Spotted in Armidale recently and looking pretty good for its 70+ years was this road-registered Holden 48-215 with a number plate reflecting its model. It was the first successful mass-produced car built in Australia with 120,402 vehicles made by General Motors-Holden Ltd between 1948 and 1953.

The car was launched at the Fishermans Bend factory in Melbourne on 29 November 1948. A crowd of 1200 men and women, including the Prime Minister, Ben Chifley, stood around a humble, ivory-coloured car which appeared from behind silver curtains to the strains of a ten-piece orchestra. The famous Holden name was born.

The original idea was to name Holden models by year of production and body style number. The '48' meant that it was made in 1948 and the '215' referred to the body style. But it became popularly known as the FX and was followed by the more well-known FJ Holden in 1953.

For a low cost, four-door, six-passenger family car, it had excellent performance and comfortably accommodated 2 adults and 3 or 4 children on two bench seats. For those of you into specifications, it had a 4 bearing, 6-cylinder, ohv, 2.2 litre, water cooled engine, 3 speed gearbox with column change, hydraulic brakes and front coil springs. Holden’s rugged construction and powerful engine made it ideal for Australia’s rough gravel roads then commonplace outside the cities and towns. It was much more suited to Australian conditions than the underpowered 4-cylinder British-made cars then commonly available here. It was also easy to drive. Holden advertising brochures from 1948 proclaimed “You can steer Holden with a finger-tip”!

A Holden was the first car many families owned and ended up being a ‘must have’ possession. It went on to become an Australian icon, was an outward symbol of personal prosperity and increased national pride.

Our famous Holden, made in Australia for local conditions.