10 years since GM announced they would cease making cars in Australia

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

Current diesel owners, do you mean? Probably true and several thousand cheaper... maybe! For us Barra fans, getting another Barra means much easier servicing and they are quite bulletproof.

The last petrols look good value in the current car market, sub 100,000km you'll get a lot of motoring out of them. Maybe have to re do the rear bushes at 170,000 (use rubber again! don't do what I did with nolathane!), tyres every 70-80,000 km and the ZF fluid similarly if you want long term life out of it.

Question: SZII RWD petrol got a lighter duty version of the 6 speed (made in PRC? I think). Is this gearbox any worse/better for durability than the ZF in SZ1 RWD petrol?

I thought it was the other way around, all petrol SZ's used the ZF built box while all diesel SZ's used a ZF built by Ford under licence...anyone care to confirm?

[FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0]

Originally Posted by Dr Smith

I thought it was the other way around, all petrol SZ's used the ZF built box while all diesel SZ's used a ZF built by Ford under licence...anyone care to confirm?

See post #116.

[lra]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

Back on topic, I'd be interested in hearing from some of those a bit older than me - what was it like when the VB and XD were released?

Looking back, this was when Holden and Ford chose the most different paths. Which was better? Was the Holden's modern Euro take, the way to go back then? Was it's handling really that much better, and needed?

.

My first new car was a HK 186S with the much maligned 4 speed Opel box. The 186S was gem of a motor, with most of the boy-racer mods done at the factory. 2BBL Stromberg, water heated inlet manifold, headers, cam, and strengthened crank, 28 > 30mpg and went quicker than most others of the time. The 4 speed box got a reputation for being weak and having shift linkage problems. Never had any of that on mine, a couple of wavy washers on the linkages reduced the dreaded vagueness. All in all, a very nice car, for it’s time.

Next new car was a 4 speed 202 Torana. To paraphrase a Dick Johnson quote, if it was a dog, it would have been tied to a post and shot.

Up next was 4 speed 202 HJ. It was inverse to the Torana, and lasted 30 years until rust and a rear-ender killed it. The 202 was never as smooth and economical as the 186S, but it did the job.
To get a ‘nice’ Holden of that era, you had to look closely at the long options list, and pick something that was a bit more upmarket, comfortable and sporty than a taxi pack.
Would have loved a 253 or 308, but think of the insurance premiums !

Comparing a VB to a HQ > HZ, no contest. The VB sounded like a Holden, but handled better, the interior looked and felt cheap and nasty, and little things, such as reverting to windscreen rubber rather than bonded glass, and the overall look was a LH Torana’s older brother from a different mother.
The driving position reminded me of the EH > HR Holdens. Test drove a few, and rode in a lot, but …… nah. Even knocked back one of the first HDT VC Brock Commodores, at a bargain price, from a friend who was upgrading to another Brock.
Regardless, I bought my daughter a 2850 VH 5 speed manual, which she liked, I was never a fan of VB > VL Commodores. Something about them that did not say ‘Holden’ in looks or build quality.

1980’s was the period that I went away from the Aussie built cars in preference to the Japanese offerings.

Then there was the VN with the 5.0 litre, and something clicked back on, and I was back.

[Sprintey]

Thanks Ira, that's a great write up of those cars.

My Bro's first car was VC 202 auto, and an epidemic of blackened rings around the local roundabouts and black tags on immaculate lawns ensued as he and his mates joined the national vehicle fleet. The VC did turn in better than my HJ, hands down. But the HJ had that nice cruise to it. And more space.

Agree with you that you needed to spec them up, the base Belmont bench seat was atrocious, we would fit Premier benches or HZ buckets. Ford seats of the time period were so much nicer, but maybe that's as I experienced Fairmonts and Fairlanes.

Bro went on to a VH SLX with 253 and that one was very smooth, and nice to be inside for that model Commodore. I wasn't comfortable with the rear end in it, after borrowing it on a run down to Capel and overtaking on a sweeping overtaking lane down a hill, get past the truck and the bloody rear end slid out... No warning at all.

Did you ever drive the XD?

[lra]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

Did you ever drive the XD?

No.
Used to car share to work in a very nicely optioned 6cyl XD wagon. Don't remember what spec it was, but not a Fairmont, had auto, velour bucket seats, aircon and a heap of room. Seemed bigger than it actually was.
His only niggle was the fuel consumption and wheel winding 43 turns lock to lock.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by lra

My first new car was a HK 186S with the much maligned 4 speed Opel box. The 186S was gem of a motor, with most of the boy-racer mods done at the factory. 2BBL Stromberg, water heated inlet manifold, headers, cam, and strengthened crank, 28 > 30mpg and went quicker than most others of the time. The 4 speed box got a reputation for being weak and having shift linkage problems. Never had any of that on mine, a couple of wavy washers on the linkages reduced the dreaded vagueness. All in all, a very nice car, for it’s time.

Next new car was a 4 speed 202 Torana. To paraphrase a Dick Johnson quote, if it was a dog, it would have been tied to a post and shot.

Up next was 4 speed 202 HJ. It was inverse to the Torana, and lasted 30 years until rust and a rear-ender killed it. The 202 was never as smooth and economical as the 186S, but it did the job.
To get a ‘nice’ Holden of that era, you had to look closely at the long options list, and pick something that was a bit more upmarket, comfortable and sporty than a taxi pack.
Would have loved a 253 or 308, but think of the insurance premiums !

Comparing a VB to a HQ > HZ, no contest. The VB sounded like a Holden, but handled better, the interior looked and felt cheap and nasty, and little things, such as reverting to windscreen rubber rather than bonded glass, and the overall look was a LH Torana’s older brother from a different mother.
The driving position reminded me of the EH > HR Holdens. Test drove a few, and rode in a lot, but …… nah. Even knocked back one of the first HDT VC Brock Commodores, at a bargain price, from a friend who was upgrading to another Brock.
Regardless, I bought my daughter a 2850 VH 5 speed manual, which she liked, I was never a fan of VB > VL Commodores. Something about them that did not say ‘Holden’ in looks or build quality.

1980’s was the period that I went away from the Aussie built cars in preference to the Japanese offerings.

Then there was the VN with the 5.0 litre, and something clicked back on, and I was back.

Those Opel 4 speeds were shockers, and usually broke the lay gear shaft.
Most of my mates who experimented with them chucked them out after a very short time, absolute garbage.

As for Fords, my old man finally after years of Holdens bought the newly released XD Fairmont Gjia. Seemed OK but was weird owning something like this because all the precious Holdens were station wagons to carry the fabric samples.

[FTE217]

XD was known as the Blackwood project from memory.
Still used the XC chassis that was a large body as we all know and being the fuel crisis time they narrowed down the exterior body work hence the straight ruler approach box design but still retained a lot of interior typical Falcon room but set up better.
Lots of alloy used to lighten the model to compete against the smaller commode.
3.3 was crap imo and a failure to reduce fuel economy overall 4.1 was drinker but pulled hard but common head gasket and rocker cover leaks.
Handling was nothing great typical Falcon cruiser nice on the open road but as usual Falcon under tyred and floaty.
Only once you lowered them and larger rubber footprint did they perform to the enthusiast liking.
Too many faults in them for me as much as I stood by them - how many door handles broke in your hands opening doors for some over time.
Wagon rear tail light design was woeful from memory.
At least it still had a 4.9 and 5.8 that was the main thing


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[PG2]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

Back on topic, I'd be interested in hearing from some of those a bit older than me - what was it like when the VB and XD were released?

Looking back, this was when Holden and Ford chose the most different paths. Which was better? Was the Holden's modern Euro take, the way to go back then? Was it's handling really that much better, and needed?

What were they like to drive? Was the XD half baked in comparison? Did Ford one-up Holden as the sales charts suggest?

My Mrs and I were little kids on those huge XD-E-F back seats. Our families had been Holden up until the HZ. We've ended up owning both Holdens and Fords, but mostly Fords.

So, how old are you???

I was around when they were released but only as a kid.

At the time, Dad had a XA Falcon 500 sedan 6 seater, 3 on the tree.

In about 1985, he bought a second hand XD S-pac. It was a '4 on the floor'. It had this dial that we had never seen before move and down as Dad went through the gears. It had alloy wheels, driving lights, cloth seats, carpet and retractable seat belts. It had air conditioning and had vents for the rear seats!!!

We all thought that we had made it in life.

About the same time, my Pop bought a VH SL/X Commodore sedan. Though smaller, it was more comfortable in just about every way. I remember the first time I shut the door of his pride and joy and opened it back up and slammed it back shut a few times. He yelled, "Stop bloody slamming the door, you'll break it." I was slamming it as I thought I was not shutting it properly as it was so quiet.

I remember Dad drove it one day and the first thing he said to Pop was, "What happened to the rest of the speedo? It starts at 20!"

In 1990, I got my licence. Dad still had the XD and I drove it a few times, however, by now it was very rusty, had rattles in the suspension and just drove very ordinary. In early 1991, he traded it on his favourite car of all time - a 5 speed VL Commodore SL sedan.

[MITCHAY]

I think we can all agree that we are not better off for the collapse of the entire car manufacturing industry for a couple of billion of savings a year in the budget.

[Sprintey]

Yep.

https://www.innovationaus.com/austra...plexity-index/

We shouldn't rest on our laurels that we're beating Namibia still, we should all aim in 2024 to work really hard so we over take Kenya, who are ahead of us in 90th.

[Sprintey]

Originally Posted by PG2

So, how old are you???

I was around when they were released but only as a kid.

At the time, Dad had a XA Falcon 500 sedan 6 seater, 3 on the tree.

In about 1985, he bought a second hand XD S-pac. It was a '4 on the floor'. It had this dial that we had never seen before move and down as Dad went through the gears. It had alloy wheels, driving lights, cloth seats, carpet and retractable seat belts. It had air conditioning and had vents for the rear seats!!!

We all thought that we had made it in life.

About the same time, my Pop bought a VH SL/X Commodore sedan. Though smaller, it was more comfortable in just about every way. I remember the first time I shut the door of his pride and joy and opened it back up and slammed it back shut a few times. He yelled, "Stop bloody slamming the door, you'll break it." I was slamming it as I thought I was not shutting it properly as it was so quiet.

I remember Dad drove it one day and the first thing he said to Pop was, "What happened to the rest of the speedo? It starts at 20!"

In 1990, I got my licence. Dad still had the XD and I drove it a few times, however, by now it was very rusty, had rattles in the suspension and just drove very ordinary. In early 1991, he traded it on his favourite car of all time - a 5 speed VL Commodore SL sedan.

Clumsy wording really, apologies if unclear. I'm a tiny bit younger than you. I was asking for anyone who was old enough to be driving them when new, so maybe about 65 now.

As kids we had this massive back seat, and Dad's G Town workmobile XD wagon had this magic thing - a rear windscreen wiper - and we'd harass mum to turn it on so we could see it move. It's up there with seeing the start of The Empire Strikes back at a drive through...

[Sprintey]

Actually hang on, here's an update of that link

https://www.innovationaus.com/austra...worsens-again/

We're actually in 93rd now, and behind Uganda.

[MITCHAY]

Two failed projects I know that were wrote off are in the 2-3b range. Barely a mention in the media while we waste time on rounding errors on politicians travel. Making cars what an outrage

[Sprintey]

Back on topic, dug around and found an answer to my early Commodore vs XD Falcon question. Peter Wherrett was a fantastic reviewer, he takes the everyday car to it's limit, explains the strengths, weaknesses and is no nonsense in his description of it. So let's go back to 1980 when Holden and Ford were about as different as they got:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aeRCKWh26c

Hands off at over 150 at Lang Lang! The 2850 gets a bit of a panning at the end, but he likes the suspension and points out the car is a great leap up from the handling and ride combo of earlier Holdens.

And next, the XD. There's some familiar places in this one, like St George's river, Cathedral Rock, Spout Creek and the Geelong foreshore. He uses the 3.3L and 4 speed manual and stresses it's easy to use and good for how the car will be normally driven.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XL4P27eoUl4

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

Back on topic, dug around and found an answer to my early Commodore vs XD Falcon question. Peter Wherrett was a fantastic reviewer, he takes the everyday car to it's limit, explains the strengths, weaknesses and is no nonsense in his description of it. So let's go back to 1980 when Holden and Ford were about as different as they got:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aeRCKWh26c

Hands off at over 150 at Lang Lang! The 2850 gets a bit of a panning at the end, but he likes the suspension and points out the car is a great leap up from the handling and ride combo of earlier Holdens.

And next, the XD. There's some familiar places in this one, like St George's river, Cathedral Rock, Spout Creek and the Geelong foreshore. He uses the 3.3L and 4 speed manual and stresses it's easy to use and good for how the car will be normally driven.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XL4P27eoUl4

I'm only going by my own experience but after the end of the big Holdens HQ to HZ, my father looked around for a new replacement at the time for his HZ wagon, he abosolutely didn't like the new SMALL Commodore and was left to buy a Ford after almost 30 something years of Holden wagons since EK.

The Fairmont Ghia sedan (Ghost Gum) he bought at the time was not a wagon
(did Ford make a Ghia wagon then ?? ) as from memory there were limited Falcon wagons available to buy at the time.
I would go out every second night with him as he did upholstery quoting for his business at night, so I got to know the new car very well with him driving all over $ydney comparing it to the previous Holden HZ SL Kingswood wagon which after the lease ran out, I purchased off him as my first car.

He didn't like the boxy shape compared to the Holden but thought the vision was good due to the sedan back quarter windows. I can't recall him ever complaining about the xflow engine and power. He always bought automatics from right back to the EK wagon.

[lra]

Good pick-up in those 2 videos.

'Torque' was one of my favourite shows back when. Peter Wherret was very capable steerer and commentator, but people seem to often remember him for his personal problems later in his life. Bit of a shame (not his life) but for what he contributed to the Aus car scene. No BS needed.

The days of road tests like this, conducted by journalists who could drive, (Peter Robinson, Bill Tuckey, and quite a few more) are long gone. Todays reviewer's read the brochure, repeat what is there, and add a few comments regarding cup holders and get orgasmic about the size of the touch screen and number of icons therein.

Holden handling ......... it could have been great from the HQ onwards, but George Roberts (GMH engineer) preferred the American way, a soft ride on typical Australian crap roads over crisp handling. It took a junior German engineer (Peter Hanenberger) to do a few adjustments to the front suspension, and viola, the HZ with RTS, which flowed on to the Commodore.

OK .....road conditions have changed, more urban than country and the roads are better now than 1980. You can now drive from Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane to the "Dig Tree" and not have to drive on more than 10km of dusty dirt.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by lra

Good pick-up in those 2 videos.

'Torque' was one of my favourite shows back when. Peter Wherret was very capable steerer and commentator, but people seem to often remember him for his personal problems later in his life. Bit of a shame (not his life) but for what he contributed to the Aus car scene. No BS needed.

The days of road tests like this, conducted by journalists who could drive, (Peter Robinson, Bill Tuckey, and quite a few more) are long gone. Todays reviewer's read the brochure, repeat what is there, and add a few comments regarding cup holders and get orgasmic about the size of the touch screen and number of icons therein.

Holden handling ......... it could have been great from the HQ onwards, but George Roberts (GMH engineer) preferred the American way, a soft ride on typical Australian crap roads over crisp handling. It took a junior German engineer (Peter Hanenberger) to do a few adjustments to the front suspension, and viola, the HZ with RTS, which flowed on to the Commodore.

OK .....road conditions have changed, more urban than country and the roads are better now than 1980. You can now drive from Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane to the "Dig Tree" and not have to drive on more than 10km of dusty dirt.

There was RTS on Pontiac Trans Ams long before our own Holden had it, the RTS was only a matters of moving the front pivot point mounts forward on the chassis rails the extra bigger bar and stiffer bushes helped.



From an article my mistake was a Pontiac Ventura not Trans Am first.



One of my favorite such badges, and one that graced the dashboard of my family’s 1976 Pontiac Ventura, proudly touted Radial Tuned Suspension.

The badge, which wore a stylized “RTS” logo, was magical to me as a young driver, as it suggested that our reliable Pontiac was something sportier than the compact-car norm. And to some extent, that was true–though by 1976, the radial-tire hype had already started to seem a little superfluous.

Around 1970, something called radial-ply tires (radials) began replacing bias-ply tires on new vehicles. The new tire technology, which featured structural cords arranged at a different angle than the bias-ply examples, proved to be a huge step forward in terms of ride, handling, and reliability.

What Was The Studebaker XUV?

Pontiac Ventura RTS Badge
The Radial Tuned Suspension badge in the 1976 Pontiac Ventura was located to the left of the steering wheel just below the speedometer.
Because of the improved ride quality, manufacturers found they could firm up a given car’s suspension without compromising passenger comfort. However, since radials were typically optional at the time, carmakers would need to offer separate suspension setups for cars on which both tire types were available.

While most every carmaker eventually had to deal with offering at least two suspension arrangements for a period of time, Pontiac made the most of it by branding its radial setup as Radial Tuned Suspension.

What Radial Tuned Suspension actually consisted of varied by car and by year. In the case of large Pontiacs, RTS appeared first for 1973 as a package that included firmly tuned springs and shock absorbers, and, of course, radial tires.

The package was a but more comprehensive on the Firebird, which included a unique rear sway bar as well. As radial tires quickly became standard equipment on cars, the RTS badging started to look redundant pretty early in the process, though the nameplate appeared in Firebirds as late as 1981.

As for our Ventura, I recall it being a pretty tidy handler for the day… though by 1976, it was the rare car that did not come standard with radial tires. Still, I loved that badge.

Interestingly, though Pontiac was the only General Motors brand to employ the Radial Tuned Suspension badge in the U.S., GM’s Australian brand Holden made liberal use of the badge and moniker at about the same time.

[Sprintey]

From reading my Holden history, didn't the Torana get the RTS before the HZ, sometime around 1976? Again from memory they mentioned 'rose jointing' bits in the front suspension, and selecting tyres that would make it handle.

Rokwiz I know what you mean about the switch after HZ, my wife's parents did the same thing into the big square Falcons that had wide dashes and were easy to see out of. And I feel the same now Territory is gone!

I don't know much about Peter Wherrett, only that his reviews are the best and most honest I've ever seen. Here he absolutely destroys one of my all-time favourite cars (and it's all true!) - the HJ Premier 253:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaI0BjaFoTI


Today's reviewers go 'soft touch plastics, gngngngngng!' and even have some kind of sex toy to measure how soft the plastics are.

The criticisms Wherrett was levelling at the Aussie cars at the time were valid, and they responded (see, VB and XD and beyond) - toward the end though, did the reputation they got in the 1970s hold true? Were they still dinosaurs? I'd say in certain respects they were better (braking distance, occupant protection, VF's tech on release, safe overtaking power, comfort) than many of the imports: before or since!

Finally, here Wherrett gets close to a 'good' Australian made car in his view: the XC Fairmont GXL:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SDnJAYeN6c

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

From reading my Holden history, didn't the Torana get the RTS before the HZ, sometime around 1976? Again from memory they mentioned 'rose jointing' bits in the front suspension, and selecting tyres that would make it handle.

Rokwiz I know what you mean about the switch after HZ, my wife's parents did the same thing into the big square Falcons that had wide dashes and were easy to see out of. And I feel the same now Territory is gone!

Yes, vaguely remember the LX Tranny being first.

[roKWiz]

It's such a shame we never got the WB Sandman looked good on paper.

[Sprintey]

Originally Posted by roKWiz

Yes, vaguely remember the LX Tranny being first.

Perhaps it was even the Slumbird that was first.

[Sprintey]

Had they done that WB and not the whole VB program (from 1973? I think) - then by the early 80s the Ford would have looked a lot more modern and economical...

Then again, without the VB spend they probably could have done a new generation of engines.

And maybe without the fright of the modern looking VB Ford wouldn't have done so much to the XD...

In the early 80s the Saudis pumped hard and oil prices fell, big cars were great again...

[Fordman1]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

Had they done that WB and not the whole VB program (from 1973? I think) - then by the early 80s the Ford would have looked a lot more modern and economical...

Then again, without the VB spend they probably could have done a new generation of engines.

And maybe without the fright of the modern looking VB Ford wouldn't have done so much to the XD...

In the early 80s the Saudis pumped hard and oil prices fell, big cars were great again...

Product development cycles were 5 years or more, XD was well and truely locked in before VB commodore was launched.

[Sprintey]

That's great product design then, sales showed they picked the right path for that time.

[roKWiz]

Often thought it strange that Wherrett never did a HZ road test, the car was so much different to the things he didn't like on the HJ.

I watched most episodes back when it was on telly.
The HZ had the proportioning valve and rear disc (optional Kingswood SL) standard on the Premier and Statesman.
My second car was a HZ 308 turbo 400 Premier and the thing handled like it was on rails.
When driving around in mates XYWC Falcons at the time, I always thought the upturn edge of the front guards acted as a blind spot.
Where as the Holdens Q-B had that smooth curved edge making it easier to see kerbs over.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

Yep.

https://www.innovationaus.com/austra...plexity-index/

We shouldn't rest on our laurels that we're beating Namibia still, we should all aim in 2024 to work really hard so we over take Kenya, who are ahead of us in 90th.

New Zealand is 46th on the list, so I’m still trying to wrap my head around what this means

Many of the top rated countries appear to be heavily tied to the three main trading blocks,
Asia, Europe and North America. So taking that into account, it’s understandable why there’s more
complexity associated with those countries within those trading blocks…

The fact that many Asian and European countries have “trade barriers”with Australia and many
negotiations with Australia are done at arms length, no wonder our rating is so low, everywhere else
wants cheap labor advantage and the developmental technology that goes with that…

[pottery beige]

Originally Posted by DJM83

Couldnt agree more Lieschke Motors have always had late model Holden/HSV cars to this day, havnt really seen many if any junk euro 'Commodores' there.


FWIW, id own a VF SSV Redline with a 6sp manual, along with many other commodores. I love my Falcons theres no doubt, but without Commodore, theres no Falcon and vice versa and its been shown here really.
We've lost a lot!

slippery slope snoodling around VF SSVs

6L>LS3>clubbie>LSA> ffs.

[Sprintey]

Originally Posted by jpd80

New Zealand is 46th on the list, so I’m still trying to wrap my head around what this means

Many of the top rated countries appear to be heavily tied to the three main trading blocks,
Asia, Europe and North America. So taking that into account, it’s understandable why there’s more
complexity associated with those countries within those trading blocks…

The fact that many Asian and European countries have “trade barriers”with Australia and many
negotiations with Australia are done at arms length, no wonder our rating is so low, everywhere else
wants cheap labor advantage and the developmental technology that goes with that…

Haha, yeah NZ is flogging us... um, yeah I'm floored as well. Touche NZ.

You are right on the location aspect - so we have 2 choices. We can be on the receiving end of poor FTA outcomes and a low complexity economy, or we can develop things here, back ourselves, and be our own high complexity economy. If we are to do it, we have to do it ourselves.

[GCRXR6]

Originally Posted by PG2

So, how old are you???

I was around when they were released but only as a kid.

At the time, Dad had a XA Falcon 500 sedan 6 seater, 3 on the tree.

In about 1985, he bought a second hand XD S-pac. It was a '4 on the floor'. It had this dial that we had never seen before move and down as Dad went through the gears. It had alloy wheels, driving lights, cloth seats, carpet and retractable seat belts. It had air conditioning and had vents for the rear seats!!!

We all thought that we had made it in life.

About the same time, my Pop bought a VH SL/X Commodore sedan. Though smaller, it was more comfortable in just about every way. I remember the first time I shut the door of his pride and joy and opened it back up and slammed it back shut a few times. He yelled, "Stop bloody slamming the door, you'll break it." I was slamming it as I thought I was not shutting it properly as it was so quiet.

I remember Dad drove it one day and the first thing he said to Pop was, "What happened to the rest of the speedo? It starts at 20!"

In 1990, I got my licence. Dad still had the XD and I drove it a few times, however, by now it was very rusty, had rattles in the suspension and just drove very ordinary. In early 1991, he traded it on his favourite car of all time - a 5 speed VL Commodore SL sedan.

Gee wiz, you're a young one. I remember the release of the XL. My first Falcon was a new XA, like your Dad's, at 19 years. Used it to tow my XM to the Speedway. Went to the dark side a couple of times, and owned Holdens.

[yanknbank]

Back in the day, ‘72 if memory serves, dad took delivery of a white HQ. It had the ‘special’ badging on the rear r/h side of the boot.
The local Holden aficionado‘s who lived over the back fence (and had just purchased a dark metallic green Torana GTR XU1, which unbelievably he still has) filed around to have a look as they swore black and blue that there was no such thing as a HQ Special. An EH Special maybe, but definitely not a HQ. The ‘special’ bit was ancient history in the Holden scheme of things, so they said.
So they were somewhat flummoxed when confronted with the ‘special’ badge adorning the rear of the HQ.
They had know idea how this HQ oddity came to be and it was only years down the track when I was talking to an ex Holden employee that he was able to shed light on the issue (although it took him a few weeks for the memory cells to connect and fire up).
It was pretty simple actually, would anyone out there like to hazard a guess?