The Holden Story

The very first all-Australian car was a Holden that went on sale in 1948.

Before World War II, Holden assembled cars for General Motors and Chrysler. But after the war was over, the Australian government considered it vital to build home industries to support the soldiers coming home (they would need good jobs to support themselves and their families) and to strengthen its economic and political status.

Consequently, it chose to support Holden in manufacturing an all Australian-made motor car. The design of the first Holden was based on a General Motors prototype that was modified to suit the Australian environment, and in 1948 the first Australian made car, the Holden 48-215 (later referred to as the FX Holden), hit the streets of Melbourne. Although it was a pretty basic machine even for that era, the FX Holden was a well-loved car in Australia and long waiting lists stretched into 1949 and beyond. 

The FX Holden was big and robust - spacious enough to fit a large family - and heavy-duty as well, with it's steel frame designed to handle tough conditions. It also managed to deliver 48 kilometres for about 3 litres of petrol without sacrificing performance. 

Owning an Aussie car in the 1950's was a matter of great pride, resonating with the patriotic feelings of the time. To this day, Holden occupies a special place in the hearts of many Australians.

Holden continues to manufacture motor vehicles in Australia as a subsidiary of General Motors, and still exports vehicles and engines to other countries. Among other models, it produces the popular Commodore that was first introduced to the market in 1978. The Holden Commodore is still one of the most loved cars in Australia and has been continually updated to meet the demands of modern consumers.  

Do Australian Governments prefer imported vehicles?

Last week it was reported that Australian federal, state and local governments are choosing imported automobiles for their fleets rather than Australian-made Holden, Ford or Toyota cars.

According to reports, only around 16% of local council vehicles were manufactured domestically. It was also mentioned that only one in five cars in the Tasmanian government's fleet is Australian-made.

In the Herald Sun today, Paul Bastian of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union wrote that it was wrong to blame the high Australian dollar for the recent troubles in the Australian car manufacturing industry.

He said the industry could be helped enormously if the government simply bought Australian made cars.

“If governments show leadership and buy Australian-made vehicles for their fleets, they can encourage private fleets to purchase Australian,” Bastian said.

“If all levels of government and private fleets purchased Australian-made cars, sales would increase by around 450,000 per year.”

Maybe the answer to saving the Australian car manufacturing industry is to simply encourage governments to buy their fleets from local Holden, Ford or Toyota.

Let's hope that the report is a bit of a wake up call to both local and federal governments and that they begin to show some pride in our great Aussie cars!

Ford announces more factory job cuts

It's very disappointing to hear that Ford Australia is expected to announce massive job losses at their Geelong and Broadmeadows plants today.

The venerated car maker is in talks with employees and union officials today, but initial reports claim that the company will cut almost a quarter of their factory floor staff between now and November.

The sackings come after 240 jobs were already cut at the plant last year.

Ford received a $100 million lifeline in January - from the parent company in the US and the Federal and State Governments - aimed at securing the future of the Australian operations until at least 2016.

The announcement follows FORD's reported $290 million loss in May. The loss has been blamed on weak sales of its flagship Falcon model, along with problems within the supply parts industry which slowed Ford’s production lines.

The sackings will bring the total number of Ford factory employees at the two plants to 1360.

Commentators are expressing grave fears that Ford will no longer be viable in Australia beyond 2016, and the grim reality is that demise of Ford in this country would put the entire car industry at risk.

Unions say the industry needs three major car manufacturers to be viable, and both Ford and its main competitor Holden are struggling with falling sales.

Let's hope that things pick up for the Australian car manufacturing industry and that we don't see too many announcements like this in the future.