Holden axed in Aussie.

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Originally Posted by PhilipA

Commodore exports failed because the main markets put 2 litre limits on motor vehicles with swingeing rego costs and import tariffs on for anything over 2 litres.
holden made a 2 litre Commodore and assembled it in Thailand as well as Camira but it was not well accepted and they found it hard to get local components of good quality.
ther was also very high rego costs for sedans ,so most people bought utes and canopies and fitted them out in the back.
Isuzu was always there and a market leader in trucks and utes so Isuzu based utes were the first exported.
Malysia intros the Proton and put enormous tariffs on imports. As an aside I sold all the leftover Holden parts to the Australian mob.
Singapore has enormous restrictions on car ownership .
As you probably know nobody in Oz would buy the 2 litre Commodore.
regards PhilipA

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Interesting post, I was not aware that a Commodore of any description was made, in any shape or form, in Thailand.
The only 2L Commodore I'm aware of was made in the VC/VH era around 30 yrs ago, and it was made in Aussie. The car was an absolute disaster and I'm aware that some were exported after 4 cyl sales in Aussie ceased. But, I'm not aware that Commodores or Camiras were ever "manufactured' in Thailand.
Another point, a car assembled in Thailand wouldn't be an "export" would it, as distinct with a car assembled in Aus, & "exported"?
I'm not aware of any of this stuff, so if you could provide some links etc, that would be good.
Always willing to learn, Pickles.

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Originally Posted by DiscoMick

If the taxi industry operates the way it used to, the driver might only get 40% of takings, with the bulk going to the owner of the taxi. I'm not sure of how much of the Uber charge goes to Uber and how much to the driver.

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That’s one aspect I couldn’t give a crap about.

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Originally Posted by scarry

People talk about using Australian made products,looks like Uber is overseas owned.

Pretty well all the taxis were owned by locals.

Sure,Uber is cheaper and more often convenient,and the Taxis industry did need a shakeup.

Have a look at this.

Its a bit old i know.


Uber Australia grosses $785m, pays $8.5m tax

We wouldn't use an Uber or a Taxi once in a year,we have no need to use them.

Freight and courier companies for work are what we use all day every day,some of them need a good shake up.

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Of the drivers I know up here (Taxi) and the Only Licence holder in the region - almost all but enough to get by on - from our “Aussie” drivers is sent back to their families - almost exclusively in India.

I’d expect the same applies for most of them.

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Originally Posted by Tombie

Of the drivers I know up here (Taxi) and the Only Licence holder in the region - almost all but enough to get by on - from our “Aussie” drivers is sent back to their families - almost exclusively in India.

I’d expect the same applies for most of them.

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Apropos of nothing, you post was number 202. [smilebigeye]

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Originally Posted by DiscoMick

If the taxi industry operates the way it used to, the driver might only get 40% of takings, with the bulk going to the owner of the taxi.

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Dunno about anywhere else, but rule of thumb in Vic was the driver took 50% of the meter. He/she also took anything above that, such as tips, off meter trips or the stupid 75% shared rule we had here. The owner paid all expenses out of his 50%. But the owner was making $$$ out of the plates, which used to be an investment.

IMO. the Taxi industry in this country was a disgrace, and had been for nearly 30 years. The cars were appalling, the drivers knew nothing except the airport, the GPS dispatch system got rid of the only drivers that were any good, the "first available" mantra meant 'good luck with that mate', especially on Friday night, and the only reason to get in a cab if one DID turn up was because by that time you were desperate. Now, i know that that is a whole lot of generalisations, and I know that there are some fabulous cabbies out there, with great cars, but they became fewer and fewer.

I have only used two Ubers. One in Dandenong, who turned up in a spotless car inside of 5 minutes. He didn't really like it when I told him to go a different way from what his GPS told him, but maybe he learned something. The other was in Townsville, and he also had a spotless car, and knew where he was going, which was lucky because I didn't.

Like Uber or not, they blew a wind through the industry it needed. Victoria's knee jerk deregulation was perhaps not so well thought out.

Tell you one thing though; Uber drivers are far safer than taxi drivers. I mean, personally, not as drivers. They don't need to catty cash. A number of cabbies in Melbourne have died for their takings. There is no way to find their killers, if it was a street pickup especially. Uber has the credit card details. Best paper trail there is.

In case you were wondering, or even care, I moonlighted as a cabby here for a number of years, between jobs and wives. It can be a lot of fun, and it can be boring, and it can be ****ing scary.

Yes, I know what you mean, because I also moonlighted as a taxi and limo driver for extra cash for a while. The things you do.
Uber drivers are certainly safer because of no cash carried.
Probably also less likely to have to hose out the cab after a passenger vomited in it. Passengers also can't do a runner without paying.
BTW where I worked, some owners took an extra 10% for fuel.

Very little sympathy for the Taxi industry, their monopoly got them what they deserved. I remember waiting three hours for a taxi on a Friday night in Canberra with repeated calls to the taxi company ignored. Similarly booking cabs for pickups that simply never arrived. I got in a taxi at Sydney airport to go locally to my accomodation in April last year after my flight was delated by a day and got abuse from the cabbie because the fare was too small, so not much has changed. Ubers don't usually smell like ass either.


Regards,
Tote

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Originally Posted by johntins

Apropos of nothing, you post was number 202. [smilebigeye]

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I mean I don’t care how much margin the driver makes.
It’s a service, if they aren’t making money - quit.

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Originally Posted by DiscoMick

Probably also less likely to have to hose out the cab after a passenger vomited in it. Passengers also can't do a runner without paying.

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I hear ya, i hear ya. In Vic, legally that was the end of your night ( it was at night of course ), cos of OHS, failing to provide a safe workplace.

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Originally Posted by DiscoMick

BTW where I worked, some owners took an extra 10% for fuel.

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That sucks. Hard enough to make a quid in a cab without that. When i drove owners were in clover. Not so much now but, at least in Vic.

FWIW, I drove for some good blokes, who were mostly Italian, but I also drove for some mercenary *****. I won't say what they mostly were. Nest bloke I drove for was Oirish.

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Originally Posted by Tombie

I mean I don’t care how much margin the driver makes.
It’s a service, if they aren’t making money - quit.

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Mike, 202 was a Holden engine number... It was a little jest on my part...