Holden HDT Commodore 1981 News

A decision on Holden's future is a mere pen-stroke, email or phone call away -- and it could now happen before Christmas after the Federal Government increased its pressure on the iconic car-maker.News Corp Australia understands the global CEO of General Motors, Dan Akerson, based at the company's headquarters in Detroit, has the sole discretion to sign away Holden's manufacturing operations and with it the jobs of 1760 factory workers.Contrary to earlier reports -- and protocols at other companies -- the Holden decision does not need to go to the General Motors board, which meets monthly.Mr Akerson is a $12 million-a-year man who served as an officer on a US naval destroyer in the 1970s.  In just three years he has developed a reputation in Detroit as not being afraid to make tough calls, such as shutting factories or axing entire brands, such as Pontiac and Hummer and the sale of Swedish icon Saab.A self-confessed "non-car guy", Mr Akerson has helped reshape General Motors globally since it came out of bankruptcy, driven the company to record profits and, as of yesterday, finished repaying the $50 billion loan from the US Government, which sold its remaining shares in GM.In a recent interview with USA Today, when asked about the secrets to his success and the transformation of General Motors, Mr Akerson said: "You can't live in a crisis mode … fundamentally I've got to run a business that's gonna turn profits."Holden has lost $432 million over the past five years and the company openly admits it loses money on each car it builds locally. Mr Akerson speaks about "fortress balance sheets" and taking emotion out of decisions by being able to "define reality"."That was necessary in this industry and in General Motors," he told USA Today. "Once you define reality you have to provide a vision."With pressure from the Federal Government reaching new heights after the Treasurer Joe Hockey said of Holden in Question Time "either you're here, or you're not", General Motors is increasingly being left with no option but to shut the car-making factory that Queen Elizabeth II visited in its opening year, in 1963.It is possible an announcement by Holden could come on or before December 20 -- the last day of work for Holden factory employees before the scheduled summer shutdown, and the same day the preliminary report by the Productivity Commission is due to be released.An early announcement would alleviate the uncertainty being felt by Holden factory workers and minimise the potential damage being done to the company's brand image.When asked yesterday if Holden felt pressured by the Federal Government to announce a shutdown sooner rather than later, Holden boss Mike Devereux said: "Everything that could have been asked of me has been asked of me (at the Productivity Commission hearing). No decision has been made by General Motors."When asked by News Corp Australia if an announcement would be made before or after Christmas, Mr Devereux and Holden representatives declined to answer.A formal decision to shut the Elizabeth car making factory is believed to be a formality given the hardline stance of the Federal Government to not increase taxpayer funding to the industry, and Holden's request for more assistance.Central to the debate over the Holden shutdown is the definition of the word "decision". In car industry terms, executives may have made up their minds on an outcome, but a "decision" is a more formal process.It took Ford more than 300 meetings and seven years to arrive at its decision to shut its Australian factories, and Mitsubishi was questioned for four years before its eventual shutdown, the Federal Government is trying to force Holden to announce its bad news within months.When Ford announced the 2016 shutdown its Australian factories, the decision was made at board level and included input from executive chairman William Clay Ford Jr, and Edsel Ford, both great-grandsons of Henry Ford. It then took several days for the announcement to be made to Ford workers on the factory floor.When asked by the Productivity Commission how much extra money Holden had asked from the Federal Government, Mr Devereux said the government had the figures and would not disclose them publicly.Carsguide understands Holden had asked for an average of $150 million per year -- the annual figures fluctuate to match the progress of vehicle development.In March 2012 Holden agreed to invest $1 billion in two new cars to be built from 2016 to 2022, in return for $275 million in taxpayer assistance -- $215 million from the Federal Government, $50 million from the SA Government and an estimated $10 from the Victorian Government.However after Ford announced in May this year that it was closing its factories in 2016, Holden has asked for an increase in taxpayer support because, it says, market conditions have "changed significantly" since the original deal was signed.Holden milestones1948Prime Minister Ben Chifley unveils the first Holden car, declares “she’s a beauty”. More than 18,000 orders are held before the 48-215 “FX” Holden goes on sale. Some customers sell their place in the queue for £100.1954One in three cars on the road is a Holden.1958One in two cars on the road is a Holden.1960The first export of left-hand-drive Holden vehicles begins with a small shipment of cars to Hawaii.19621 millionth Holden sold (EJ Special sedan, Oct 1962).1964Holden employee numbers peak at 23,914 across seven facilities in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia.19692 millionth Holden sold (HK Kingswood, March 1969).19743 millionth Holden sold (HQ Kingswood, June 1974).1978Holden celebrates 25 years of continuous sales leadership.19814 millionth Holden sold (VC Commodore, June 1981).19905 millionth Holden sold (VN Calais, August 1990, more than twice as many as any other Australian built car at the time).1991Japanese car-maker Toyota beats Holden and Ford to market leadership for the first time in Australia.20016 millionth Holden sold (VX Commodore SS, June 2001).2002The last year Holden led the Australian new-car market.2004Holden produces 165,000 vehicles (the most in its modern era), almost matches the 1963 peak of 166,274. Factory worker numbers in 2004: 7350.2005Holden’s biggest export year: 60,518 cars were shipped, mostly to the US and the Middle East.20087 millionth Holden sold (VE Commodore LPG, Aug 2008).2011After 15 years as Australia’s favourite car, Holden Commodore sales are overtaken by the Mazda3 from Japan. Automotive historians say it is the first time since WWI an imported car has led the new-car market.2013Toyota Corolla on track to become Australia’s top-selling car for the first time.Only five out of 100 new cars sold in Australia is a locally-made Holden.Holden is overtaken in some months by Mazda, Hyundai and Nissan.After several redundancies and a three-year wage freeze, Holden factory worker numbers fall to 1760.Despite a record new-car market, Australian vehicle production falls to its lowest levels since 1958.Holden is on track to export just 14,000 of the 84,000 cars it will make locally.This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling _______________________________________ 

The proudly Australian manufacturer played up its heritage in the 1980s with this fun ad full of classic Aussie stereotypes. Whether you're a footy favouring car nut or a meatpie loving larrikin you'll love the catchy jingle. Strewth, all that's missing is a VB-swigging swagman.Watch the 1981 Holden TV ad here.Longstanding Aussie rival Ford has also aired some hilarious ads that pay homage to its homeland.See Our favourite Ford ads here.  

The Peter Brock Trophy will be presented by Brock's brother Phil to the winner of the Bathurst 1000 on Sunday, the sterling silver perpetual award a lasting memory of Peter Perfect at the racing circuit where he carved his remarkable reputation. The nine-times Bathurst winner died in a rallying accident in WA last month. The slim line cup mounted on polished hardwood, produced by Hardy Brothers Jewellers, took over 200 hours to construct and was only completed yesterday before being chartered into Bathurst and unveiled today. Inscribed with the words "King of the Mountain", the 2.5kg and 50cm tall trophy will become one of Australian sport's most coveted prizes for many years to come. "It will be around hopefully a lot longer than most of the people in this room," said V8 Supercars Australia chairman Tony Cochrane. "In future years there will be two mini replicas, just like the Melbourne Cup has done, for the winners of this race. "It will be one of the great trophies of motor sport in the world. "It's got a base insurance value of $75,000, but after this week it's priceless." Stuart Bishop, CEO of Hardy Brothers Jewellers, endured many sleepless nights over the past three weeks designing and manufacturing the Peter Brock Trophy. "It was created in less than three weeks, we usually take two to three months to produce the Melbourne Cup," said Bishop. "It was finished yesterday morning, the last finishing touches ... it was tight, very tight. "I actually had to charter a plane to get here quick enough. "It's an absolutely fantastic honour that we have been able to and were asked to produce this trophy." Cochrane said the trophy was a fitting and lasting memory of the sport's biggest champion. "It is truly a piece of work, absolutely magnificent and a fitting testament to the great life and legacy that Peter Brock has left us with." AAP

Skaife, who succeeded Brock as Holden's No.1 driver, has found it difficult to accept the death of his mentor and idol in a West Australian rally crash last month. But a Bathurst weekend without the undisputed King of the Mountain will highlight the huge hole Brock's death has left. "More than anything else this weekend, the finality of it is more real," Skaife said. "It's probably now more at the forefront of our minds than it has been, even with the funeral and the memorial service. "There was an air then that you hadn't really accepted it yet. But when we get to Bathurst and there's such a traditional King of the Mountain status that he had here and so many fans have been up and spoken to us about the same thing, 'I can't believe it, Peter's not here'. "It's the first race meeting without him. It's very strange, it's quite a difficult thing." Even in death, Peter Brock dominates the atmosphere at the Bathurst 1000 this year as much as he did on his way to nine victories from 1972 to 1987, including six wins in seven years. The most popular figure in Australian motorsport will be remembered with a vacant place on the front row of the grid, eight of his nine winning cars taking a lap of the Mount Panorama circuit, a homily, a minute's silence, a video tribute and the inaugural Peter Brock Trophy for the winner of Sunday's race. And then there are the tens of thousands of tributes inscribed by fans on the wall at the newly named Brock Skyline, the highest point of the mountain circuit which overlooks the track Brock ruled for two decades. The tributes range from the spiritual: "Lord, Motorsport is our religion, Holden is our God, Brocky was our messiah, Watch over us disciples" and "God has gone to heaven" to the regal "Brocky Still King Always", "Only One King", the contemporary "The Only Australian Idol", the blokey "Onya Mate, Brocky RIP" and even the confused "Brooky". Brisbane man Darrell McGrath, however, has made the most personal of permanent tributes, with a tattoo of Brock covering his entire back. "My back's a tribute to the king," McGrath said. "The man meant the world to me." Even if all the tributes and emotion overshadow the race itself, Ford driver Jason Bright believed it was only right that Brock's legacy dominated the first event without him. "It's not going to be an easy event, but rightly so," Bright said. "It's a major loss for Australian sport, the Australian public and Australian motorsport especially. It deserves to have this respect. "But at the same time, Brocky would just be saying get out there and do it and not worry about him. "It's going to be a tough weekend emotionally for a lot of people." AAP

There were black bonnets and the body of a blank silver VZ Commodore in pit lane at Bathurst, with moving personal tributes on banners around the track. The bonnets are a mark of respect at the Holden Racing Team, Brock's home for much of his racing career and his most memorable victories. Fans are being invited to sign the silver Commodore this weekend in a tribute to their hero. It has been supplied by Holden Special Vehicles and will eventually be housed in a museum, perhaps with most of the Holden classic collection at Norwell in Queensland. Brock was the talking point yesterday, even though the V8 Supercars are hitting the track this morning to begin the fight for Australian motor sport's biggest prize. "Being at Bathurst brings a lot of the Brock aura back to the fraternity," driver Mark Skaife said yesterday. "Everywhere you go, up on the hill, there are notes from people and best wishes from people who want to pay their homage to Brock. "Almost every question today has been about what the event means with Peter here. So it's very much at the front of our minds. "Apart from the funeral and the memorial at Sandown it has been hard to rationalise. But now we're here it is front of mind." Still, Skaife is at Bathurst to race and he and co-driver Garth Tander are one of the top choices for the great race, alongside Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup in the best of the Falcons. "When you climb on board you have a job to do," Skaife said. "There is a lot of tribute stuff that will be happening just before the start, but it is our job. And Brock wouldn't want it any other way. "He wouldn't want it to be an obituary. He would want it to be a motor race."

Peter Brock's daughter Alexandra said her father was fallible. Bev Brock, the mother of his two children, said he had betrayed her when he left her for another woman. The man himself said he was a provocateur. But to the thousands of fans at the Bathurst 1000 this weekend, the late Peter Brock will be revered as the King of the Mountain, Peter Perfect. The dignitaries and politicians paid their respects to Brock at his state funeral in Melbourne last month and 10,000 of his heartland fans honoured the 61-year-old at Sandown raceway three days later. It's Bathurst's turn this weekend. Mt Panorama is where the legend was born and grew and the mountain is where it will be celebrated with the most vigour. Following Brock's death in a West Australian rally crash on September 8, New Zealand driver Jason Richards lamented the huge hole his passing would leave at Bathurst. ``It just won't be Bathurst without Brock,'' Richards said. But Brock will be inescapable this weekend. Rarely silent and not known for their piety, this year's expected Bathurst crowd of 60,000 will hear a homily for Brock from V8 Supercars chaplain Gary Coleman on Sunday followed by a minute's silence. Before the race, big screens around the track will show a video montage of Brock's near 40-year career. Like an empty chair at the dinner table, there will still be a place for him on the track - the front row of the grid will be left vacant. His cars will still crest the mountain - the nine Holdens in which he won the race, from the 1972 Torana to the 1987 Commodore, will be driven on a tribute lap. And his name is now indelibly linked to the race and not just in the record books - the winner will receive the newly commissioned Peter Brock Trophy. With so much emphasis on paying homage, dual winner Rick Kelly, one of the favourites to be the first name on the $75,000 trophy, acknowledges the shadow Brock casts over Bathurst 2006. ``To win it this year would be quite special,'' Kelly said. ``There's going to be a lot of emotion up at the mountain this year with the passing of Brocky and knowing what he's done for that event and motor sport in general in Australia. ``We have to be a little bit careful we don't let that get in the way of winning the race. ``We've all been touched by Peter and his achievements so it will be tough to keep that out of our minds and go up there and do the job.'' V8 Supercars Australia chief Wayne Cattach said this weekend's Bathurst tributes were the most appropriate way to farewell the first superstar of Australian domestic motor racing. ``The most befitting place for a tribute is Bathurst,'' Cattach said at the time of Brock's death. ``He forged his name in motor sport on that mountain, I think the fans will come to expect something special and we will provide that.'' Bathurst council will also provide a permanent memorial with plans to erect a statue of the man who built his first race car in a chookshed. He made such a name for himself driving that Austin A30 in sports car events, he was invited by Holden to drive in the Bathurst 500 in 1969. Thus began an unparalleled career in domestic motorsport and an enduring place in the hearts of Australian motorheads. But even those who didn't know their twin cam shaft from their carby knew Peter Brock. He earned the Peter Perfect tag as much for his persona off the track as for his nine Bathurst wins and three touring car triumphs. He was the rockstar of the sport - married to a former Miss Australia, charismatic, good looking, drove fast cars, won lots of trophies. Every bloke liked him and plenty of women fancied him. The women were a weakness, but he had many strengths. Mark Skaife, Brock's successor as Holden's No.1 driver, said he was ``someone we all aspired to be.'' ``He had flair, he had a flamboyance, he had determination and he had creativity.'' But he was also well grounded and humble - the sort of bloke the lads camped out on Mt Panorama could relate to. He was always happy to stay behind and sign autographs and was generous with his time and advice to young drivers. AAP

Investigator Alun Mills said finding a cause of the tragedy has been made harder by the fact Brock's highly skilled driving showed little variation at critical stages. Brock's braking, acceleration and use of gears - among other indicators - were remarkably similar at comparable places throughout the Targa West Rally stage outside Perth. Sen-Constable Mills, of West Australia's major crash investigation section, said Brock took corners similar to that on which he died within a 1km/h range of speed. "It's not like he's gone into the other corners at 40km/h and done this one (the fatal corner) at 80km/h," he said. Sen-Constable Mills said the exact cause may never be known and his office may need to present the coroner with a range of scenarios. "It's like a computer driving the car. You're trying to find something that's not normal in his driving and it's not there," Sen-Constable Mills said. The case shapes as one of Australia's most detailed crash investigations. Data from the high-powered coupe's black box recorder, which logged every performance indicator, is still being retrieved as investigators try to get a more precise picture of what happened. Video footage shot from within and outside the Daytona on September 8 is also being utilised. Police are yet to receive the results of a survey they did of the corner where Brock lost control and slammed into a tree. Sen-Constable Mills said the survey's detailed recording may help find answers to why Brock crashed at a speed at which he safely negotiated other corners.

But James Brock, 30, believes dealing with the public outpouring of emotion for his legendary father has helped him cope with his family's shock loss. James Brock today announced he would pilot his dad's 1984 Bathurst 1000-winning Holden Commodore around the Gold Coast street circuit before the October 21 V8 Supercar support race during the Indy program. Peter Brock, 61, died when his racing car crashed in the Targa West rally near Perth on September 8. James Brock was touched that he had been asked to complete the tribute but admitted it would be "eerie" getting behind the wheel of a car his dad made famous. "There may be some slight apprehension on my behalf in having to confront quite a few people who want to extend their condolences," he said. "I'm a bit more of a private person than he was so that's something that I am not particularly looking forward to. "I'm sure it will (be eerie) ... it's all nice and comfortable and then you get in there look at the thousands of people around you and see how much emotion they have ... but it's an honour." James Brock will also be competing in the V8 Ute series as part of the support program for the October 19-22 Indy event. He also completed a lap at the recent Australian Motorcycle GP in the LJ Torana XU-1 Peter Brock took to three Australian Touring Car championships. He will do it again when he leads nine vehicles in which Brock tasted Bathurst 1000 success as part of a huge tribute at the October 5-8 Mount Panorama endurance race. Peter Brock earned the moniker "King of the Mountain" thanks to his record nine Bathurst 1000 victories and six pole positions at Mount Panorama. "It's difficult, obviously it (Brock's passing) is still fairly recent," James Brock said. "There's still some personal stuff you've got to deal with. "But the support people have shown around the country and across the world has made it a lot more easier. "Even events like this (Indy) has forced me to confront it, deal with it - it all helps. "There will be a few tears I'm sure up there at Bathurst so hopefully at Indy the mood would have lightened and it will be more of a celebration." Queensland Premier Peter Beattie today did not rule out following the lead of Adelaide re-naming a section of its V8 Supercar street circuit in Brock's honour and erecting a permanent memorial at the Indy track. "I wouldn't rule anything out. But we haven't discussed that and wouldn't do that without talking to the (Brock) family," he said. James Brock also welcomed the Bathurst Regional Council's suggestion to erect a statue of his father at Mount Panorama.

CARSguide reader Adam Pawlowski let us know that he was keen to share his YBROCK plated ute with other fans, so he is the inaugural entrant. Send us your favourite memorabilia and we'll preserve it in our Peter Brock Memorabilia gallery. Keep your files under 2MB, which means you'll need a compression program such as Winzip. You can send as many pieces as you'd like to: feedback@NOSPAMcarsguide.com.au. Remove NOSPAM from that email address. We get a bit of spam here, so we ask that you put in the subject line Peter Brock Memorabilia, otherwise it might get lost and not featured on the site. Also tell us your favourite Brocky moment at Mount Panorama. Click on the Feedback to the side and let rip.

About 10,000 people today packed the raceway where Brock, killed in a rally in Western Australia two weeks ago, won nine Endurance classics.They heard from contempories including teammate John Harvey and team owner Fred Gibson, as well as from Mark Skaife, the five-time Supercar champion.Ford driver Allan Moffet, who was Brock's major rival in race tracks around the country during the 1970s, choked back tears as he spoke of his friendship with the Holden legend.Skaife, who inherited Brock's leading role in the Holden team, described the nine-times Bathurst champion as a driver who had an amazing ability."He had flair, flamboyance, determination and creativity," Skaife said.As part of the tributes, Brock's son James drove a lap of honour in a replica of his father's Austin A30, in which he first sprang to prominence.As the Austin crossed the line, Brock's daughter Alexandra waved the chequered flag.