$40m taxpayer injection for lightweight Commodore

[kaniSS]

Holden has confirmed its 2013 Commodore will get lightweight aluminium panels as part of a project to reduce fuel use by about 7 per cent - but Australian tax payers will foot almost $40 million of the bill.

The $39.8 million investment from the now-defunct Green Car Innovation Fund (Holden's application was processed prior to the fund's closure in February this year) adds to the $149 million Holden received for producing the Cruze small car alongside the Commodore - the first small car to be produced locally since the 1990s.

Industry Minister Kim Carr defended the investment - Government grants helped turn Holden's 2010 account from loss to profit - saying the Australian automotive industry was "building capacity" in electric vehicles and the current investment in traditional fossil fuel-based vehicles is crucial for the industry's survival.
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"People have got to get real ... about real world economics," he said, pointing to the slow take-up of electric vehicles and their high cost.

He said the $500 million Green Car Innovation Fund commitment has resulted in "investment of $2 billion at a time when the global automotive industry was cash starved" and that the just-announced Holden investment would create "up to 250 engineering positions".

"What we're seeing is a great success story for Australia."

http://smh.drive.com.au/motor-news/4...519-1eu3l.html

Nothing for Ford...

[Road_Warrior]

Umm, dude, Ford received GCIF money for Ecoboost and the new LPG engine.

Not that there is anything wrong with that, contrary to how Drivel.com.au have made it out to be. That was the whole point of the Green Car Innovation Fund - to encourage local car makers to introduce green vehicle technologies.

[bobthebilda]

He said the $500 million Green Car Innovation Fund commitment has resulted in "investment of $2 billion at a time when the global automotive industry was cash starved" and that the just-announced Holden investment would create "up to 250 engineering positions".

Let not Kim Carr back up his statements with proof. I would like to see what $2 billion dollars has been invested.

His own statement -

Industry Minister Kim Carr defended the investment - Government grants helped turn Holden's 2010 account from loss to profit

shows that the grants arent being invested as they are supposed to be, they are going straight to Holdens bottom line, to allow Australian taxpayers money to be funneled back overseas.

Why isnt their some rational journalist out there, that could put a few simple economic questions to Kim Carr, and get him to prove his own stupid statements.

that was the whole point of the Green Car Innovation Fund - to encourage local car makers to introduce green vehicle technologies

And thus far, what has it come up with - 1) a hybrid camry that no one is buying.
2) A consortium who is going to try and prove that an electric commodore can be made (not for production, just to prove it).
3) A 4 cylinder cruze, that Holden is going to sell for over $1700 more (when adding extras), than it was selling for when it was imported.

Mcdonalds get more bang for its buck when one of its junior staff figured out that cutting the pickle in 2.3 mm slices was more efficient than 2.4 mm slices, than australia will get out of Kim Carrs green Car fund.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Yeh lets keep proping the automotive industry year after year.

They dont prop the rest of us up..

What a joke!

[Gobes32]

Aluminium panels, interesting. I wonder which panels they hope to change?

[Polyal]

I would think bonnet, boot and maybe front quarters? We will see if it eventuates and what additional cost it brings to the car.

[Road_Warrior]

I remember they were blowing their trumpet before the GFC about experimenting with plastic front 1/4 panels...so if they are going with aluminium it makes sense all the hanging panels (bar the doors) will be ally.

Will the FGII get the plastic boot floor this time?

[Brazen]

Next prediction, Volt will be built in Australia from 2016.

[Brazen]

Originally Posted by Road_Warrior

I remember they were blowing their trumpet before the GFC about experimenting with plastic front 1/4 panels...so if they are going with aluminium it makes sense all the hanging panels (bar the doors) will be ally.

Pretty clever getting Green Car funding for the Aluminium panels, because if the major parts of the VF facelift - fenders, boot and bonnet are aluminium it means that the funds are also used to make cosmetic changes to the car.

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by Road_Warrior

I remember they were blowing their trumpet before the GFC about experimenting with plastic front 1/4 panels...so if they are going with aluminium it makes sense all the hanging panels (bar the doors) will be ally.

Will the FGII get the plastic boot floor this time?

My mother in laws Renault has plastic front quarters, a 4x4 scenic, its a POS but that did impress me. Paint finish is great, I only found out when I lent against it. You can punch the thing and it just pops back at you, no worries (as plastics do..LOL).

[bobthebilda]

Originally Posted by Brazen

Next prediction, Volt will be built in Australia from 2016.

Yes, but to match the 300 a month they sell in the US, they will need to make roughly 20 a month in Australia to meet the demand. At 20 cars a month, Holden would only be able to swindle $200 million out of Kim Carr, which may not be enough money to tool up for it. They will have to ship the parts over from the US, and just assemble it here. It worked for them with the cruze.

[Road_Warrior]

Going from this pic, the VE already has a plastic spare wheel well:

[Luke Plaizier]

GM have plastic panel experience with the Saturn brand. There was a lot of marketting for it, especially about the panels popping back out when hit, but since Saturn was one of the GM brands that were switched off, I suspect plastic panels are not an attractive option....


Lukeyson

[Whitey-AMG]

Originally Posted by Polyal

I would think bonnet, boot and maybe front quarters? We will see if it eventuates and what additional cost it brings to the car.

Additional costs will likely be incurred for Crash testing. Car may be lighter and more fuel efficient - but I wonder how it will fare in the Crash tests ?

I'd imagine other companies like AUDI who use a lot of aluminium body components spend squillions on their inherent design characteristics to ensure their cars take the lighter weight / lesser strength aluminium into consideration ????

Could be barking up the wrong tree here , but aluminium body panels are surely not as rigid - have same tensile strength as their steel brethren ???? In which case - how much extra weight would be needed to add additional safety equipment back into the car to meet exceed safety standards ???

[Polyal]

I dont think panels make a huge difference in crash, not the boot and front quarters. The bonnet skin would be nothing, but the frame would need re certification.

Im pretty sure front quarters add stuff all to safety...happy to be proven wrong though.

Where al is used compare to steel its ultimate tensile is not as huge factor as its mainly for cosmetic reasons. When you start talking doors and bonnet frames/structures its different.

[Whitey-AMG]

Originally Posted by Polyal

I dont think panels make a huge difference in crash, not the boot and front quarters. The bonnet skin would be nothing, but the frame would need re certification.

Im pretty sure front quarters add stuff all to safety...happy to be proven wrong though.

In frontal offset collisions I'd think that they would be part of the crumple zone dynamic ??

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by ESP

In frontal offset collisions I'd think that they would be part of the crumple zone dynamic ??

The quarter panels?

If company's can use plastic then Al is fine.

IIRC Jag use Al extensively. But thats why I questioned what extra price goes on RRP.

[Whitey-AMG]

Originally Posted by Polyal

The quarter panels?

If company's can use plastic then Al is fine.

IIRC Jag use Al extensively. But thats why I questioned what extra price goes on RRP.

My bad !
I'm thinking the front guards here.....

Quarters would probably be fine.

[ray38l]

What would the weight difference be between steel and aluminum? Is it really worth the cost involved?

[stang65]

I know Ford was involved in a new high tensile steel that was meant to be thinner than the current steel but stronger.

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by ray38l

What would the weight difference be between steel and aluminum? Is it really worth the cost involved?

I would have thought the difference while being nice would not be that great. And once you factor in any manufacturing changes then its makes the equation worse.

If your looking at frames/structures then its worth it, but costly. I dont know why the locals havent pushed plastic further.

[SEZ213]

Well, good on Holden for gaining the grant, they've showed initiative. The grants were available, and they've scooped them up...smart business move.

As usual the Sydney Morning Herald has picked a headline that will attract more readers...and it seems to have worked in their favour, again...despite the papers lack of substance and journalistic ability.

[bobthebilda]

Rolled steel has a weight of approx 7800 kg a cubic metre. Aluminium has a weight of 2600kg a cubic metre. ie Aluminium is roughly 1/3 the weight of rolled steel. To get a weight saving of 7% on a 1700kg Commodore, you need to knock off 119 kilograms. 119/2 x 3 = Thus the current weight of the steel panels they are looking to replace are 178 kilos, to be replaced with 59 kilo aluminium panels.

At a rough guess, they are taking out $170 of steel, and putting in $427 of aluminium. So adding about $260 of metal to the car. But I am pretty sure they will also need to change alot of the tooling too.

Its hard not to be a cynic with these announcements, so I am pretty sure we will find out (in 2013) that the panels they were referring to were the Holden badges on the front and rear of the car.

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by stang65

I know Ford was involved in a new high tensile steel that was meant to be thinner than the current steel but stronger.

That'd be the Boron Alloy steel used in the FG.

Unless you're talking about this carbon nanotube stuff Ford US said they were fiddling with?

[ebxr8240]

I can see it now on tin foil ...
Recycled Holden...Lol...

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Polyal

I dont think panels make a huge difference in crash, not the boot and front quarters. The bonnet skin would be nothing, but the frame would need re certification.

I believe the bonnet is actually apart of the safety of the car and has been for a few models now (I know the Holden guys were saying they weren't allowed to put fibreglass bonnets on their car).

But front quarters I'm not sure about. I know the Nissan X-trail has plastic front quarters. So might just be nothing.

Originally Posted by stang65

I know Ford was involved in a new high tensile steel that was meant to be thinner than the current steel but stronger.

They have been involved with a new stamping process that will allow lighter steel panes but much cheaper then using aluminium.

.............

I'm not really sure about the innovation part of this. I guess the fuel savings got the grant over the line. But they met the criteria and got their panels subsidised.

I'm just wondering what costs of repairs will be with these panels and how much will insurance premiums be for these cars.

[vztrt]

Holden to dress Commodore in aluminium

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...25789500195BBC

Commodore to get aluminium panels and electric steering as Holden greens large car

19 May 2011

By RON HAMMERTON

HOLDEN will become the first Australian car manufacturer to employ mass-produced aluminium body panels – most likely the bonnet and boot – to snip the fuel consumption of its next-generation VF Commodore due in 2014.

The “light-weighting” exercise, plus a switch to electric-powered steering and new efforts to improve the aerodynamics of the top-selling Australian car, are expected to cut Commodore’s thirst by about seven per cent at the cost of at least $160 million.

A quarter of that bill – $39.8 million – will be paid by the federal government from its now defunct Green Car Innovation Fund, which was killed off early this year – a victim of spending cuts in the wake of the Queensland floods.

GM Holden applied for the grant before Canberra brought down the boom on the fund, becoming one of several companies to have applications honoured by federal innovation and industry minister Senator Kim Carr.

The fresh grant to Holden, announced today by Senator Carr at Holden’s factory in South Australia, brings the total hand-outs to Holden from the fund to $189 million – more than half of the $340 million dished out to car companies and automotive component suppliers to date.

The previous $149 million grant to Holden was to help bring the Cruze small car into local production alongside the Commodore and its derivatives at the factory at Elizabeth, in Adelaide’s north.

Mr Carr said the Commodore project would help to create 250 new engineering jobs at Holden – for a total of 440 engineers – and underpin 4500 jobs in total at the company.

He said the new technology would have a knock-on effect across Holden’s operations, with improvements expected to extend to Holden’s other Australian-made product, the Cruze.

Holden executives have long been hinting that they would make cutting the weight of its next Commodore a priority to help reduce the Commodore’s fuel consumption.

A seven per cut would reduce the current 9.1L/100km for the petrol 3.0-litre SIDI V6 variant’s fuel consumption to about 8.4 litres per 100km, while the 3.6 litre V6’s combined fuel rating should fall from about 9.8L/100km to about 9.1L/100km.

GM Holden chairman and managing director Mike Devereux told GoAuto today that Holden wanted to make sure the next generation Commodore would continue to be relevant to Australian consumers.

He said the grant would be matched on a three-dollar to one-dollar basis by Holden in engineering the new car and upgrading production facilities at Elizabeth to produce the aluminium panels.

“We will be using that money to bring a number of innovations that are going to drive pretty significant fuel savings and carbon emission reductions,” he aid.

“We are talking about aluminium panels on the car and some significant aero work on the vehicle as well.

“We are not actually announcing for competitive reasons much beyond that, but it is a pretty exciting day because it keeps the story going on Commodore’s future and its relevance to Australia.”

Asked if the use of aluminium would have a cost impact on Commodore, Mr Devereux said: “We have got a pretty good balance of what the car needs to cost, but we also understand that we want people to enjoy the benefits of a large car, but do it more sustainably and have a smaller footprint.”

Mr Devereux conceded that aluminium was a more difficult material than traditional steel for car panels, but said Holden already had a good handle on the technology.

“Aluminium is a pretty hi-tech material to use on body panels,” he said. “It does obviously give you significant savings in mass.

“It is difficult to stamp – it isn’t easy. So the shapes are difficult, but we have got a really good engineering team that has it under control.”

At least 30 car companies are already using aluminium panels on cars to cut weight, with savings of up to 50 per cent compared on comparable steel panels, although they are mostly applied to high-end vehicles that can cope with the extra cost.

Holden’s American sister companies Cadillac and Chevrolet both already use aluminium panels on some cars, mainly on bonnets on luxury cars such as the Cadillac CTS and Seville and SUV rear hatches on vehicles such as the Chevrolet Tahoe.

Australia’s CSIRO is a leading researcher into aluminium technologies, but Mr Devereux declined to say if any third parties were involved in the development project.

Holden’s VF Commodore is expected to remain rear-wheel drive, built on a modified version of the current VE Zeta platform.

While most of the body – including the critical safety cell – will continue to be made of steel, aluminium will be applied to some large surface panels such as the bonnet.

Mr Devereux declined to say if the new Commodore would also mark the introduction of electrified powertrains – such as hybrid technology – saying: “We are really trying to say as little as possible for competitive reasons so we don’t tip our hand.”

He was also diplomatic on the proposed introduction of the federal carbon tax in the presence of Senator Carr and while the industry is still arguing its case with Canberra.

“The good thing is that the industry is fully engaged with the government in understanding what the plan is and trying to negotiate what I would say is a rational approach,” he said.

“So I really don’t have much to say about its impact because I don’t know what the program will be.”

Although Holden did not mention electric-power-assisted steering (EPAS) in its media release on the Commodore grant, GoAuto understands that will be included in the package of fuel-saving measures.

According to Senator Carr, those measures will include other technologies “that can’t be mentioned for confidential reasons”.

EPAS helps to save fuel by eliminating the power steering pump used in hydraulic power steering assistance, thus cutting the drag on the petrol engine.

That move would bring the next Commodore into line with the just-released Ford Territory and facelifted Ford Falcon, which is due later this year.

The Holden Commodore has been the best-selling car in Australia for 15 years, although it has been knocked off its perch in some months by other vehicles such as the Toyota Corolla and Toyota HiLux.

This year, sales of the big Holden are down 5.6 per cent in an overall market down 3.2 per cent.

The big Holden dominates the large car segment, holding 56.9 per cent year to date, compared with long-time rival Falcon on 34.5 per cent.

[vztrt]

http://www.caradvice.com.au/119455/h...nt-investment/

Holden Commodore fuel economy gets $38.9 million government investment
By Tim Beissmann | May 19th, 2011

Holden has received another $38.9 million from the Federal Government’s Green Car Innovation Fund (GCIF) today, with all the money earmarked to reduce the fuel consumption and carbon emissions of future Commodore models.

The money will be used to develop lightweight aluminium body panels and improve aerodynamic performance. Holden says it aims to reduce the Commodore’s fuel consumption by more than seven percent.

The 2011 Holden Commodore Omega sedan is currently the most frugal model in the Commodore range, using 9.1 litres/100km on the combined cycle. A seven percent fuel economy improvement would bring it down to 8.5 litres/100km, making it just 1.1 litres/100km less efficient than the entry-level Holden Cruze CD automatic (7.4 litres/100km).

Holden says the increase in fuel economy will save around 3.6 million litres of fuel every year and will also reduce CO2 emissions from the Commodore fleet by 9000 tonnes annually.

Holden Chairman and managing director, Mike Devereux, said the government funding was essential for the Australian automotive industry to remain competitive on a global scale.

“The assistance from the Federal Government will enable Holden to bring Australian-made firsts in fuel efficiency and weight saving to market and to secure local jobs in the broader automotive industry,” Mr Devereux said.

“The success of Holden’s product development program, and co-funded programs like the new locally-made Cruze, shows new vehicles and technologies have to be affordable and return real-world savings for the environment and for Australian drivers.”

An earlier GCIF grant of $149 million helped Holden fund the local production of the Cruze small car at its Vehicle Operations plant in Elizabeth, South Australia. Local production of the Cruze sedan began earlier this year, while production of the locally assembled Cruze hatch will begin in the fourth quarter of 2011. Today’s announcement takes Holden’s total GCIF funding to $187.9 million.

Mr Devereux said along with improvements to body weight and aerodynamics, Holden continued to work on its engine technology, including the Active Fuel Management system for its V8s and Spark Ignition Direct Injection (SIDI) technology for its V6s.

“Holden is also continuing to develop other low emission and alternative fuel solutions in our Ecoline portfolio including a dedicated LPG Commodore and E85 flex-fuel capability on the 3.6 litre SIDI V6 engine later this year,” he said.

[Bobman]

Won't have to worry about rust anymore.

Hope Ford follows suit. We won't have all the rust threads on here from FG / Territory owners with more use of aluminium.

[vibe_xr6]

hmmm, i personally think now they are getting ahead of the competition.