From humble beginnings as a South Australian saddlery in 1856, to its peak in the 1970s, to a slow, painful sales decline, Holden has been etched in the story of the Australian car industry since the very beginning.
So raise a glass, settle in, and see the brand off with our whirlwind tour through the history of Holden:
In 1856, English immigrant James Alexander Holden established a saddlery business in Adelaide, with the marginally less punchy name of J.A. Holden & Co.
Harness and carriage maker Henry A. Frost becomes a partner in the firm in 1885, and it is renamed Holden & Frost. The company manufactures products including "harnesses, saddlery, travel goods, gun cases, whips, crops and vehicle hardware."
Edward W. Holden, grandson of James, joins the firm in 1905 and – perhaps thanks to his keen interest in the burgeoning automobile industry – the firm opens a upholstery department in 1910.
The company builds its first car body in 1914. Over the next decade, newly separate entity Holden's Motor Body Builders Ltd builds bodies for chassis imported from the US and Europe. This is helped by federal wartime trade restrictions limiting the importation of complete cars.
US automaker General Motors signs an exclusivity deal with Holden in 1924, and then acquires the company in 1931. The merged company is named General Motors-Holden's Ltd.
The famous lion-and-stone logo first appears in 1928.
General Motors-Holden's continues to assemble vehicles from imported parts throughout the 1930s and 40s – taking time out to dedicate its production facilities to the war effort.
In 1948, following research and planning in Australia and Detroit, Holden's first Australian car – and, indeed, the first Australian car full stop – is rolled out. Famously, Prime Minister Ben Chifley said "she's a beauty!" while unveiling it.
The 1950s saw rapid expansion and several models built off the 48-215 design. In 1963, the EH goes into production, becoming the best selling model thus far.
Behold, the Holden Monaro. The company's first V8 arrives in 1968, featuring the coke bottle form popular in American cars of the time.
The HQ Kingswood lands in 1971. It goes on to sell a mammoth 485,650 units – a soaring high which no model since has been able to match.
The Commodore, likely Holden's most iconic range of vehicles, arrives in 1978. The first model is an adaptation of a German GM sedan.
Throughout the 1980s, Holden – and the rest of the industry – faces challenges. For much of the decade, the rival Ford Falcon reigned supreme.
Aussie racing legend Peter Brock, after taking over the company's semi-official racing arm the Holden Dealer Team (HDT), unveiled a kooky bit of kit in 1987 named the "Energy Polariser" – a box of magic crystals he said "made shithouse cars good". The company parted ways with Brock soon after, funnily enough.
In 1991, Toyota beats both Holden and Ford to market leadership for the first time – one of many signals Asian car domination was inclement. But in 1996, the Commodore starts a 15-year run as Australia's favourite car.
The VT Commodore released in 1997 quickly became one of the best-selling Holdens of all time, with a huge 303,895 units built between its launch and 2000.
Remember the Monaro? It returned in 2001 to much fanfare. Thousands of left-hand-drive models were exported to the US as Pontiacs.
The VE Commodore comes in 2006, engineered from the ground up in Australia instead of being based on a foreign platform.
The writing was on the wall in December 2013. Following (ultimately unsuccessful) battles with the federal government over subsidies and financial support, GM announced Holden would become a sales-only brand in Australia. Manufacturing would end in 2017.
Holden's Port Melbourne engine plant closes in 2016. It had been in continuous operation since 1948.
The final Australian-built Holden car – a red Commodore V8 – rolled out of the factory in October 2017. It was also the last Australian car full stop.
After a few failed attempts to rebadge vehicles like the Opel Insignia as Holden vehicles, it became clear the brand was on its last legs. In February 2020, General Motors announces the Holden brand is to be retired permanently.
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Getty Donald Trump’s antics are finally catching up with him.That is, of course, true in the New York criminal trial as a whole, where Trump may be found guilty of past misconduct. But Trump’s antics are also catching up with him in a narrower, but quite meaningful way.In the New York case, the prosecutors said Thursday that they would not be providing to Trump’s legal team the names of the first three witnesses that the prosecutors would be calling to tes
Terrified residents say their once quiet suburb has been turned into a "warzone" by gangs of feral yobs - including some as young as nine. Young tearaways regularly steal from shops, pelt peoples' homes with eggs and steal cars for so-called 'joyrides'. Locals living in Wollescote, Stourbridge, West Mids., say they can't sleep with many installing CCTV cameras to make sure their homes are safe. Police have been called in to patrol local buses after several were vandalised by teen gangs who residents say now "rule the area". Londis worker Yamuna Ramakrishnan, 21, said she was plagued by shoplifters on a daily basis. She said: "The kids steal chocolate and whatever else they can fit in their pockets. "They also take other other things from nearby shops and put them in our shop for a prank. They took chairs and put them in our shop. “It’s been happening for more than four months. They usually come usually around 8pm. “They also smash up nearby shop doors. We call police but they run away. “They just come in and disturb the customers. They don’t allow the customers to come inside.” Last week a group of youngsters stole a car and crashed into a homeowner’s Nissan Juke and demolished his wall. CCTV footage shows the stolen Honda 4x4 careering along the road before losing control and ploughing into the parked car on Worton Road.
EXCLUSIVE: Ellen Greenberg’s death by 20 stab wounds - including to the back of her neck - was ruled suicide. Her mother Sandra, who has spent 13 years fighting for justice and says she will ‘never give up’, says bombshell new testimony may finally prove her daughter was murdered
With the cost of retiring at a record high, it's not surprising older Aussies are looking at overseas locales to spend their golden years. Here are seven of the best.
