Holden

Holden Australia, an Australian subsidiary of General Motors. Formed by the takeover of Holden Body Works, a company producing bodies for Chevrolet? chassis imported from the U.S., it was taken over by General Motors in the 1930's (when?).

After the conclusion of World War II, the government of the time desired to establish an Australian automotive industry, and convinced General Motors to build "Australia's Own Car". The Holden 48/215, introduced in 1948, was a medium-sized vehicle fitted with a 215 cubic inch (3.5 litre) engine. Whilst not particularly mechanically or stylistically sophisticated, it nevertheless offered reasonable performance and fuel economy in a relatively affordable package. Protected by tariff barriers from foriegn-made competition, it became Australia's best-selling car. Despite the arrival of competitors in the 1960's, Holden's locally-produced large six and eight-cylinder cars have remained Australia's top-selling vehicle for most of that time. Holden has offered a reasonably full range of other vehicles, some locally produced but others imported from various parts of the General Motors empire.

Since 1978, Holden's largest (and currently only locally-produced) model has been the Commodore, originally based on a design by Opel but that has been through such extensive revision (including several generations of engines, enlargements, suspension design changes, and complete body restyles) that this "grandfather's axe" of a car must now be regarded as a unique vehicle - indeed, it is the only rear-drive sedan still produced by GM. The current model, one of the most successful cars in Holden's history, features either a 3.8 litre V6 or a 5.7 litre V8 borrowed from the [Chevrolet Corvette]?. The V8 offers outstanding performance from a large car at a relatively modest price. The more modest six-cylinder (still probably the largest and most powerful top selling sedan anywhere in the world) is ubiquitous in government and private fleets.

Specialist companies such as Holden Special Vehicles http://www.hsv.com.au/ resell common holdens such as Commodore?'s rebadged with sports stylings.

Holden Commodores, badged as "Chevrolet Luminas", are sold in South Africa and parts of the Middle East. HSV's modified vehicles are also sold in the United Kingdom.