We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the place now called Victoria, and all First Peoples living and working on this land. We celebrate the history and contemporary creativity of the world’s oldest living culture and pay respect to Elders — past, present and future.

Please be aware that this website may contain culturally sensitive material — images, voices and information provided by now deceased persons. Content also may include images and film of places that may cause sorrow.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this website may contain culturally sensitive material — images, voices and information provided by now deceased persons. Content also may include images and film of places that may cause sorrow.

Some material may contain terms that reflect authors’ views, or those of the period in which the item was written or recorded but may not be considered appropriate today. These views are not necessarily the views of Victorian Collections.

Users of this site should be aware that in many areas of Australia, reproduction of the names and photographs of deceased people is restricted during a period of mourning. The length of this time varies and is determined by the community.

Reuse of any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander material on this site may require cultural clearances. Users are advised to contact the source organisation to discuss appropriate reuse.

From the collection of Trafalgar Holden Museum

597 Items featured online

Vehicle - Holden 48 - 215 sedan, 48-215 Holden Sedan, November 1948

Untitled image

Reuse this media

Can you reuse this media without permission? No (with exceptions, see below)

Conditions of use

All rights reserved

This media item is licensed under "All rights reserved". You cannot share (i.e. copy, distribute, transmit) or rework (i.e. alter, transform, build upon) this item, or use it for commercial purposes without the permission of the copyright owner. However, an exception can be made if your intended use meets the "fair dealing" criteria. Uses that meet this criteria include research or study; criticism or review; parody or satire; reporting news; enabling a person with a disability to access material; or professional advice by a lawyer, patent attorney, or trademark attorney.

Attribution

Please acknowledge the item’s source, creator and title (where known)

Have a question? Contact Trafalgar Holden Museum

Historical information

The 48 - 215 was the first vehicle produced by GMH specifically for the local Australian market. This vehicle later became better known as the FX. This vehicle was manufactured from 1948 to 1953. From here Holden continued to pursue the goal of producing an Australian car. This involved compromise with GM as Holden managing director, Lawrence Harnett, favoured development of a local design, while GM preferred to see an American design as the basis for "Australia's Own Car". In the end the design was based on a previously rejected post war Chevrolet proposal. The Holden was launched in 1948, creating long waiting lists extending through 1949 and beyond. The name
":Holden" was chosen in honour of Sir Edward Holden, the company's first chairman and grandson
of J.A.Holden. Other names considered were "GeM", "Austral", "Melba", Woomrah", " Boomerang",
"Emu", and "Canbra", a phonetic spelling of Canberra. Although officially designated " 48-215" the car was marketed simply as "Holden" The unofficial usage of the name "FX" originated within Holden referring to the updated suspension on the 48-48 215 of 1953.