Holden’s seven millionth vehicle milestone
18 Aug, 2008
59 Comments 
Holden’s seven millionth vehicle has rolled off the production line today, creating a record manufacturing milestone in Australian automotive history.
Since the first mass production Holden - the 48-215 - drove out of Fishermans Bend in 1948, the iconic marquee has become arguably the country’s most cherished brand.
The milestone car was a 60th Anniversary Commodore sedan, conveniently specified with dual fuel LPG fitment - a nice touch by the marketing department.
Public figures including the Premier of South Australia, the Hon. Mike Rann MP; Federal Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator the Hon. Kim Carr; and GM Holden’s Executive Director for Manufacturing, Rod Keane were in attendance to celebrate the event.
“This is a proud day for every one of GM Holden’s 6500 employees in Australia. It says so much about us as one of this country’s largest manufacturing operations and most trusted brands,” Mr Keane said
In total, the GM Holden plant at Elizabeth manufactures 43 models off six variants, including left and right hand drive.
Almost half of the total vehicles produced are destined for the export market - sold as brands such as Vauxhall, Chevrolet and Pontiac.
Since the first exports began in 1954, more than 800,000 vehicles have been delivered to customers around the world.
GM Holden Vehicle Production Milestones
First Holden (48-215) launched November 1948 (Fishermans Bend, Vic)
One millionth (EJ) October 1962 (Dandenong, Vic)
Two millionth (HK) March 1969 (Dandenong, Vic)
Three millionth (HQ) June 1974 (Pagewood, NSW)
Four millionth (VC Commodore) June 1981 (Dandenong, Vic)
Five millionth (VN Calais) August 1990 (Elizabeth, SA)
Six millionth (VX Commodore SS) June 2001 (Elizabeth, SA)
Seven millionth (VE Commodore) August 2008 (Elizabeth, SA)
Location: Home / GM, Holden, Holden VE Commodore, Australian Car Industry News, Car News / ...
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August 18th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Yep, definitely Football,Meat pies,Kangaroos and Holden cars.
Many happy memories in Holdens.
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August 18th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Yep, can’t see the tally being beaten anytime soon.
It’s interesting to note the time taken for each million to be reached - ome of the early ones were faster than the more recent times.
I’ve had a few of them - FC, EK, EJ, HK(2), HQ, LX, UC, VL, so I’ve done my bit for the cause :)
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August 18th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Yeah LC,UC,VH,VL & Dads FJ,FC,EK,EH,HQ.
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August 18th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Ok…………..um VH SS {253,yawn but fun in red especially in the wet},VK SS{ 308,white},VK Brock Director {black, 308},A9X 4 door all black /cream interior stroked 308,HZ 253 ute,the hack {yeah I know mooring block }
Fun drives especially the A9X,,,,,,,
Congrats Holden!
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August 18th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
football, meatballs, kangaroos and unreliable Holden cars………..the only credit Holden deserves is for the fact that that they have sold cars that have always been inferior to other makes. Selling cars with ancient and crappy engines and suspensions and the worst build quality of any car maker. Even now with the VE they have spent money on looks to the detriment of safety and function. The way VE looks dated after only 2 years is also a problem. And how many Commodores have been wrapped around a tree? Nah……..i wouldnt drive one in a fit.
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August 18th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
The Holden plant produces approximately 700 cars a day and on average a car rolls off the end of the assembly line every 70 seconds. Whereas in Germany; a VW [Golf] rolls off the line every 35 seconds.
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August 18th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
pffffffffffftttt,
Watda………I wouldn’t drive one in a fit.
Okkkkkkkkkkkk so how can you bag them if you haven’t driven one?
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August 18th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Quote [Bavarian Missile] pffffffffffftttt,
Watda………I wouldn’t drive one in a fit.
Okkkkkkkkkkkk so how can you bag them if you haven’t driven one?
It’s easy; particularly if you are a Toyo-tosser!
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August 18th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
What the???? If you have seen the DVD “Billion Dollar Baby”; Read Peter Robinsons Book “Autobiography” [both of which focus on the R&D that went into the VE] Or perhps even Tored the Holden Factory.. you will see that the majorito of the VEs Billion Dollar Budget went into the new robots which were not only installed on the fly but also specifiaclly designed to build the VE
Plus if the VE is such a crap car; why is it now one of the most popular cars in the worlds most competitive auto market - the USA and there are even people in Europe wanting to buy one?
Please Explian….
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August 18th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
As for your Comment about How many commodores have been wrapped around a tree.
Sure as there are more commodores on the roads there is more chance of a commodore being involved in a n accident or even wrapped around atree
However out of the number of incidents where a car is wrapped around a tree - how many times have the occupants survived.. if the occupant was in a Commodore they’d have a greater chance of surviving than what they would if they were in a Corolla
Yet because as you say you wouldnt drive one in a fit indicates that you don’t fiollow or know of the developments Holden have made over the years from one model to the next
As for using Ancinet engines - remember NASA have spent billions trying to develop a pen that would write in space…. The Russians took a pencil!
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August 18th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
What the? U are just plain Un-Australian.Lol
I agree Wheelnut he sounds like a closet Toyo.LOL
BM u are a show off,LOL.
VH SS was the ants pants and especially a manual 253!
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August 18th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
I love my VY Holden Ute. Looks great, goes good, rides nice along with handeling well and is reliable. I don’t think I could ask for any thing else in a car…..except for an SS
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August 18th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
theres a good article on goauto at the moment about holdens future and their intentions to bring in E85 accross the entire range as soon as next year, they are working on a dedicated LPG model, they are currently evaluating CNG models and hybrid models of the commodore aren’t off the table either. It’s a pretty interesting article as it also talks about GM’s vision of Australia as being a country that could potentially be 100% self sufficient and not need to import ant petrolium at all as it can power australia’s entire fleet of cars using a vehicle that could be run on BOTH lpg and cng gas. The idea being that you could plug your car into a CNG outlet in your own home which could get you around 80k’s (CNG burns faster then LPG remember) for your daily driving duties, and then when you want to go on longer journies you can have a seperate tank with LPG on board.
These where all clearly “think tank” ideas but its good to see that GM are atleast taking a view of Holden and Australia that is independant to what they view their future as in the US, which for GM this is the first time they have really done this for their “little aussie outpost”
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August 18th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
by the way i meant looking at E85 for their entire COMMODORE range by next year, not their entire model range
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August 18th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Congrats on Holden making the 6 million mark.
How many of them were designed overseas?
About the wrapping around a tree, a commodore would probably be worse because of the further distance between the A-Pillar, B-Pillar and C-Pillar and there is more mass so at the same speed there is more momentum therefore more force put onto the occupants.
There are some areas where Holden need to up there game, but in others they are are on target.
There are more golfs in the world than Holdens, lol, and look how big the hot hatch market is.
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August 18th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Don’t get wrong, I drive a Holden and would happily buy one again, but “the countrys most cherished brand”? - I don’t think so.
Vegemite anyone? http://www.vegemite.com.au
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August 18th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Good for Aussie manufacturing, but mostly an average product. What about the disgracefully out dated underpowered and asthmatic Pontiac 3.8 V6 (shelved in the US as obsolete but dusted off and stuffed into VN to VZ Commodores for 15 years as those silly Aussies won’t notice). And the current V6 is only marginally better.
To say arguably the country’s most cherished brand is definately laying it on a bit thick, anyone got a trowel..?
And saying one of the most trusted brands, well, I mean, how does this bloke sleep at night? How much bullsh*t can a company spout before the ACCC get involved?
Goodness let’s face it, how many people have been killed by Vegemite?
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August 18th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
Correction Buick v6 3.8.
Granted a bit gruff but in it’s last iteration the Ecotech not such a bad thing. Good economy/durability and neck snapping off the mark.
Horses for courses surely! U certainly expect a lot for the ask DOHCV8.
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August 18th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
DOHCV8 - yeah the old ecotec V6 didn’t look flash on paper, but hey why don’t you go and ask the average mum and dad what the difference is between DOHC and pushrods and they wouldn’t be able to tell you, ask them whats in their car, most of them still wouldn’t be able to answer. Fact is the old ecotec was never going to win a worlds best engine gong, but as realcars said it was durable, surprisingly economical, in VY form was actually MORE economical then a DOHC BA falcon 6, and was quite snappy off the mark, just didn’t like to rev all that much.
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August 18th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
infact in VY form the ecotec actually rated at 10.0l per 100km in manual form! Only the Aurion can better that and even then only by .1 and the current falcon and commodore can’t come near it. Yep it was a real heap of shit though…
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August 18th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
congrats Holden, quite an acheivement, hope many years to come without GM going up their own selfrightous ways and f..king you over.
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August 18th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
believe it or not, but guess what 2 of this years Ward’s 10 best engines are? The direct injection variant of the Commodores 3.6ltr V6, currently in the cadillac CTS and soon to be in the VF commodore, and the hybrid (passive) variant of GM’s 6.0ltr pushrod V8! Yep they make real crap engines though GM don’t they!!
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August 18th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
sorry to harp on but i just don’t like people being miss-informed and claiming things are terrible when they really aren’t that bad. The old Buick V6 that holden’s ecotec V6 was based on made the Ward’s 10 best engines of the 20th century list, and the “series II” as it was officially known in GM speak version of the commodores old pushrod V6 was actually also on the Ward’s 10 best engines list in 1995 through till 1997, right at the time when our mate DOHCV8 was claiming only Holden was dumb enough to be using this engine that according to Ward’s at the time was one of the 10 best engines in the world, when infact a large number of cars accross the GM empire, many in the US, where also using the engine.
Sorry to crap on but i just hate it when we get these people coming on here running there mouths talking about things they know little about, based pretty much on what their mates or dad told them
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August 19th, 2008 at 12:13 am
Richo
I’m tipping your dream car is a VN with 147kw from a 3.8 litre V6 that struggles to rev beyond 4000 rpm…
Wake up and take off the rose colored glasses, that engine was universally loathed by every motoring journalist that was ever unfortunate enough to drive the ghastly thing.
The fact that the average motorist couldnt tell the difference between a pushrod and an OHC engine is exactly why GM dumped the cursed thing onto unsuspecting Aussie motorists in the first place…
Your post at 11:04 sums it up and I didnt want to use that language but what the hey.. Yep it was a real heap of shit…
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August 19th, 2008 at 9:05 am
The AntiChrist,
mate you sure did pass grade 6,well done nice words.
wish all of us did pass,
good job LOL,
Hey you forgot to mention that the mullut is not in anymore to the 427 knobs who purchasing a W427.
Go Ford,
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August 19th, 2008 at 9:11 am
Millatime – how about you have a go at understanding my posts before having a crack at me. I was refering to the series II ecotec engine as fitted the VS-VY commodores, not the lumpy original version fitted to VN-VR models. The VT commodore, equipped with the series II ecotec engine, was awarded car of the year in 1998 by Wheels, so it couldn’t have been THAT bad, which was my only point. I even said it was never going to be the best engine in the world, and on paper it looked bad, but my point all along was that it served a great many people very well for a long time, and still does. It’s a strong durable motor with acceptable performance and very good economy for the time, particularly back in the VS days where it was considerably better then it’s rivals in terms of economy. Infact it consistently bettered the economy of the falcon throughout its entire lifespan from VS right through to VY where it was up against the DOHC straight 6 in the BA falcon. And you say that every motoring journalist universally canned it, well that was true of the VN-VR motor, but from VS onwards it was never canned by the motor journo’s. Even in 2003 in the VY commodore wheels wrote “the Commodore’s engine, whilst appearing to be left behind on the spec sheets, is a strong willing motor with economy that betters it’s falcon, magna and Avalon rivals.” – yes I do have wheels magazines back to 1996.. Mrs hates it…
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August 19th, 2008 at 9:38 am
For those whacking off about the original V6 3.8 remember it came out in the VN with MPI and what did the EA Falcon launch with at that time - a 3.3 throttle body injection. Even the 3.9 had throttle body injection, it was only the top models that managed to have MPI and they were a close match in performance to the basic Commodore donk.
So yeah, not an earth shattering engine, but it in perspective of what was offered on the Aus market at the time, it blew the competition away.
As for 7 million cars - well done Holden.
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August 19th, 2008 at 10:13 am
Millatime, one small correction, the original 3.8 VN engine only developed 125 kW, not 147.
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August 19th, 2008 at 10:57 am
The EA 3.3 was marketed for a only a very brief period, and was dropped due to lack of demand, even though it had better economy (than both 3.9’s and the Commodore) And the 3.9 was available in two forms, throttle body and MPI.
And a throttle body 3.9 EA wagaon would consistently return better than 10 l/100km combined.
Richo, the 3.8 Buick was not being used elsewhere in the GM range. At the time it was used in Aus, it was manufactured here only, using the US cast-off toling and the rest of the GM world used the new engine.
On the topic, 7 Mill cars is a testament to the workers of Australia’s manufacturing industry.
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August 19th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Bret - only holden used the engine that was manufactured in Australia, however a number of GM’s US models utilised an identical vairant of the engine that was manufactured in the US. US manufacturing of the engine was scheduled to cease in 1999 however it ended up continueing to be manufactured and utilised in the US untill 2006.
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August 19th, 2008 at 11:38 am
do a wikipedia search on “buick V6″ if you wish to be a little better informed before posting.
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August 19th, 2008 at 11:42 am
hahaha Realcars,yep they were all manual except for the uterus.
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August 19th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Well, even though Im a dedicated Ford man, I have to say congrats to Holden and GM for their 7th Million car. Shame its has to get sent away to install LPG…
But I think things would go faster if you went back to producing more than the Commodore (am I correct in this? Sorry if Im not). Its prob too late to get the nod to do the Insignia, but Im sure there are a few other GM cars out there that Holden could produce. Ford have seen the light, building the Focus soon (about all the light they can muster at present though; apart from the exceptional FG).
Bring back the days when the Falcon and Commodore tussled for top selling car. At least they have character (not a fridge on wheels… Toyboata). Yeah yeah I can the fridge fans going off their rockers now…
Anyway, it will be interesting to see whether Holden can catch up again with the next Commodore. Maybe reach 8 Million in the next decade or two. Can only be good for Aussie Car manufacturing.
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August 19th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Sorry to reply to far up the thread, but DOHCV8, do you even know what you are talking about?
The 3.8 in the Commodores, (also known as the Series 2 or Series 3 GM3800 depending on which commodore we are talking), is a buick engine, and considered one of the toughest and most loved General Motors engine of all time.
You know how to use wikipedia, look how many cars it was used in. It was used over most of the GM range, in both FWD and RWD form. It was a revered engine, and many GM enthusiasts still love it.
And as for from the scrap bin, it was used accross the entire GM line, including Pontiac (as a supercharged GXP application) into the 2000’s.
Get a clue.
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August 19th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Richo,
I don’t think I was clear. By the time the 3.8 V6 was intorduced to the Commodore, the rest had moved on to the newer version. The Commodore still utilised the old off-centre bore engine, and as far as I know was by that time an orphan in the GM world.
The later “re-design” that brought the cylinders on-centre was much disscussed at the time.
The wikipedia insult was unwarrented. And wikipedia is a long way from right in a huge number of instances.
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August 19th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Brett I said a number of times, and subsequently repeated myself, that I was ONLY referring to VS-VY spec ecotec or Series II versions of the V6, and I even admitted that the earlier versions in the VN-VR, complete with the off centre bore, was not very good. Holden received the upgraded series II in 1995 with the VS commodore and THAT is the engine I was refering too, and that variant of the engine was actually a very popular engine both here and in the US. It was torquey, good low down grunt, surprisingly economical, incredibly durable and it was actually quite smooth, it only got a little course at high RPM’s. The original variant in the VN-VR commodores on the other hand was also quite torquey and punchy down low, was reasonable on fuel, and if anything was even more durable, however it was VERY lumpy and rough for a variety of reasons. At no time did I try and deny this!
Sorry if you where insulted by the Wikipedia comment, I was just simply trying to say that if you wanted to check up on me you could refer to the buick V6 article on Wikipedia. Seriously though if that was insulting to you then you should probably grow some thicker skin.. I have been subject to FAR worse from the usual Ford fanboys on this site!
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August 19th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
anti-spam word = buick…
Well done Holden.
Only two holdens have ever graced my garage. One the best (78 HZ 308)and the other definately the worst (86 Piazza).
Both were old at the time and had seen better days but the best thing about them was I could get parts for them anywhere.
The statesman was made for this country and was an effortless cruiser (not very fast for a V8 but it wasnt about that).
The Piazza was a dud right from the start and was the only car i have ever driven in my life that under and oversteered at the same time. Ran a 13.9 though with a bit of boost behind it.
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August 19th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Mr Brooksy, exactly which Falcons between between the early eighties and nineties weren’t white goods on wheels themselves? Holden did have some interesting products in that time (V8’s, Turbo’s ect) but Ford had very little to offer except the amount of metal you got for the money.
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August 19th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Well done holden, i’m helping you celebrate with a couple of coldies right now. As for the goose who said commodores have the worst build quality of any car maker, they are not the best thats for sure but i would rather be driving a commodore than the korean crap they’re passing off as their small car range at the moment, not good for brand image.
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August 19th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Fenno - 13.9 in a piazza would have been genuinely frightening! What a heap of shit they where… even worse then the callibra
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August 19th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Just as a side note to that comment Falcodore,
The Commodore and Falcon scored the worst in the large class according to the latest leaked industry report on some other sites, and for the record, Falcon was the “even worse” one.
The Holden/Daewoos actually scored quite a bit better. Not that I like them in any way shape or form, but they had less faults than the local hero cars. The upset was Camry which outpointed even Japanese imports.
Intersting bit of trivia.
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August 19th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
I always had s soft spot for the Callibra, Richo. It had some good points about it unlike the Piazza which was just a dog not mater which way you cut it.
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August 19th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Richo…Scary wasnt the word. The brakes would last for one run and then turn to goo…pretty scary at 110mph.
The guy staging me the first time out told me to back up for the burnout and put my front wheels in the water (he thought it was front wheel drive). Surprised them all a bit when I lit them up (not that it made any real difference).
The only thing the Piazza had going for it was the width adjustable seats…(still yet to see them in standard form on anything here yet).
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August 19th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Granted Dlr1,
Holden did have a more interesting line up in the 80’s and early, early 90’s. No arguments here, I was refering not to Holden with the Whitegoods remark, but the ‘Toyboats’.
And by the way, those ol Falcons and Commodores… they look pretty tough with a little bit of ‘care’. More like a brick, than a fridge.
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August 19th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Richo, I 100% agree on your thoughts of the Buick 3.8 litre Buick Engine. My VN Commodore Wagon is still going strong after 500,000 kilometres (Except fot the handbrake, it doesnt work at all and the power steering pump isnt flash). Even though the engine you hear in my VN and other peoples is that it is very whinny, but one thing for sure is that it was and sill is a very good duarable and reliable engine. The same for the VT I have.
I keep saying “When the baby goes will replace her”. But we might be waiting for a long time, “She’s still going!”
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August 19th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Oh, and good work Holden!
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August 19th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Well done Holden !!!
Not even Toyota can boast the biggest selling car maker in this country, and it’s an Aussie tradition.
Send the Toycar crap back to Japan where it belongs……
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August 19th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
good to see plenty still love our aussie grown stuff.
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August 19th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Yeah my best mate had a 3.2 litre EA from 18months old and put over 500,000 klms on it before he called the scrap man.
My mate isn’t easy on cars either.
The VE is definitely a very impressive looking vehicle especially considering it’s price.
How good does the VE SS look?
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August 19th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
What other sites are you talking about gift-ed, i cant find the report you’re refering to anywhere
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August 19th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
REALCARS, you are not the same person as Realcars are you?
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August 19th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
The one and the same Duck! Reformatted the hard drive this arvo and hit the caps lock.LOL.
I like Falcons but have a soft spot for Holdens. What do u do?
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August 19th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
anyone remember the VN adds “love it, I just love it!”lol.
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August 19th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
for the record the only aussie made Holden i have ever owned is a VS commodore. Was bought brand new in 1996 by my parents (was the limited edition equipe model, basically an executive with extra kit and fancy paint) they owned it for 7 years before selling it to me. Was utterly reliable the entire time we owned it. My parents had to replace a wheel bearing in the time they owned it, otherwise just normal servicing. When i took it over i had to replace the power steering pump which was on the way out, otherwise not a single thing went wrong with it untill i sold it in 2006. It was easy to drive, very comfortable, very practicle, and was actually pretty good on fuel. Even now whenever i’m on the highway, i wish i still had the old VS, never should have sold it really!
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August 20th, 2008 at 11:32 am
BM, if you had a VK Brock Director (lovely car btw) you’d know that it was a 304, and not a 308.
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August 20th, 2008 at 11:49 am
I was under the impression they didn’t change it to a 304 untill the VL model to comply with Group A racing regulations, and up untill then, including the VK, was a 308?
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August 20th, 2008 at 11:51 am
sorry, they did introduce the 304 in the VK, but i still think it was only in the SS group A wasn’t it? Didn’t the other models like the group 3 and the director have the 308 still?
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August 20th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Group 3? Not sure, mate, but I know that the Director was a definitely a 304, as a close friend owned both the VK and VL Directors.
Boy that VL version sure was ugly with its skateboard-ramp rear spoiler!
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August 20th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
ok no worries. The VL director was a hell of a car though, easily the most advanced holden ever for the time, even more advanced then the walky many would argue, except in the engine department as the walky had a truly impressive engine for the time. The intake and fuel injection system where truly state of the art in 1988, and the block design was extreemly good. Made more power in race trim then a 5ltr V8 of 1988 had any right to do!
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