History of Development
The VT project was the outcome of an A$600 million development programme that spanned more than half a decade. The new model sported a rounded exterior body shell, improved dynamics, and many firsts for an Australian-built car. A stronger body structure, 30 percent stiffer than the VS increased crash safety.
As with previous Commodore models, Holden looked to Opel in Germany for a donor platform. The proposal was to take the Omega B and broaden the vehicle’s width and mechanical setup for local conditions. In the early days, Holden considered adopting the Omega as is, save for the engines and transmissions, and even investigated reskinning the existing second generation (VN—VS) architecture. Later on, the VT bodywork spawned a new generation of Statesman and Caprice limousines. Holden even went as far as resurrecting the iconic Monaro coupé from the 1960s and 1970s. The revived Monaro attracted wide attention after being shown as a concept car at Australian auto shows, and it drew a large waiting list after production began. The Monaro was released to the Australian market in 2001.
Read more about this topic: Holden VT Commodore
Famous quotes containing the words history of, history and/or development:
“It’s a very delicate surgical operation—to cut out the heart without killing the patient. The history of our country, however, is a very tough old patient, and we’ll do the best we can.”
—Dudley Nichols, U.S. screenwriter. Jean Renoir. Sorel (Philip Merivale)
“There is no history of how bad became better.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“I’ve always been impressed by the different paths babies take in their physical development on the way to walking. It’s rare to see a behavior that starts out with such wide natural variation, yet becomes so uniform after only a few months.”
—Lawrence Kutner (20th century)