Holden Commodore

The Holden Commodore is a 2-door coupé utility / 4-door sedan (automobile) / sedan / 5-door station wagon / 4-door crew cab / 2-door cab chassis from Holden, built from 1978 to 2020, as the oil crises and the first emissions rules rewired the industry.

The background

The Holden Commodore is a series of automobiles that were sold by now-defunct Australian manufacturer Holden from 1978 until 2020. They were manufactured from 1978 to 2017 in Australia and from 1979 to 1990 in New Zealand, with production of the locally manufactured versions in Australia ending on 20 October 2017. The first three generations of Holden produced Commodores (1978–2006) were based on the Opel designed V-body rear-wheel drive automotive platform, which was the basis of GM's largest European models, but were structurally strengthened, mechanically modified, and, in time, enlarged by Holden for Australian road conditions, production needs, and market demands. The styling of these cars was generally similar to that of the Opel Rekord E/Commodore C, and later, the Opel Omega A/B and their Vauxhall sister models the Vauxhall Carlton and Omega.

The fourth generation Holden Commodore models, the VE and VF, manufactured by Holden from 2006 until 2017, were entirely designed in-house and based on the Holden-developed, rear-wheel drive Zeta platform. Between 2012 and 2017, Holden again overhauled and re-engineered an Opel vehicle as the basis of the next generation Commodore, the ZB, which was sold from 2018 to 2020. Holden's engineers re-engineered, re-worked or completely replaced the Insignia's chassis, steering, suspension, driving dynamics, exhaust, sound symposer and engines. All sales of the last Commodore ended at the end of 2020, coinciding with the complete discontinuation of Holden as a subsidiary company, marque, and nameplate.

Under the skin

The record carries the shape — a 2-door coupé utility / 4-door sedan (automobile) / sedan / 5-door station wagon / 4-door crew cab / 2-door cab chassis. The engine, output and weight have not yet reached the open record, and MotorJury does not guess at them.

Where it sits

Its family tree is legible: it took over from the Holden Kingswood. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Mazda RX-7, the Toyota Supra, the GM (General Motors) Saab 900 — show what else the money bought that year. Its Holden stablemates include the Holden 48-215 and the Holden Adventra.

What it costs now

There is no federal ownership record for the Holden Commodore — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.