Drive around in an old car long enough, and you’ll notice a steady stream of strangers approaching you to tell you how their dad / uncle / grandmother “used have one EXACTLY like that”. Chat to them for a while and you’ll discern that granny’s car was in fact a different colour, different year, and probably a different model to yours.
It doesn’t matter. There’s something about old cars that strikes a chord with a lot of people. Everyone has an old car story - whether it’s wishing you were Mad Max behind the wheel of The Interceptor when you were a kid, riding in an uncle’s Holden ute in the top paddock of a farm or smoking weed in the back seat of a Datsun as a teenager. You don’t have to be a rev-head to appreciate an old car.
If you grew up in Australia, you’re bound to recognise some of these beauties.
So strap in. Here’s a list of 10 iconic Aussie rattlers that are sure to stir up a few memories.
10. FX/FJ Holden
Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? In 1948 General Motors produced the first all-Australian mass produced car. It was called The Holden (48-215), not the catchiest name, so it affectionately became known as the FX. Following the FX’s huge success, Holden went on to give their first model a facelift in 1953. More chrome and a few more features and hey presto, you’ve got yourself an FJ Holden. FJs are cool. So cool in fact, they made a feature film about them in 1977. The movie is crap. The car still rules.
9. Leyland P76
Iconic more for that fact that it was full of FAIL than anything else. On paper the P76 should have been a pretty tough competitor to the Kingswood and the Falcon. But in reality, most Aussies weren’t really interested in a car that was sold as being able to comfortably fit a 44 gallon drum in the boot. Maybe that’s a good thing.
Testify, 1980s Peter Luck!
8. Ford XB Falcon
The car Mad Max made famous. Both the Interceptor and the Pursuit Special from the film were XB Falcons. Sitting in one of these bad boys as child I wondered to myself how it was possible for a car to be bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. Driving one as an adult is positively scary.
7. Holden Monaro
The Monaro has become synonymous with rev-head culture, but it was originally intended to be a classy ‘sports coupe’. When Monaros were first produced in the 1960s, they were a seen as a status symbol for young hipsters.
6. Holden Torana
The Torana was originally marketed as a low priced, compact car in the late ‘60s. As the model evolved the overall size of the car became larger and more powerful, eventually relegating to the realms of rev-head bogans.
5. Valiant Charger
Produced by Chrysler Australia, the Charger provided a genuine alternative to Ford and Holden in the 1970s muscle car market. Chargers became super-popular off the back of the ‘Hey Charger’ advertising campaign, a cliché that still haunts Charger drivers today.
4. Holden Kingswood
The Holden Kingswood was basically the bread and butter car in Australia from the late ‘60s. There was a time where you couldn’t step out your front door without almost being hit by one of these heavy beasts. They were incredibly versatile, being utilised around the country as police cars, taxis, company cars and government cars. Production of the last HZ Kingswood ceased in 1979 to make way for the smaller and infinitely more boring Commodore.
3. Holden Commodore
There’s no denying that the Commodore is an iconic Aussie car, but they’re difficult to get excited about. They’re kind of like the golden retriever of the motoring world. Faithful, reliable, and bloody everywhere. You may not have noticed, but you’re sitting in one right now.
2. Datsun 200B
If you know someone with a drivers’ license, chances are you know someone who has owned a ‘Datto’. Datsuns, while rarely viewed as a glamorous family of cars, have served generations of P-platers without missing a beat. You want a solution to the hoon problem? Give the youngsters a ‘Datto’. Even when they’ve got the pedal to the metal, they’ll still be under the speed limit.
1. Ford Falcon GTHO (Phase III)
One day in 1971 some guy at the Ford factory said as a joke; “Hey fellas, let’s get the most powerful engine in the world and put it in a family car”. So they did, and boy did they create a monster. The Phase III was a ridiculously fast car. These days they are super collectable. You can probably pick one up for just under a million bucks. On the other hand, you could probably get Bill Brown’s old one on the cheap…