Goodbye our old foe. RIP

[amiers]

I thought our mortal enemy deserved a dedicated goodbye thread.

I learnt how to drive in a HR holden and remember that car with fondness. As I was last year with Ford, I am sad to see Holden go. Both of these companies have been a massive part of my life and many others on here.

Goodbye

[Pis-ton broke]

i had a hj kingswood, with am radio. it was a great car.
although i didn,t like the tri-matic (tri-hard) gerarbox. it would happily do linelockers.
rip holden

[csv8]

Football, meat pies no more Holden cars. Sad day for manufacturing in Australia.

[GASWAGON]

We had a few Holdens while growing up. HJ Ute, HX Wagon (Full of rust).
My old man bought me a very clean HJ Kingswood sedan for my 1st car.
202, 3 on the tree, bench seat, sunroof and no rust.
Only thing was i spending half my apprentice ship money on petrol as the 202's were pretty thirsty but very reliable.
Unfortunately one day after work i hit and oil patch on a bend in the wet and went sideways into a van and it destroyed the rear quarter..Total right off.

Ended up with much cheaper Mitsi 4 spd manual Sigma with no heater in winter and stretched timing chain!

RIP Holden and factory.

[amiers]

weird that most of us Ford men had Holdens as first cars.

[Glen 5150]

Sad day indeed. I've owned Ford V8's most of my life, but jumped ship a few times in the late 80's and 90's, VL Berlina 5.0, VR SS and VS SS. All were great cars without any major issues, but I just felt more comfortable and at home in a Ford. Life can be funny and unpredictable at times, if I would of felt more comfortable in a Holden I would probably have a Clubsport or Redline in my garage rather than a XR8. My favourite car of all time is still a fully flared SLR 5000 and the A9X SS Toranas.

Thanks for the memory's, friendly rivalry and banter over the years Holden, and good luck to all the workers and their families for the future.

[Burnout]

Had an HR Ute, back then....
Was a good ute, trouble free. 3/Tree, 186S, front disc brakes.

[auxr]

Originally Posted by amiers

weird that most of us Ford men had Holdens as first cars.

Yes - correct, but then we became wiser.

[auxr]

Uru Holden - thanks for the memories, touching fifty years of rivalry on the mountain, won't be the same but must move on and see what the future holds.

Had a few Holdens in the early years that were good cars for the time but the XY Fairmont led me down the track of having Ford V8's to this day.

Feel for the Holden guys, but at this point in time, I won't be hugging the first Holden guy I see wearing a Brocky shirt.

[GTP534]

Our first car in Australia (we arrived in 1966) was a 1960 FB Holden, bench seat 3-on-the-tree. What a workhorse that was for us. Took us on our first holiday in Australia down the south coast. Unfortunately, gearbox lost oil and seized on us in the Snowy Mountains.

That was followed by a 149 HR which understeered off the road and hit a telegraph pole.

An HT Kingswood followed this for a few years and then my Dad got his first automatic - an HJ Kingswood which had T-Bar, bucket seats and .... air conditioning!

He then got a VC 4 cylinder Commodore which ran for years until he got a Lexcen. That was his last Holden - he's had Camry's up until just recently when he got a Corolla. He's 84 now and still going.

Thanks for the memories Holden - all the best to the employees, I hope Holden have looked after them.

[frankie86]

The car that started my passion for cars is a holden vh sl/e my old man had back in the day, I've since seen the light but I never forgot where I came from, bloody sad day

[Sioso]

Yep, I had a lot more holdens than fords over the years.
I almost traded my Golf for a an SSV Redline in son of a gun grey a few weeks back.

My brother and I learnt to drive on our farm in a HT ute 253 with a 2 speed powerglide auto.

Thanks for the memories.

[Bayson]

Sad day.

I wish i could have bought a VF2 SSV redline. Ripper car for the money.

I bought the fgx xr8 instead but i was extremely impressed wjth the vf2 ss, so close to buying the holden SS. Only bought the fgx as i paid bargain price $52500 drive away brand new. SsV redline was closer to $60k.

We will never see such ripper cars again for that price point, (xr8, ss, xr6t)

[Wretched]

They made some ripper cars over their time, even those in partnership with HDT and HSV.
Still think a VF2 SS Wagon is the perfect family car.

[FG50T]

No matter how much I love XR6T's the LS3 SSV is the the car to have no doubt about it.

That said took a VF1 GTS for a test drive last week. Recommend everyone does, something not worth missing out on. I recommend a manual and going WOT in 3rd.

[wodahs]

not me my first car was an XY v8 wagoooon , my fathers , but I had to fix it to have it as he had drivin it into the ground apart from some minor body and mechs it had a fair few burnt valves
my first only holden was a HR and also a wagoooon and a 186 was also from my father , as I had got a first car from the folks they extended this to my brother , who promptly turned his nose up at it
the falcon was neither running nor licenced when I got it the holden as shabby as it was , was both licenced and running
and seeing they had purchased it already for him and he didn't want it (lost his chance) and I had recently been t boned in the falcon by some one making an illegal u turn I took it did some fixing any ways and drove it for a few months before turning it in to a 77 v8 F250
good days

[HIPO]

Yep, they made some good stuff over the years...... my 1st car was an HK Monaro...... only a 307 with powerglide.
Paid $1800 for it........ i called it Tony.

[NTF6]

Originally Posted by HIPO

Yep, they made some good stuff over the years...... my 1st car was an HK Monaro...... only a 307 with powerglide.
Paid $1800 for it........ i called it Tony.

Sweet, my first ride was a '70 HT Brougham with a 308 and powerglide followed by a '72 HQ GTS Monaro Coupe (wish I still had it now, paid $4750 for it and sold it to a work mate for $3500)

[FairmontGS]

My only Holden was a 1965 HD sedan and it was a dangerous horrible thing but it got me through Uni. But I'll miss the rivalry and wish all the ex-employees the best.

[Syndrome]

I learnt to drive in a 1985 VK Berlina sedan with the carburetor 3.3 six cylinder engine and 'traumatic' three speed auto. The drivetrain in the POS would shudder under heavy acceleration. But how do I feel today?

[FTE217]

I'm very saddened we have lost our cars and for the workers but I have NO connection for the Holden company and not care one bit......

[Mercury Bullet]

Drove fc's on the farm as a kid. Dad had a crazy bright red hg?? With the 350.
Valiant was my first legal road car. Then I bought the Cobra and it was falcon forever.
Until the noughties and I loved the vz monaro kept that for 4 years and bought an hsv clubsport with ls3 it was so bad my playing with Holden was done.

Then I got a Miami, but alas it's the last one.

Imo the vz Monaro was the best car to come out of Holden, hands down.

[Ryan]

Only owned two Holdens. The VL I had for about 9 years and the VZ SS I’ve owned for the last 5.

Just like when Ford shut up shop last year it’s a sad time for the industry that local production of Holden and Ford ceases to exist.

Many great cars have rolled off both production lines over so many years. It’s a strange feeling to know that’s no more.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by amiers

weird that most of us Ford men had Holdens as first cars.

Think you will find a lot of people did own and drove both brands as I certainly owned a good mix of Holden & Fords over 42 years of driving.
I came from a big family and remember fondly of good selection of Fords and Holdens parked at my mom's house....lol


Cheers.

[Whitey-AMG]

Originally Posted by FTE217

I'm very saddened we have lost our cars and for the workers but I have NO connection for the Holden company and not care one bit......

Its HOLDEN that drove FORD ( and vice versa ) to push the envelope on local manufacturing and create the cars we all love. The connection is in the FORD DNA whether we like it or not. Every FALCON that was raced was manufactured to beat a HOLDEN. Every FORD on the showroom floor was manufactured to outsell a HOLDEN. ( and vice versa )

We grew up loving FORDS because we learnt to hate HOLDENS. We gathered at ( or watched on telly ) the Holy Mountain to watch FORDS battle with HOLDENS as we dreamed that the car in the garage was the one on the track.

Every time a new model FALCON and COMMODORE was released - we gathered on forums or at BBQ's and at car shows and round the dinner table arguing about which was better with a passion and dedication that we will likely never ever see in this country again. We had family members and friends and acquaintances that worked at HOLDEN in VIC and SA......

I say we have all the connections in the world to the old enemy. I personally think its just as sad a day as when FORD closed its doors at Broady and Geelong. RIP Australian culture..........

[Junkyard-Dog]

Love the HRs mate. I prefer Fords to Holdens but I think the HR is my favourite Australian car of all time.

[DJM83]

Few Holdens/HSV's id love to own thats for sure. Sad to see them go.
One car i learnt to drive in my parents had was a VB commodore station wagon. Decided in wanted a commodore. Went to buy one and bought the falcon across the road.
Would own/10

[FTE217]

Originally Posted by Bluey-GT

Its HOLDEN that drove FORD ( and vice versa ) to push the envelope on local manufacturing and create the cars we all love. The connection is in the FORD DNA whether we like it or not. Every FALCON that was raced was manufactured to beat a HOLDEN. Every FORD on the showroom floor was manufactured to outsell a HOLDEN. ( and vice versa )

We grew up loving FORDS because we learnt to hate HOLDENS. We gathered at ( or watched on telly ) the Holy Mountain to watch FORDS battle with HOLDENS as we dreamed that the car in the garage was the one on the track.

Every time a new model FALCON and COMMODORE was released - we gathered on forums or at BBQ's and at car shows and round the dinner table arguing about which was better with a passion and dedication that we will likely never ever see in this country again. We had family members and friends and acquaintances that worked at HOLDEN in VIC and SA......

I say we have all the connections in the world to the old enemy. I personally think its just as sad a day as when FORD closed its doors at Broady and Geelong. RIP Australian culture..........

Yep, I get it and true but their admin have been sob's etc (so have ours), as said feel for the the workers but still not care of the brand, shrugs shoulders, all good mate.

[Bobman]

Having driven every model Commodore (VB to VF2) and many Kingswoods too, it's very sad. The VF2 was actually a decent car to drive.

This impact on Australia will be felt for many years to come after the loss of our car industry.

[whynot]

I have a lot of empathy for the Holden workers. I too am going through a very drawn out forced redundancy process at work. Sometimes I wonder if it is better with less notice, as it is over and done with quicker, but I digress.

At present, I am touring around NSW in a MY15 Calais V wagon (alas, it is the V6 and not the V8). Not my first choice of car (a Territory would be a nicer tourer IMHO). But, it does hit home the magnificent engineering and manufacturing capacity we once had (past tense) in Australia. Even with a heavy right foot, the fuel consumption is in the low 7l/100km. Overtaking is a breeze, and the Commodore just eats up the road km.

I do genuinely feel for the Holden fans. But, just as once upon a time Australia use to manufacture world class TV and radios, and no one remembers … the harsh reality is that the Commodore and Falcon will rapidly fade from memory for most of the population.

Thank you Holden workers for your efforts and commitments. Hold your head high. You have given a lot of people a lot of pleasure over the years.