Holden is truly an Australian car in many respects. The Holden company was founded by a James Alexander Holden who arrived in Australia from England in 1852.

Holden History:

He set up a business that made seats for carriages and harnesses for horses. But it was his son who ventured into building cars together with a business partner named Henry Frost.

The Holden company got its’ golden opportunity during World War when there was an import ban on completed cars. The company enjoyed brisk business building cars locally.

When the great depression of 1930 arrived the company was in the hands of the third generation Holden and by this time the company was assembling cars for the likes of General Motors Chrysler.

Still the depression years took their toll and Holden almost folded up but was saved by the onset of World War II when they started producing guns, bombs, boats and aircrafts for the war effort.

After the war government support saw the production of the very first Holden car based on a General Motors prototype. The FX Holden sold beyond expectations mainly because they were built exclusively for the Australian market combining the huge size and robustness of American cars with British economy which meant that fuel consumption was exceptional when compared to the power under the hood.

Over the years Holden have still managed to make giant steps in improvement despite their continued brisk sales. Most notably the 1960s saw the introduction of numerous safety features like collapsible steering columns and seatbelts. Increasingly Holden has faced stiff competition from the likes of Ford but still remains a hugely popular brand in Australia.