Last week, General Motors shocked the car world by announcing it was pulling the plug from Holden, Australia. A perfect moment to pay attention in De Vluchtstrook to an interesting creation of the once important brand for the Australians.
The approaching end of Holden came in at the news editorial office. After all, we are talking about a special and fairly old brand that has brought a series of interesting quadricycles to the world over the years. It has not been that exciting in recent years, but we would like to look back again. Consider, for example, the various generations of the Ute, the Monaro, the (non-Insignia) Commodore and especially the sporty SS (V) versions thereof. Despite the clear GM influences, they were still nicely Australian and not just Opels with a different logo.
If we dive into history a whole lot further, we will find the real Holdens where it once started. The FX and its successor; the FJ. They were the pioneers of the Australian auto industry. Although GM also had a strong influence on its Australian subsidiary at the time, the FX and FJ were launched as truly Australian cars. That the basic design of the FX was a concept rejected by Chevrolet, was skilfully skipped away. The FX was flavored entirely for the Australian market and received significantly smaller dimensions and power sources than its American cousins.
Holden FX
The persistent nature of Holden’s management, who did not want to know anything about Chevrolets that had been holden to Holden, paid off. The FX was a resounding success. In 1950, the model introduced two years earlier ensured that Holden was in the lead on the Australian market. It beat the American and British models that were on the market at the time. Despite its American influences, Holden became the automobile pride of Australia.
The FJ
Not entirely surprising, the success of the FX tasted more. That is why the sequel appeared in 1953 in the form of the FJ. In essence, the FJ was primarily a thoroughly facelifted FX that had been modernized at various points. Better performance, more luxury and a more contemporary nose gave the successful Holden a new impulse. The FJ liked it even better than the FX. The different body variants, Sedan, Coupe Utility (Ute) and Panel Van, brought the total production to just under 170,000 in just three years. The FJ was already succeeded in 1956 by the completely new FE.
Holden FJ
Due to the enormous success of both the FJ and FE, they still count as true icons in Australia. Who Down Under pay attention, has a good chance they will also come across. A wide group of Holden fans are doing everything they can to keep the remaining FJs on the road.
The Efijy
By now you will realize that the FJ has a special place in the heart of many Australians. The enthusiasm was great when Holden in 2005 at the Australian International Motor Show pulled the curtain of a beautiful tribute: the Efijy. You don’t need much imagination to see that both the name and the design are a direct tribute to the FJ.
In addition to the clear external FJ characteristics on the Efijy, this concept car is a completely different story. The FJ was, after all, a relatively modest sedan with a sufficient but not very powerful source of power. That is different with the Efijy. The car, designed by the Australian Richard Ferlazzo, has a wheelbase of almost three meters and, in particular, protrudes considerably at the rear. The large wheels and the flashy stretched carriage let go of modesty. That certainly also applies to the basis: the Efijy is on an extended Corvette basis and also borrows the brand-new 6.0-liter V8 (good for 644 hp in the Efijy) from the American. So there is still a clear American touch to this otherwise Australian party number.
Although the Efijy was a wonderful tribute to Holden’s early days, it did not herald a major revival of the best years. Not entirely surprising it remained with a concept car and in the years that followed, Holden lost more and more of his own identity. Now, unfortunately, the curtain falls for this intriguing brand. We hope for the Australians that a restart (possibly with more influences of their own) will eventually be possible, but for now we are just enjoying the Efijy and other controversial legacies of Holden.