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GM Holden employees and retirees were joined today by the Premier of South Australia, local VIPs and community partners as the company celebrated a half century at its Philip Highway, Elizabeth site.
50 years to the day since the first concrete was poured at the Elizabeth facility on 8 May, 1958, GM Holden Executive Director Rod Keane and the Premier of South Australia, Mike Rann MP buried a time capsule, to be opened at the site’s 75th anniversary in 2033.
Included in the time capsule are items including a Holden worker’s shirt, emblems and brochures for the cars currently made at Holden Vehicle operations, pictures and other contributions from the local Elizabeth Grove Primary school, a membership badge for Central District Football Club and perennial Aussie favourite, the Holden stubby holder.
School children from Elizabeth Grove Primary school participated in the burial of the time capsule, assisting Rod Keane and the Premier of South Australia, Mike Rann to lower the capsule into the ground before it was later covered with a commemorative plaque.
Rod Keane said the event was an opportunity to recognise the contribution of employees and the local community in GM Holden’s success.
“Since the first concrete was poured at this site back in 1958, GM Holden has been proud to play its part in the Elizabeth community. We’re immensely thankful for the commitment to this facility which has been shown by successive generations of employees, over half of whom live within ten kilometres of the plant.
“We also recognise the contribution of the local community, our suppliers, Federal and State Governments for their ongoing support of automotive manufacturing in South Australia.”
Holden’s milestones for the year extend beyond the 50th celebrations at Elizabeth and the 60th anniversary of the first Holden car, the 48-215.
“We have an extraordinary number of key dates to recognise this year including the centennial of General Motors and 30th birthday of the
Commodore.
“Of particular significance are two of our community partnerships as we celebrate the 20th season as major sponsor of the Central District Football Club and the 40th year supporting Bedford’s annual achievement awards.”
Established at an initial cost of £10,500,000, the Holden site at Elizabeth started life making hardware components including locks, mufflers, air cleaners, brake drums and mouldings.
Today, Holden Vehicle Operations includes a press shop, highly automated body shop, paint shop and plastics operation as well as a general assembly plant running at its maximum line rate of 620 cars a day. The site currently produces one vehicle every 76 seconds, delivering world class cars around the globe, under brand names including Holden, Vauxhall, Pontiac and
Chevrolet.
Over $530 million has been invested in the site since 2000, making the plant one of the most advanced automotive manufacturing facilities in the world. 3,400 highly skilled employees work at Elizabeth in roles including manufacturing engineers, production operators, maintenance technicians and support services.
Later this year, production will begin on the newest addition to the Holden range, the VE Sportwagon for Australian and New Zealand as well as the Pontiac G8 GXP, a high performance car for the US market.
Source - Holden Media.
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| Brave new forced-induction world for GM[/color] | 
Gotcha: The "mystery GM prototype", as pictured in Autocar.
Autocar spies what could be a turbo Commodore as GM unveils 476kW/819Nm SV8
By JAMES STANFORD 29 April 2008
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RESPECTED British motoring magazine Autocar has published photographs on its website of a heavily disguised evaluation vehicle that appears to be either a Holden Commodore or a related model testing in Sweden.
Autocar claims the “mystery GM prototype” has several design cues that suggest a new Holden model lies underneath its cladding.
It also reports that registration details confirm the car is a Holden, with the database attached to the licence plate indicating that the car is 4850mm long, 1800mm wide and weighs 1650kg.
According to Autocar, it also has a 260bhp (194kW) engine paired with an automatic gearbox.
“If it is a Holden, Saab engineers could be working on either a four-wheel drive transmission, or on turbocharged petrol engine for the car. Saab is a centre of excellence within GM for both these areas of engineering,” Autocar said.
While GoAuto believes it is unlikely that a rear-drive Holden would be converted to all-wheel drive, despite the fact it may open up more sales in the US and Europe, there is a strong prospect of a large-capacity turbo V6 being developed for Commodore and export models.
Holden already produces a 2.8-litre V6 at its Port Melbourne engine plant that is turbocharged for use in the Saab 9-3. Saab and Holden could now be involved in engineering a bigger version that would rival the upgraded inline turbo six that powers Ford Australia’s FG Falcon XR6 Turbo and G6E Turbo models.
Such an engine was previewed nearly four years ago at the 2004 Sydney motor show, where Holden revealed the TT36 'Torana' concept, powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.6-litre Alloytec V6 delivering 280kW and some 480Nm of torque. Ford's latest XR6T engine produces 270kW and 533Nm, while next month's new FPV version will produce 310kW and 551Nm.
The experimental V6 was hand-built at Holden's then-new engine plant at Port Melbourne, featured two KO4 Warner turbochargers and an air-to-air intercooler and, according to Holden, produced 90 per cent of peak torque from just 1600rpm.
 While the vehicle’s disguised styling could point to any number of Holden-developed GM vehicles – from Buick, Cadillac, Pontiac and perhaps even Saab – the prototype could also be testing other technology for export markets. Sweden is often used for electronic stability control calibration, for example.
Also of interest to Australian motoring enthusiasts is the release from General Motors last week of official performance figures for the supercharged 6.2-litre LS9 V8 that powers the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (pictured at left).
Providing the possible basis for a GTS model from Holden Special Vehicles, the LS9 produces a whopping 476kW of power and a phenomenal 819Nm of torque – figures that have come in above the original estimates given in January at the Detroit auto show, where the ZR1 was first shown.
Any engine that appears in the iconic Corvette gives rise to hope that it could be used by HSV. While there is no official word on whether Australia will see the LS9, the naturally-aspirated 6.2-litre LS3 engine that currently serves the standard Corvette powers HSV models from this month.
Thanks to the supercharged LS9 engine, the Corvette ZR1 can achieve a top speed of more than 322km/h (200mph). It is intercooled and uses a Roots-type supercharger with a unique four-lobe rotor set-up that has been designed for quieter and more efficient performance.
It has 2.3-litres of displacement to ensure adequate air volume at high engine speed and runs a maximum boost pressure of 10.5 psi (0.72 bar).
The LS9 also has a forged steel crankshaft with a nine-bolt flange, titanium con-rods, forged aluminium pistons, stronger rotocast cylinder-heads with custom titanium intake valves and hollow-stem, sodium-filled exhaust valves.
GM has also developed a special camshaft developed for excellent idle and low-speed driving characteristics, a 9.9-litre dry-sump oiling system with integrated oil-cooler and piston-cooling oil squirters.
Of course, customers will never get to see any of this unless something goes horribly wrong, so Chevrolet has given the outside of the LS9 engine a unique look. Its intercooler cover, which is visible through the bonnet, is painted blue and has LS9 Supercharged stamped on it.
While you might expect the ZR1 Corvette fitted with a blown V8 would be a rumbling, grumbling monster, Chevrolet general manager Ed Peper insists it is a refined machine.
“One of the most amazing things about the Corvette ZR1 is the level of refinement that our designers and engineers have attained,” he said.
“Even with all that power, this car has road manners that will allow our customers to enjoy it on the streets as a daily driver, and on the track.”
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Pics posted on ls1.com.au
Taken in Kunnunurra
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Image courtesy LS1.com.au/Wheels Magazine
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Source: GoAuto News
HSV boss says local power war hasn't ended yet, as it eyes a 7.0 V8 and supercharging
By DAVID HASSALL 6 March 2008
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HSV is not about to follow the lead of AMG by calling for an amnesty on rising horsepower outputs, saying there is still more to come from Holden’s hot-car factory.
Responding to comments made to GoAuto in January by AMG’s boss Volker Mornhinweg that Mercedes’ high-performance partner will not chase big power gains, HSV boss Scott Grant told us at the Melbourne motor show last week that HSV’s lifeblood is developing new products.
“I think there’s a little bit more to go for us,” he said.
“(AMG’s) stopping point was about 500kW or something like that and they said ‘enough is enough’, but we’re not there yet. Obviously it doesn’t make sense at some point in time, but I think there’s a little way to go.”
Having just unveiled HSV’s new 370kW/640Nm 7.0-litre W427, Mr Grant said that it remains to be seen what powerplant the company would use to up the ante in the future.
He would not be drawn to comment on the supercharged V8 developed by sister company Walkinshaw Performance in conjunction with Harrop Engineering, which pushes power well beyond 400kW and torque past 700Nm.
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