Great news for Holden lovers.
GMSV (General Motors Speciality Vehicles) has revealed that it is close to announcing a new home for the old Holden vehicles it has had mothballed since the demise of the Holden brand’s operations last year.
While the location and other details regarding exactly when and where the classic fleet of Holden production vehicles, one-offs and prototypes will end up remains a secret that won’t be divulged until sometime next year, it is thought that they will be housed somewhere in Victoria.
After all, Port Melbourne’s Fishermans Bend was the headquarters of General Motors-Holden from 1936 to 2020, as well as GMH’s own greatest hits display in the company’s foyer. Plus, General Motors first set up shop in Collins Street, Melbourne in 1926, while GMSV is now based in Clayton, Victoria.
According to GMSV Australia and New Zealand managing director, Marc Ebolo, keeping the past General Motors-Holden memories alive is part of the plan to move forward into the future.
“We need to make sure we preserve our heritage and (classic Holden) collection,” he told CarsGuide at the first official GMSV media event since the launch of the brand in November, 2020.
Famous and much-loved Holdens including the Efijy and Hurricane concept cars, GTR-X concept cars and scores of production models from the earliest 48-215/FX of 1948 to the final Australian-produced Commodore (VF II from 2015-2017) are expected to form part of the permanent exhibition sometime from 2022.
At this stage, it isn’t known whether the public will have full access to all these historic Holden vehicles, but being in the one building means they certainly do lend themselves as the perfect museum for the most revered Australian vehicle brand in history.
The Holden heritage set-up has wider implications for the GMSV brand, as the American corporation attempts to emerge from GMH’s imposing shadow and reconnect with Australian consumers.
When asked if GMSV needs to work on winning over local consumer trust again after the rapid decline and shutdown of Holden, GMSV Australia and New Zealand director, Joanne Stogiannis, believes that most consumers are ready to embrace the future, even though there will still be people who remain angry at GM.
“I worked for Holden all my life, and for me, there is a love and appreciation for the brand, that still continues,” she revealed.
“We still have lots of customers that we support in the aftermarket – a 1.6 million strong carpark, so there is still the brand that’s out there that we need to support – and from where I sit, and managing this new GM brand, we’ve been really pleased with the reception that we’ve received from customers.
“Yes, there are going to be some people that still bear a grudge and have some animosity. I don’t doubt that. But in the main, people who are after a Corvette or are after a truck, are really, really pleased with what we are doing.”
Even after a strong first year in Australia thanks to over 2000 registrations year-to-date of the Silverado full-sized pick-up truck, Ms Stogiannis agreed that the recent Bathurst race was the acid test for GMSV in some ways, as it remains a sacred place for diehard Holden fans.
“Even when we were at Bathurst, just seeing the reaction (to the Chevrolet Corvette and Silverado truck range), people have moved on… slightly,” she said, “but there is always going to be some difficulty there.
“We are very respectful of Holden, and also the other business divisions we still need to manage to maintain that brand. So, we respect that… but we also focus on GMSV.”
Clearly, then, restoring the Holden heritage fleet is a good start in bridging the past with the future.
Stay tuned for more information as it comes to hand.
Keyword: Holdens reunited: Efijy, Hurricane, GTR-X, Monaro, Commodore and HSV set to be part of some 80 classic Holdens relocated to a new home as GMSV rebuilds heritage fleet as well as Australians' trust in GM