Six Decades of Holden Versus Ford by Dave Morley takes a look at 60 years of competition between the Holden and Ford brands from the 1960’s until the close of production in 2017.
The Holden Company was the first to start the era of modern motoring in Australia in 1948 and had dominated vehicle sales until the latest Ford motor from the U.S. arrived in the 1960’s. It looked very modern and glamorous when compared with the out-dated, utilitarian look of the Holden.
However, this exciting newcomer proved fragile under the harsher Australian conditions. It took Ford three years to re-engineer the ball-joints and fix extra bracing at the front to meet the challenge of the rougher roads, heat and dust. It took Holden a similar length of time to bring Holden cars up to the same modern standards. These cars were the Ford Falcon and the EH Holden.
And so began the popularity of both brands and the rivalry between those families who stuck faithfully by their Holden and those whose loyalties lay with Ford. This rivalry, identified as a form of ‘tribalism’, was no less than that associated with religion, politics and sport.
When the now iconic Bathurst race first took place in 1963, it increased the devotion of being a part of Team Holden or Team Ford and, likewise, the adoration of the cars’ drivers. Sons and Daughters often followed their parents’ choice of brand.
Sadly, this popularity declined in the 2000’s when cars imported from Asia and Europe, particularly the SUV models, became more popular due to their price and economy. Buying habits changed to the detriment of both motor companies.
This remarkable book delivers on its title and pulls no punches regarding the competition between the Holden and Ford car companies over the decades. The quality of the photos and other images, many relating to ‘new model’ launches, are as interesting as they are creative.
The marvellous stories and anecdotes, the discrediting of lies, and the ‘road tests’ that compare Holden and Ford models released at the same time, explains the fascination Australians have had for the two brands over the past 60 years.
ISBN: 9781741175677
Publisher: Hardie Grant Travel
Six Decades of Holden Versus Ford is available in Hardback
About Dave Morley
Dave Morley is a motoring journalist who has road tested every Holden and Ford (and pretty much anything else on the road) built in Australia since 1986. His passion for the subject matter has also seen him track down the Falcons and Kingswoods he was too young to drive professionally, and give them a walloping as well. Dave has owned a variety of both Ford and Holden cars over the years and remains a front-bar leper by refusing to nominate one brand over the other, believing them both to be capable of stupidity, short-sightedness, ignorance and world’s-worst-practice. But when they get it right, both Holden and Ford have produced some truly inspiring cars. And Dave has the speeding tickets to prove it.
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