“Football, Meat Pies, Kangaroos and Holden Cars!” So said the popular ’70s television ad for Holden cars. It wasn’t far from the truth either as Holden cars have been part of the Australian psyche for as long as most Australians can remember. So when it was announced on November 12, 2013 that Holden was to cease production after 2017 it came as something of a shock to even the most hardened of automotive historians.
Commenced in 1856 as a saddlery business by James Alexander Holden, the company started making motorcycle sidecars in 1913. After “The Great War,” Holden’s Motor Body Builders was formed to make car bodies. Soon bodies were being made for whatever make chassis were wheeled through the door. The Great Depression brought a production downturn and in 1931 Holden was purchased by General Motors and became General Motors-Holden’s Ltd (GM-H).
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