When it came to selecting a topic for our new Torquing Cars podcast it didn’t take long to realise it needed to be about Holden.
While the Australian brand is gone from the new car market, it remains buried deep in the heart of every car-loving Aussie. Even the most die-hard Ford fanatics have a soft spot for Holden, even if they won’t admit it publicly.
Over a 70 year span, Holden made cars in Australia, for Australia and that’s what made it so special. From the 48-215 to the VF Commodore, Holden was the uniquely Australian brand that left a legacy of memorable models.
Which is why for our first podcast ‘Top 5’ we set Steve and Scott the task of selecting the five Holden models that best represented the brand. Below are our official Torquecafe choices, but make sure you listen to Torquing Cars to hear what Steve and Scott chose.
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5. Holden HQ One Tonner
You can’t tell the story of Holden without a ute. And few Holdens are more iconic than the HQ, which arrived in 1971 and in just four years became the biggest selling Australian car of all-time.
In part because Holden sold the HQ sedan, wagon, Monaro coupe, panel van and the One Tonner. But it was also popular because between ‘71 and ‘74 Holden built nearly half a million examples of the HQ, which was possible as the company had factories in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide at that time.
The One Tonner became a workhorse for Australians in need of a tough ute in the days before the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger dual-cab utes. It is a textbook example of Holden meeting the needs of Australians with the right product at the right time.
4. Holden Torana
While the big cars – namely the Commodore, Monaro and HQ – dominate the lineage of Holden, there’s no questioning the role the Torana played in the history of the brand. Which is remarkable because it lasted only a relatively short period (1967 to 1980), but it evolved so dramatically over those 13 years.
The original HB Torana was not much more than an updated version of the Vauxhall Viva, but a decade later the LX Torana SL/R 5000 with A9X option was an all-Australian compact muscle car. The A9X is considered by many die-hards the most desirable performance cars in the history of this country, and earned that reputation on both the road and the racetrack.
3. Holden Monaro
The 1968 HK Monaro didn’t just shape the future of Holden, it forever changed and reshaped Australian car culture. Yes, there were six-cylinder versions, but it was the GTS 327, with its 327-cubic inch (5.3L) V8 that defined the ‘Australian muscle car’ that we would go on to love forever more.
It helped that it was hugely successful on the racetrack too, winning the 1968 Bathurst 500 and races in the Australian Touring Car Championship with the legendary Norm Beechey. The HT Monaro GTS350 would add to the legend with the then-new Holden Dealer Team winning the ‘69 Bathurst classic.
The Monaro would then live on through the 1970s, before the arrival of the VB Commodore radically transformed Holden’s line-up, with both the Monaro and Torana discontinued… but that wasn’t the end of the story.
The Monaro nameplate returned in 2001, with the VX series Commodore spawning a two-door version which reminded Australians how much they loved a two-door muscle car. While it would ultimately be short-lived again, finishing just five years later, there’s no questioning the impact the Monaro left on Holden and Australia.
2. Holden 48-215
Put simply there is no Holden without the 48-215. When the Prime Minister sent the first model off the production line and into the world, it began the legend of Holden as we remember it today.
While it may not be the best Holden model ever made, and had a level of Chevrolet influence, there’s no questioning that this was an Australian-made car that perfectly suited Australian conditions. The core template of a large, rear-wheel drive sedan with a six-cylinder engine would be the foundation for every important Holden model to follow, all the way to the final locally-made VF Commodore.
It’s easy to forget, looking back on the seven decades of Holden success, that if the 48-215 had failed it’s very likely that the Holden name would have been a footnote in the history of the Australian car industry.
1. Holden Commodore VE
They say pride comes before the fall – and that proved to be the case for Holden.
The ‘Billion Dollar Baby’ as the VE Commodore was hailed when it launched, proved to be the beginning of the end for the brand. The huge investment came because this was the first truly all-Australian Commodore, no longer sharing any of its mechanical DNA with an Opel.
While you could argue the final VF Commodore was a better car, that was an evolution of the VE and therefore this is the car that earns our top spot. The VE Commodore demonstrated that Australia could make a genuinely world-class automobile.
The VE Commodore should be remembered not only as the finest moment for Holden but arguably the pinnacle of the Australian automotive manufacturing industry.
Let us know your favourite Holdens. Put your Top 5 Holdens in the comments below or join the conversation on social media.
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