Holden has launched a big car challenge to the small car invasion with new, dedicated LPG versions of its Commodore range.
As well as producing a six cylinder family car that is more economical than the top-selling four cylinder makes, Holden says its new range is challenging what it believes are serious public misconceptions surrounding LPG.
"LPG must overcome a stigma," said Holden chairman and managing director Mike Devereux.
The company believes it can do exactly that with its new vapour injection system that it claims makes its 3.6 litre engine more economical than the corresponding Ford while giving off less harmful emissions than many four cylinder petrol-fuelled cars.
One of Holden's major design challenges to counter the anti-LPG view was to take the fuel tank out of the boot and put it under the floor, freeing up valuable luggage space.
Holden's engineers have achieved that, as well as creating an LPG unit that offers the performance of a petrol engine, is far cleaner and which cost $800 a year less to run than a 1.8 litre Toyota Corolla, based on average annual travel of 20,000km.
Holden says its 3.6l Omega and Berlina sedans average 11.8 litres/100km with consumption dropping to 8.9l/100km for the 3.0 version of the Omega.
Announcing the new LPG range in Melbourne on Tuesday, Mr Devereux took the novel approach of praising his major rival, Ford, which last year launched its Falcon EcoLPi.
"Ford has created a world-class LPG system," he said.
"I hope Ford sells a lot of these cars."
The new LPG Commodores, with the exception of the top of the line Caprice, will cost $2500 more than the petrol versions of the same car, a figure which is mostly offset by the federal government's $2000 rebate for private buyers.
The company is offering the Caprice at the petrol engine price, which amounts to a $2000 bonus once the government rebate is claimed.
While this month's hefty spike in the LPG pump price has bitten into the economic advantage of using gas, Holden's figures suggest a still substantial saving over petrol.
"With outstanding fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, cheaper fuel running costs than many small petrol cars and excellent driving characteristics, our customers will be able to enjoy the practicality and comfort of a large car without the large car fuel bills," Mr Devereux said.
"We are committed to taking a leadership position with alternative fuels to make sure Commodore remains the smart vehicle choice for Australian motorists."
The new Holdens have arrived at a time when sales of LPG cars has been on a slide, despite the introduction in 2006 of the rebate with only 4000 sold last year.
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