Holden

:This article is about the Australian car manufacturer. See Holden (places) for articles about towns named Holden.

Australia's own car

After the end of World War II, the Australian government took steps to encourage an Australian automotive industry, and persuaded General Motors to build "Australia's own car". The Holden 48/215, introduced in 1948, was a medium-sized vehicle fitted with a 132 in³ (2.15 L) engine, and based on a design proposed for the 1949 Chevrolet, that had been rejected as being too small for that purpose. Although not particularly mechanically or stylistically sophisticated, it was simple, rugged, more powerful than most competitors, and offered reasonable performance and fuel economy in an affordable package. Better suited to Australian conditions than its competitors, and assisted by tariff barriers, it rapidly became Australia's best-selling car.

Related Topics:
World War II - 1949 - Chevrolet - Fuel economy

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Despite the arrival of competitors in the 1960s, Holden's locally-produced large six and eight-cylinder cars have remained Australia's top-selling vehicle for most of that time. The Kingswood sedan, wagon and ute (utility or pickup truck) was exported and assembled abroad, including New Zealand along with South Africa (badged as the Chevrolet Kommando), Indonesia and Trinidad and Tobago. Holden has offered a reasonably full range of other vehicles, some locally produced but others sourced from various other parts of the General Motors empire, such as Chevrolet, Opel, Isuzu and Suzuki.

Related Topics:
1960s - Kingswood - New Zealand - South Africa - Chevrolet Kommando - Indonesia - Trinidad and Tobago - Chevrolet - Opel - Isuzu - Suzuki

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Another notable Holden offering was the mid-size Torana, introduced in the mid-1960s, and initially based on the British Vauxhall Viva. The name 'Torana' was an Aboriginal word meaning 'to fly'. The Torana LH/LX series, which consisted of 3 door hatchback and 4 door booted sedan variants (between 1974 and 1978) was unusual in that it was offered with a choice of four (1.9 L cam-in-head), six (2.8 L, 3.3 L OHV) or eight cylinder (4.2 L, 5.0 L OHV) engines. The four, later renamed Sunbird, was very sluggish, the eight-cylinder version alarmingly fast: the six was the most popular option. The Torana was replaced by the 1982 Camira, which was GM's medium-sized "J-Car". Bodywork for the Camira wagon was exported to the UK for Vauxhall's Cavalier.

Related Topics:
Torana - 1960s - Vauxhall - Aboriginal - Cam-in-head - OHV - Camira - J-Car - UK - Vauxhall's Cavalier

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