END OF THE LINE

“An EV sends around 95 percent of its stored energy to the wheels”

Been genuinely, deeply absorbed in your November issue’s Holden post mortem. On an emotional level, I’m hurting in a way I didn’t anticipate.

First, we lost the manufacturer of the Barra, the best six ever produced in the country and one of the best in the world. Now we’ve turned our back on a remarkable production base and brilliant team of people who ensured we had cars no other manufacturer, including Ford, matched for country-specificworthiness. It’s so bad, and sad, that Australian ingenuity and manufacturing expertise are lost for just about all time. We shouldn’t kid ourselves that we don’t have the brains to continue to be able to export our ingenuity in this field.

Now Holden has gone, it’s hit me, even though, like everyone else, I knew for a long time it was scheduled. Wish I could’ve afforded the SS ute I longed for. Congratulations to the people, past and most recent, who built the Holden story. Chris Miller, via email

Thank you, Wheels, for the November edition. I do have a life, yet this week I’ve been almost in tears at times. Your articles showed that some people understand.

See, I never drove a car. I

drove a Holden. I used to talk to my Holdens, but now I am 67, we have an understanding, and we just get along. I have bought eight Holdens over 50 years, and my last car in a few years will be a Holden. How could it be anything else? But ... it won’t quite be the same. Ian Hunter, Lewisham, NSW

I came to the realisation the other day that by this time next year, everything I have loved will be gone – we are now heading down the road of uncharted territory.

Ever since I could walk I have loved cars and one make always grabbed my attention: Holden. My dad is probably to blame, as he was always tinkering with his 1968 Eden Blue HK Kingswood he bought second-hand as an ex-rep’s car in 1969. Ever since, Holden was in the blood.

But now I feel deflated – the world as I know it is changing. For whatever reasons the powers that be are taking it all away from us. Now I don’t really want to go into who, what or why, but what is happening with our truly unique Australian car industry is a bloody disgrace. Nothing good will come of it

No more Holden or Falcon utes, no more Commodore or Falcon V8s, no more new releases to anticipate and no more Aussie made Holden versus Ford. I just don’t know what I am going to look forward to anymore but at least they can’t take away our amazing memories. Neville Greentree, via Facebook

Holden has played a big part in my life. When we were young kids, not yet old enough to hold a licence, my parents owned a Holden dealership in Echuca. Together, dad and us kids would take a train to Bendigo and we would get another train to Melbourne, then a taxi to Fishermans Bend to pick up and drive home a new Holden.

I can remember back as far as HT right through to HQ; we drove them back as it was cheaper and dad was able to run in the engines – especially driving up Pretty Sally (part of the old Hume Highway on Melbourne’s northern outskirts). That gave the cars a workout. Wayne Lynch, via Facebook