HSV fans vs FPV fans

Married with a daughter (who is also a Ford fan), Mr Watson currently has an FPV GT 335 sedan, the latest in a long line of Ford products.

"We have had around 20 Fords - various models, not just Falcons - after some Holdens. We have had many Fords, one has followed the other ever since and we have no plans to change camps," he says.

Mr Watson looks at the red versus blue rivalry as something that is now generational. "When it started it was Moffat versus Brock and has grown since then to have people either red or blue, now we're talking second and third generation fans as children follow their parents," he says.

The family has had an FPV GT since April - the supercharged 335kW version - and now wouldn't have anything else. "I absolutely love it, the supercharged V8 has plenty of power - we use it for normal road work, not track days, we don't push it that hard, but it has plenty of poke for overtaking," he says.

"We're also restoring an old XB Falcon - a full bare-metal restoration - with 393 stroker V8, that will sit proudly next to the new GT," he says.

A big shed and a tolerant wife are two key ingredients to Daryl Leaker's impressive stable of Holden product. The 1998 HSV Senator Signature 220i shares garage space with a number of Holden, HSV and HDT machines.

"I've got a very big shed for them all, I've always liked Holdens because my father was a Holden salesman so it is in the blood I guess," he says.

Mr Leaker hasn't always just owned Holdens - a Mitsubishi Pajero replaced a Ford Territory recently, but there balance of power has always been to the General, harking back to his formative years with a Holden salesman for a father.

"It was great when Dad was selling Holdens, I got to drive GTR XU-1s and 327 Monaros when they were brand new," he says. "When I turned 21 I bought myself an HQ GTS coupe and got some discount through my father, I wish I still had that car as well."

The HSV shares shed space with a VN SS Group A and an HSV Statesman, as well as a HDT VK Brock Commodore SS in silver and an HJ Monaro four-door.

"I'll always be a Holden fan - I think I'd die of shock if the missus came home in an FPV GT," he says.