If you want to know why the end of Australian auto manufacturing is such a kick in the junk to a real enthusiast, look no further than the fans of both Holden and Ford in the land Down Under. You will struggle to find more hard-line supporters of a car brand anywhere else in the world, and it’s not like the cars are bad. As much hell as the sides give each other…what’s the joke about Bathurst, that it’s a national fistfight that has an auto race during the intermission?…the two companies cranked out some of the most legendary cars, period. We might have scared insurance companies and tree-huggers here, but the Aussies created a national epidemic with their factory hot rods. You can’t compete with that.

Holden has been the GM fan’s home team in the Southern Hemisphere. They have their own sixes (so long as you ignore the VL Commodore’s Nissan-sourced inline six) and eights, their own platforms, and their own style. In usual Aussie fashion, anything goes. Got a six? Slap a turbocharger on it. Got an eight? If you can’t make it run, you simply aren’t trying. And of course, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention everyone’s favorite swap, the LS. Yep, even Australia has been infiltrated by the late-model GM V8, and not just in recently-built vehicles, either. Commodores, Monaros, Toranas, and more gathered at Heathcote Raceway in Victoria recently for a get-together and from old-school muscle to turbocharged RB-powered sedans, each lion-badged car that lined up roared.