Who is more Australian Holden or Ford?

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by imperial

Well I have many friends, and I just can’t believe how sucked in they are regarding America’s [obama] owned Holden.
It seems that unless you drive a Holden you are crap co’s Holden are the great Australian car, this is the biggest propaganda this country has ever produced and people are so bloody week mined that they would believe any bit of BS. When I hear the stupidity that comes out of their mouths my immediate thought is of ‘Hitler “and how easy his evil propaganda worked.
To me cars are all the same they all have good points, bad points and faults, hence that’s why we have great forums like this to help each other out with car issues.
I would NEVER EVER buy a Holden, I do not like to be fooled or deliberately lied too, if Holden didn’t claim that it is Australian I would have no issues with them at all.
So it just goes to show propaganda can sometimes back fire...
Holden’s are full blooded American

I wouldn't say it's deliberate lying. Stretching the truth perhaps? It's pretty hard to ignore the origins of the company itself. I mean the cars are a different story, but the fact Holden was actually founded on Australian soil and Ford wasn't has basically allowed Holden to play up the "Australian" card.

They're not really lying about being Australian. Maybe taking some things out of context, but not necessarily "lying".

James Alexander Holden was an Englishman which most Australians can relate to. Henry Ford was American and the "Ford" name has a very American image attached to it.

The most perplexing and intriguing thing is most people probably wouldn't know of Holden's existence prior to 1948. How have Holden been able to playing up the Australian image so well for the last 60+ years? If they were Chevrolet from the beginning would they have been able to maintain that image? I doubt it.

Things have changed a lot though. Holden is American owned (Ford is too) and Holden use a lot of foreign cars in their line up, but its deep roots (Deeper than the invention of the car) are as Australian as most of us are. It's pretty hard to deny that.

I would say Holden is more global these days with Australian roots. Something IMO Ford don't have. I'm not just talking about specific models of cars I mean the entire company.

[gtxb67]

Originally Posted by Ryan

I would say Holden is more of a global enterprise these days with Australian roots. Something IMO Ford don't have.

to me both ford and general motors are american founded global enterprises - both ford aus and holden have australian roots. the fact general motors did not build cars has been it's greatest asset. they bought companys from all over the globe and the general public see these companies as their local car manufacturer. the only difference between what ford did and what gm did is ford actually built cars and expanded into other countries. gm expanded their business interest by buying businesses in other countries. the fact that both are owned by an american parent company, to me means that both are amercian companies and they both have a claim to be equally australian

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by gtxb67

to me both ford and general motors are american founded global enterprises - both ford aus and holden have australian roots. the fact general motors did not build cars has been it's greatest asset. they bought companys from all over the globe and the general public see these companies as their local car manufacturer. the only difference between what ford did and what gm did is ford actually built cars and expanded into other countries. gm expanded their business interest by buying businesses in other countries. the fact that both are owned by an american parent company, to me means that both are amercian companies and they both have a claim to be equally australian

Fair point. You're right that GM didn't/doesn't actually build cars. You can't buy a "GM" like you can buy a Ford.

In Holden's case they have been American owned since they started producing cars, but that early heritage is what I think drives the "Australia" beat up.

Had they been Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac even Opel etc from their inception I don't believe they would've been able to win over Australians like they seem to do with clever marketing.

Even so as big of a fan of Holden as I am I've never really been susceptible to any sort of persuasion. I can accept that Commodores are just badge engineered Opels (Well up until the VE) and even my favourite one of all the HK GTS Monaro has American DNA.

[Auslandau]

Originally Posted by Ryan

Had they been Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac even Opel etc from their inception I don't believe they would've been able to win over Australians like they seem to do with clever marketing.

....... except for the multitude who would rather hide the fact they have a Holden and attach a Chevrolet badge on it. How un Australian

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by Auslandau

....... except for the multitude who would rather hide the fact they have a Holden and attach a Chevrolet badge on it. How un Australian

I suppose that's the irony.

There was even a poll asked if Holden should be changed to Chev. It got a big NO from me.

[In Focus]

I had to look on a Holden forum to see what the deal was with the Chev badges, and even they're split on the merits of it. Some say it looks "good", others that they are "proud to drive a Holden".

[Deco28]

Perceptionally Holden, for reasons Ryan pointed out quite well above I think.

In actual fact, they both are as Australian as each other. Australian companies owned by Global American companies.

[Deco28]

Originally Posted by In Focus

I had to look on a Holden forum to see what the deal was with the Chev badges, and even they're split on the merits of it. Some say it looks "good", others that they are "proud to drive a Holden".

People add Chev badges to look different. That's the general opinion I've gathered. A mate of mine put a Chev badge on his Ute, and put back on the Holden badge a week later when he discovered that another Ute in town was the same colour and put Chev badges on it. SO instead he got LEDs to be different.

Personally, don't mind the look, can see why, but wouldn't do it. Prefer the original.