Man, what have Holden done!!!!
My last 3 cars have all been some form of the good old Aussie Holden ute. I am not the only windsurfer that prefers this type of transportation as they are pretty versatile.
So I head off to the local dealer and sus out the new Maloo 
, after 20 mins talking about the various features I look at the new cabin space behind the seats and think how have they achieved this 
.
Answer.... They square of the tray, add a tray liner and effectively remove 19cm of length 
. This has started alarm bells ringing in my head 
, knowing that in my old ute my wave boards had a nice snug fit. With panic starting to grip me, I head outside grab a board from the car and walk back into the show room and try to squeeze my board into the back of the tray.
After 5 minutes all hope is lost and the reality starts to sink in, I may never get to own my dream car 
. Not only that but all models of the new ute have the same dimensions.
So what do you go now?
signed: One very unhappy windsurfer
maybe time to get a ford... xr6 or f6 ute could be worth trying. arguably at the moment they come with nicer drivetrain options then the holdens.
but then some people live in a world where its not possible to own a ford.
Being someone who in the past has help run a Ute club, and owned Utes to show quality, I know your pain.. I now drive a VS that I'm not happy with and am likely to bite the bullet and just buy a van at some stage.
The reduction in length of the Holden tray was one of the first things I noticed when they brought the new model out (I was invited to the pre sale launch). I too was not happy that I would never get to own one of these, as they have just dropped out of practicality.
Unfortunately the Fords are the same, and really if you are a Holden person through and through you wont end up buying a Ford, just the way it is.
Oh and nicer drive trains than the Holden...I will agree with the 6T, that thing is a beast. But Holden still have it with the LS7 6.0Lt V8 over anything the blue oval boys sell.
Just don't get a massive holden or ford sticker on the front or back window cz people can tell what make of car it is.
toyota hilux ute? probably has less depreciation and dare I say it better reliability?
Hey Marco, you've got to go the ute !
I can help you
How about a "shorter" custom board 
We'll put starboard stickers on it and no one will know 
I won't tell a soul....I promise
fuel consuption aint that bad in the falcons.... had an 05 xr6 ute.... 600 kms round town over 700 on the highway from 70 litres
got an 06 hilux 2.7 petrol now ... cant get much more than 500 round town and no better on the hwy from the same 70 l of juice... despite driving it like a grandpa.... and accelerating at half the speed of the xr
..
i reckon some of the v8's would do better than that..maybe some one could verify that
...but as latedropeddy says probly less depreciation and maybe better reliability from the hilux... BUT they are made in thailand now not japan and the build quality is a bit ordinary, so long term reliability.... ummm remains to be seen
and yeah b4 i get shot down i know the xr6 aint in the same power class as any of the v8's but any one buying a v8 has no right to complain about the cost of juice cos it obviously isnt a concern
i reckon wet willy,s got the right idea.... to hell with cars, licences, fuel, rego, parking, fines, parking fines, insurance, servicing, depreciation, yada yada etc etc..... phew.. im outa breath after that rant
I dunno if the future of oil is bleak. Australia at the very least has a stack of shale oil which can be made in to petrol up in Queensland.
Commodore utes are show ponies, aren't they? You hardly ever see a tradesman driving one so its hardly surprising that tray size is low on the designers list of priorities. I would have thought their payload is pretty ordinary too.
Three choices, get a van, get a trailer or take up kitesurfing
despite driving it like a grandpa.... and accelerating at half the speed of the xr..
not sure what economy ford claimed they would get but around 11+ city and a bit under 10 hwy sounds right
auto
dandy ranges hills and melb eastern suburbs
about 400 - 450 kgs of trade tools and hardware (admitedly about 500-550 in the hilux at the moment)
driven them both with economy in mind but didnt have to work as hard at it in the xr, and it was still twice as quick as the hilux. reckon i could have still got better economy in the xr than i did, if i tried as hard as i am in the hilux
i guess the point i was making is 4 cylinders isnt always cheaper, coz petrol prices seemed to come up a few times in this thread re; bigger cars and falcodores etc.. and someone suggested the hilux (tho they didnt specify petrol or diesel)
and another thing i just remembered is the servicing costs for falcon per km were nearly half that of the hilux petrol, not to mention the couple of dealers ive delt, with in the toyota case they never want to admit anything could possibly be wrong with the car whereas the ford dealer bent over backwards to try and help out with anything, but from what ive heard, experiences with dealers can vary greatly irrespective of brand
I have a subaru wrx wagon I can fit two boards and all my gear inside, or if I have a passenger the boards can go on the roof. The car is way better on fuel than a v6 or v8 and leaves them for dead.
I am a Holden man through and through and would never contemplate purchasing any other brand of car.
Rider 5, I might have to seriously consider your proposal I would require a board at about 215cm, floats a 77kg person and excels in all conditions. Lets even try an new twin fin design, what am I saying you know the deal .
So my thoughts are now drifting towards the new Holden wagon in the SS V. I am not overly worried about fuel / running costs, the misses and I don't intend on having kids so I get to spend more money on toys.
Actually I was informed by the HSV dealer that they will release a wagon version in early October (ahhh!!! another dream to grasp onto).
Ooh I've got another idea remember tose shrinky dink toys you would put in the oven and they would shrink or chip and chocolate block wrappers would do the same.
.....................well maybe you could put your board in a huge oven and shrink it I'm sure it will still say 77 litres on it
I would require a board at about 215cm, floats a 77kg person and excels in all conditions. Lets even try an new twin fin design, what am I saying you know the deal .
Holden designers put form before function.
On reason why the previous model Commodore was good was because it had a huge arse on it, just what you want for a wagon. If you want style, buy a coupe.
Yeah I know the new wagon is out I have checked it out several times.
I really wanted the new Maloo and was waiting for the series 2 to come out, then it was shopping time.
Now I am looking at a wagon again and it just ****s me that it will get trashed inside with all the sand and salt water (been there done that years ago). I think its going to be my only choice though, I still like all the comforts and a car that drives well and I just plain love V8's. Also I am not into any 4wd's, just would not use it enough and around town they suck.
Hey P.C, the work van is ok for in and around Perth and the odd weekender to Lano or Gero. However when I go on holidays or longer trips it has to stay at work.
Sorry Marco , I am the lone Windsurfer at holden design , and try to protect us as much as possible . On this one the marketing boys were insistant on more rear interior storage and as you noted the only way to get it was reduce bed length. The bed length isn't a huge issue with most ute customers , so i was never going to win that one . Unfortunately Windsurfing isn't on the Radar as far as Marketing cars goes.
I tried !!!!
When was the last time you saw a Commodore ute? Now when was the last time you saw a Commodore ute carrying something?
Holden marketing is right on the money. Their utes are not used for carrying things, they are show ponies.
Hey Marco, how about a flash custom ali tray on it. You could get it extended then.
