Holden versus Ford: as they live and breathe

We pit the HSV GTS against the Ford Falcon GT with a die-hard fanatic and collector of each brand.

“I’d put it up the back near the dam and let the ducks land on it,” says the Ford fanatic of the gleaming red Holden Special Vehicles GTS, the fastest and most powerful car ever made in Australia -- after his first ever drive of a Holden.

“I thought this was supposed to have a supercharger,” says the Holden man after he floors the throttle of the howling and highly prized car number 001 in the last ever batch of Ford Falcon GT sedans, the first Ford he’s steered in 30 years after he learned to drive in one.

The fierce Holden versus Ford battle on the race track is nothing compared to the sledging among diehard fans from the sidelines, and we have two of the biggest enthusiasts in the nation: blokes who have literally put their money where their mouth is.

Ford man Laurence Attard has 28 Fords including 12 Falcon GTs (every model from the very first one in 1967, the car that started the muscle-car craze for Ford and, eventually, Holden). He also has a Falcon GT-F (for “final” edition) on order.

Holden man Derry O’Donovan has six Holden Special Vehicles V8s, including the latest HSV GTS, which at $100,000 is a very expensive Holden or a very cheap ticket to Porsche-like performance.

The banter is mostly friendly fire, but it’s clear nothing is going to change their minds after they sample the finest machines their rival brands have to offer.  “Careful, you might not see this car again, he’ll love it so much he won’t want to bring it back,” O’Donovan predicts, as Attard slips behind the wheel of the Holden.

After a very quick spin around a very long block, Attard concedes the Holden “might have a little bit more power”. (For the record, the Holden has, ahem, 22 per cent more power than the fastest Ford).

But nothing is going to sway him. “I wouldn’t buy it if you offered it to me for fifty bucks,” Attard grins. “But you can leave the keys to that one behind,” he says, pointing to GT-F 001.

To outside observers, such one-eyed passion for a particular brand may seem incomprehensible. After all, Holden and Ford have for decades made basically the same type of cars but with different badges.

Both men say they developed their passions after growing up watching Ford and Holden race at Bathurst.  It may seem unusual to today’s race fans, given Holden has been the V8 Supercar hero for the better part of a decade, but once upon a time Ford dominated the road and the track.

When Attard, now 59, was a teenager, Fords cleaned up at Bathurst. When O’Donovan, now 51, was a lad, Holden had just overtaken Ford and started a string of Bathurst wins.  But for these guys, the old adage “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” had a delay of, oh, about three decades.

“Ever since I watched Fords raced at Bathurst I always said I was going to own a Falcon GT one day,” says Attard, who  only bought his first Ford 12 years ago -- although the collection has grown rapidly and is now worth more than $2 million.

At least three of Attard’s late model Falcon GTs still have the clear plastic wrapping on the seats and have travelled less than 20km. That’s 20, no decimal place, kilometres. In other words, the distance they travelled being driven on and off a truck from the factory to the dealership.

Attard’s most prized possession? An immaculately restored 1967 Falcon GT which he says is one of 80 in existence of the original 680 made. It’s insured for more than the price of some houses.

O’Donovan only started collecting Holdens eight years ago but the passion was always there. “I would’ve done it earlier but I could afford it. I think wanting to own these cars made me work harder.”

It’s one of the cruel ironies of the performance-car world that the fastest and most capable machines end up in sheds as collector pieces, never to be driven.

Classic Fords have fetched up to $750,000 (in 2007, in the lead-up to the GFC), although prices for prized GT-HO Falcons have since settled to $350,000 to $500,000. The dearest Holden V8 auctioned was a one-off Monaro that went under the hammer for $900,000 in 2008.

Although the latest Ford Falcon GT and HSV GTS will be the last, they’re unlikely to fetch such big money in the decades to come because more people have stored them away.  When asked why not drive it and enjoy it, Attard is adamant: “My GT-F is going straight in the shed. These cars are part of Australia’s history. The way I see it, we’re looking after this history on behalf of Ford.”

Both men are, predictably, devastated by the closure of the Ford and Holden factories over the next three years.  But they understand that the strong Australian dollar and low import tariffs and created ideal conditions for foreign cars, and made it impossible for local car factories to survive. And while the people who love Holdens and Fords really do love them, they're in the minority these days.

Says O’Donovan: “There is nothing wrong with Ford or Holden, the market’s flooded with overseas stuff. When I was a kid growing up we’d never dream of owning a new car, now every other teenager has a new car, they’re so affordable.”

Attard says the end of Australia’s automotive manufacturing era is “genuinely sad”.  “It’s never again going to be the Holden versus Ford that we know of,” says Attard. “They’re just going to be imported cars and they won’t be as good as this.  “With Ford closing down, it brings tears to my eyes. I don’t think Australia understands what it’s about to lose.”