I'm from the states, and I wished we were more closer to my distant relatives that live in New Castle. I would've got the chance these cars. GMH, Ford Aus, Chrysler Aus.
It's a great pity that the US owners of the various Australian operations did not trust their Australian engineering staff enough so that limited numbers of Holdens, Australian Fords and Chryslers could be imported into the States. Crazy really, considering the cars were generally tougher (body-wise) and better screwed together than their US counterparts. Holden, in particular, could have made a killing in the States as all their cars had long been engineered to accept LHD steering wheels, dashes and pedal boxes. Ironically years later Bob Lutz was visiting Australia and drove some Commodores at the Holden proving ground. They were such a revelation that he ordered them exported to the States as GTOs, then G8s and finally Chevy SS.
Back in the good old days when people were happier friendly and not as stressed out unfortunately I'm not old enough to remember these days always ask the older generation tho they all say the same thing
Yes, it was a nicer time to be alive. I had just obtained my licence when the VB Commodore was introduced for the first time. I fell in love with it, especially the swoopy SL/E as depicted in this commercial...it really was a lovely car.
Trust me when I tell you that people were still stressed, interest rates were 18-20% unemployment in many places was getting bad and as usual there were a few wars in the middle east.
@@thedave7760 in Australia interest rates were 18% late 80,s early 90,s not the 1970,s and I've spoken to alot of people who remember the 70,s not one person has said to me it wasn't good and far better then what we are currently dealing with at present.
Anyone got the commercial when the just do forwards burnout and then shift it into reverse and back and forward commercial ? That was the best commercial i ever seen, just from drive and then in reverse ?
A car nearly ahead of its time at the time it was released. It was the beginning of a legacy that lasted almost four decades. However the Commodore didn't have it easy in its early days in the market. March 19 1979 was when Ford's XD Falcon was released. It demonstrated that the Commodore wasn't quite big enough to cater for a large family. Falcon had more space front and rear and could still be optioned up to carry six people on cars equipped with a column shift transmission. Commodore didn't offer either of those. The facts speak for themselves. The early model Commodore was still a great car in its own right.
width was the biggest difference between vb & xd, fore & aft interior was very similar. Commodore had deeper boot- you couldn't stand up an esky in xd/xe.
@@jb7591 Falcon had more room across the back seat and more head and shoulder room I believe, and could still offer the option of a bench seat to carry six on column shift transmissioned models. Also bigger engine capacities and crossflow heads on six cylinder models. Even had better flow through ventilation and glass area. Not forgotten was the fact that the Falcon had electronic speedometer and fuel sender gauges and an incorporated printed circuit board in the back of the cluster that could be replaced separately. I call that a massive technological advantage over the Commodore of that era. Falcon was also better on gravel roads than the Commodore.
@@BlairSauer as i indicated width was the biggest difference in terms of space, commodore had a major handling advantage over foulcan, xd still running leaf springs and recirculating ball steering vs commodore superior rack & pinion. Commodore ran 1, 2,3 at the 79 repco trial- ford,wisely, didn't enter the foulcan fearing another xk foulcan front end collapse fiasco.
@@BlairSauer as i indicated width was the biggest difference in terms of space, commodore had a major handling advantage over foulcan, xd still running leaf springs and recirculating ball steering vs commodore superior rack & pinion. Commodore ran 1, 2,3 at the 79 repco trial- ford,wisely, didn't enter the foulcan fearing another xk foulcan front end collapse fiasco.
You don't see them very often anymore, of course its a 40+ year old car now. When was the last time you saw a 80s or even 90s Commodore? I saw a mint condition '96 Commodore this week, rare sight these days.
I have one of the oldest registered VB’s in the country. SLE 5.0 factory 310 pack with a turbo 400 (only 65 made) 68,000 k’s and still drives like new. Built in Sydney Oct 78 (first week of production Build No. 733) You’re right as you barely see them on the road and that’s why I get the 👍 every time I take her out. Would never let her go.
JJMCB26 not even close moron this car was totally reengineered as the German donor fell apart in the Australian harsh conditions. No German car came close to this make. Research before writing you dickhead.
@@ChumpyChicken2 calm down. Every body knows dam well what this shitbox is, a warmed over Opel. Getting so upset about just makes you look pathetic cobber.
iceman nz pfft! More verbal crap... I see now. The Kiwi trash that has no Car industry. Nothing will go forward in the shit hole country with that libtard woman in charge. Lol!
@@garethcurtis7545 Woah! Please be civil, gents. No need for insults or insulting the cars. It's true that the VB Commodore shared many parts with its Opel parent design BUT the floorpan, firewall, interior door bracing and engine mount rails were very different because the test Opels fell apart at the firewalls when tested in the Outback. Also different were the plastics used in the dash and seats (to counter Australia's harsh UV light) and, of course, the engines. Pity that Holden did not adopt the Opel OHC six (also hanging on to the V8s) as the venerable red (then blue) straight six was already getting past its sell-by date as it was very agricultural (though torquey and quiet). Holden engineers did set up a few Opel engines with tougher crankshafts, pistons and better oil reservoirs plus cooling but the cost of the program to cast the engine blocks and assemble the engines in Australia was considered too expensive, Foolish, foolish move as the Opel 6 would have given Holden many more years of life. Hence Holden had to rush the Nissan RB30 engine into service when emission controls became strict and then re-engineer the old Buick V6 into service as a RWD engine. Just silly. The Opel engine would only have added about a hundred dollars to the price of each Commodore.
@@aus80srockradio94 yep so that would've been the price for the standard model Commodore which was just "Commodore" and then you had the SL and SL/E. $6613 would've been the price for the base model Commodore sedan with standard equipment such as vinyl seat trim, AM push button radio, non retracting rear seat belts, 2.85 litre 6 cylinder engine with four speed manual and standard instrumentation which consisted of the vacuum economy gauge, fuel level, water temp, speedometer and odometer and I don't think the standard instrument cluster included a trip meter. Although the full instrumentation pack would've included that feature as well as the tachometer and volt and oil pressure gauges. Electric clock I'm sure would've been standard on the base Commodore as well as the rear window defroster. Not entirely sure. VB was the very first model Commodore. Launched around October/November 1978. The wagons were released a few months down the track. I salute all the Holden designers that were involved in developing the Commodore, one of them in particular was American born Leo Pruneau. He was chief designer at Holden from 1969 til 1983 for memory. Correct me if I'm wrong. There's also a seven part series from Shannon's called "design to driveway" and Leo Pruneau is in one of the episodes. I highly recommend you check that out. It's on RUclips and on the Shannon's website. I also recommend others check it out also.
@@BlairSauer Thanks, very informative indeed! Non retracable seat belts in the rear, slice the back passengers in half. No wonder back in the early 80's, as kids we never wore rear seat belts, safer without them...
It took till the eighties for a passenger to get a proper belt for all occupants.initially the BMW E34 5 Series of 1988 was the first car to have it then it became common gradually in cheaper cars.
Forgive me if it's a lot of text. I'm not stupid OK. I don't know which is better, this Holden, or a Hyundai Stellar, they both look very similar, and are from a similar segment, I think this Holden is a little wider, and is more graceful than the Hyundai. If you know about this, tell me which one is better. I know that many will say that it is very unsafe (because of the crash test that is on RUclips) in reality this car OBVIOUSLY does not have the same current safety standards, and that test was to test the facilities, not to test the car , for So they removed the engine and tested it at over 100 km/h (62 mph), and that was not a real Holden. It was an Opel Commodore (Rekord). Holden engineers adapted it to Australian safety standards.
My 1979 VB SL/E had a 5 litre V8 which won Bathurst and went to on to wins in Group C, Group A, Group E and V8 Supercars. Your know SFA about Holden, little green lad.
@@Mega-G-Star Sorry mate, the first generation commodores did have underpowered engines and crappy automatic gear boxes, and even many Holden aficionados say the same thing. Secondly, it’s ridiculous to compare a V8 supercar to that of a normal road car, they are completely different (aside from the shell).
My first ever car.. and in this colour as well. I wish I'd kept it.
the music is glorious
What is the name of this muisic?
I wonder who the woman is behind the jingle?
@@BlairSauer me too..
RIP Holden 2021
My favourite 70s holden commodore :D
I'm from the states, and I wished we were more closer to my distant relatives that live in New Castle. I would've got the chance these cars. GMH, Ford Aus, Chrysler Aus.
It's a great pity that the US owners of the various Australian operations did not trust their Australian engineering staff enough so that limited numbers of Holdens, Australian Fords and Chryslers could be imported into the States. Crazy really, considering the cars were generally tougher (body-wise) and better screwed together than their US counterparts. Holden, in particular, could have made a killing in the States as all their cars had long been engineered to accept LHD steering wheels, dashes and pedal boxes. Ironically years later Bob Lutz was visiting Australia and drove some Commodores at the Holden proving ground. They were such a revelation that he ordered them exported to the States as GTOs, then G8s and finally Chevy SS.
Brilliant just brilliant. He my grandfathers VC SLE commodore. Sold it few years back 😢
RIP Holden
Back in the good old days when people were happier friendly and not as stressed out unfortunately I'm not old enough to remember these days always ask the older generation tho they all say the same thing
Yes, it was a nicer time to be alive. I had just obtained my licence when the VB Commodore was introduced for the first time. I fell in love with it, especially the swoopy SL/E as depicted in this commercial...it really was a lovely car.
💯 better back then ..Australia in its prime then up till around the early 2000s..then all the PC bullshit started creeping in
Trust me when I tell you that people were still stressed, interest rates were 18-20% unemployment in many places was getting bad and as usual there were a few wars in the middle east.
@@thedave7760 in Australia interest rates were 18% late 80,s early 90,s not the 1970,s and I've spoken to alot of people who remember the 70,s not one person has said to me it wasn't good and far better then what we are currently dealing with at present.
That car gets a fake crash test by the boot on trunk
Anyone got the commercial when the just do forwards burnout and then shift it into reverse and back and forward commercial ? That was the best commercial i ever seen, just from drive and then in reverse ?
Nothing says you've made it then just driving around pedestrian malls in the morning. Just watch out for the fountain and art installations.
A car nearly ahead of its time at the time it was released. It was the beginning of a legacy that lasted almost four decades. However the Commodore didn't have it easy in its early days in the market. March 19 1979 was when Ford's XD Falcon was released. It demonstrated that the Commodore wasn't quite big enough to cater for a large family. Falcon had more space front and rear and could still be optioned up to carry six people on cars equipped with a column shift transmission. Commodore didn't offer either of those. The facts speak for themselves. The early model Commodore was still a great car in its own right.
width was the biggest difference between vb & xd, fore & aft interior was very similar. Commodore had deeper boot- you couldn't stand up an esky in xd/xe.
@@jb7591 Falcon had more room across the back seat and more head and shoulder room I believe, and could still offer the option of a bench seat to carry six on column shift transmissioned models. Also bigger engine capacities and crossflow heads on six cylinder models. Even had better flow through ventilation and glass area. Not forgotten was the fact that the Falcon had electronic speedometer and fuel sender gauges and an incorporated printed circuit board in the back of the cluster that could be replaced separately. I call that a massive technological advantage over the Commodore of that era. Falcon was also better on gravel roads than the Commodore.
@@BlairSauer as i indicated width was the biggest difference in terms of space, commodore had a major handling advantage over foulcan, xd still running leaf springs and recirculating ball steering vs commodore superior rack & pinion. Commodore ran 1, 2,3 at the 79 repco trial- ford,wisely, didn't enter the foulcan fearing another xk foulcan front end collapse fiasco.
@@BlairSauer as i indicated width was the biggest difference in terms of space, commodore had a major handling advantage over foulcan, xd still running leaf springs and recirculating ball steering vs commodore superior rack & pinion. Commodore ran 1, 2,3 at the 79 repco trial- ford,wisely, didn't enter the foulcan fearing another xk foulcan front end collapse fiasco.
@@jb7591 yes I do agree with that.
bro in law had a Nov 78 build sle 253 ci ...nice car but my XD was bigger inside......GMH didnt get it , till the mighty VN came out ten yrs later
i wich there was more on the road here in melb, it's like they have all dissapeared
I owned a red VB SL/E. Nice car to drive, but rust eventually consumed it, especially at the bottom of the windscreen.
I had a SL/E VC. 202 6 line. Loved the smell of the interior.
I got one in my garage, VB SLE 5.0L don't drive it much but it turns heads when I do take it out.
lol, that car had no drivetrain at all, plus it had a boot full of sand!, it was just a test to see where the cumple zones would be!
You don't see them very often anymore, of course its a 40+ year old car now. When was the last time you saw a 80s or even 90s Commodore? I saw a mint condition '96 Commodore this week, rare sight these days.
They are a death trap they buckle like a tin can in a head on , no rigid safety cell
I have one of the oldest registered VB’s in the country. SLE 5.0 factory 310 pack with a turbo 400 (only 65 made) 68,000 k’s and still drives like new. Built in Sydney Oct 78 (first week of production Build No. 733) You’re right as you barely see them on the road and that’s why I get the 👍 every time I take her out. Would never let her go.
@Seattlecarnut serch "Old school Commodore crashing"
The Austrailian Opel Rekord/Vauxhall Carlton. I love it!
JJMCB26 not even close moron this car was totally reengineered as the German donor fell apart in the Australian harsh conditions. No German car came close to this make. Research before writing you dickhead.
@@ChumpyChicken2 calm down. Every body knows dam well what this shitbox is, a warmed over Opel. Getting so upset about just makes you look pathetic cobber.
iceman nz pfft! More verbal crap... I see now. The Kiwi trash that has no Car industry. Nothing will go forward in the shit hole country with that libtard woman in charge. Lol!
@@garethcurtis7545 Woah! Please be civil, gents. No need for insults or insulting the cars. It's true that the VB Commodore shared many parts with its Opel parent design BUT the floorpan, firewall, interior door bracing and engine mount rails were very different because the test Opels fell apart at the firewalls when tested in the Outback. Also different were the plastics used in the dash and seats (to counter Australia's harsh UV light) and, of course, the engines. Pity that Holden did not adopt the Opel OHC six (also hanging on to the V8s) as the venerable red (then blue) straight six was already getting past its sell-by date as it was very agricultural (though torquey and quiet). Holden engineers did set up a few Opel engines with tougher crankshafts, pistons and better oil reservoirs plus cooling but the cost of the program to cast the engine blocks and assemble the engines in Australia was considered too expensive, Foolish, foolish move as the Opel 6 would have given Holden many more years of life. Hence Holden had to rush the Nissan RB30 engine into service when emission controls became strict and then re-engineer the old Buick V6 into service as a RWD engine. Just silly. The Opel engine would only have added about a hundred dollars to the price of each Commodore.
What is the woman supposed to be doing at 0:38?
tech9803 Acting surprised maybe
Probably staring in disbelief thinking that this car is too small and Ford will get market leadership.
She going WOW
She’s was looking for a lift after walking ten klms after her xd shitbox blew a head gasket.
She's wanking.
$6800??? New? Can't get a rusty ute for that today.
+Freddy Marcel-Marcum True, but the $6513 they mention here is for the base model. In today's money - the equalivent of $32000!
1979 I was a 1st year apprentice glazier on $62 a week.
@@aus80srockradio94 yep so that would've been the price for the standard model Commodore which was just "Commodore" and then you had the SL and SL/E. $6613 would've been the price for the base model Commodore sedan with standard equipment such as vinyl seat trim, AM push button radio, non retracting rear seat belts, 2.85 litre 6 cylinder engine with four speed manual and standard instrumentation which consisted of the vacuum economy gauge, fuel level, water temp, speedometer and odometer and I don't think the standard instrument cluster included a trip meter. Although the full instrumentation pack would've included that feature as well as the tachometer and volt and oil pressure gauges. Electric clock I'm sure would've been standard on the base Commodore as well as the rear window defroster. Not entirely sure. VB was the very first model Commodore. Launched around October/November 1978. The wagons were released a few months down the track. I salute all the Holden designers that were involved in developing the Commodore, one of them in particular was American born Leo Pruneau. He was chief designer at Holden from 1969 til 1983 for memory. Correct me if I'm wrong. There's also a seven part series from Shannon's called "design to driveway" and Leo Pruneau is in one of the episodes. I highly recommend you check that out. It's on RUclips and on the Shannon's website. I also recommend others check it out also.
@@BlairSauer Thanks, very informative indeed! Non retracable seat belts in the rear, slice the back passengers in half. No wonder back in the early 80's, as kids we never wore rear seat belts, safer without them...
It took till the eighties for a passenger to get a proper belt for all occupants.initially the BMW E34 5 Series of 1988 was the first car to have it then it became common gradually in cheaper cars.
Why is that car driving through a pedestrianised area?
.........therwise known as a Commode door...............
Or commode odour!
Nice looking Holden, shame GM put crappy engines in them.
Forgive me if it's a lot of text. I'm not stupid OK.
I don't know which is better, this Holden, or a Hyundai Stellar, they both look very similar, and are from a similar segment, I think this Holden is a little wider, and is more graceful than the Hyundai. If you know about this, tell me which one is better.
I know that many will say that it is very unsafe (because of the crash test that is on RUclips) in reality this car OBVIOUSLY does not have the same current safety standards, and that test was to test the facilities, not to test the car , for So they removed the engine and tested it at over 100 km/h (62 mph), and that was not a real Holden. It was an Opel Commodore (Rekord). Holden engineers adapted it to Australian safety standards.
@@Domianm No way man, the Stella looks waaaayyyyyy different.....😝
My 1979 VB SL/E had a 5 litre V8 which won Bathurst and went to on to wins in Group C, Group A, Group E and V8 Supercars. Your know SFA about Holden, little green lad.
@@Mega-G-Star
Sorry mate, the first generation commodores did have underpowered engines and crappy automatic gear boxes, and even many Holden aficionados say the same thing.
Secondly, it’s ridiculous to compare a V8 supercar to that of a normal road car, they are completely different (aside from the shell).
You know nothing of cars my little green 💩@@masteryoda498
first