Chevy Luminas coming here after all

Received a Press Release from GeeEmm the other day to inform me that the Chevy Lumina S 3.8 litre and the Chevrolet Ute SS 5.7 litre are to be sold here. This was of interest to me, as both these vehicles are built Down-under, where they are sold as the Holden Acclaim and the Holden SS Ute. Almost at the same time I received a report from our Down-under motor noter, John Weinthal, on the latest offerings from Holden, so here are the Words from Weinthal.

Chevy Lumina

“I am not the greatest Holden fan in the world, but I have to admire the company’s delivery of just the cars our market wants. The Australian made Commodore (Lumina) is the star of course and was upgraded recently. Now we have the VX Series and the true aficionado will no doubt be able to distinguish it from its predecessors at a glance. These are undoubtedly improved cars, even if only in minor ways. At last the switchgear and cruise control operation make a lot more sense. Significantly, and none too soon, they now have decent headlamps too. It’s easy to discount these sorts of changes, but they do mean better cars.

“The thing about Commodores - and Falcons - is that most of their first time users have little say in what they drive, and even less responsibility for running costs. More than eight out of every 10 sold goes to government or corporate buyers.

“Few families (in Australia) choose to afford to run them - and fewer need their bulk. Of course, if you have three strapping teenagers the space would be nice. As a consequence of this extraordinarily distorted market, Australia’s top-selling cars are the most powerful and largest of any country in the world today - yes, the good ole’ USA included. In showroom and driveway appeal they are undeniably terrific value.

“Remote central locking, power mirrors and a decent sound system with in-dash CD are the go with most models, and many have ABS brakes and other safety or comfort niceties.

SS Ute

“I have had two Commodores (Luminas). The Commodores were a mainstream V6 Acclaim costing around AUD 36,000 (working on exchange rate, that’s 800,000 baht!) and the V8 SS with six-speed transmission and - in this case - an optional bright yellow all-leather interior. This option, which is exclusive to the SS, added $2430 to the $47,000 ask. Holden should throw in a pair of anti-glare glasses - this is just about the ultimate interior trick, together with the yellow instrument backing.

“All three of these cars deliver exactly what their target markets wish for. They incorporate adequate, if often inelegant, engineering and component solutions to the challenges of a none too discerning customer body.

“Essentially they are about getting from A to B; even the SS, although it can throw in the odd excitement for the skilled or, just as likely, injudicious. The auto transmission is smooth enough most of the time, but can deliver a nasty thump just when it’s least expected. And there is little manual control over it. The traction control is pure Heath Robinson - it’s almost as if it is boasting its presence as it cuts your power without a by-your-leave - sometimes in quite unexpected circumstances. In fact I turned it off; at least Holden gives you that choice. The ride too is adequate, but not in Camry/Magna class for quiet or comfort; likewise the steering and overall handling.

“There’s a superficiality about these cars which is probably no problem to their buyers. Advanced engineering solutions cost a lot and would be appreciated by few of their drivers. Effectiveness reigns over elegance in the solutions applied to these beasties.

“All this may be a mite unfair. But do we really need thumping great V6s and V8s - delightful as GM’s Gen111 V8 undoubtedly is? Should our civil servants and taxpayer-subsidised company drivers be pedalling cars which take up more road space than a LandCruiser and tend to guzzle juice around town, while, to be fair, being gentle sippers on the open road? Sure, they make great cabs and cop cars. In the case of the SS and its ilk they also gratify the little, if faintly immature, boy that lurks in us all. I plead just as guilty as the next guy.

“Make no mistake - the SS is just the thing for those who crave attention. And at least the V8 SS is now a lot more driveable than in its last iteration - or it seemed so to me. I actually found myself using sixth gear every now and then. In this car 1000 revs in sixth gives just over 100kph - in fifth 100 equates to a fraction under 100 kph! These are hardly the gears for rapid getaway, but they sure make for economical motorway cruising.

“Holden certainly knows what its market wants - and deservedly profits by delivering just the ticket. At the very least I congratulate them as business people. All of these Holdens got points as appealing packages at relatively bargain prices.”

Starting motor racing with the right Concept I make no secret of the fact that I consider AIM Motor Sport’s Prutirat Serireongrith to be one of the more switched on people in the motor racing arena in Thailand. At the start of the year 2000 he came up with the “Concept Car” which I consider to be the best “feeder” formula I have seen, and to show that if you have the talent and the application then even a novice can do well in this formula, look no further than Matti Kaikkonen. Matti, aged 44, took up motor racing for the first time this year, so is a true “rookie”. Matti aged 44 also just won the Thailand Concept Car series, narrowly defeating a young 21-year-old Thai charger. Talent will out, and the Concept Car allows the driver to demonstrate this in the fairest and best way possible - the level playing field. The way it works is that AIM Racing has the vehicles and maintains them. The driver has a seat fitting made and whichever car he ‘draws’ has his seat installed and away he (or she) goes racing. Bring your own helmet and race suit and show us all how good you are. Mind you, there is a financial contribution as well, and the last two years has been 50,000 baht per meeting. Let me assure you that rental figure is exceptionally reasonable. For a similar sort of vehicle in Australia you would expect to pay around $10,000 (about 230,000 baht) for a race day hire. Where the Concept I also scores very well in my book is that they run on road tyres, so the degree of “stick” in the corner is not high. This means that you can slide the cars around at relatively lower speeds than you would expect. For the novice, this means that even if they do it all wrong, the speed at which you leave the bitumen is slow enough for there to be a good chance you will have stopped before meeting an immovable object! The cars themselves are monoposto (single seaters) the same as an F1 car, are rear engined (like F1) and you even have the detachable steering wheel to get in and out, just like M. Schumacher! The chassis is well made with large diameter tubing and features two large side pods which also act as side impact crash deformable structures. Every part of the car is made in Bangkok, other than the shock absorbers which are imported. The standard of welding and construction is quite superb. If you would like to know more about the series for next year, or about the cars themselves, you can contact AIM Racing on 02 940 6600 or fax 02 940 6629.

Autotrivia quiz

Last week I mentioned curved windscreens that are on every car these days. The Brits first came out with them in 1922 with Arrol-Johnstons. However, America had come out with them in 1914. I asked what car was this?

It was a car I wrote about a few weeks ago - the Kissel Kar, and they were the first. God Bless America (again)!

So to this week. Study the photograph intently. This car had a V8 5 litre engine delivering 195 kW, a 5 speed ZF trans-axle, weighed 1100 kg and did zero to 100 kph in a shade over 5 seconds. More clues, it had Brembo brakes, 266 mm up front, 260 mm at the rear. Top speed was in excess of 240 kph. It used much in the way of Kevlar-carbon fibre/aluminium sandwich and was designed by a chap who had spent some time with the McLaren F1 team. While being basically hand-built, they were done on an assembly line, with the mechanicals being mated to the body shell around half way down the line. After all those clues - what is this car?

For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct answer to fax 427 596 or email [email protected]