Holden Special Vehicles announced yesterday an increase in retail sales of 67% on the 1st quarter compared with the same time last year.

General Manager of Marketing Tim Jackson said, ‘At the launch of E2 the strategy was to lift GTS back to its hero status, and the exciting thing is we have seen demand outstrip supply. The differentiation we have given GTS has really struck a chord with our customer base.’

HSV’s Darren Bowler added, ‘While GTS has been a real stand out for us, the introduction of Maloo GXP into the range has us expecting a record year for the Maloo nameplate, exceeding 2009 by over 40%’.

ClubSport R8 remains the volume seller within the HSV range representing 35% of sales and recorded a 70% increase in Q1 sales (2009 vs 2010).

Meanwhile over at arch-rival Ford there’s plans to replace its current 5.4-litre Boss V8 with a new ‘Coyote’ 5.0-litre V8. In its naturally-aspirated guise, the 5.0 litre engine produces 307kW and 529Nm of torque, bettering the 290kW/520Nm of Ford’s current XR8.

For high performance applications, such as in the 315kW FPV GT range, Ford is apparently developing a unique supercharged version of the engine, the first forced-induction variant of the ‘Coyote’ range in the world.

The Ford Motor Company has reported a fourth quarter profit for 2009 that’s helped the automaker end the last fiscal year with its first yearly profit in about four years. Ford’s 2009 Q4 income was $868 USD million versus a loss of $5.9 billion USD the year prior, the effect on the year as a whole generated $2.7 billion profit compared to a loss of $14.8 billion in 2008.

Now, Ford’s Chief Financial Officer Lewis Booth is forecasting a profitable 2010 and is claiming the company’s outlook in 2011 is “solidly profitable.”

Apparently much of last year’s profit had to do with debt restructuring, but Ford also lowered its structural costs by $5.1 billion, which also beat the company’s own goal of a $4 billion reduction.

Ford also announced that it will raise its first quarter production levels in North America by 20,000 units, from 550,000 to 570,000. This will help the automaker meet rising demand for its cars and trucks and keep inventory stable around the industry standard 60-day supply.