Ute's da man! More Holdens in Michigan
Reader Patrick McCarron sent us a link to the LS1GTO.com Forums, where one of the posters there uploaded a few shots of a pair of Holden VZ Utes that took part in the fun at the Woodward Dream Cruise. The Ute shown above appears to be the hot-rodded HSV Maloo R8 version, and the one you'll see after the jump is is the regular SS Ute.
All we can think if is how cool they'd look with El Camino badging. Do the pics mean anything? Nope. There's no plan at all to bring this thing over. Still, the Ute is mighty cool. Imagine the sheer badassedness of it all if both it and its Aussie-market rival, the Ford Falcon Ute, were to come here and rekindle ElCo vs. Ranchero...
Thanks for the link, Partick!
[Source: LS1GTO.com forums]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Carchops 2:29PM (8/27/2006)
wow, always been a fan of the el camino, I hope they bring it back ;)
http://www.carchops.com
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Taylor 2:44PM (8/27/2006)
That carchops guy and his oneline spam comments is getting really annoying.
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TriShield 3:34PM (8/27/2006)
Both Utes turned heads and drew gawkers all over Woodward that week.
The Ute would have been a better choice to import than the Monaro. The Ute is lighter, cheaper, more versatile and extremely unique looking.
Chevrolet would not have had any problems moving 18,000 per year with an LS1/LS2 under the hood and a simple badge change. They already have the same headlight and grille style as the current Silverado.
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jamie 3:28PM (8/27/2006)
G'day mate! Cobber! Wag! Or whatever!
OK Ricky-boy and Bob-o-link
You just gotta bring all these amzing Holdens to Yanktown.
Yah, they're strictly 90's stuff; but Gawd are they lovely!
Give Bob Lutz five minutes alone with each derivative, pop in a few modern tech upgrades, and voila you got the cat's "MEOW".
This is what a Chevy should be.
Every one a head turner.
I can't decide which one I want more.
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That One Person 3:38PM (8/27/2006)
If they could somehow price that thing (or any Holden) in the same price range as the 300C, I think they would sell well over here.
I would love to see another El Camino. Or maybe just ship every Holden over here and replace Pontiac's and maybe Chevy's lineup with those, things would be a lot sweeter.
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Detective 3:51PM (8/27/2006)
Are you kidding me? If Chevy couldn't sell the SSR, which at least made an attempt at style (an unsuccesful attempt, imo), this thing would sit on dealer lots forever.
I know... I know... this thing would drive fast and be bad ass. Let's face it, in the US, this market would have to be style driven. Style is something this car is seriously lacking.
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dave 5:40PM (8/27/2006)
boycott carchops, or can you say virus?
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rwdmtparkingonly 6:23PM (8/27/2006)
Another perk of being a car company engineer (well, there is that whole downside of the company possibly going under, but that's another story). At University of Illinois I saw a lot of foreign market teaser cars, including the Falcon UTE, wearing MFR plates at Alumni events.
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TriShield 7:56PM (8/27/2006)
Post #6, Detective.
The SSR failed because it didn't perform well the first year, didn't have any versatility, and it was incredibly expensive. Too expensive for most people to justify and that's what really killed it.
The Ute SS has none of those drawbacks.
It looks fantastic, it performs extremely well, and it can tow and haul. It's also tens of thousands cheaper.
Hot Rod, and GM High Tech Performance have already driven and written articles about what a great car it is.
It also has one big advantage over the Monaro GM imported, there's nothing here that looks like it. It's completely unique. It also has another, it's vastly cheaper than the Monaro was meaing a lower sticker price than the GTO for US consumers.
GM could easily move 10 - 20,000 Utes if they don't sell the next generation VE Ute SS here through Chevrolet. Especially here in the Southwest.
http://www.kisser.net.au/davidc/images/ute/g3wc/ute_front.jpg
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dave 9:51PM (8/27/2006)
I had a GTO for about a year and a half and it was by far my favorite car that I've ever owned. The reason I got rid of it was the trunk. It's barely bigger than the trunk in a Miata. A vehicle like this would let me pick up stuff for the house AND drive entirely too fast. I WANT ONE. SEND THIS TO AMERICA GM... PLEASE!!!
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Sam 6:07PM (9/06/2006)
it is possible to get LHD variants of these utes i think, as holden exports most of their range to the middle east with a chevrolet badge... field trip to dubai, anyone?
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PeteC 10:44PM (8/27/2006)
The utes shown are based on the VT model Holden Commodore released in 1997. The brand new VE model Commodore has just this month been released, and there will be a Ute version of that. (Check out holden.com.au) GM's best chance to import a Holden Ute will be from the new model and I've heard on the grapevine that it has been engineered for the US.
The Holden Ute is very popular here, not just as a work vehicle, but for blokes who want to have a sporty 2 door car that they can chuck their stuff in the back of. I hope you guys get it!
From Pete in Sydney, Australia
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Campisi 3:20AM (8/28/2006)
I wonder how much it would cost to import one of these?
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Vchung 6:12AM (8/28/2006)
In Australia, alot of people buy Commodore Sedans, and utes, and put Chevy Badges on them. And now Holdens are sorta cool in the US.
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sk 7:40AM (8/28/2006)
Post #12 by Campisi "I wonder how much it would cost to import one of these?"
Remember in Australia they drive on the left side of the road so the problem is they have right hand steering. I don't know if you can get it certified by your state.
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rwdmtparkingonly 9:22AM (8/28/2006)
Right hand drive doesn't matter, the states, except for California, do not have the right to make any import regulations that are more stringent than the federal government's, and the feds don't care about RHD. RHD in this country obviously would be annoying to the owner though.
The big problem is meeting federal EPA and NHTSA requirements for importation.
SHOW OR DISPLAY (ute almost certainly doesn’t qualify because >500 made):
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/import/ShowDisplay/howtosd072003.html
GENERAL IMPORTATION:
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/import/
In addition, this is likely going to be considered a truck, and therefore qualify for the 25% "chicken tax" tariff on foreign trucks, although that 25% will pale in comparison to the cost of federalization.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but given that this is in MI I'm guessing that these are manufacturer owned cars that are in this country for evaluation and exempt from the general import regulations because of that.
The cheapest scenario by far would be to order the rear glass and sheet metal from Holden and take that, along with a GTO, to a very skilled body shop.
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Ben 12:36PM (8/29/2006)
Yes! Please bring them here! And maybe the Crewman Cross, too.
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Woodward Ute Driver 12:11AM (9/15/2006)
Too hilarious.. That's me driving the black Ute!! ;) It's an '05 SS Ute RHD from Ontario Canada.
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