Some car enthusiasts will be Holden back the tears after General Motors today confirmed production of the classic brand will be coasting to a halt by the end of next year.
About 600 Australian staff will lose their jobs by the end of the year.
The company's been making Holden's for more than a hundred years and estimated there's $1.6 million Holdens in the world.
Holden is assuring customers it will honour all warranties made at the time of sales and will provide servicing and parts for at least another decade.
"I think everyone's got a story of a Holden," Mark Fletcher of Classic Restos told Checkpoint.
"It's Australia's own car, which started off with the FX215 back in 1948. I think the saddest thing about the whole thing is the automotive legacy that was created here in Holden in Australia and not only just building the cars but it employed so many people, and so many offshoot divisions and smaller businesses.
"It was our own car and it's a legacy that has been derived over many years.
"Football, meat pies, kangaroos and Holden cars - it's part of our heritage isn't it?
"You can look back in the late '50s and see your FC and EK Holdens were dripping in chrome. I think Holden put more of their budget to the aesthetics of the vehicle - putting their stainless steel trim, their two-tone paint and a beautiful chrome grills... you only had a Holden engine choice and that was the only one you got. But you got your beautiful two tones your pastel colours back in the day… and they made a statement.
"I think when we look at the regional conditions of Australia back in the day and the conditions these cars had to drive on. I think that's a mark of testament.
"It's a harsh land over here, it gets very cold, it gets very hot. Corrugated dirt roads in regional areas were what they had to drive on back then. So they carved automotive history here in this country as a brand."
Fletcher said he thinks the Holdens that are left should be preserved as best as they possibly can.
