Holden compact 4WD crunch time

HOLDEN boss Peter Hanenberger jetted out of Australia on Tuesday night bound for a crucial meeting in Singapore that should solve the company's compact four-wheel drive dilemma.

The Wednesday (December 11) meeting at GM Asia-Pacific's headquarters was due to determine the technical specifications of a compact off-roader that should hit the Australian market in 2005.

The fundamental architecture of the off-roader will be developed by GM Daewoo but Mr Hanenberger is determined to gain Holden as much input into the project as possible.

Considering he is a board member of GM Asia-Pacific and GM Daewoo, and Holden is GM Daewoo's biggest shareholder, it is a task in which he has a fair chance of succeeding.

"We will pick the platform and the principles," Mr Hanenberger said of the Singapore meeting.

"These are the decisions we are looking for one platform option. What are the engines? What are the four-cylinder choices? What are the six-cylinder engines? Is it a long-wheelbase platform or a short-wheelbase platform? Five or seven seats? Do we make two bodies in white or only one? That's the stuff we are selecting." While Holden is the dominant sales leader in Australia, the lack of a direct competitor for the likes of the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V means it is missing out on as many as 1000 sales per month in the compact wagon market.

In the past it has investigated badge engineering the Subaru Forester, stretching the Cruze tiny-tot wagon, building its own compact and even tried to enlist the aid of GM product guru Bob Lutz in getting right-hand drive versions of US-built wagons that would fit the bill.

Mr Hanenberger sees this Daewoo-based vehicle as more versatile than a traditional compact off-roader.

His vision is a wagon marginally larger than a CR-V capable of selling across the compact and medium all-wheel drive segments. To be able to achieve that flexibility it would be fitted with a variety of the new generation HFV6 engines, which Holden will build in capacities ranging from 2.8 to 3.6, and probably even 3.8-litres.

And his preference is for it to have unique styling developed by Holden's Mike Simcoe-led design team. There are already Holden styling studies among the various proposals GM Asia-Pacific is considering.

One styling study has already seen the light of day in the coupe-like Oto concept that was unveiled at the Seoul Motor Show last month.

Of course, GM Daewoo would also be selling its own compact 4WD variant in Australia - through a distribution company owned by Holden - so strong differentiation will be a necessity.

Mr Hanenberger said the engineering influence from Holden over the project would be strong too.

"We are setting specifications and they have to be followed, just like the US sets us specifications. That's our engineering input. There could be input with design definitely, and there will definitely be input to chassis, and there will definitely be some exchange going on over the system that we use," he said.

"But then the final line drawing and all that will probably be all be done by Daewoo." Mr Hanenberger sees such a vehicle solving Holden's oncoming problems with the supply and then replacement of Isuzu-sourced four-wheel drives such as the Jackaroo.

With Isuzu ceasing production of Jackaroo next year, Holden is negotiating to gain continued supply out of a Philippines plant until the new vehicle comes on line.

Of course, the locally developed Commodore-based range of all-wheel drive utilities and wagons start flowing onto the market from the second half of 2003 as well, which should aid Holden's situation.

At the other end of the spectrum, Mr Hanenberger is keen to increase the engine capacity of the tiny-tot Cruze wagon from 1.5 to 2.0-litres, which would make it more competitive in the bottom-end of the market.