Holden

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GM Holden Ltd
Type	Private (subsidiary of General Motors since 1931)
Founded	1852
Headquarters	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Key people	Denny Mooney (chairman, managing director)
Industry	Automotive
Products	Automobiles Engines
Employees	8200 (as of January 2006)
Parent	General Motors
Slogan	Go (main tagline)
Website	www.holden.com.au

This article is about the Australian car manufacturer. For other uses, see Holden (disambiguation).

Holden is an Australian automaker based in Melbourne, Victoria, originally independent but now a subsidiary of General Motors.

Contents 1 History of the firm 2 Australia's own car 3 Model-sharing under the Button Plan 4 1970-1980 5 1990s 6 2000s 7 New Zealand 8 Export markets 9 Sports vehicles 10 See also 11 References 12 External links 12.1 Official 12.2 Websites

[edit] History of the firm

James Alexander Holden immigrated to South Australia from England in 1852 and in 1856 established J.A Holden & Co, a saddlery business in Adelaide. In 1905, Edward Wheewall Holden, James' son, entered the firm and was interested in automobiles. The firm evolved through various partnerships and in 1908, as Holden and Frost, moved into the business of minor repairs to car upholstery and manufacturing hoods and side curtains. In 1913 the firm began to produce complete motorcycle sidecar bodies, and Edward Holden experimented with fitting bodies on different types of carriages. From 1917, wartime trade restrictions led to Holden & Frost commencing large scale production of car bodies. H.J Holden incorporated a new company in 1919, Holden's Motor Body Builders Ltd (HMBB). Holden's Motor Body Builders Ltd made bodies to suit a number of chassis imported from different manufacturers, but particularly Chevrolet. They also built Buicks. In 1931 General Motors purchased the business and formed General Motors–Holden's Ltd. In 1998, it was renamed Holden Ltd and in May 2005, it became known as GM Holden Ltd.

[edit] Australia's own car

After the end of World War II, the Australian government took steps to encourage an Australian automotive industry, and persuaded General Motors to build "Australia's own car". The Holden 48/215 (also unofficially called the FX), introduced in 1948, was a medium-sized vehicle fitted with a 132 in³ (2.15 litre) engine, and based on a design proposed for the 1949 Chevrolet, that had been rejected as being too small for that purpose. Although not particularly mechanically or stylistically sophisticated, it was simple, rugged, more powerful than most competitors, and offered reasonable performance and fuel economy in an affordable package. Better suited to Australian conditions than its competitors, and assisted by tariff barriers, it rapidly became Australia's best-selling car.

Despite the arrival of competitors in the 1960s, Holden's locally-produced large six and eight-cylinder cars have remained Australia's top-selling vehicle for most of that time. The Kingswood sedan, wagon and ute (utility or pickup truck) was exported and assembled abroad, including New Zealand along with South Africa (badged as the Chevrolet Kommando), Indonesia and Trinidad and Tobago. Holden has offered a reasonably full range of other vehicles, some locally produced but others sourced from various other parts of the General Motors empire, such as Chevrolet, Opel, Isuzu and Suzuki.

Another notable Holden offering was the mid-size Torana, introduced in the mid-1960s, and initially based on the British Vauxhall Viva. The name 'Torana' was an Aboriginal word meaning 'to fly'. The Torana LH/LX series, which consisted of 3-door hatchback and 4-door booted sedan variants (between 1974 and 1978) was unusual in that it was offered with a choice of four (1.9 litre OHC), six (2.8 litre, 3.3 litre OHV) or eight cylinder (4.2 litre, 5.0 litre OHV) engines. The four, later renamed Sunbird, was very sluggish, the eight-cylinder version alarmingly fast: the six was the most popular option. The Torana was replaced by the 1982 Camira, which was GM's medium-sized "J-Car". Bodywork for the Camira wagon was exported to the United Kingdom for the Vauxhall Cavalier. Though It is not widely known the first Holden, was actually designed by one Rohan Stoeckel. He designed the body of the car aswell as the engine which actually contained four cylinders and not two. He was also the first to design a V8 engine.

[edit] Model-sharing under the Button Plan

Between the late 1980s and mid-1990s, the Australian government introduced a plan to restructure the local motor industry, which involved local manufacturers sharing models, known as the Button Plan, after the federal minister for trade and industry, John Button. Holden sold the Nissan Pulsar as a Holden Astra (not to be confused with the Opel-sourced model of the same name) and used the 3.0 litre turbocharged 6-cylinder RB30 engine from Nissan's Nissan Skyline in the VL Commodore (1986-1988). In 1988, it then entered a partnership with Toyota in Australia, to form a joint venture company called United Australian Automobile Industries (UAAI). In 1989, Holden began selling rebadged versions of Toyota's Corolla and Camry, as the Holden Nova and Apollo, while Toyota sold the Commodore as the Toyota Lexcen, named after the late America's Cup yacht designer, Ben Lexcen. This badge engineering proved unpopular with buyers, even though rival Ford had been somewhat successful with its Laser and Telstar models, which were just thinly disguised versions of Mazda of Japan's 323 and 626. (The Japanese branch is owned by Toyo Kogyo and Ford, while Mazda of America is under Ford).

[edit] 1970-1980

In the 1970s and 1980s, Holden was a true manufacturer in automobiles. Only about 30% of its model lineup had been sourced from overseas. Mainly, all models where built on a GM architecture, but the majority of components and design has been formed in Australia. In 1978, GM Holden introduced the Holden Commodore. The Commodore started off with the VB and worked its way up to the VN by 1988. Holden meanwhile, was entering the phase of model sharing in Australia. A proven example of this was with the Holden Astra which was also the Nissan Pulsar at the time. By 1990, this has dissolved and Holden was entering a new era of import/export market including relying on Europe sister brand, Opel to supply Holden with a range of small vehicles and provide the large car architecture for the Commodore.

[edit] 1990s

In 1995, UAAI was dissolved, and Holden was able to source product offerings from GM rather than from other manufacturers in Australia. Between 1996 and 1997, Holden replaced the Toyota-based Nova and Apollo with the Astra and Vectra, imported from Opel in Europe. The Opel Corsa was sold in Australia as the Holden Barina, replacing another model of that name, originally introduced in 1986, based on the Suzuki Swift. The Vectra was briefly assembled locally for export to neighbouring countries, but this was dealt a severe blow by the Asian economic crisis in 1997. It has subsequently been imported from Europe.

[edit] 2000s

To increase profitability, Holden has now looked to the GM owned Daewoo in South Korea for replacements. Holden has already established close research and design links with Daewoo, with which it provides the large Statesman model. The 2006 model Holden Barina is based on the Daewoo Kalos,^[1] and the entry-level Astra Classic was replaced by the Holden Viva, based on the Daewoo Lacetti, however the Astra badge is continued with the CD model Astra. Holden have also begun selling the Holden Captiva, a new five or seven seater SUV, which is manufactured by Daewoo with an Australian built engine.

Due to tariffs and exchange rates, various Vectra models are more expensive than the larger Commodore in Australia and New Zealand. Holden have stated that the European model will be replaced by the new Daewoo Tosca which will be sold by Holden in Australia as the Holden Epica from April 2007. In August 2006, Holden released the VE Commodore receiving increased power upgrades, performance, handling and appearance. In October 2006, Holden announced the intention to sell the Hummer H3 in Australia, to be released in September 2007.

[edit] New Zealand

Main article: Holden (New Zealand)

[edit] Export markets

The Holden Commodore is as popular in New Zealand (where it has hit the number-one slot in the sales' charts from time to time) as it is in Australia, often being used as a police car. It is also sold in South Africa, Thailand, and parts of the Middle East badged as a Chevrolet Lumina, and in Brazil as the Chevrolet Omega. Holden's exports to the Middle East and Brazil were the first left hand drive cars built since the 1960s, when it sold cars in Hawaii. A modified version of the Holden Monaro (in turn a modified Commodore) has been sold in the United States as the Pontiac GTO and its model name through Vauxhall dealerships in the United Kingdom. Vauxhall plans on importing V8 and V6 Commodores to the UK, but Opel has not yet made any announcement on imports of Commodores. Holden also exports its Statesman sedan to the Middle East as the Chevrolet Caprice, to South Korea as the Daewoo Statesman, and the China as the Buick Royaum. Fiji, Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia have also been Holden export markets. In the near future, Holden will be exporting VZ Commodore utes and the VE Commodore Sedan to the United States, where they will be sold as the G8 under the Pontiac nameplate, whilst rumours indicate the Ute may be rebadged as the El Camino SS/GT depending on the specification (SS or Maloo)

[edit] Sports vehicles

Between 1968 and 1976, GMH sold a two-door variant of their full-size Holden sedan as the Monaro, a car popular with the general public and in the hearts of many - although it did not quite set the sales charts alight. A revived Monaro, based on the previous model Commodore, has attracted wide attention since being shown as a concept car at Australian motor shows, and a large waiting list after it was put into production. The revived Monaro was released in the Australian market in October 2001 and starting with the 2004 model year, the Monaro has been exported to the United States, rebadged as the Pontiac GTO, and the Middle East as the Chevrolet Lumina Coupe. It is sold in limited numbers in the UK as the Vauxhall Monaro.

Holden Special Vehicles (HSV), formed in 1987 in partnership with Tom Walkinshaw, is a company that manufactures extensively modified, high-performance Commodore variants (including the Monaro and the Statesman). Holdens have been a staple of domestic touring car racing since the 1960s, and the quasi-factory Holden Racing Team (HRT) has successfully participated in V8 Supercar racing. To further reinforce the brand, HSV introduced the 'HSV Dealer Team' into the V8 Supercar fold in 2005, under the naming rights of HSV Toll Racing.

[edit] See also

• List of Holden vehicles
• List of automobile manufacturers
• General Motors

[edit] References

[edit] External links

[edit] Official

• Holden Australia
• Holden New Zealand
• Holden Special Vehicles
• V8 Supercars HSV Dealer Team
• V8 Supercars Holden Racing Team

[edit] Websites

• Holden Car Clubs of Australia Directory
• Holden History
• Holden Model Guide
• Holden Model History
• The Unofficial Holden Archive
• Unique Cars and Parts: Holden Heritage
• Holden Model History Feature
• Australia's own – the FX Holden National Archives of Australia, retrieved on 6 April 2007.