Crisis won't put brake on V8 Supercars
www.smh.com.au/news/sport/motorsport/cri...1/1243708404271.html

HOLDEN insiders were last night adamant that the lion will continue to roar in Australian V8 Supercar racing despite the massive restructuring brought on by the bankruptcy of its wobbly American parent, General Motors, expected early today.

The Holden people believe a bankruptcy will have no effect on the Australian subsidiary.

But if yesterday's blanket, and perhaps rehearsed, optimism within Holden is not crushed by any unforeseen evils lurking in today's announcement from the US, the chances are that Australian fans probably won't have to adjust to the "kangaroos and meat pies" icon being owned by a Chinese or Indian vehicle conglomerate.

There was no indication last night that Holden will join the US's Hummer, Sweden's Saab, Britain's Vauxhall and its European Opel subsidiary in the "For Sale" columns.

"Holden's motor sporting commitment is more likely to be affected by local market conditions than events happening in the US," the Herald was told.

But the Holden insider said the company's annual war chest for motor sport has been dramatically cut. Once reckoned to be considerably more than $10 million, it is now estimated at $4 million to $5 million.

The company's 50 per cent Australian market share has fallen to below 13 per cent and sales of the Commodore - the basis of its V8 Supercar activities - are suffering as consumers turn to more fuel-efficient vehicles.

V8 Supercars Australia, never the sharpest observer of the global motor industry, recently went into panic mode when it belatedly realised that its two participating brands were particularly vulnerable to Detroit's crushing issues.

Last year Ford Australia announced it was reducing its direct involvement to just two teams, Ford Performance Racing and Stone Brothers Racing. Backing was cut from the highly successful Triple Eight Race Engineering and the iconic Dick Johnson Racing.

Holden's American managing director, Mark Reuss, last month called for more brands to be lured into V8 Supercars, suggesting the current two-brand format was a dangerous business model.

He warned that popularity could fade very swiftly and that today's V8 machines had little relevance to production models bought by the public.

No manufacturer comes to mind as an entrant to the category. Toyota outsells Holden and Ford combined without any marketing help from V8 supercars.

The Luxury brands Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW are not interested in a series with grassroots working-class appeal, and they are especially not prepared to race in company with cars beneath their station.

In the background the retired driver Mark Skaife is working on a blueprint for a generic V8 Supercar for 2012.

In the background the retired driver Mark Skaife is working on a blueprint for a generic V8 Supercar for 2012


I think that Skaifey should be working on a redprint not blueprint
We dont need anymore blueprints

Cruze V Focus... can't wait!!!