VF COMMODORE: Large car future proofed

It may be hard to grasp for those of us who think of car engineering in terms of oily bits, but the importance of the complete overhaul of the Commodore's electronic architecture for the new generation VF cannot be underestimated.

To use General Motors’ own jargon, the swap from ‘Common Arc’ to ‘Global A’ brings with it a substantial boost in the VF’s feature capability, an improvement in quality and a cut in build cost for Holden.

“We have effectively ripped every bit of electronics out of the car... About the only things that would remain carry-over would be the battery and the generator,” VF engineering program manager Steve Manson told motoring.com.au.

“Everything else -- all the wiring and all the modules -- have been replaced with this new [Global A] electrical architecture.

“This was a major change and an expensive change and a difficult one, [but one] that was absolutely worth taking -- to move from the architecture we had to move into a global architecture.”

The benefits the customer sees are in the VF’s vastly increased number of safety and comfort features. These include a rear-view camera and automated parking system on all variants and a head-up display.

A forward-looking camera mounted on the windscreen also becomes available, making lane departure warning and collision avoidance warning possible, while rear quarter radar sensors also offer blind spot monitoring and cross-traffic reversing safety aids on some models.

In total the VF can offer as many as 38 ‘modules’ (essentially mini computers) that control functions as diverse as the transmission and window wipers. The maximum VE could offer was 21. VF Evoke has 25 modules -- by contrast the VE Omega had 13.

The modules operate on three networks. The high-speed Local Area Network (LAN) operates at 500Kbps and runs functions requiring instant response such as engine, brake, transmission and power steering controllers. Less urgent functions run on a low-speed LAN at 33Kbps. While those speeds are the same as Common A, a new feature for Global A is the Local Interconnected Networks (or LIN) that run at only 10Kbps.

The lower the speed, the less the cost in hardware, Manson explains. This is because the high-speed LAN requires dual circuits and dual wires.

Holden also saves because more modules are partitioned out in Global A. That means fewer high-current wires are running through the car than in the non-partitioned Common Arc architecture.

And because Global A is, erm, a global General Motors architecture, it also has more engineers attending to it than Common Arc. Therefore the maintenance of quality is better and updates to features more frequent.

“When people talk about a platform everyone has a different idea what it means,” said Manson.

“A lot of people think of the sheetmetal of the car as the platform, but to me the electrical system is also absolutely part of the architecture as well.

“It is as significant as something like the floorpan of the actual vehicle and even some of the suspension geometry.”

Links to motoring.com.au’s VF Commodore news
>> Mission accomplished: Holden had simple aims for VF
>> Steering a new path: EPAS is the headline item but VF’s chassis represents significant change
>> Aero Dynamic: Pedestrian safety and aerodynamics have shaped VF
>> Inside Job: Fewer parts and better materials drive VF Commodore’s interior upgrade
>> Power games: Carry over powertrains don’t detract from VF story
>> Getting connected: VF delivers impressive connectivity
>> Safely integrated: No US-spec kneebag but Holden says VF is safer

>> First Drive -- VF Commodore SS
>> First Drive -- VF Commodore Evoke
>> First Drive -- VF Commodore Calais V
>> First Drive -- VF Commodore SV6 Ute
>> Along for the ride: In a very small way motoring.com.au played its part in the VF