Instrument Clusters

The Holden VE Commodore is the fourteenth and current model of the Holden Commodore, a full-size car produced by Holden, the Australian subsidiary of General Motors. more...

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Full-scale production commenced on July 13, 2006, and the official unveiling took place at a media launch in Melbourne on July 16, 2006. The VE is the first Commodore model designed entirely in Australia, with previous generations based on Opel-sourced platforms that had been adapted both mechanically and in size for the local market.

Prior to the release of the VE model, Holden stated that they would manufacture two parallel generations of Commodores until the launch of station wagon and utility body styles. Shortly afterwards, the company announced that engines and transmissions would be largely carried over from the previous VZ model. In 2007 the VE Commodore became the fifth Commodore model to receive the prestigious Wheels Car of the Year award. The VE utility was subsequently released on August 22, 2007, followed shortly by the unveiling of a Sportwagon concept.

The design of this new model included innovative features to help minimise export costs, such as a symmetrical centre console that houses a flush-fitting handbrake lever to facilitate its conversion to left-hand drive. The mainstream VE also forms the basis of the long-wheelbase WM Statesman.

History of development

Holden's designers and engineers began laying down the basics of a clean-sheet Commodore in 1999. In the seven years of development, the car came to be Holden's largest and most costly project representing an expenditure exceeding AU$1 billion and 3.4 million kilometres (2.1 million mi) of testing.

Design

In 1999 Peter Hughes, Holden's manager of exterior design, produced a two-dimensional image of a sketch drawn earlier by Michael Simcoe, Holden's design director at the time. Known in house as the "Bill of Design", the sketch formed the design basis for the production-ready car. Various elements of the sketch were changed, including the rear tail lamps, the low-profile side window cluster and the drawn out wheelbase, but the aggressive stance remained.

In 2004, just two years before the release of the VE Commodore, Holden unveiled the Torana TT36 concept car at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney. The TT36 served as a preview of the VE, and allowed Holden to gauge the public reaction to its styling. Much of the Torana’s styling drew on the essence of the VE's design. Some production-ready components carried over from the TT36 including the steering wheel, the window and rear-view mirror switch cluster, and the handbrake lever.

Read more at Wikipedia.org