Marton Pettendy•18 Feb 2013
NEWS
GM: Chevrolet bankrolled VF Commodore tech
Advanced VF Commodore technologies paid for by Chevrolet as part of former Holden chief's grand NASCAR planThe man behind Holden’s latest US export, the Chevrolet SS, says the all-American bowtie brand bankrolled many of the new technologies fitted to the vehicle upon which it’s based, the VF Commodore.
Due on sale in May, the facelifted Commodore will bring a range of new advanced technologies, including aluminium bonnet and boot panels that were developed with the aid of a $39.8 million federal grant from the now-defunct Green Car Innovation Fund.
However, GM North America President Mark Reuss, a previous GM Holden Managing Director who championed the Chevy SS export program, has revealed that Chevrolet paid for the lion’s share of the rest of the ground-breaking technologies in the VF Commodore and Chevy SS.
They include Forward Collision Alert, Lane Departure Warning, Side Blind Zone Alert, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, a reversing camera, colour head-up display, push-button starting, electric power steering and, in a first for Chevrolet and Holden, an automated parking function that will be standard in all VF Commodores.
“Everything in this car was paid for by Chevrolet,” said Mr Reuss at the Chevy SS reveal in Daytona on the weekend. “When we did VF and decided Chevrolet would be part of it, everything was a co-investment.
“A lot of this technology was developed in the US – we went both ways to get better technology for both brands.”
Mr Reuss said the VF Commodore export deal was among his top priorities upon taking the top job at GM North America in 2009, with a plan to take the Commodore NASCAR racing hatched within days of taking up his new role.
He said NASCAR and its “halo effect” for the Chevrolet brand were a key part of the deal – in addition to incremental sales of the Chevy SS – but admitted it was a gamble.
“It was a leap of faith. It was a bet that we could get this car homologated for NASCAR. We wouldn’t have had the SS if we couldn’t race it. It was all part of a plan to put race cars into showrooms.
“It’s very important for us to have a rear-wheel drive car that’s recognisable in showrooms. The Ford Fusion and Toyota Camry are front-wheel drive – nobody else does this,” said Mr Reuss, who will take delivery of a black Chevy SS company car as soon as he can get his hands on one.
“The NASCAR thing was the whole way to get VF into the US. The NASCAR link is crucial for the sport and the brand. NASCAR is a core part of the program. Why are we doing it for 5000 cars if there’s no other benefit?”
An estimated 70 million US fans will watch the VF Commodore contest the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season-opener at Daytona next weekend at the hands of some of the biggest names in American stock car racing, including Jeff Gordon and Danica Patrick, ranking the sport second only to the National Football League in terms of scale and reach.
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Written byMarton Pettendy
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalists
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