ORIGINALLY IS EVERYTHING KEEP YOUR HOLDEN ALL HOLDEN.

Crystal balling

Now that GM has put the last nail in Holden’s coffin, I wonder what you see as the future for classic Holden owners in respect of spares etc. I wonder if, in true Australian spirit, someone will brainstorm manufacturing parts for Holdens. I have a 1993 VR Calais 5-litre which I enjoy as my fun car, but I imagine that spare parts are going to be the worry in the long term

I find it a huge shame that Australia has lost its car manufacturing industry in general, because the amount of know-how and ability to problem solve with very little financial support is to be admired. I also think that our present government and its prior ugly iterations are partly responsible for this situation. Looking forward to your considered reply.

Simon, Email

morley says…

I CAN’T help but agree with you, Simon, that the Federal Government back in 2013 has to take some of the responsibility for the shut-down of local manufacturing. By refusing to support local car-making financially, the Feds certainly added to the woes that brought car-making to its knees in this country.

And, yes, I’ve heard the argument that if Holden (and Ford and Toyota) couldn’t be profitable on their own two feet, they didn’t deserve to be here. But that kind of ignores the fact that every car-making nation props up its car industry in some form or other. And all that money the Government saved by not supporting the industry? Surely, most (all?) of it has gone in Centrelink payments to the toilers who lost their jobs when the crunch came. And if it had gone into workers’ pockets as wages, it’d do another few laps of the economy before the