The Post a Picture of Your Ride as it Sits Thread

DFB said:
The Ute and Wagon would have been a boss move, highly distinctive, no direct competitors............................ but GM deliberately hampered the success of the Holden vehicles.
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With all due respect, no matter how much it would have been a boss move, there is no market for those vehicles here, we don't do station wagons or Ranchero/El Camino anymore, not for a long time. For a while it looked like wagons might make a comeback, GM tried with the CTS wagon and they brought one in from Opel briefly, I think as a Buick, and Chrysler did whatever that version of the Charger was called, but none of that stuck.

Even the Audi and Benz wagons didn't move the market away from SUV's. The market here for wagons has completely moved to SUV's, and the market for Ranchero/El Camino to real pickups, not a car masquerading as one.

PS I'm not saying I agree with those trends, or trying to be pejorative, just my observations.
 
DFB said:
That is a Commodore SS Ute, specially the VE Series 2.

The Maloo was the high-performance model sold by HSV, basically the Holden version of BMW M or Mercedes AMG.

Holden versions -





HSV Maloo (this colour was called Poison Ivy) -





Of all the Holden models GM could have sold in the USA, they should have started with the Ute. Even though they were RWD and dynamically gifted, the Pontiac G8 and later Chevy SS just didn't stand out in the crowd of other larger sedans being sold at the time. The Ute and Wagon would have been a boss move, highly distinctive, no direct competitors............................ but GM deliberately hampered the success of the Holden vehicles.

Doug DeMuro did a review on one, which he explains how these vehicles are popping up in the US -

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My wife never could figure out why the guys on McLeod's Daughters would drive those rather than a proper farm truck
 
DFB said:
That is a Commodore SS Ute, specially the VE Series 2.

The Maloo was the high-performance model sold by HSV, basically the Holden version of BMW M or Mercedes AMG.

Holden versions -





HSV Maloo (this colour was called Poison Ivy) -





Of all the Holden models GM could have sold in the USA, they should have started with the Ute. Even though they were RWD and dynamically gifted, the Pontiac G8 and later Chevy SS just didn't stand out in the crowd of other larger sedans being sold at the time. The Ute and Wagon would have been a boss move, highly distinctive, no direct competitors............................ but GM deliberately hampered the success of the Holden vehicles.

Doug DeMuro did a review on one, which he explains how these vehicles are popping up in the US -

Click to expand...
Thanks for correcting me on Ute and Maloo

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chilly said:
My wife never could figure out why the guys on McLeod's Daughters would drive those rather than a proper farm truck
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Oh that's easy to answer, all the proper farm trucks back then we're diesel, so very slow, and not very flash. The flashy ute with the lux options, and passable performance has become a thing now, but you'll be paying upwards of $80k for one. And if you decide to go Ram, F150, or Silverado converted to RHD you'll be paying well north of $150k, I'm seeing more and more of them on the road too. The Ranger Raptor is the sports truck of choice at the moment, my neighbour at the back has one of the last Commodore SSV utes, but his daily is a Ranger Raptor.
 
Big Dave said:
Oh that's easy to answer, all the proper farm trucks back then we're diesel, so very slow, and not very flash. The flashy ute with the lux options, and passable performance has become a thing now, but you'll be paying upwards of $80k for one. And if you decide to go Ram, F150, or Silverado converted to RHD you'll be paying well north of $150k, I'm seeing more and more of them on the road too. The Ranger Raptor is the sports truck of choice at the moment, my neighbour at the back has one of the last Commodore SSV utes, but his daily is a Ranger Raptor.
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Yank Tank or Wank Tank 🤔
 
Not my ride but in downtown La Grange Illinois🤌l
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Big Dave said:
That's a D-Max ute, with a canopy on the back, they also make a wagon version called the MU-X. Both are diesel powered, but I do like the look.
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Are they popular down there

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Klasse Act said:
Are they popular down there

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Going back quite a way, many GM Holden's were rebadged Isuzu's, in particular, the Jackaroo SUV and Rodeo pickup truck. The Rodeo was a Hilux/Ranger sized model available in single cab, space cab and double cab.







At some point in the late 2000's, GM bailed on Isuzu and Holden were left with a problem.

Isuzu continued to supply Holden with the Rodeo, but Isuzu also wanted to sell it in Australia under their own brand. From memory, Isuzu owned the Rodeo nameplate, so Holden had to rename it to Colorado, which coincided with a facelift of the existing model. Isuzu kept the original design, but didn't actually use the Rodeo nameplate, it became the D-Max instead.

Holden Colorado -







Isuzu D-Max -







When the new model launched in about 2016, the Holden and Isuzu still shared a platform, but the styling was vastly different, and Holden ditched the 3.0 Isuzu diesel engine (which was the only good part of the Rodeo/Colorado/D-Max), instead using a "Duramax" 2.8 engine. One of the kley reasons why Holden was shuttered was due to Holden loosing RHD vehicles out of Korea and Thailand as GM exited RHD markets. With its key seller now on the rocks, Holden had no ground to stand on and it was simply cheaper for GM to walk away.

Colorado -







D-Max -





As for the D-Max, it sells strongly because of its perceived durability, in particular that 3.0 engine. I say "perceived" because like all vehicles, they had their issues as well. Namely a weak chassis. That 3.0 engine is an absolute nail, extremely noisy and with high vibration, sluggish as well. My uncle had two of them, the engine never settles and is a constant presence in the cabin, even at constant speed. Also, the D-Max has traditionally been cheaper to buy compared to the market leading Hilux and Ranger, so hence its popular with those who want to save some money. Of all the dual cabs on the market, the D-Max is the most agricultural of its key rivals.

Finally, while the previous generation Ford Ranger and Mazda BT-50 shared the Australian designed T6 platform, Mazda partnered with Isuzu for the current generation BT-50 and D-Max. The same lack of refinement applies to the BT-50 as well. Both are decent vehicles but rough around the edges.

D-Max -





BT-50 -



 
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