This week signals the end of car manufacturing in Australia as General Motors Holden will roll off the last Australian-made car in history. I find that very sad because what's so unique about car manufacturing in Australia is when Ford Motor Company set up car manufacturing in Australia and then revolutionized it with the XK Falcon until the advent of General Motors Holden's ignited the legendary war that forever shaped Australian motoring.
As car manufacturing in Australia is coming to a bittersweet end, now it's the ideal time for me to jot down the ten best Australian cars made by Australians, for Australians.
1) Ford XK Falcon - The XK Falcon in 1960 is the first Ford Falcon sold and made in Australia and while it looks vaguely similar to the American-spec Falcon, it's the first to be sold in right-hand drive and accommodated to handle Australian driving conditions. It was offered in saloon, wagon, and a ute. This is the very car that escalates tensions against General Motors Holden's.
2) Holden FX - After the end of World War II, the Australian Government urges the establishment of full-scale Australian motor manufacturing history and while Ford's presence in Australia is all in all at the moment, they demand Australia to have its own carmaker and once such thing that steps up to the challenge is none other than General Motors Holden's. Two years later, on November 29th, 1948, Prime Minister Ben Chifley launched "Australia's Own Car," Holden. Despite being influenced by American styling, the Holden is 99% Australian through and through because nobody understands Australian driving conditions more than GMH. Under the bonnet lies a 132.5cu (2.2L) cast-iron 6-cylinder engine mated to a 3-speed manual gearbox. It produces 60HP of power and does a 0-97kph time of 18.7 seconds. Because this car is suitable enough to tackle Australian driving conditions, it's rugged enough to tackle the remote outback because of its dust-proof body and unique dynamics capable to handle such conditions.
3) Ford XR Falcon GT - The XR Falcon GT remains one of the most important cars in Australian car history because this is the car that ignited the muscle car wars in Australia. Before its inception, the Australian roads have been ruled by six-cylinder saloons as well as V8 Valiants. They are lovely but nothing is more so than the XR Falcon GT, the car that kissed the opposition goodbye at the Gallagher 500 in Bathurst. Coined as the Mustang-bred machine, it was powered by a 289 Windsor engine producing 225HP of power output while mated with a 4-speed gearbox.
4) Holden HQ Sandman - The Sandman is a panel van variant of the Holden HQ range that was rivaled by the panel van variant of the Ford Falcon but whereas the Falcon Panel Van is all work, the Sandman is all work, all play. In fact, it comes with some bits and bobs from the HQ Monaro GTS as well as a shouty V8 engine on the front, making it a party wagon for the outdoorsy Aussies, even beachgoers.
5) Ford XB Falcon - Anyone who is a fan of the Mad Max movies will be familiar with the XB Falcon because this is the ride the hero of the flick drove in the wastelands. But there's more to it than being Mad Max's favorite war machine. You see, the XB Falcon is the second phase of the third generation of Ford's Australian-made model, which features minor cosmetic differences from the previous XA model. Engine configurations include a 200ci 6-cylinder, a 250ci 6-cylinder, a 302ci V8, and a powerful 351ci V8. Depending on the engine choices, it can be mated with either a 3-speed MT, a 4-speed MT, or a 3-speed AT. Allan Moffat drove a Falcon to victory in the 1974 Sandown 250 using a GT hardtop model as well as the 1976 Australian Touring Car Championship in the same model and the 1977 Australian Touring Car Championship, using both the XB and the XC Falcons.
6) HDT VK Commodore Group A - A national treasure in its own right, this 500 build homologation special finished in Formula Blue paint is a fitting tribute to the legendary Peter Brock, who has been dominating touring car races in Holdens and ignited fierce rivalry with Alan Moffat. This blue meanie is powered by a 4.9L V8 engine, which is originally a five-liter that was de-stroked for Group A regulations. It produces 196kw of power and 418Nm of torque while mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. Originally, this car is limited to 500 units until a mix-up caused them to make two more.
7) Holden VZ Crewman - A typical ute is basically a sports coupe with some payload at the back. Aussie utes were only limited to two doors until General Motors Holden's shattered that notion with the creation of the first-ever four-door ute known as the Crewman. Based on the VZ Commodore, the Crewman combines the same all-work, all-play attitude of a typical Aussie ute with the practicality for the whole family and friends to enjoy. Although unique, it sadly didn't last a lifetime for the first-ever four-door ute in history.
8) Holden VE Commodore - The VE Commodore marks the departure of Opel-sourced platforms from previous Commodores as this model became the first Commodore to be developed exclusively in Australia. It was the first Commodore to be available in North America as the Pontiac G8 but it was short-lived due to General Motors' decision to ax the Pontiac brand for good due to the global financial crisis. Thankfully, its successor, the VF Commodore-based Chevrolet SS, continues the trend until the bitter end.
9) Holden V2/VZ Monaro - When the first Monaro came out in Australia in the 1960s, they want to refer to this as Australia's first sports machine, and as the jingle says...
It's Going To Be Very Monaro. In the 21st century, the Monaro returns with a sleeker profile, well-lavished interior, and a choice of either a Supercharged V6 or a Gen III V8. Because it was sold in the US as the Pontiac GTO, the UK as the Vauxhall Monaro, among many others, the Monaro is a world-class muscle car until its discontinuation in 2006 with no direct replacement, making it the last Aussie-made sports coupe in history.
10) Holden HSV Gen-F2 GTSR - As car manufacturing in Australia comes to an end with the next Holden Commodore will be a rebadged Open Insignia, Holden Special Vehicles unveiled their final special edition model based on the Gen-F2 range by reviving the GTSR marque with a more striking design, improved performance, and to top it off for the big finale, the new GTSR W1 saloon featuring the supercharged 6.2L V8 engine from the Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1, producing 474kW of power output, making it the most powerful production ever made in Australia.
For a country that loves football, meat pies, and kangaroos, the cars that made specifically for Australian driving conditions are what made them special in each and every way and now that the Aussies stop making their own cars for good, rest assured that the machines they made will be hardly missed because deep down under, these Aussie-made machines, mostly Fords and Holdens, helped the Land Down Under to industrial maturity, providing work for Australians, setting engineering standards, and made "Made In Australia" a new status symbol in the world stage.
Thanks for the memories, mate. Those Aussie cars are what really made them as special as football, meat pies, and kangaroos, like what the Aussies love the most, and even though the Aussies stopped making cars, they will remain the beating heart of the Aussie car culture.
