HOLDEN CRUISE
A CELEBRATION RUN
The sun shone brightly for those that needed it most on Sunday 15 October, with the Holden Dream Cruise seeing 1000 proudly Aussie-built cars winding their way through Adelaide’s northern suburbs.
Created as both a ‘thank you’ to the workers of the Elizabeth plant, as well recognising passionate people who love the brand, the Cruise saw the streets lined with supporters. They
cooked barbies, waved flags and cheered on 61 years of history. From A9X to WB, FX to VF, the cheering and enthusiasm was unwavering.
Culminating with a family show at Elizabeth Oval, Wes Carr did his best Jimmy Barnes impersonation, while Greg Rust handled MC duties with input from Mark Skaife and Bev Brock.
The Oval also hosted the cream of the Cruise; a show of 100 especially selected cars displayed alongside the Holden Collection, which included the four millionth
“FROM A9X TO WB, FX TO VF – THE CHEERING WAS UNWAVERING”
“THE SUN SHONE STRONG AND THERE WAS NO WAKE, ONLY CELEBRATION”
Holden (a VC), the seven millionth Holden (a VE) and an A9X showing only 1100ks!
Following successful auctions for the last three Final Edition models, which raised over $300,000 for charity, thoughts turned to the last cars to be built on Friday 20 October.
Andrew “Gumpy” Willoughby will be screwing seats into those machines and admits the event is bittersweet, “It’s been great to see the last three Final Editions together, plus all the classic cars, but it’s tragic that it’s gone for good and we’ll never see it again.” He pauses. “The line behind that last car is empty; it’s eerie.”
Andrew’s sentiments echo in the conversations overheard all across the oval: many workers are positive about the future, but nobody wants to go.
When tools fall silent after 161 years of local manufacturing, workers and enthusiasts can rest assured that the send-off was bright; the sun shone strong and there was no wake, only celebration.
Turn to page 138 for a Readers’ Rides segment devoted to cars from the event.