Holden donates 75 cars for emergency skills training
6 Jun, 2008
19 Comments 
While some manufacturers will argue over a single car donation for the ANCAP side crash test, Holden has donated 75 vehicles (worth about $3 million when new) to the Australasian Road Rescue Organisation (ARRO) for emergency skills training on the Gold Coast.
A range of cars from Holden, which include VE Commodore sedans, VZ Commodore wagons and WM Statesman and Caprice models will be used as part of the Australasian Rescue Challenge 2008 starting today (6-8 June).
The cars will be used to simulate road crashes and provide crash scenarios. Rescue workers will be assessed on this criteria as part of the challenge. The event is host to 22 teams of road rescue workers from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
The cars are engineering evaluation vehicles and are not for public sale, Holden has so far donated more than 800 vehicles to the project in the last decade.
“Supporting ARRO is a meaningful way for GM Holden to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to safety and assist organisations which help so many people, here and overseas, each year.” GM Holden Executive Director – Engineering, Greg Tyus, said
Holden’s donation goes a long way to help rescue workers understand modern cars.
“Training with modern cars is vital to the development of our road rescue teams as it helps us improve the quality of our service, develop new rescue techniques and, ultimately, save lives,” Paul Jerome, Vice President of ARRO, said.
Congratulations to Holden for supporting such a worthy cause. More information on the event can be found here.
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June 6th, 2008 at 6:52 am
It makes sense really.
Commodores are overrepresented in crash statistics & tend to be the ones “piloted” into lounge rooms, cafes, telephone boxes, shopfronts, wedged under parked trucks & telegraph poles
So why not give the emergency services practice on the cars that actually give them the most business.
Vote:June 6th, 2008 at 8:28 am
Why not make a boats out of those ;-)
Vote:June 6th, 2008 at 9:25 am
Nice one guys. Holden goes and donates 75 cars to a worthwhile cause for the community and all you have to say is rubbish.
Vote:June 6th, 2008 at 9:31 am
4 really, really stupid comments, revealing that the posters have zero reading and comprehension skills, and are happy to flaunt their gross stupidity on a forum. They’re not even comments that are taking the mickey, these dimwits are serious.
Congrats to Holden for making these vehicles available.
Vote:June 6th, 2008 at 9:40 am
Hear, hear, Reckless.
Vote:June 6th, 2008 at 10:46 am
fair enough they’re worth 3 mill when new but i bet its costs a fraction of that to build them.
Vote:June 6th, 2008 at 11:21 am
So we’ve taken our PC pills today haven’t we? Could it be the new moon?
Is it a noble cause? yes.
Can’t help but think they could have donated a few 2star barina’s for the boys to practice how to extracate passengers from the glovebox.
Vote:June 6th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Google “broken prado diffs” a few from 4wd monthly, overlander etc etc. The diff is built well just poorly engineered.
Lets ask the author on Disco 3. Did anything go bang on the test?
Vote:June 6th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
It’s not the frist time Holden has donated cars for this.
Vote:I remember seeing a story on the news for ARC 2005 which was held in NZ. (I’m guessing they rotate host country each year) They were crushing up VY Adventra, Commodore, Tonner and LHD Monaro ex test vehicles. Pretty good considering all the cars had to be shipped accross the tasman too.
June 6th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
This is really good of holden, those cars would have otherwise been crushed… a useless waste of a car. This way they are being used for something beneficial. The training that gives rescuers would give them experience in cars with side air bags in regards to ways to stop air bags deploying while they are cutting the car open.
Vote:June 6th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
I agree! Good work Holden! For helping in a good cause.
Vote:June 6th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Holden also donate cars that they used in R&D Crash Tests etc to High Schools & TAFE Colleges to help train Auto Apprentices on how to Rebuild and Repair them
Vote:June 6th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Good one Holden
Vote:June 6th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
good one holden
THIS is what you do Mazda, instead of sending your cars to the crusher (read:tanker accident last year)
Vote:June 6th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Congratulations Holden. The training the donation of these cars helps to facilitate could help save a life.
As for those with the cheap and entirely inappropriate shots at Holden, I trust you wont’ need the help of the professionals who Holden is helping to train. Would be a shame to waste their time on you.
Dan
Vote:June 6th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Trackdaze,
i got your angle and i suppose it was a bit witty ;)
but on the serious side, this is what Mazda should have done
Vote:June 7th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
May I dare say a lot more than Toyota gives back in this regard!
Vote:June 7th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
…but Toyota will supply Aurions to ANCAP until the cows come home to get a five!
Vote:June 9th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
Thanks Holden for your continued support of the emergency services by donating so many cars for road rescue practice over so many years both in Victoria and other States of Australia.
Without new cars to practice with we find it very difficult to train as the cars we usually get to play with are those people don’t want anymore, and usually do not have the new safety features of modern cars.
The cost and effort to make these cars available to us, sometimes at reasonably short notice does not go unappreciated or un-noticed. Thanks again.
SES Member
Vote:Victoria