wouldn't do well to the timeline for release since the mules are modified Holden VE cars. I think they've gone too far to turn back now on Camaro anyway.

 

Good call by Lutz, Imo. A wagon looks good on paper, but - it probably wouldn't do that hot. Then again, the G8 may be so overwhelmingly accepted that a Wagon will be ano-brainer (or not.)

As for the Camaro's buisness case, it still shares the Architecture with 3 vehicles...and it hasn't been shot down by the abacus-geeks yet, so...I'd say it still has one. It's a niche vehicle...and I hope it fills the whole niche.

 

Actually I was referring to the 6th gen Camaro. We're getting what we got, which is Zeta-NA. Perhaps we'll see Camaro move to another platform in the future, Sigma may actually be a better fit.

 

Nope. That ship has sailed for Camaro, a long time ago.