We're Not Getting The Holden Ute, But Not For Reasons You'd Expect
Every so often, the same tired rumor will pop up again, like a particularly resilient pimple that habitually reappears in the same conspicuous spot. Thanks to the incessant hunger for clicks among auto websites, these rumors refuse to die, no matter how asinine they are. How many times have you seen a “BREAKING” or “EXCLUSIVE” story on the next Toyota Supra or some absurd BS fabrication regarding a diesel Mazda MX-5?
The latest round of bollocks concerns the Holden Ute, another car that tickles the fancy of enthusiasts on all sides of the globe, but would be a commercial nightmare if they ever tried to export it to America. One Australian publication is now claiming that a guerilla marketing campaign showing Mark Reuss lapping the Nurburgring in a brand new Ute is part of a ploy to export the Ute to America. Of course, other car blogs have been lathering themselves up into a frenzy over the prospect of a very expensive quasi-pickup that they will not purchase once it gets here.
Holden claims that there will be some kind of major announcement regarding the Ute next month. I’m going to be the first to say it will not be related to any Ute exports. There are two simple reasons here: the US-Australian dollar exchange rate is abominable as far as exports are concerned, and there is likely little to no demand for a very pricey product that is neither fish nor fowl. Who is going to pay $50k for Corvette powered pseudo-pickup wearing a Chevrolet badge. Did we discuss the UAW’s reaction to an Australian built pickup, or the whole “cannibalizing GM’s new ‘lifestyle pickup’ thing “either? Both of those matter, but would require their own articles to really get into.
One thing that is not a factor is the chicken tax. Not long ago, Holden used the chicken tax as an excuse for why it’s been unable to export Utes to America. TTAC commenters soon produced plenty of evidence showing that Australian cars and “light commercial vehicles” (i.e. pickups and Utes) can be brought to America duty free. So that excuse is out. I feel for Holden though. The Australian domestic car industry is going down the tubes, their signature product is about to become just another boring front-drive appliance and all they want to do is send some good product to world markets.
The problem is nobody wants it. No matter how loud the internet cries out for it.
More by Derek Kreindler
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I disagree with the author of this article. I do believe there is a desire for an Ute/El Camino type vehicle in NA, however not at the current asking price. If Holden, or whatever OEM, built a Ute-type pickup and had a base price of around $17K, I think it would sell well as long as it had RWD, performed well in crash tests, could haul 4 x 8 sheets and had good MPG. If a 2.0-2.2 liter diesel was offered as an option to increase MPG and low-end torque I believe there would be a very large market for such a truck. The problem is GM is about to launch 2 mid-size pickups in NA to fill the life-style niche so I doubt GM would also spring for an El Camino because it would be competing against itself.
Compact car based Utes, like the old VW Caddy/Dodge Rampage, or a number of vehicles currently on the market in Latin America, make a lot of sense. They are very cheap to produce, and with a durable enough twist beam rear suspension most of them can handle at least a ton. I can easily see one being sold in the US for $15K MSRP or less, made in Mexico. Taking an expensive to produce rear wheel drive, IRS sedan and making a pickup out of it is a joke. Australia being an expensive to produce in country doesn't help, but even if Commodore based Utes were being made in a low cost country like Thailand regular pickups would make more sense. The Camaro, basically the same as a Ute, starts at $23,555, so that's about what a base Ute would cost if it was built in Canada instead of Australia (with Australian labor costs and shipping the base UTE would likely cost $30,000+ in the US, even though there is no Chicken Tax with Australia). For $23,590 you can get a Silverado.