Calaber
Nil Bastardo Carborundum
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2007
- Messages
- 4,334
- Reaction score
- 1,357
- Points
- 113
- Location
- Lower Hunter Region NSW
- Members Ride
- CG Captiva 5 Series 2
I've had quite a few cars over the years, and not all Holdens. I can honestly state that the two very worst cars I've owned, given the price and age of them, were a 1989 Telstar Ghia which had just over 163k on it at the time of purchase, and the brand new Golf Mk 5, purchased in early 2005 and offloaded for the old Calaber in late 2007.
Some of my Holdens were very old, very tired and needed bulk TLC before they could even be legally driven. But there was an intangible element to every one of them that gave me a sense of satisfaction and I think it's exactly what SavVYute is referring to. There is a sense of national pride, even if they are US owned, to driving and owning something that was designed and built by Australians, to withstand our shithouse roads without rattling themselves to death or our seriously hot summer temperatures without the plastics crumbling into dust or cracking. Other manufacturers have caught up and possibly overtaken the quality and engineering for Australian conditions, but Holden have been doing it for over 60 years and I think they get most things pretty right.
My Captiva has Holden badges but we all know where it was designed and built. The saving grace is that it had substantial Holden engineering and road testing input during its development and under the bonnet is a 3.2 Alloytech built in Australia. That'll do me just fine.
Some of my Holdens were very old, very tired and needed bulk TLC before they could even be legally driven. But there was an intangible element to every one of them that gave me a sense of satisfaction and I think it's exactly what SavVYute is referring to. There is a sense of national pride, even if they are US owned, to driving and owning something that was designed and built by Australians, to withstand our shithouse roads without rattling themselves to death or our seriously hot summer temperatures without the plastics crumbling into dust or cracking. Other manufacturers have caught up and possibly overtaken the quality and engineering for Australian conditions, but Holden have been doing it for over 60 years and I think they get most things pretty right.
My Captiva has Holden badges but we all know where it was designed and built. The saving grace is that it had substantial Holden engineering and road testing input during its development and under the bonnet is a 3.2 Alloytech built in Australia. That'll do me just fine.
