Me and My Holden

Don Loffler

Wakefield Press 2008

A Nostalgia Trip With The Early Holdens

Reviewer: Bob Estreich

The “FX” Holden was released in the late 1940s to immediate popularity. Its restyled follower, the FJ, was just as popular. Don Loffler’s third book on early Holdens records the people who drove them and loved them.

Just after the second World War Australia got its cars from two sources. There were the light, flimsy sports cars from Britain and their small “family car” relatives. Neither held up well on Australia’s excuses for roads. Then there were the “Yank Tanks” – the Studebakers, Fords and Chryslers. Big, solid, thirsty. It was a long way between petrol pumps  in those days. There was nothing much in the middle of these two ranges until General Motors-Holdens released their first car, the so-called FX (more correctly, the 48–215). It was US-designed and Australian-built, with a roomy body, high ground clearance, and a lazy engine big enough to tow a caravan but more economic than an American V8. In the post-War boom many Australians first hit the road in a Holden.

Although Don Loffler does not write the book as a history, there is enough historical information scattered through the book to give it authority. His description of the colours available is something I have never seen anywhere else. Some of the accessories he details are hilarious, and would be quite illegal now. He has included a large amount of Holden promotional posters and material among the photos, and they are wonderful period pieces in their own way. Mostly, though, he lets the owners and their photos tell the stories. At a time when photography was expensive, the number of people who photographed their Holden was amazing. There are Holden honeymoon stories, a long arduous Holden trip through Central Australia, Holdens on their side, Holdens in rallies, Holdens desperately overloaded, and even a Holden hearse. I particularly liked Rodney Prusa’s story of the secondhand Holden he went to buy which turned out to be the one his father had sold twenty four years earlier. I also liked the way the owners do not gloss over the car's weaknesses - the vacuum wipers which were useless in anything heavier than a light fog, the car's fantastic ability to let water in , and of course, Rust.

The book is beautifully presented, hard bound and printed on high quality paper, and lavishly illustrated. The quality binding is a good thing, because this book is going to be passed around a lot as the nostalgia kicks in. At first I thought “coffee table book”, but as I read through it I can see this book taking pride of place on many a Holden owner’s bookshelf. Even if you never owned an FX or FJ, or even a Holden, it's a great read and Don manages to convey something of the pride that so many Australians felt in their home-grown car.

The book is well worth its cost, and with Christmas coming I can see it being a popular gift for many Dads. Mum and Dad will love it, the kids will laugh at it and call it Quaint, but no one will ignore it.