Holden Advice

If not for Allan Moffat, the Falcon GT-HO would not command the same reverence that it does today. Moffat was ‘the man’ when it came to racing and winning in GT-HOs.

So important has the race become to our carmakers over the years that they have, at various times, created and built a number of special "Bathurst" models.Some, like the classic Holden Monaros and the Falcon GTHOs, have been specifically built to enhance their chances of winning the races, others, like the anniversary Ford GTs, have been builtto celebrate success in the great race.Whatever the reason is these models have become highly prized by enthusiasts and collectors, with the result that their prices have climbed to unthinkable levels in response to the demand.Buying one of these classics is full of pitfalls and requires careful and thorough research before you hand over your hard earned cash. Like any collectable provenance is important, so the first thing to establish is that the car you are considering is genuine. Lots of replica GTs, GTHOs, GTS Monaros, and XU-1 Toranas and others have been built over the years. Some are accurate replicas; others don't even come close to being authentic.No matter whether they are accurate or not, they are not worth as much as the real thing. Check the ID on the car's build plate, check also the numbers that are stamped on various parts of the body and make sure they tally with the ID plate.Consult the relevant carmaker to check that the numbers on the carare correct for that particular model. It's also wise to talk to an acknowledged expert in the model you're interested in buying to find out the critical things you need to look for in a genuine car.Car clubs are a great place to find the expert you need to advise you, so too are the many companies around the land that specialise in restoring these cars.

4WD identity Simon Christie shows how to get moving again, once you’ve exceeded the Colorado ute’s off-road ability.

If we'd been writing a list of the most exciting cars due in the coming 12 months even a handful of years ago, four-wheel drives would be lucky to have rated a single mention.

There’s a sprinkling of genuinely exciting metal that will be hitting our shores over the next 12 months.

You only need to dip a toe into the lava-filled pool of comments that follow any story on the subject to know that the end of local manufacturing has been an emotional time for plenty of Australians.

You can’t help but feel for the poor folks at Holden. All that obligatory patriotism aside, they produced a genuine world-beater in the VFII Commodore.

Among Australia’s many, many gifts to the world - Rebel Wilson, Tony Abbott, the cork hat, Clive Palmer, Vegemite, Dame Edna - perhaps the most profound, yet sadly unrecognised, is the ute.

Police cars, efficiency tech, fast Kias and future Commodores make up the hottest news of the year.

If you like your hatches served with a bit of heat, 2018 is shaping up as one hell of a year. Updated models, all-new arrivals, turbocharged chargers and battery-powered bruisers; there’s a genuine buffet of hot metal arriving for you to choose from, with all arriving over the next 12 months or so. And while not all