Thread: GM sells Opel & Vauxhall to Peugot.

Originally Posted by V8Ian

That trend was started in the early '80s with the Gemini.

Diesel Gemini. Having a flashback Ian

Originally Posted by Sitec

And the older generation British (and Euro's) are fed up with Europe's 'free flow' open approach to border control, which has not only caused mass migration into the UK, but had also put several fairly unsettled countries only one boarder away from a life in the UK.. (Picture Australia attached to the Middle East if you will..). Granted Brexit will have some negatives (lots if you are of the younger generation who think that all races, religions and creed can get along swimmingly)... But, having moved away from a rapidly changing UK 10 years ago, where a huge percentage of lower paid jobs (including one of mine) are taken by Polish, Indian, and other neighbouring countries, and where the city centers of some of the larger poorer towns now have a higher percentage of incomers than locals, I for one am glad to A, be out of there, and B, all for Brexit. For those who doubt me, it is worth a plane trip there to have a look around, and I don't mean the sites, landmarks and all that stuff, I mean the back end of London, Birmingham, Coventry, Manchester.... Take a look at what's really going on. Then come back and tell me its patriotic delusion. If Australia is not wise and sensible about its policies within the next few years, then it will suffer the same fait. To a certain extent it already is. #Note, this is my view and opinion, and not meant to offend!#.

Re the Vauxhall's being bought by Peugeot.. the Astra's, Corsa's (Barina's here), Zafira's and Vectra's have to be some of the most uninspiring cars I've driven. The diesels kept going, but the car fell apart around the engine. There were lots of them, everywhere in the UK! Parts were cheep and plentiful. Would I own one? Nah!! Eevo's comment about the Commodore is very true tho.. They can't be that bad, as they sold a huge amount of them! Would I own one? Nope. Been spoilt with German metal.

Britain and other developed countries including Australia and the USA certainly have problems but I don't believe they were caused by immigrants.
Globalisation means multinationals shift production to cheaper countries, leaving the citizens of the developed countries to fight over what's left. The losers blame the immigrants because they don't understand the real underlying causes.
Stopping immigration won't cause those multinationals to bring those jobs back to Britain, the USA or Australia. Will JLR close its Slovakian factory and bring the jobs back to Britain? Why would they? They care about profits, not nationalism.
Anyway, this should be a separate thread, so that's all I'll say.

Originally Posted by Pickles2

But what, as I asked, is your prefered make/model?
Pickles.

So, you don't have one?
In which case, what cars have you owned during your driving career?
Pickles.

Originally Posted by incisor

pretty common knowledge astra's were / are regarded as crap by the trade...

I had a Vectra from new and it took 6 months for holden to sort the vibrations it used to generate through the cab..

to their credit they did sort it in the end by changing the engine mounts.

I sold it when I wound up the company I was running at the time.

many disgruntled astra buyers changed over to the ford focus of the same era...

G'Day Dave, I also know a few who have owned them.
But, I nearly bought one myself, I was after a 2004/5 ZC I think it was, with the 155 KW 3L V6, and I was after the top of the range CDXi model. I spoke to my local Holden Dealer (family owned for 50 yrs, since closed), where I knew the Service Manager who was one of the original Holden Dealer Team "Mules", who was on Brock's Torana on the occasion of his first Bathurst victory.
He told me that He'd had one as his "company car" and that it'd just been sold,.."a very complex car" he said, "be very careful if it's out warranty"!...so I never bought one!...but I still "notice" them when I see one!
Pickles.

Originally Posted by Pickles2

So, you don't have one?
In which case, what cars have you owned during your driving career?
Pickles.

That's a good question Pickles, worthy of a new thread, if there isn't one already.

As for Holden: Now that it's only a badge who really cares what ends up un their show rooms?
Holden was never really 'Australian" anyway.
Even Ford, which never claimed to be an Australian Brand, was more australian at least in design and development
Australians love to be deluded, especially when it comes to Brand Loyalty, so it will be interesting to see how the spin doctors win us over, with Holden show rooms full of Seppo cars. It'll be like that Macca's Burger, with a Blue Ensign stuck in it, I saw on the side of a Bus.

Originally Posted by cuppabillytea

That's a good question Pickles, worthy of a new thread, if there isn't one already.

As for Holden: Now that it's only a badge who really cares what ends up un their show rooms?
Holden was never really 'Australian" anyway.
Even Ford, which never claimed to be an Australian Brand, was more australian at least in design and development
Australians love to be deluded, especially when it comes to Brand Loyalty, so it will be interesting to see how the spin doctors win us over, with Holden show rooms full of Seppo cars. It'll be like that Macca's Burger, with a Blue Ensign stuck in it, I saw on the side of a Bus.

I hear what you say.
D'you wanna start that thread, I was thinking of doing similar, I've owned several Commodores & driven many more, including P.B.'s infamous "Director" that cost him plenty, but over a lifetime, I haven't really have brand "loyalty",...just buy what I like at the time,..even had a bit of fun with a 1985 Ford Bronco XLT for a few years,...don't think I could afford the fuel now!
Pickles.

Originally Posted by Pickles2

I hear what you say.
D'you wanna start that thread, I was thinking of doing similar, I've owned several Commodores & driven many more, including P.B.'s infamous "Director" that cost him plenty, but over a lifetime, I haven't really have brand "loyalty",...just buy what I like at the time,..even had a bit of fun with a 1985 Ford Bronco XLT for a few years,...don't think I could afford the fuel now!
Pickles.

Why not? There's probably one already somewhere but I'll give it a go and see what happens.

Brand loyalty can be a subconscious thing or even inherited like your Religion, Football Team, Football code, Political preference, etc, etc.