From The Car Connection: GM STUDIES IMPORTING COMMODORE

Very interesting...
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GM STUDIES IMPORTING COMMODORE
General Motors is looking at the Australian-made Holden Commodore as a possible way to expand its performance-oriented, rear-wheel-drive lineup, according to the automaker’s product czar Bob Lutz. “We’re studying, and I stress we’re studying, us bringing (the Commodore) from Australia and federalizing it,” a reference to U.S. safety and emissions standards. “But we’re a long way from making a decision,” Lutz quickly added. “We’re looking at anything that would conceivably get us back into the rear-wheel-drive market and cut the lead time to do it.” A critical question is whether GM could turn a profit bringing vehicles up from down under. Ford failed miserably when it tried to import an
Australian-made ragtop and sell it as the Mercury Capri in the early 1990s. But observers say that was more the result of poor product design than the Capri’s country of origin.